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Gmail Motion April Fools' gag inevitably turned into reality using Kinect

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Re: Gmail Motion April Fools' gag inevitably turned into reality using Kinect

#3
The sad thing is, I saw Google Motion appear in my Gmail toolstrip, but I didn't even think about April fools, I just thought 'oh, great, another half-baked wannabe social media experiment masquerading as a feature from Google (the email and search company)' and didn't bother clicking it.

Re: Gmail Motion April Fools' gag inevitably turned into reality using Kinect

#4
Has anyone combined the Kinect with iOS yet? That plus the HDMI out from the new iPad to a big screen tv would equal epicness on an unprecedented scale. In fact, I'd actually pay more for that than I did for the iPad itself. Get to work, Apple.

Re: Gmail Motion April Fools' gag inevitably turned into reality using Kinect

#6
I knew Gmail Motion was an April Fools gag --- that's what the link sending me there said, but...

It's actually a good idea --- for certain users. In particular, there are many people who use sign language to communicate. For those who sign, what could be more natural than controlling Gmail via sign? And why stop at Gmail?

Further reading: http://cad.ca/en/issues/telecommunications.asp

Re: Gmail Motion April Fools' gag inevitably turned into reality using Kinect

#7
Watching the "joke" made me realize something - there's a chance that, in the future, a lot of communication with computers will be done using sign language.

After all, most people (rightly) assume that pretty soon, voice recognition will work well enough that you'll be able to dictate everything to your computer, making keyboards partially obsolete (especially for the majority of users).

But everyone also correctly thinks that there is one big problem with voice-driven computers - they won't work well with many people in the room at the same time. Imagine a cubicle environment in which everyone needs to talk to their computers.

Motion-detection, coupled with sign language, is a pretty logical next step.

Re: Gmail Motion April Fools' gag inevitably turned into reality using Kinect

#8
post #7

Watching the "joke" made me realize something - there's a chance that, in the future, a lot of communication with computers will be done using sign language. After all, most people (rightly) assume that pretty soon, voice recognition will work well enough that you'll be able to dictate everything to your computer, making keyboards partially obsolete (especially for the majority of users). But everyone also correctly…

I cannot imagine why would I choose to use voice recognition even if I am alone with computer.

Re: Gmail Motion April Fools' gag inevitably turned into reality using Kinect

#9
All joking aside, for some users with disabilities this sort of gesture based interface could be really useful.

My prediction is that gesture interfaces are going to be used for some basic things, but that most interactions with computers will remain fairly conventional. If you do a time and motion study, the way people currently interact via keyboards, mice and touch screens is pretty efficient. Even with augmented reality, I expect that users will still be tapping on virtual keyboards.

Re: Gmail Motion April Fools' gag inevitably turned into reality using Kinect

#10
post #8
post #7

Watching the "joke" made me realize something - there's a chance that, in the future, a lot of communication with computers will be done using sign language. After all, most people (rightly) assume that pretty soon, voice recognition will work well enough that you'll be able to dictate everything to your computer, making keyboards partially obsolete (especially for the majority of users). But everyone also correctly…

I cannot imagine why would I choose to use voice recognition even if I am alone with computer.

Yep... some sort of neural control is much more likely.
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