At long last I have accepted a full-time position at Microsoft, working on the Channel 9 team, mainly doing Coding4Fun stuffs.  I'll be telecommuting from NY as I have been these past 8 years.  It's hard for me to believe that I've been doing Coding4Fun articles and projects for the team since 2006, but I'm excited that I now get to do it full-time.

Also joining the team is master UX-man Rick Barraza.  He brings a pile of amazing talent and skill that will really allow us to create some fantastic projects.  And, of course, we're joining the existing team of Dan Fernandez and Clint Rutkas, with Greg Duncan heading up the Coding4Fun blog and Kinect Project blog.

Also note that Coding4Fun is looking for a junior developer/program manager.  So, if you want to join the team, now's your chance!

Anyway, I'm very excited to be joining Microsoft, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what we can crank out as a team…

Hooray!  I can finally talk about this!  As I've alluded to previously, I had a hand (one of many) in the managed portion of the SDK and what was originally shown at MIX. Since then the SDK has changed a bit but it's finally ready to go!

The Kinect for Windows SDK is now available for download on the Microsoft Research site.  We have also launched several samples over at Coding4Fun that you can begin using immediately:

Coding4Fun Kinect Toolkit

You definitely want to download this one when you get started.  This toolkit contains a variety of extension methods and controls to make using the Kinect for Windows SDK even easier to use.  Some of my code appears in this one. 

Kinect Mouse Cursor

This sample is entirely mine.  Kinect Mouse Cursor is a demo application that uses the Kinect for Windows SDK and its skeletal tracking features to allow a user to use their hands to control the Windows mouse cursor.  Use your right hand to move the cursor, and raise your left hand to press the left mouse button.  Use the check box to switch hands…

Kinect Paint

Kinect Paint is a skeleton tracking application that allows you to become the paint brush!  IdentityMine built this for us.

Kinect for Windows SDK Quickstarts

This is a series of quick start videos starring the lovely and talented Dan Fernandez, who walks you through the basics of Kinect development from the very beginning.  Don't miss these!

Coding4Fun's Kinect for Windows SDK Blog

Add a bookmark to this now.  Coding4Fun will be tracking awesome projects using the new SDK here.  Have something to show off?  Tell us!

Kinect Hack-a-thon

In coordination with the Kinect launch, developers were invited out to the Microsoft campus to develop applications in a 24 hour "code-a-thon".  Some health issues prevented me from attending this event, but I'm looking forward to seeing what these people came up with…

We will have more samples and fun projects at Coding4Fun soon, so be sure to check back there (and here) regularly for more Kinect goodness.  Until then, enjoy the new SDK, our new samples, and see what you can build!  I'd love to hear about any projects you create with these tools…

A quick update to my Motion JPEG Decoder is now available at CodePlex.  Version 1.1 adds the ability to specify username/password credentials for cameras that require a login.  For example:

MjpegDecoder _mjpeg;

_mjpeg = new MjpegDecoder();
_mjpeg.FrameReady += mjpeg_FrameReady;

_mjpeg.ParseStream(new Uri("http://192.168.2.200/img/video.mjpeg"), "user", "password");

As always, questions/comments welcome.  Enjoy!

It's almost time for another MIX conference! Once again I'll be there with the Coding4Fun crew showing off some spiffy new projects for attendees to play around with, along with a few other surprises. I'll also be taking part in John Papa's Open Source Fest on Monday evening, demonstrating WiimoteLib and my MJPEG Decoder.

Anyone else heading to the conference? If you are, be sure to stop by the Coding4Fun area in the Connect Lounge and say hello, and stop by the Open Source Fest on Monday night to take a look at over 50 great open source projects and vote for your favorites. I'd say I'd trade drinks for votes, but those are free, too.

And finally, if anyone attending is working on a fun or interesting project and would like to do an interview for my Coding4Fun Show on Channel 9, please let me know.  Almost anything goes, so I'd love to see what everyone out there is working on.

Hope to see you there!

My latest article and library is now live on the brand new Coding4Fun site, now on Channel 9, and over at CodePlex.  This project allows you to very easily decode a MJPEG (Motion JPEG) stream from a network camera (or any other source) into a consumable type for WinForms, WPF, Silverlight, XNA and Windows Phone 7 (both Silverlight and XNA).

The MJPEG Decoder library started life as a project for the t-shirt cannon built for the MIX10 keynote.  The original plan was to have an IP camera attached to the robot for a real-time video stream from the bot's perspective, but the feature wound up being cut for time, and due to some issues rendering the video on the very early Windows Phone 7 tools.  The library has been sitting around a while, has gone through several rewrites and now supports almost every platform I can think of.  With the new Coding4Fun up and running, it was time to polish it off and get it posted.

Take a look at the article, download the binaries and source, and let me know how it works!