This acquisition signals Apple's move into the Video games and TV.
Apple's acquisition of Siri signaled the later roll out of this App as their entrance into the search market.
Other than communication, the main use of mobile devices is for entertainment.
Apple must start offering compelling new graphic based technologies or face falling behind the competition.
The more graphic technology that is employed the greater the requirement for robust GPU based Cloud processing.
Only AMD and Nvidia have the GPU IP required for high level Cloud processing.
Only AMD and Intel have the vast experience in providing server chips
The HSA innovations that AMD is integrating into their next gen server chips, should give them an advantage over the competition.
I suspect that this has more to do with the purchase of WiFiSLAM (indoor navigation and location), security and ecommerce -- than games and TV.
You have a chip and a technology that can do live facial recognition. Similar, in a way to TouchID, the chip/app on your iDevice can build and store an encrypted profile of your facial scan.
Then a device like an iPad checkout terminal (cash register/CC reader replacement) can do an independent facial scan and send it to your iDevice. Your iDevice decides that the received scan is, or is not a match. If a match, your iDevice alerts you, and you decide if you want to provide personal data to identify yourself to the checkout terminal... or purchase anonymously through iTunes.
Sure it could also be used for games and TV -- but I suspect there are a lot more interactions between people and the outside world than people and their TVs.
OPENSTEP is a Specification released and GNUStep if it ever got proper funding would have supported it completely to run on any OS.
Well NeXT's OPENSTEP ran on lots of platforms. But as you know OS X wasn't intended to be an implementation of OpenStep, so there's little point in GNUStep existing. It's not as if Linux needs another UI.
The original point was that whatever Apple might want to do with PrimeSense could well leave OpenNI similarly irrelevant.
Let's hope Apple doesn't try to make this into the ultimate Nielsen ratings box like Microsoft is trying to do with the Xbox One.
The whole TV industry in North-America (and many other places in the world) is built around a very archaic survey system for TV ratings that fails to adequately account for new ways of accessing media content.
Though you can now opt out of it, Microsoft plans to use the Kinect during TV watching from various sources to give content providers accessto unprecedented data about viewers. This has tremendous value to them as they're trying to save an industry on the verge of collapse.
Advertisers will be able to know how many people are there in the room, their approximate age and gender, who is actually watching, and what are their emotional reaction to the content/ad they are looking at.
Maybe it's just me but that crosses the line into "creepy" territory. Of course Microsoft will say that this data will remain anonymous, but I don't like the idea of them building a database of my emotional reaction to image/audio/video content. I can tolerate some level of manipulation coming from ads, but to me this is going too far.
Dick, IF Apple was really focused on e-commerce, they would be doing a lot more with near field communication.
Apple is doing a lot with e-commerce... Especially NFC -- they just killed it with iBeacons.
Apple already has a finger print reader technology for security on their devices.
The use of the PrimeSense technology, as I described it, has to do with securing/identifying an external device like an iPad cash register with the secure (TouchID) data on your device... "It takes two to tango" securely.
You do NOT really understand the technology that was purchased.
I suspect I understand it as well as you do!
You do NOT understand WHY people purchase Apple devices.
I have been purchasing Apple devices since 1978 (Apple ][). I have been observing/working with Apple since 1978 as: costumer; user; dealer/reseller; supplier; co-developer on a project •; OSX Developer; iOS Developer.
* This was a Point-Of-Sale replacement for the cash register for Apple Dealers using the Mac and LaserWriter.
Most people buy Apple devices because of the intuitive USER INTERFACE.
I suspect I understand what motivates people to buy Apple. In my 11 years as a Computer dealer (including Apple) we had international customers such as Daimler/Benz, EMI Thorne, Schlumberger/Fairchild, Intel, National Semi, IBM, Apple, Xerox, HP...
Our household of 2 adults and 3 teenagers is all Apple currently we use: 3 iMacs; 3 Mac Minis; an AluBook 17", 3 AppleTVs; 2 Airport Express routers; iPhone 5S, iPhone 5C, iPhone 5; iPhone 4S (2); iPad 4; iPad 3; iPad Mini; iPad 2 (2)... a bunch of older iPhones aPads and iPods...
The intelligent commentary in most of the articles concerns what is known as NATURAL USER INTERFACE (U.I.)
Apple knows that the living room/TV market is a HUGE market, and MSFT is first out with a verbal controlled U.I., that also employs gesture controls.
While SIRI is voice controlled, the UI is touch based.
The evolution of the UI towards voice and and motion control is much more useful for the largest screen in everyone's life.
