Yes, it's got a silly name. Not the LifeCam part, that's pretty cool actually. The VX-6000 part I could do without.
It clips to the top of your flat panel or laptop. The left side has a retractable mechanism that brings the lens in and out. The Microsoft logo lights up when the camera is on - a nice subtle indicator that you're rolling.
It's a 2MP camera, so that means 1600x1190 max actual pixels. It'll interpolate to 7.6MP but don't be fooled, it's all software. That said, it takes a perfectly fine picture of a whiteboard, so I leave it clipped to my laptop all the time in order to document meetings.
The camera has a decent enough microphone built in, a smidge better than the one built into my laptop. As an alternative, there's a LifeChat ZX-6000 that's the same hardware as the Xbox Wireless Communicator. I just picked up a Xbox Wireless Receiver for Windows for $19 that let's me use the Xbox one to chat on the Windows box. Works fantastic as a team and costs me less.
This is a fantastic little camera and I'm happy with the purchase. I particularly like that is has a wide(r) view aspect so you can see more, rather than the fish-eye kind of lense that so many webcams have these days.
Scott Hanselman is a former professor, former Chief Architect in finance, now speaker, consultant, father, diabetic, and Microsoft employee. I am a failed stand-up comic, a cornrower, and a book author.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed herein are my own personal opinions and do not represent my employer's view in any way.