The basics on navigating the Kinect

this video seamed to cut out earlier than expected.  Someone should check the file.

@CKurt: I agree with you there. Waiting for that cursor to fill seems like such a drag. They should at least have an option: wait for the ring or close your fist.

@CKurt: apparently they tried that but it just wasn't as guaranteed a confirmation signal as hovering was/is.  Actually, they tried all sorts of movements and hover was the most reliable.  Guys, are your schedule so incredibly packed that you long for those lost seconds?  :-)  It reminds me of the Brian Regan comedy sketch about the directions for microwaving Pop Tarts as if the toaster solution is just too onerous to wait for.

@Glencannon, I don't know why, but the thing that stuck out about your post was the Brian Regan sketch.  So never having heard of him, I looked him up with pop tart.  I was laughing so hard, man, that is funny.
I agree though.  The circle thing doesn't bother me at all.  Feels like its loading.  Maybe i'm just used to the web, where everything takes that long.

hover to select is such a clunky system.. i dont like it, i havent read a single review or talked to anyone who liked it.. microsoft has said they have "hundreds" of playtest hours to back up their decision, but you know what? those hours where wasted because they are wrong.. its possible that was the best system in their interface tests, but its far from the best system. many games have far better systems, yourshape most notably but also dance central.

even worse, its wildly inconsistent especially for the voice commands. kotaku highlights this in their reviews for example. commands work in some places but not in others, other commands for the same thing are diffrent in diffrent places..

but the worst problem is how isolated the kinect interactions are.. they should be prevasive across the whole dashboard, but instead theres this mini dashboard that is only for kinect that lacks most of the features of the real dashboard.

And its not like the kinect dash is some super extraordinary thing whos design is too spaced out for the real dash, its a frickin grid. not only that, its faster and easier to navigate with a regular controller, and it highlights things kinect is currently bad at, such as input lag. it would have been far better to be able to swipe around like in the happy-family-videos of last years e3.

microsoft really dropped the ball on what could and should have been an awsome interaction experience.. hopefully they fix it soon with better dashboard integration and selection,

@genn & @ken rly? do you like waiting in line and beeing stuck in traffic as well? hey its just a minute or two right? its it not loading, its just a delay incurred by a bad design. why would you choose to wait [for no reason] when you dont have to? but hey.. if you're happy, im happy for you

The whole cursor following your hand thing is annoying and nonsensical. Why not simply use a swipe left/right/up/down gesture to move to the next tile? That way you wouldn't even need that seperate kinect menu, but could just use the regular dashboard. You could then select by simply pushing your hand forward as if pressing a huge button.

Why on earth did they choose that weird Wiimote cursor pointing scenario over this?

@CKurt:They might not be tracking your fingers as closely. so with the wireframe person if you make a fist it does not initially register with Kinect. At least that is my theory from looking at several images of Kinect tracking points.

@aL_: As an owner of the unit i can agree with most of the points you made here.  I find it cumbersome to hover, and the experience needs to be more pervasive.  The one place I would like to see the kinect experience incorporated in would be Media Center Extender.

Brian Regan comedy sketch about the directions for microwaving Pop Tarts as if the toaster solution is just too onerous to wait for.

@CKurt: The unit doesn't recognize fingers.  Another option would have been to use a 'push gesture' to select, but that's probably patented by Canesta.  Now that they are a part of our family, we may see that come in a future dashboard update.

I have also heard rumors of it being compatible with mediaroom.  I hope this is true, as it means my son will finally be able to control his own television viewing experience even with his cerebral palsy.