Almost everyone has a TV, and the UI is abysmal.
This is why Apple has been working on a solution for the TV market for the last few years.
Yeah, so... As I stated, the technology, certainly, has applications in games and TV...
That doesn't preclude the use of the same [or a variant of the] technology for ecommerce. Tim Cook has business training, and a business background. I am sure he is aware of the business potential of this technology. The purchase of WiFiSLAM supports this as it is aimed at indoor location and navigation -- much applicability to business/ecommerce -- little to TV or gaming UEX.
What the Xbox One, and future competing "smart" boxes will do is allow people to respond directly to TV ads thru the interactive nature of these devices.
This interactivity will appeal to many people, and not to others.
But, the interactive abilities will allow for much greater range of communication between advertisers and their intended audience.
If you are "in the market" for a new auto, phone, vacation, whatever, ads can be targeted to your wishes, which is much better than ads that are NOT of any interest to you.
A more targeted approach to advertising is more efficient, and should be more helpful to the viewer.
Except for live sports, and news, most viewers will opt towards watching content on demand.
Ads that supply info that a viewer is interested in receiving will not be so intrusive and obnoxious.
Viewers will be able to click/speak to on an advertisement requesting more info. That request might discontinue any further ads during that show.
Interactive TV allows a huge range of possibilities to make advertising more efficient, while providing a superior experience to the viewer.
We can speculate all we want about where Apple is going with this purchase, as I'm sure Apple's competitors are doing as well... BUT Apple has a long range plan that this is but one checkoff on a long list. When everything moves into place and people outside of Apple can see what's coming down, it will be years too late for the potential competition to do squat about it.
We'll know it has happened because all the CEOs of whatever companies presently enjoy the market Apple is targeting, will all have a great laugh and dismiss Apple as a fool.
One other thing: I've been impressed with how little Apple pays for the technology they buy. Compared to what Google spends, Apple spends about a tenth as much.
Does anyone know where there is a list of the 15 companies Apple has most recently purchased??
Apple is in a unique position to greatly improve and industrialize the PrimeSense technologies and bring them to the masses in a wide variety of exquisite products.
With its acquisitions from C3 Technologies, Passif Semiconductor, WiFiSlam, IMSense, AlgoTrim, FingerWorks, SIRI amongst others, Apple can greatly improve the size, form factor, power consumption, the 3D imaging/recognition accuracy and user interfaces of the PrimeSense Capri, not to mention software, graphics, imaging and object/sound recognition improvements in the existing core foundation and addition of rich Objective-C APIs on top. The possibilities are limitless.
Easier said than done but... Think Star Trek holographic technologies. (Holodeck)
Later on, the Anki guys can start working on advanced robots like Data from Star Trek. lol. Seriously... The new 3D sensors and API will be great for Anki.
Apple is doing a lot with e-commerce... Especially NFC -- they just killed it with iBeacons.
The use of the PrimeSense technology, as I described it, has to do with securing/identifying an external device like an iPad cash register with the secure (TouchID) data on your device... "It takes two to tango" securely.
I suspect I understand it as well as you do!
I have been purchasing Apple devices since 1978 (Apple ][). I have been observing/working with Apple since 1978 as: costumer; user; dealer/reseller; supplier; co-developer on a project •; OSX Developer; iOS Developer.
* This was a Point-Of-Sale replacement for the cash register for Apple Dealers using the Mac and LaserWriter.
I suspect I understand what motivates people to buy Apple. In my 11 years as a Computer dealer (including Apple) we had international customers such as Daimler/Benz, EMI Thorne, Schlumberger/Fairchild, Intel, National Semi, IBM, Apple, Xerox, HP...
Our household of 2 adults and 3 teenagers is all Apple currently we use: 3 iMacs; 3 Mac Minis; an AluBook 17", 3 AppleTVs; 2 Airport Express routers; iPhone 5S, iPhone 5C, iPhone 5; iPhone 4S (2); iPad 4; iPad 3; iPad Mini; iPad 2 (2)... a bunch of older iPhones aPads and iPods...
Yeah, so... As I stated, the technology, certainly, has applications in games and TV...
That doesn't preclude the use of the same [or a variant of the] technology for ecommerce. Tim Cook has business training, and a business background. I am sure he is aware of the business potential of this technology. The purchase of WiFiSLAM supports this as it is aimed at indoor location and navigation -- much applicability to business/ecommerce -- little to TV or gaming UEX.
It has applications in all 3D Modeling environments applied to Engineering fields in static and dynamic loads, etc, Aerospace, etc. The limiting factor [and necessary one] is where to start and build a broad and deep foundation of markets from Consumer to Enterprise, and public sector markets.
