The Technology Newsbucket: Readability rails against Apple, Microsoft opens up Kinect, and more

A quick burst of 6 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology team Microsoft confirms Kinect hackers to get official developer kit >> Pocket-lint "Microsoft has confirmed that it will release an SDK for it’s Kinect accessory for the Xbox 360 allowing developers to create third party applications for the motion controller on other devices like the PC and Mac. The new Software Development Kit will be released in March and be limited to non-commercial use to start with however Microsoft has said that it will bring a commercial verison out as well so developers can make money from their work." Facebook chat in Hotmail now available everywhere >> Windows Team Blog Countdown to a privacy showdown starting...now! Government Tries to Keep Secret What Many Consider a Fraud >> NYTimes.com There by the grace of God. "The software he patented – which he claimed, among other things, could find terrorist plots hidden in broadcasts of the Arab network Al Jazeera; identify terrorists from Predator drone videos; and detect noise from hostile submarines – prompted an international false alarm that led President George W. Bush to order airliners to turn around over the Atlantic Ocean in 2003." Middle East Internet Scorecard (February 13 – 20) >> Arbor Networks Security "Overall, our data shows pronounced changes in Internet traffic levels in two Middle East countries last week: Bahrain and Libya. While network failures and other exogenous events may play a role in decreased traffic volumes, we observe the changes in Bahrain and Libya are temporally coincident with the onset of recent protests." Another misleading story reports that blogs ‘r’ dead >> Scott Rosenberg's Wordyard "So the actual story – which, to be fair, the Times' article mostly hews to (it's the headline and lead that skew it more sensationally) – is that blogging keeps growing, but it's losing popularity among teens." An Open Letter to Apple >> Readability Blog "Before we cool down and come to our senses, we might as well share how we're feeling right now: we believe that your new policy smacks of greed. Subscription apps like ours represent a tiny sliver of app sales that represent a tiny sliver of your revenue. You've achieved much of your success in hardware sales by cultivating an incredibly impressive app ecosystem. Every iPad or iPhone TV ad puts the apps developed by companies like ours front and center. It was a healthy and mutually beneficial dynamic: apps like ours get exposure and you get to show the world how these apps make your hardware shine. That's why we're a bit baffled here." You can follow Guardian Technology's linkbucket on delicious