The Week In Review

This week we learn that a U.S. Judge can block a German injunction, Anonymous doesn’t like a blocked Pirate Bay and the creator of Super Mario Brothers is unimpressed with modern games.

Microsoft Makes Sonar Work Like Kinect

A few years ago, the combined power of a camera, a microphone and the software know-how of Kinect wowed us with its translation of simple gestures and voice commands into somethign the Xbox 360 could understand. Now, Microsoft – along with researchers at the University of Washington – have figured out a way for us to have all the gesture recognition of Kinect using existing PC peripherals. The application is called SoundWave and it operates using sonar detection similar to how a bat or dolphin can “see”. (Link)

U.S. Judge Delays German Xbox Injunction

The legal dispute between Microsoft and Motorola, which is in the midst of being acquired by software giant Google, is getting ugly. The two companies have been locked in a battle over patent rights owned by Motorola and used in mainstream Microsoft products including the Xbox 360 and Windows 7 operating system; Microsoft alleges that Motorola is demanding unreasonable licensing fees for its patents on technologies that have become industry standards that could reach as much as $4 billion per year, while Motorola says Microsoft gave up its right to those patents on reasonable terms when it skipped the negotiation process and went straight to the courtroom. (Link)

Anonymous Tackles Virgin Media Over Pirate Bay Blocking

Well, here we go again. Last week Virgin Media became the first ISP to comply with a high court ruling that orders internet service providers in the UK to block access to torrent sharing site, The Pirate Bay. Other ISPs are expected to follow suit shortly. In response, Anonymous has used a DDOS attack to take down Virginmedia.com. “#Anonymous have just taken down #VirginMedia website again because of their involvement in the #Censorship of The Pirate Bay #TPB #OpTPB,” tweeted Anonymous UK. (Link)

Miyamoto Unimpressed by Modern Games

“I think it’s the lack of time in general,” he told The Guardian. “And maybe I don’t see so many titles that I find fascinating enough that I want to spend time playing. Time is precious and a game has to be worthwhile, right?” “Another problem is that there are so many games on the market today that it’s difficult to find the right one,” he continued. “In many ways I think I am in a similar place to the average game player. This is one of the greatest challenges for the industry right now.” (Link)

Square Enix Sued Over Kane and Lynch 2

A Chinese lawyer has filed a suit against Square Enix over its terrible third person shooter sequel, Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days. In it, he accuses the company of “damaging the image of Chinese people,” “mocking China and the Chinese people,” and “causing people to misunderstand China.” The lawyer is demanding an apology, as well compensation from both developer, IO Interactive, and Square Enix to the tune of 10,000 yuan or around $1600. (Link)