A patent filed by Microsoft last year, but only made public last week, wants to turn your Xbox 360's Kinect into an instrument via which large companies can monitor your media usage and, if you're found to be in violation of something, charge you for it.
And no, I am not making that up.
The patent application, titled "CONTENT DISTRIBUTION REGULATION BY VIEWING USER", is a means of using Kinect to monitor not just what you're watching (or listening to) on your Kinect, but more importantly, how many people.
Here's the important part, straight from the application itself:
The technology, briefly described, is a content presentation system and method allowing content providers to regulate the presentation of content on a per-user-view basis. Content is distributed to consuming devices, such as televisions, set-top boxes and digital displays, with an associated license option on the number of individual consumers or viewers allowed to consume the content. The limitation may comprise a number of user views, a number of user views over time, a number of simultaneous user views, views tied to user identities, views limited to user age or any variation or combination thereof, all tied to the number of actual content consumers allowed to view the content. Consumers are presented with a content selection and a choice of licenses allowing consumption of the content. In one embodiment, a license manager on the consuming device or on a content providers system manages license usage and content consumption. The users consuming the content on a display device are monitored so that if the number of user-views licensed is exceeded, remedial action may be taken.
Kinect is never mentioned specifically, but seeing as a camera is going to need to track and identify people in the room, it can't really be anything else.
@DarkSaber2k @BLaverock @darkmask1991 I'm saying a smartphone vs. a console, not a smartphone vs. a phone. Smartphones are more useful in daily life than consoles. That was my point
@DarkSaber2k @BLaverock @darkmask1991 for some, yeah. But most people don't use their video game consoles to communicate with family/friends/coworkers, or for GPS, text/planning/organizing. You get my point, right? I'm not saying smartphones aren't overpriced either, though.
@darkmask1991 Not with the economy down, inflation up, and their biggest competitor (Sony) pricing the PS4 at $400. Plus, smartphones are more important.
Wow, it looks great! Windwaker was an epic story, and is now considered to be a classic. Yes, Nintendo makes money by repackaging old games for new consoles, but it's also about consumer convenience; not everyone has been able to play Windwaker, and who would want to spend money on a gamecube to revisit older games when there's newer consoles being released? I'm glad they've remade it in HD for the Wii U! I hope the classics keep coming!
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