Microsoft's largely uninspiring CES 2012 keynote did let slip one juicy morsel of news: Kinect will be coming to Windows in February 2012.
Starting next month, Windows users will be able to control their PCs and laptops by motion and gestures, with nary a mouse in sight.
As well as allowing you to control things on screen your computer will know broader motions too, like when you're sitting in front of it - so it could feasibly put itself to sleep when you get up to make a cup of tea, then bring itself back when you return.
There were sadly no revelations as to what this will look like in practice, no sneaky screenshots of the user interface or what have you, but given Microsoft's strong focus on unifying experiences across devices using the Metro UI, we wouldn't be surprised if it looks mighty similar to the Xbox experience.
So long, farewell
2012 marks Microsoft's last CES keynote (for a while at least) and it's fair to say the company went out with more of a whimper than a bang.
CEO Steve Ballmer took to the stage to reiterate the company's focus on Windows and the Metro design for the next year, which pours a bit of water on the rumours that the new Xbox will land at E3 2012.
As far as Kinect goes, Ballmer told attendees that it has sold 18 million units so far – but with over 66 million Xbox 360 users around the world and growing uses for the motion-control tech, there's no doubt that this figure will grow and grow.
