Skip to main content

Microsoft to give Kinect hackers development kits

When the Kinect was first released, it enjoyed a relatively short and blissful window of tamper free life before the first reports of Kinects being hacked flooded in. The hands-free controller managed to remain unspoiled for a whole week before the first reports of Kinect hacks began, and once the instructions on how to do it hit the interwebs, it was all over. Microsoft officially shook its head while mumbling “kids these days” or some variation of, as the MS lawyers looked at their options and threatened possible legal action.

But public support, increasingly inventive and harmless hacks and perhaps the realization that Microsoft would come off looking like the evil developer that bought the only rec center in town in order to tear it down and make a strip mall unless one plucky kid can win a ski or a boat race or something, thus winning the heart of his long unrequited love and saving the town, made them reconsider.

Recommended Videos

Soon MS acted like allowing people to hack the Kinect was all part of the master plan, and the company wisely decided to support Kinect innovations.  Now it seems that Microsoft is going one step further, and will not just approve of people creatively hacking the Kinect, the company will even encourage it.

While on a tour of Microsoft’s Redmond, WA headquarters, BBC journalist Rory Cellan-Jones tweeted that “Microsoft opens up Kinect to hacker community, rolling out Software Dvelopment Kit for personal use.”

Cellan-Jones then tweeted ““Microsoft opens up Kinect SDK for personal use this Spring – commercial version later.”

The Kinect was recently confirmed to be heading to PCs as well, so with the release of the SDKs, things could become very interesting for Kinect fans.

Ryan Fleming
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Ryan Fleming is the Gaming and Cinema Editor for Digital Trends. He joined the DT staff in 2009 after spending time covering…
This severe TikTok vulnerability gives hackers 70 ways to steal your info
Person's hand holding a smartphone with TikTok's logo on screen, all in front of a blurred background.

After internal testing, Microsoft discovered an exploit in the Android version of TikTok that could have given attackers access to huge amounts of personal data with a single click.

The vulnerability has already been fixed, and it does not appear that anyone has been affected by the exploit. The attackers could have used this vulnerability to access user profiles, allowing outside forces to publicize private videos, send messages, and even upload videos.

Read more
Hackers can now take over your computer through Microsoft Word
A dark mystery hand typing on a laptop computer at night.

A new zero-day vulnerability in Microsoft Office could potentially allow hackers to take control of your computer. The vulnerability can be exploited even if you don't actually open an infected file.

Although we're still waiting for an official fix, Microsoft has released a workaround for this exploit, so if you frequently use MS Office, be sure to check it out.

Read more
New ways Microsoft is enticing developers to use Windows app store
Microsoft Store Ads on a Dell XPS Laptop.

The Microsoft Build 2022 conference is now underway through Thursday and the brand is revealing a host of updates to its app store in particular.

The Microsoft Store will soon feature Microsoft Store Ads, which will be powered by Microsoft Advertising. The brand said the upcoming feature will allow developers to market their apps to the proper users and highlight new experiences to users. Microsoft said it will soon begin a pilot program for developers to design ad campaigns within Microsoft Advertising. Currently, developers can sign up for the Microsoft Store Ads waitlist.

Read more