Fourth Planet Development
The Official Site of Kevin Marsteller

Technology has been progressing over the past 60 years at a rapid pace. What has helped its development in recent years is the development of open-sourced code. Firefox is a prime example of this - what started out as a rather dinky browser is now used by approximately 25% of the world, finally getting a grip on Internet Explorer's stranglehold on the market.

And, just because a piece of technology is open-sourced, doesn't mean you can't make money off of it - take a look at some of these sites powered by Drupal. Also, just because the information is freely available doesn't mean anyone can properly use it. There is a reason people pay for mods - or, if you want to get even more basic, people will pay for web developers. There are those who sort of know what they're doing, and then there's people who know a given system inside-and-out.

Which is why I'm so surprised Microsoft is so upset over the Kinect being hacked. What these hackers just did is essentially provide a much larger market for Microsoft to cater to. Not only can Microsoft now sell this device to us nerds who love video games, now they can sell it to nerds who love robots and computer gadgets!

If the people who run Microsoft had half a brain, they would realize how easy it would be to make a few modifications to their system to make the Kinect more marketable than it already is. Half the work is already done, right now the drivers created just need some optimization.

As a child growing up, you are told that most businesses fail - and those that succeed have a great business plan to thank (among other factors). Microsoft is clearly the exception that proves the rule.