We're sure there's a reason that Microsoft locked down Kinect to keep it away from hackers who would use it for their own nefarious, open-source ends, we just can't figure it out. Why even try when it's going to be cracked within days?
Adafruit Industries, a firm headed by two MIT graduates, is offering up a $2,000 “bounty” to the first group or individual to upload working open-source drivers for Kinect. $2,000 is enough of an incentive to ensure that there's a small army of hobbyist programmers trying to crack the new motion controller.
Meanwhile, a fast-working coder cracked Kinect's security measures and wrote (at least partially)working USB drivers for the device before it even saw worldwide release.AlexP, who hacked the PlayStation Eye two years ago, broke through Kinect's security measures as part of a weekend project and released a video showing his handiwork on November 7.
But he's not sharing anything but footage. According toEngadget, AlexP isn't interested in the prize and will be keeping his drivers to himself for use in his company's projects. Despite such secrecy, those eager to try Kinect on their PCs probably won't have to wait long for open-source drivers to appear, thanks to Adafruit's reward.
Microsoft is none-to-pleased with these developments and issued an official statement stating, "Microsoft does not condone the modification of its products. With Kinect, Microsoft built in numerous hardware and software safeguards designed to reduce the chances of product tampering," the company continued "Microsoft will continue to make advances in these types of safeguards and work closely with law enforcement and product safety groups to keep Kinect tamper-resistant."
Nov 08, 2010
