Microsoft's Project Natal, the motion-sensing game controls for the Xbox 360 unveiled at E3, is also being developed for PC use, Bill Gates told Cnet in a recent interview.
It doesn't, however, sound like the PC applications for the tech are about gaming, at least not yet.
"I think the value is as great for if you're in the home, as you want to manage your movies, music, home system type stuff, it's very cool there," Gates said. "And I think there's incredible value as we use that in the office connected to a Windows PC. So Microsoft research and the product groups have a lot going on there, because you can use the cost reduction that will take place over the years to say, why shouldn't that be in most office environments."
One can't help but assume that if Natal tech makes its way to the PC, even as a Minority Report user interface, it would also be used for gaming eventually.
Gates said that Project Natal actually started in Microsoft research free from any platform designation, and that both the Xbox and Windows teams latched onto the concept and started commercializing it.
On a completely separate note, Gates also talks about how he somehow managed to track down and get the rights to the famed Feynman lectures on physics so he could make them available to everyone for free. Pretty kick ass. Top of my list for recommended reading for physics freaks out there.
Gates: Natal to bring gesture recognition to Windows too [Cnet]