The skinny on Microsoft's new Kinect

For those of you who didn't know the world of gaming had changed in a big way recently, or didn't care, here's the skinny on what you missed.

* Microsoft released its long-awaited Kinect controller-less gaming experience last week. The infrared webcam for Xbox 360 allows body movement, including facial gestures, and spoken commands to direct action on the screen, making Kinect — formerly Project Natal — a major improvement over the wand controllers available with Nintendo Wii and PlayStation Move.

* Kinect costs $150 by itself, $400 if bundled with a new Xbox 360. The games designed to highlight Kinect's capabilities cost $40 to $70, before discounts.

* The name is an amalgam of the words "kinetic" and "connect."

* Microsoft expects to sell 5 million Kinects this year alone.

* The debut of Kinect today in Europe has been hampered by demand in the United States.

* Key technology for Kinect came from a lab at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom.

* Kinect translates movement in part by measuring light reflection from 48 points on a player's body.

* You can stand or sit while playing with Kinect.

* An alleged $2,000 bounty for hacking Kinect to use it on PCs may already have been met.

* Rumors that Kinect does not respond well to players with dark skin appear to have been disproved.

* Electronics manufacturer LG is offering a free Kinect with purchase of a television.

* Gamers have been slow to test Kinect's voice-recognition capabilities.

* Speaking of slowness, Kinect has a bit of a lag time responding to player movements. Individual players should stand at least six feet from the webcam, further if two people are playing.

* With Kinect, Microsoft may have taken a step closer to controlling your living room.

* And speaking of living rooms, Kinect may require you to rearrange furniture before playing any games.

* To that end, interior lighting, your clothes and your pets may adversely affect Kinect's performance.

* Expect Kinect to launch a new fitness revolution, just like Wii did.

* If you thought I was at least as impressed with "Call of Duty: Black Ops" as Kinect, guess again.