Microsoft Announces Kinect for Windows to Replace the Mouse

Microsoft, a company that has made a lot of money off of its popular mouse designs over the years, has announced a possible successor to the mechanical rodent. The move likely comes as a response to the wildly successful iPad and devices that have copied it that don't require the use of a mouse. Instead, such electronic pads rely on their touch screen for interaction. Now, however, according to the Daily Mail, the death knell for the lowly mouse may finally be ringing.

Also according to the Telegraph, the new device is a modification of its highly successful game interface for Xbox, which stole the thunder from the Wii by successfully freeing game players from having to hold a wand to play. Instead, the Kinect relies on cameras, sensors and software to discern finger, hand and body movement to allow players to interact with their games.

Now, Microsoft has ported that technology to Windows. Instead of rolling a mouse around on a pad to move the cursor on the screen, users can simply move their hand, either by sliding it across the table, or through the air, whichever is most comfortable. And instead of clicking or double-clicking on icons and menu choices, users can simply poke at the air, or tap on a table. The Kinect device will interpret the movements and convert them to the same movements that have gone on using a mouse.

Also, taking the Kinect a step further, Microsoft has programmed in voice recognition software that allows Windows to be controlled with just the voice. And because it has the same software kernel as the game device, it can also learn to recognize faces, which means the computer will "know" which person the user actually is.

In conjunction with the release, Microsoft has also launched the Software Developers Kit, which allows programmers to develop applications designed to take advantage of the Kinects unique features.

Microsoft launched the Kinect just a year ago, and it that short time span, it has virtually taken over as the leading interactive gaming system and has not has not yet announced pricing for the new Kinnect system, but the Telegraph is guessing that it will likely be priced in the same range as the Kinect for gaming devices, though it might start out lower to attract initial interest.

Not mentioned in the announcement is the likelihood that a Kinect interface would have to first "learn" which movements the use wishes to mean which things and where. If a user wishes to always use the table as an invisible mouse for example, the system would have to be taught which movements mean which, just as most voice recognition systems must be taught recognize certain voice patterns.