Microsoft wants developers to incorporate Kinect into devices besides the Xbox 360. Early next year, the company plans to launch the Kinect for Windows commercial program, and says it's already working with outside companies to create tools and APIs. In a blog post, the company says the move is a logical evolution of the Kinect Effect, its buzzword for ways developers have adopted the device for non-commercial applications. (Stroke patients can benefit from playing Kinect. Who knew?) Microsoft's got a video that shows a bunch of things people are already doing with Kinect beyond batting balls around. And although some of it looks just a little too much like the tools Tom Cruise used in Minority Report, overall I've got to say these approaches are pretty amazing.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_QLguHvACs&w=560&h=315]