I preordered the xBox Kinect today as reports of shortages, albeit probably rumors, hit the inter-news. The threat of potentially missing out on this “game changing” event made me nervous. And I like to be first, of course.
I have high hopes for this device, not only as an instrument that will redefine gaming, but as a fixture that will change the way we interact with media forever. On November 4th, when the Kinect debuts, exercise will never be the same again – taekwondo matches and 50 yard “dashes” will take place in the privacy of your living room – people will compete internationally with one another, live and uninhibited, without a controller. Video chat and conference calling will be redefined. Practical applications of voice recognition might finally be discovered. And remember Tom Cruise in Minority Report and this 3-D computer windows? We’re a step closer to that, too. Once Microsoft release touch-screen technology coupled with Kinect, we can throw away our iCrap completely.
What is most exciting for me is the potential to turn every living room into an international arena of brainstorming and collaboration. Lofty? Yes, I know. But as we all know from McLuhan, “We shape technology and forever thereafter technology shapes us.” And I like the shapes we makes together.
No comments:
Post a Comment