…Just two weeks, ago, a Microsoft spokesman told CNET that “Microsoft does not condone the modification of its products” and that the company would “work closely with law enforcement and product safety groups to keep Kinect tamper-resistant.” This prompted electronics hobby-supply company Adafruit to increase its bounty for open-source drivers from $1,000 to $3,000 and add a $2,000 donation to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, just in case Microsoft decided to start suing the pants off of everybody after all…
If Kinect is seen as a fun, versatile device for both casual gamers and serious hobbyists, that’s great for Microsoft. If Kinect’s whole-room camera, robust facial-recognition software, and portal for video and audio chat are seen as in any way insecure, it’s a nightmare.
That’s why Microsoft came out with a hard-line initial response. Once the company saw how the open-source drivers were being used, and what they could and couldn’t do, it was easier to officially soften its stance.
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat and our Discord!
They should take a cue from LEGO and just say nothing, neither accepting nor rejecting the hacking of their products.