Comments
I suspect that this has more to do with the purchase of WiFiSLAM (indoor navigation and location), security and ecommerce -- than games and TV.
You have a chip and a technology that can do live facial recognition. Similar, in a way to TouchID, the chip/app on your iDevice can build and store an encrypted profile of your facial scan.
Then a device like an iPad checkout terminal (cash register/CC reader replacement) can do an independent facial scan and send it to your iDevice. Your iDevice decides that the received scan is, or is not a match. If a match, your iDevice alerts you, and you decide if you want to provide personal data to identify yourself to the checkout terminal... or purchase anonymously through iTunes.
Sure it could also be used for games and TV -- but I suspect there are a lot more interactions between people and the outside world than people and their TVs.
This is true to a degree. They don't cross-license all patents.
Apple doesn't cross-license patents that are vital to what they want to do.
Well NeXT's OPENSTEP ran on lots of platforms. But as you know OS X wasn't intended to be an implementation of OpenStep, so there's little point in GNUStep existing. It's not as if Linux needs another UI.
The original point was that whatever Apple might want to do with PrimeSense could well leave OpenNI similarly irrelevant.
Dick, IF Apple was really focused on e-commerce, they would be doing a lot more with near field communication.
Apple already has a finger print reader technology for security on their devices.
You do NOT really understand the technology that was purchased.
You do NOT understand WHY people purchase Apple devices.
Most people buy Apple devices because of the intuitive USER INTERFACE.
The intelligent commentary in most of the articles concerns what is known as NATURAL USER INTERFACE (U.I.)
Apple knows that the living room/TV market is a HUGE market, and MSFT is first out with a verbal controlled U.I., that also employs gesture controls.
While SIRI is voice controlled, the UI is touch based.
The evolution of the UI towards voice and and motion control is much more useful for the largest screen in everyone's life.
Almost everyone has a TV, and the UI is abysmal.
This is why Apple has been working on a solution for the TV market for the last few years.
Let's hope Apple doesn't try to make this into the ultimate Nielsen ratings box like Microsoft is trying to do with the Xbox One.
The whole TV industry in North-America (and many other places in the world) is built around a very archaic survey system for TV ratings that fails to adequately account for new ways of accessing media content.
Though you can now opt out of it, Microsoft plans to use the Kinect during TV watching from various sources to give content providers access to unprecedented data about viewers. This has tremendous value to them as they're trying to save an industry on the verge of collapse.
Advertisers will be able to know how many people are there in the room, their approximate age and gender, who is actually watching, and what are their emotional reaction to the content/ad they are looking at.
Maybe it's just me but that crosses the line into "creepy" territory. Of course Microsoft will say that this data will remain anonymous, but I don't like the idea of them building a database of my emotional reaction to image/audio/video content. I can tolerate some level of manipulation coming from ads, but to me this is going too far.
Apple is doing a lot with e-commerce... Especially NFC -- they just killed it with iBeacons.
The use of the PrimeSense technology, as I described it, has to do with securing/identifying an external device like an iPad cash register with the secure (TouchID) data on your device... "It takes two to tango" securely.
I suspect I understand it as well as you do!
I have been purchasing Apple devices since 1978 (Apple ][). I have been observing/working with Apple since 1978 as: costumer; user; dealer/reseller; supplier; co-developer on a project •; OSX Developer; iOS Developer.
* This was a Point-Of-Sale replacement for the cash register for Apple Dealers using the Mac and LaserWriter.
I suspect I understand what motivates people to buy Apple. In my 11 years as a Computer dealer (including Apple) we had international customers such as Daimler/Benz, EMI Thorne, Schlumberger/Fairchild, Intel, National Semi, IBM, Apple, Xerox, HP...
Our household of 2 adults and 3 teenagers is all Apple currently we use: 3 iMacs; 3 Mac Minis; an AluBook 17", 3 AppleTVs; 2 Airport Express routers; iPhone 5S, iPhone 5C, iPhone 5; iPhone 4S (2); iPad 4; iPad 3; iPad Mini; iPad 2 (2)... a bunch of older iPhones aPads and iPods...
Yeah, so... As I stated, the technology, certainly, has applications in games and TV...
That doesn't preclude the use of the same [or a variant of the] technology for ecommerce. Tim Cook has business training, and a business background. I am sure he is aware of the business potential of this technology. The purchase of WiFiSLAM supports this as it is aimed at indoor location and navigation -- much applicability to business/ecommerce -- little to TV or gaming UEX.
