The REAL value of Kinect and why it matters

I saw the post about Microsoft's Kinetic on Ynews and the example is not very inspiring of what this technology can do... so here are some awesome ones:

3D painting, in real time: http://vimeo.com/16818988

3D holographic movies, in real time (chatting in 3D?): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QrnwoO1-8A

Why Kinetic matters: http://www.memo.tv/kinect_why_it_matters

Small part of the article:

What the kinect does, is nothing new. There have been depth sensing cameras on the market for quite a while, and some probably with better quality and build. What sets the kinect apart? Its price. At £130 it isn't something everyone can go out and buy a handful of, but it is a consumer device. It is a device that most people who want it can either buy it, or will know someone who can get hold of one or they can borrow. It is a potential common household item. Whereas anything else on the market that comes close to its capabilities costs significantly more (starting at £2000, jumping up to £4000-£5000+), and not to mention being aimed at industrial businesses, robotics, military etc. they are considerably more complicated to acquire and use. But why does this matter? For me it's very simple. I like to make things that know what you are doing,...

...just thought I would share.