New Kinect for Windows arrives this summer

[wraggster]

http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/adam/2a19944fd7fd32db8842a93468dd90ab/kinect2-windows.jpg (http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/02/kinect-for-windows-release/)Amid the volley (http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/02/windows-phone-cortana-hands-on/)of announcements (http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/02/nokia-lumia-930-hands-on/) from Microsoft's Build (http://www.engadget.com/event/build2014/articles/) conference, is word that the new Kinect for Windows has a near-future release time-frame for both the hardware and its SDK. The desktop version of Microsoft's do-all sensor (http://www.engadget.com/2014/03/27/microsoft-kinect2-windows/) will be available to the public (http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/26/next-gen-kinect-for-windows-sdk/) this summer, as will its development framework. Perhaps more importantly, once they're done, developers can publish their creations (http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/showcase/details.aspx?uuid=8f3753fa-ff27-4cb4-b2da-1788a9bf001e) to the Windows Store; meaning, there'll probably be more Kinect applications (http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/showcase/details.aspx?uuid=75299997-a1bd-4174-91ea-7cdaf996d7c9) for Windows in one place than ever before. As Redmond tells it, this self-publishing will happen "later this summer." Next summer (notice a theme here?), Microsoft is adding support for one of gaming's most pervasive dev toolkits to Kinect for Windows: the Unity engine (http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/15/playstation-vita-unity/) -- tools developers already know the strengths and weaknesses of, which should bolster the app selection even further. Given that the Xbox One will see Unity support this year (http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/05/xbox-one-unity/), this could mean that cross-platform apps and games (http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/02/universal-apps-xbox-one-microsoft-approval) are a distinct possibility. Or, maybe we'll get a cool new bank account manager (http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/17/kinect-hack-lets-you-manage-your-bank-account-with-gestures-wil/) instead.
http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/02/kinect-for-windows-release/