Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer admits that Kinect for Xbox 360 is the device that he is most keen on as the company looks to the future of computing in the cloud.
Ballmer was speaking about the importance of cloud computing at the London School of Economics, and he explained that it was neither tablets nor smartphones that most energised him.
"The device that I'm most keen on…is the next generation of the Xbox 360," Ballmer said, before a video showing off the forthcoming motion sensor technology.
"You control everything on your television screen, and content interaction with friends is happening in the cloud."
Processing me
"It is a smart device that is processing me," he added. "It gives us the ability to have a natural user interface. And you can participate in games with friends across the globe."
Kinect is arriving for Xbox 360 on 10 November, and the software giant will be hopeful that it can usher in a new era for its already well-established console.
However, Ballmer's enthusiasm for the project, and the context in which he spoke about it, will underline Microsoft's hints that Kinect may break out from the console world.
The potential of Kinect for presentations or other situations in which what Ballmer terms a 'natural user interface' within the likes of Windows is clear, and Microsoft is well aware of this fact.
Stuck to his Xbox guns
Ballmer also defended the company's increasing investment in Bing using the Xbox as an example of why it is important to stick to your guns.
"We had, back in the early 2000, people who said we were wrong to do the Xbox.
"Well, looking at the profit we are making on the Xbox now, I can say we were not wrong to do it at all."
