Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/01/30/microsoft_and_asus_build_xbox_kinect_motion_control_into_laptop_pcs/
Microsoft builds Kinect into Asus laptops
Prototype PCs test future of UI interaction
Posted in Laptops, 30th January 2012 10:48 GMT
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Microsoft and Asus have built a laptop with Kinect motion-sensing technology on board.
Two prototype machines were recently seen, but not used, by The Daily, the website says. The two notebook PCs feature extra, Kinect-oriented distance sensors [1] built into their screen bezels alongside their regular webcams.
Microsoft is keen to get Kinect into PCs, and will be releasing software to add Kinect to Windows next month [2]. It's also expected to offer PC-centric sensor hardware.
Do you really want motion control in a laptop though? We can't see many folk happy to sit waving their arms around, even to make small gestures for manipulating a UI, with a notebook perched precariously on their knees.
And laptop screens - even 17-inchers - are too small for the kind of gaming at a distance that the Xbox incarnation of Kinect makes possible.
Microsoft should stick to trying to get Kinect built into TVs [3] - a more appropriate use of the motion-control tech. ®