Yeah baby!!!
Since you can opt out... Who cares.
What the Xbox One, and future competing "smart" boxes will do is allow people to respond directly to TV ads thru the interactive nature of these devices.
This interactivity will appeal to many people, and not to others.
But, the interactive abilities will allow for much greater range of communication between advertisers and their intended audience.
If you are "in the market" for a new auto, phone, vacation, whatever, ads can be targeted to your wishes, which is much better than ads that are NOT of any interest to you.
A more targeted approach to advertising is more efficient, and should be more helpful to the viewer.
Except for live sports, and news, most viewers will opt towards watching content on demand.
Ads that supply info that a viewer is interested in receiving will not be so intrusive and obnoxious.
Viewers will be able to click/speak to on an advertisement requesting more info. That request might discontinue any further ads during that show.
Interactive TV allows a huge range of possibilities to make advertising more efficient, while providing a superior experience to the viewer.
Hardly. I fully recognize just how alike they are.
We'll know it has happened because all the CEOs of whatever companies presently enjoy the market Apple is targeting, will all have a great laugh and dismiss Apple as a fool.
Does anyone know where there is a list of the 15 companies Apple has most recently purchased??
As always with Wikipedia one can't be sure of its complete accuracy but I'd trust it more than the average tech site list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitions_by_Apple
Do you have a link? The last thing I read was they denied comment.
Apple is in a unique position to greatly improve and industrialize the PrimeSense technologies and bring them to the masses in a wide variety of exquisite products.
With its acquisitions from C3 Technologies, Passif Semiconductor, WiFiSlam, IMSense, AlgoTrim, FingerWorks, SIRI amongst others, Apple can greatly improve the size, form factor, power consumption, the 3D imaging/recognition accuracy and user interfaces of the PrimeSense Capri, not to mention software, graphics, imaging and object/sound recognition improvements in the existing core foundation and addition of rich Objective-C APIs on top. The possibilities are limitless.
Easier said than done but... Think Star Trek holographic technologies. (Holodeck)
Later on, the Anki guys can start working on advanced robots like Data from Star Trek. lol. Seriously... The new 3D sensors and API will be great for Anki.
Engadget.
http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/17/apple-primesense-2/
FWIW AllThingsD also reports it not (yet) a done deal.
http://allthingsd.com/20131117/apple-aiming-at-primesense-acquisition-but-deal-is-not-yet-done/
Not that it may really mean anything but PrimeSense says the report of Apple buying them is an old recycled rumor.
I think it's a done deal.
PrimeSense has already been added to the Wikipedia list of Apple mergers and acquisitions.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitions_by_Apple
Oh well that's different. Once it's listed on Wikipedia. . .:D
Apple is doing a lot with e-commerce... Especially NFC -- they just killed it with iBeacons.
The use of the PrimeSense technology, as I described it, has to do with securing/identifying an external device like an iPad cash register with the secure (TouchID) data on your device... "It takes two to tango" securely.
I suspect I understand it as well as you do!
I have been purchasing Apple devices since 1978 (Apple ][). I have been observing/working with Apple since 1978 as: costumer; user; dealer/reseller; supplier; co-developer on a project •; OSX Developer; iOS Developer.
* This was a Point-Of-Sale replacement for the cash register for Apple Dealers using the Mac and LaserWriter.
I suspect I understand what motivates people to buy Apple. In my 11 years as a Computer dealer (including Apple) we had international customers such as Daimler/Benz, EMI Thorne, Schlumberger/Fairchild, Intel, National Semi, IBM, Apple, Xerox, HP...
Our household of 2 adults and 3 teenagers is all Apple currently we use: 3 iMacs; 3 Mac Minis; an AluBook 17", 3 AppleTVs; 2 Airport Express routers; iPhone 5S, iPhone 5C, iPhone 5; iPhone 4S (2); iPad 4; iPad 3; iPad Mini; iPad 2 (2)... a bunch of older iPhones aPads and iPods...
Yeah, so... As I stated, the technology, certainly, has applications in games and TV...
That doesn't preclude the use of the same [or a variant of the] technology for ecommerce. Tim Cook has business training, and a business background. I am sure he is aware of the business potential of this technology. The purchase of WiFiSLAM supports this as it is aimed at indoor location and navigation -- much applicability to business/ecommerce -- little to TV or gaming UEX.
It has applications in all 3D Modeling environments applied to Engineering fields in static and dynamic loads, etc, Aerospace, etc. The limiting factor [and necessary one] is where to start and build a broad and deep foundation of markets from Consumer to Enterprise, and public sector markets.