Man, with all these product intros today you'd think the world was going to end tomorrow or something. Anyway, just as predicted, Microsoft just kicked out the new LifeCam Show and LifeCam VX-5500. The $100 Show is a 2.0 megapixel cam that can take 8 megapixel stills, and a built-in mic with noise- and echo-cancellation, while the $60 VX-5500 does VGA video and 1.3 megapixel stills and has interchangeable faceplates. Both include a one-touch Windows LiveCall button that pops open your contact list and new LifeCam software which allows you to send video messages, share photos during calls, and initiate calls with a Vista gadget. Should be out in October -- check the VX-5500 after the break.

Microsoft really wants you to do some video conferencing, okay? Why else would they release the LifeCam VX-5000 and VX-500 webcams? Apparently gunning for some of that juicy video-chat market, the boys and girls in Redmond have introduced two models sure to find a home perched atop any monitor. Both cams sport VGA resolution and play nice with Windows Live Messenger -- we assume they're USB 2.0 devices, but Microsoft doesn't seem to want to tell us. The company is also releasing a headset, the LifeChat LX-2000. The VX-5000 will be available in June for $49.95, while the VX-500 and LX-2000 hit shelves this month for $16.95 and $29.95, respectively.

It's nearly fall and that can mean only one thing: er, new mice and webcams from Microsoft. Yeah, about as exciting as moms taking you shopping for new big-boy school trousers. Granted, the 1.3 megapixel LifeCam NX-3000 and 2 megapixel LifeCam VX-7000 are decent and all as are the new $50 Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000 and $50 Wireless (RF) Notebook Laser Mouse 7000. But the action, Jackson, comes with the October release of the $100 Mobile Memory Mouse 8000 (pictured). We're talking both 2.4GHz and Bluetooth packed into the transceiver (toggled with a switch) with 1GB of flash baked-in allowing it to pull double-duty as a flash drive. Nice, but the laser mouse itself features a 3-contact, magnetically-held charging cable which automatically senses whether you're using a rechargeable AAA (included) or off-the-shelf Alkaline when in a jam. Snap the transceiver in-place beneath the mouse and everything powers off presto quick. Peep the gallery for a healthy mix of hands-on and glamor-shot action.

Read -- LifeCam NX-3000
Read -- LifeCam VX-7000
Read -- Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000
Read -- Wireless Notebook Laser Mouse 7000
Read -- Mobile Memory Mouse 8000

Our peeps over at PC Mag have gotten their hands on the higher-end of Microsoft's two Live-optimized LifeCams announced last month and, for the most part at least, seem to have dug it, giving it a hefty 4/5 rating. True to Microsoft's claims, they found that the cam was in fact, very easy to use and delivered some nice added features like face-tracking along with the standard pan, tilt, and zoom control. And while they were impressed with the 30 fps, 1,280-by-1,024 (interpolated, of course) video, they found that the audio quality from the built-in mic left a lot to be desired, having to crank up the volume in order to hear each other clearly, resulting in some nasty feedback. An external microphone would obviously solve that problem but, you know, would kinda defeat the purpose. Not surprisingly, the best results also came when using Windows Live Messenger, with some additional audio/video problems cropping up when used with AIM and Yahoo. A deliberate downgrade? Nah, couldn't be.