The Kinect - For Kids and Hackers Alike

Remember when the Wii came out? It was the hottest new tech toy on the block, and was said to revolutionize modern gaming - not so much. But I guess it was a step in the right direction, considering both Microsoft and Sony have followed suit. The new Xbox Kinect is the hottest thing on the market and it has been reported that it sold just over 2 million within the first week (a lot of cash at $150 a pop).

Well this revolutionary camera is redefining casual gaming all together, and has become the new fad for household hackers. When the Kinect came out, one underground hacker had a $1000 reward for the first person to successfully hack it enough to where a computer could control it, and use it as a peripheral.  Within the first 2 days there was a video of someone controlling the Kinect's internal motors through a terminal window. Now there are a seas of free open source 'jailbreaks' online, each unlocking nerd fantasies.

Anything you can imagine can be done with this person tracking camera. From playing Super Mario, to Minecraft. Yes, even Minecraft has been reported; so would it be wrong of me to want it, but just for the sake of computer games? I don’t think so, I think it would be wrong of me NOT to hack it. Seriously...Minecraft.