XBox: Use body for game control

2009-06-02 13:40

A demonstration is given of Project Natal at Microsoft’s XBox 360 media briefing in Los Angeles. (AFP)

Los Angeles – Microsoft revealed on Monday that it has been secretly developing technology that lets people play videogames using natural body movements instead of handheld controllers.

The US software giant behind Xbox 360 videogame consoles revealed a prototype of a project codenamed Natal, a system that combines cameras and voice and face recognition software to recognise people and their actions.

“The gamer in me went out of my mind when I got to be interactive with this,” famed film director Steven Spielberg during a Microsoft press conference on the eve of a major E3 videogame industry show in Los Angeles.

“I got a feeling I was in a historic moment. What Microsoft is doing isn’t re-inventing the wheel; this is about no wheel at all.”

Natal lets people play driving games by simply moving hands as if turning a car steering wheel. In-game characters in boxing, skateboard, soccer and other sports titles mimic the body movements of real-world players.

The system scans faces and voices to determine who is playing, a demonstration showed.

Xbox 360 consoles equipped with Natal will be able to respond to spoken commands for actions such as playing movies or connecting online with friends for video chats.

Landmark in computer entertainment

An expected completion date for Natal was not disclosed, but Microsoft on Monday released a software kit for videogame makers interested in designing titles to take advantage of Natal’s capabilities.

“What developers do with Natal will change the way we play videogames,” said British videogame icon Peter Molyneux, chief of Lionhead Studios.

“This is a landmark in computer entertainment. This is true technology that science fiction has not even written about and this works today.”

Natal will work on all Xbox 360 consoles, according to Don Mattrick, the head of Microsoft’s Xbox and games business.

“I could suddenly envision a new way to personalise game play…and even change the paradigm of storytelling,” said Spielberg, who got to dabble with Natal in the weeks leading up to the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). – AFP

- SAPA

Article taken from:

http://www.news24.com/Content/SciTech/News/1132/19e7f360a898418b8b9477587829b9ee/02-06-2009%2001-06/XBox_Use_body_for_game_control

Filed under: For Fun, Industry News

Free Applications List

Office Suite

http://www.openoffice.org/ (recommended)

http://www.abisource.com/

http://pack.google.com/

PDF

http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php

Anti-Virus

http://www.free-av.com/

http://www.pctools.com/free-antivirus/

http://www.clamwin.com/

http://antivirus.comodo.com/

http://www.bitdefender.com/PRODUCT-1…e-Edition.html

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http://free.grisoft.com/

Defrag

http://www.kessels.com/JkDefrag/

http://www.majorgeeks.com/Power_Defr…GUI_d4647.html

http://freewaregeeks.com/UltimateDefrag_Free.html

Partition Managers

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http://www.ptdd.com/manual2.htm

http://findandmount.com/

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CD Ripping

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Audio Books

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Media

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Browsers

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Operating Systems

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Filed under: For Fun, Industry News , Free, Opensource, Software

Walfram Alpha, what is it about?

The search engine is based on a different type of coding from that of Google, and has taken the approach of not answering queries, but rather gathers data and visuals from a variety of data and displays it in an attractive ‘all-in-one’ type of page. This could well prove useful as according to CNET reporter Stephen Shankland it could “…unlock a lot of data that students, research assistants, lawyers, marketing managers, financial analysts, and scientists might not have readily available.”

It is indeed an interesting idea, though how much of an influence it will have is yet to be seen.

For more information:

Filed under: Google Related, Industry News , alpha, Google, Wolfram

Top 10 Games of 2009 So Far

Now for something different, gaming…an article I found interesting from mygaming.co.za.

Top 10 games of 2009 so far

1. Street Fighter IV (Xbox 360 & PS3) 93%

2. Killzone 2 (PS3) 91%

3. Empire: Total War (PC) 90%

Plants Vs Zombies (PC) 90%

MLB: The Show (PS3) 90%

4. Peggle (Xbox 360) 89%

5. Braid (PC) 88%

6. Flower (PS3) 87%

7. Guitar Hero: Metallica (Xbox 360 & PS3) 86%

8. Resident Evil 5 (Xbox 360 & PS3) 85%

Dawn of War II (PC) 85%

9. Skate 2 (Xbox 360 & PS3) 84%

10. Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena (PC & Xbox & PS3) 82%
Halo Wars (Xbox 360) 82%

Filed under: For Fun, Industry News , 2009, games

Ubuntu 9.04 – Jaunty – Availabe

For those wanting the latest version of the leading Linux OS, Ubuntu, they can follow this link to download a suitable version:

http://za.releases.ubuntu.com/jaunty/

Filed under: Industry News, Linux , Ubuntu, Linux, Jaunty, 9, 04

Linux OS’s to get 1% of World Market?

Following up on previous

posts (latest here), I am posting the Top Operating System Share Trend information run by http://marketshare.hitslink.com.

The picture looks very similar to what has been previously with Mac and Linux growing in share, and Windows slowing slipping. Si

nce my last article in December 08, Linux has climbed 0.15% to 0.9% of the world OS pie (up until March 08). This growth could very well not only continue to grow, but actually begin to grow substantially faster when many PC users start investigating updates and changes when the (presumably) costly Windows 7 rreleases.

Windows since December 08 has seen a drop of 0.49% points from 88.63% to 88.14% in March 09 – a reduction in percentage points over twice the amount that Linux is gaining. Mac on the other hand is like Linux in that it is experiencing steady growth sitting at 9.77%, up 0.24% from December 08.

With Snow Leopard and Windows 7, as well as a new Ubuntu release all on the cards in 2009, the OS wars will only get more interesting.

Filed under: Industry News, Linux, Mac Related

Mac MSN Users Recieving: Error: Unable to Retrieve MSN Address Book

This is a problem with MSN.

For me both Adium and Messenger for Mac have not worked. However I have found aMSN to work.

http://www.amsn-project.net/

Hope this helps.

Filed under: Industry News, Mac Related , aMSN, MSN

Windows 7 Beta Released Today

Download site – http://www.microsoft.com/windows7

Microsoft claims that they have listened to consumers and are addressing many of the problems that Windows Vista had in the new operating system with special attention given to performance and streamlining the system’s interface.

Filed under: Industry News

Macworld cult gathering

Apple faithfuls are making pilgrimages to San Francisco for the start of Macworld, an annual cult-like gathering that this year is expected to lack revelations and iconic leader Steve Jobs.

In a move that has upset Apple followers and investors, marketing vice president Phil Schiller will replace Jobs on stage on Tuesday for a keynote presentation traditionally considered a Macworld highlight….

Full Article here.

Filed under: Industry News, Mac Related , Apple, Mac, macworld

New Mac Products To Hit the Markets?

At the upcoming Macworld Expo it has been rumored that new iMac’s and maybe even Mac mini’s will be released, but more excitingly is a rumored new home server device with sharing facilities and iTunes.

If Apple is to release a new server, it will be competition for the new HP MediaSmart servers which boast similar functions with same ARM-based platform, the same WiFi functionality, and with Time Machine supported. Though the new Apple server is rumored to have some new features such as; AFP file sharing, full support for a shared iTunes library, as well as media sharing to iPhone, iPod touches, and Apple TV devices.

Additionally, the new server is said to integrate the recently introduced MobileMe in order to provide remote access to the device, as well as photo integration with MobileMe, and the server is to have a me.com subdomain (which would allow access to its files and iTunes library via the Internet).

Filed under: Industry News, Mac Related , Apple, xserve