[netaddict]

Most of Google's competitors (in search) are already trying to discover/emulate Google's algorithms. There is no need for a contest. Any one who is capable of doing that can build a great search engine instead and earn a lot more money.

But a person/team making it easy to write programs that use the Kinect on Linux may not be able to sell the software. So a contest makes sense.

[cyanbane]

Is the valuable information in the emulating of the device, or the algo's used to process it's images? It seems like MS's bread and butter is the processing (and speed of) - more akin to your example of G's search algo, in effect isn't that what he is asking for? Is that not something that someone could sell (to the detriment of MS' research investment). Honestly I think it is great he is holding a contest for this, was just trying to draw a comparison that if this were the other way around (High profile MS employee asking for the breakdown of a Google device) the MS employee would be tar and feather'd. Maybe that is just the hole MS dug for themselves (that Google might now be digging?)

On a side note, I think that the vocal capabilities of the device are far over looked. The voice recog is amazing.