Bekka Kitila IT 103
| Home | Introduction | Background | Technical Specifications | Potential Benefits | Security Concerns | Ethical and Legal Issues | Social Benefits and Problems | Conclusion | Reference page |
Think of how easy it is just to go buy a Kinect from the store for an average consumer. Now take that concept and apply it to a hacker. Matt Darman writer for the Telegraph wrote, “When Kinect launched, it was immediately seized upon not just by fans, but also by a community of computer scientists keen to hack into its inner workings and repurpose the device.” This alone can pose as a legal issue and ethical concern. Not only can hackers over time hack into your database but can also turn this accessory into something bizarre. After the release of the Kinect, Phillip Torrone, a designer of Make Magazines, offered a three thousand dollar cash bounty for anyone who created and released free software allowing the Kinect to be used with a computer instead of an Xbox, (Wortham, 2010). This “contest” was given automatic thumbs down by Microsoft corporation and caused them to take a closer look into those ignoring the proper use of their product.
A company rep. stateted that they are working closely with law enforcement and product safety groups to keep Kinect tamper-resistant, (Wortham, 2010). Their main focus was making sure the hackers were not degrading the experiences for the customer. This is very true as a consumer, I wouldn’t want to have to worry about the possibility of a hacker hacking into my Kinect and ruining my game play. It would degrade the name of Microsoft and lessen the fun atmosphere of the game. Now the funny thing is as a consumer, the hackers are not the only problems that can affect you; Microsoft can also “hack” into your system, bringing us to the ethical and legal issues of the Kinect.