Big thoughts from the businessman

Jul 16, 2009 20:41 GMT  ·  By

Bill Gates is one of the most well-known men on the planet, largely because he is the one responsible for Microsoft, which is one of the biggest corporations in the world, and which develops the Windows operating system.

PC gamers also have a special relationship with Gates as they spent a lot of time “wishing” him the best of luck after seeing errors when they tried to install games on PCs or wanted to play something on an Xbox 360 and found it failing and flashing the Red Ring of Death (RROD).

But it seems that the founder of Microsoft has some very big plans for the PC as a platform as he reveled to Cnet that his company planned on adapting the Project Natal motion sensitive technology not only for the Xbox 360 but also for Windows operating systems. But don't think that the application will be restricted to games, as he revealed that a system such as Natal would be great for everyday use.

“I'd say a cool example of that, that you'll see... in a little over a year, is this (depth) camera thing,” Gates said when referring to Natal, which won't be just for games, “but for media consumption as a whole, and even if they connect it up to Windows PCs for interacting in terms of meetings, and collaboration, and communication.”

“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 continues. “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.”

Gates also reveals that when research on Natal began, it wasn't being created with a specific platform in mind, but the Xbox and Windows teams were the quickest when it came to coming up with ways of implementing it that would benefit the end user.

Would you like to see Natal coming for the next Windows operating systems, like Windows 7 or Windows 8 or will you just use it for your Xbox 360 console when it will appear? Share your thoughts with us by leaving a comment.