MS welcomes Xbox Kinect 'hackers'

Microsoft is to open up its Xbox Kinect technology to allow amateur software developers to experiment with it, according to the BBC.

The company is to release a software development kit, which will give developers access to the secrets behind the technology. For now, it will only be for personal use, but Microsoft says it will release a commercial version in due course.

Kinect, which turns the player's body into a game controller, has been a big hit since it was released last November.

Xhead = Computer expert dupes US for £13m

Computer expert Dennis Montgomery tricked the US government into paying £13 million for software he claimed could stop terrorist attacks, reveals Computer Weekly.

He even managed to persuade former president George Bush to divert a series of flights from London away from the US after convincing him they were hijacked.

The elaborate cons were hushed up until now to cover up the fact that top US officials had been fooled by them, according to reports.

Nokia plans to slash the price of Windows Phone 7 handsets currently on the market when it unveils the first fruits of the recently revealed partnership with Microsoft, according to reports, notes V3.co.uk.

Nokia chief executive Stephen Elop told Reuters that reaching "a very low price point" on handsets was one of the key discussion points in the negotiations between the two firms, which ended in their partnership deal a fortnight ago.

"We have become convinced that we can do that very quickly," Elop reportedly said in a meeting with journalists.

Facebook says it is actively reviewing its policy of a total ban on all content relating to sexual activities, notes The Register.

The review follows the deletion on 4 February of Collared Events' page following a complaint from a site user.

This deletion angered and mystified many members and supporters of Collared, which operates Slaves and Masters Club Nights, and which identifies itself as a community non-profit organisation with a focus on safety and socialisation. It used the Facebook page merely as a means to communicate.