Xbox 360 Kinect: Hacker gets $3000 Payout, Microsoft on Warpath

By: Alan Ng | November 12, 2010 | 6 Comments

Remember that story we reported on a few days ago informing you about the guy who managed to ‘hack’ Microsoft’s new Kinect hardware for the Xbox 360 and create custom drivers for it? Well, it looks like he’s now been paid for his efforts.

According to this article from ArsTechnica, developer Hector Martin has now been paid $3000 by DIY hardware company Adafruit for his development work on Kinect. We thought the bounty was $2000 initially, but $1000 has been added to the kitty – good news for him.

However, it’s not so good news for Microsoft, as they are now aware of the situation and are obviously not too pleased about it. Microsoft has now come out and stated that they are against ‘reverse engineering’ and will now start to pursue legal measures to ensure that Kinect isn’t tampered with in the future.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you support the the open source development of the Kinect camera, which could lead to some interesting features for Xbox 360 owners, or are you against the idea? Full article over at Ars.

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Tags: Kinect, microsoft, Xbox 360

Lemons
I fully support open source development, but not violation of property rights. If the purchase agreement stated that the buyer may not reverse-engineer it, then doing so would be violation of that agreement. On the other hand, if the folks that developed it willingly opened up the components for development, hooray!
ANDY
SOUNDS LIKE MICROSOFT WANT TO BE LIKE MAC
Dru
Who cares!!!!
Mad
If your man wanted he could cover it in jam and insert it up his own rectum if he pleased and MS can't touch him for it.
Once you've bought the thing you can do with it as you please providing you do not infringe patents and copyrights. Making it work with something for which it was not designed is not in any way illegal, so this is all bully boy bluster from MS.
bullet
I agree with Mad. Once I buy an electronic, it is mine and I can do with it what ever I please with Heck I can install that baby on to the computer of my car and drive without using my steering wheel (LOL jk)
ADVERTISING STUNT
I wish sites would stop headlining this news in this way, the company offered a mere $3000 and for this they have got hundreds of thousands of dollars of advertising over something that MS will certainly have all copyrights etc covered in what can be done with it anyway.
It a funny way this may also kickstart MS into going all out on the companys selling modchips etc that are being sold in countrys where they are illegal … Just as Sony have done with jailbreak..