In the short time that Kinect has been available, we have seen some cool demos, heard about some potentially helpful applications, and have even seen some seedy uses for the new hardware. Now we have the first example of an application that appears ready for prime time. The application is called KinEmote, and it allows users to control both XBMC and Boxee with simple hand gestures. This is similar to what is available on the Xbox 360"s interface, but it has been ported over to the Windows platform.
The video that was posted on the official KinEmote site shows a user navigating through a music collection, selecting a song, and then switching to visualization mode. Afterwards the user exits the music section to explore the list of movies that are available on his system, as well as play and pause, using only his hands to control the interface.
The application has been released as Open Source as a gift to the community, and is available for download to anyone who is interested. It not only works with the Kinect, but also with any OpenNI compliant camera. As noted by the developer, "we also wanted to give people something fun to play with for Christmas."