It looks like Microsoft did a 180 on the 360 Kinect modding issue. Going from threats of legal action against Kinect modders to now giving away a software toolkit to do exactly that.


When the wiz kids out there were putting up YouTube videos of some very cool things they were able to do with the Kinect by playing with a little computer code, such as running homemade robots or hooking them together to create 3d space real time video cameras, Microsoft got their panties in a bunch and there are stories of Microsoft threatening legal action against modders putting up home made drivers on the net. Even though there is no known law against it.

But now we go from Threats the a welcome mat. Microsoft has put out a free Download of the beta version of "Kinect for Windows SDK". You can click that link to go to the SDK page for the download and instructions, code walkthroughs and more.

The word on the street is Microsoft has no love for modders and this is just a public relations stunt after getting hacked, Wanting to play nice with the modding/hacking community and not wanting to end up in PSN's shoes. A peace offering?

Others Say Microsoft is starting to realize that Kinect has a future beyond the gaming world and wants to take advantage. But who really cares "why" this support is being released.

We here at 360-HQ.com challenge you to Go play with it and report back here to 360-hq.com with your creations! Make something cool and we will put it up on our news!

The one rule Microsoft has put out with its Toolkit is that it may not be used for commercial use. So I guess you are free to play with it all you want as long as you do not try to sell anything you make with it.

System requirements

Hardware

• Kinect for Xbox 360 sensor
  
• Computer with a dual-core, 2.66-GHz or faster processor
  
• Windows 7–compatible graphics card that supports DirectX® 9.0c capabilities
  2-GB RAM (4-GB RAM recommended)

Software

• Windows 7 (x86 or x64)
  
• Visual Studio 2010 Express (or other 2010 edition)
  
• Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0

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News-Source: Research for Microsoft
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