Que has released the second chapter from our latest book, My Xbox: Xbox 360, Kinect, and Xbox LIVE, as a feature article on their Website. You can go direct to the Que Website to read, Networking Your Xbox, right now. Let us know what you think and be sure to check out the book. As a side note, we've written three new original Xbox 360 articles for Que that should be released in the coming weeks, and are also well underway with our next Que book, details of which we hope to reveal soon. As always, we'll keep you posted.

The first in a series of interviews with us about our latest book, My Xbox: Xbox 360, Kinect, and Xbox LIVE, has been posted on Amazon's Website. You can go to the Amazon product page for the book, or go to this link directly to see just the video. Thanks for checking it out!

More reviews are rolling in for our new book, My Xbox: Xbox 360, Kinect, and Xbox LIVE. The latest is from Gaming Nexus, where they gave it an Editor's Choice. As more reviews come in, we'll of course keep you posted.

My Xbox: Xbox 360, Kinect, and Xbox LIVE is available from booksellers everywhere in both full color paperback and ebook formats. If you have a copy and posted a review, let us know, or just sound off in the comments below. All feedback is much appreciated. Enjoy!

In Armchair Arcade's fun new series, we ask the provocative question, "What makes a particular videogame sexy?" Each week's feature will explore some of the many intriguing approaches game designers have taken over the years to make their games more sensual, not just with increasingly detailed graphics, but also with romantic and seductive gameplay. While some of the games we'll be looking at are unabashedly low brow, displaying their raw sexuality like a badge of honor, other games in contrast are remarkably subtle, often downplaying their suggestive themes.

This week's entry, written by Christina Loguidice, features one of the first female videogame characters and is also one of the biggest quarter gobbling arcade games of all time, Ms. Pac-Man. Enjoy, help spread the word, and of course, let us know what you think:

My new article for Que, Kinect’s Evolution: Then versus Now, has now been posted. In it, I discuss a brief history of Microsoft's Kinect and some of its latest uses. Finally, our new book, My Xbox: Kinect, Xbox 360, and Xbox LIVE, is now targeted for a February 2012 release, in order to incorporate all the latest and greatest information on the platform.

I have been thinking about addictive behaviors lately. It seems almost everyone is addicted to something, whether coffee, cigarettes, food, alcohol, sex, shopping—you name it, and someone is addicted to it. Videogames are no exception, and as we all know, gaming is often blamed by the popular media for causing violence, deviant behaviors, obesity, and a host of other undesirable effects. A recent study published in Pediatrics by Iowa State University researchers that examined a little over 3000 schoolchildren in Singapore found that “Greater amounts of gaming, lower social competence, and greater impulsivity seemed to act as risk factors for becoming pathological gamers, whereas depression, anxiety, social phobias, and lower school performance seemed to act as outcomes of pathological gaming.” They note that their findings add to the discussion on whether gaming addiction is the same as other addictions.

Bill and I recently received a flier in the mail from our local YMCA and went to check it out yesterday. The facility is about 3 miles from our home, and having membership there also gives us membership to a facility about 10 miles away. Both facilities have the typical YMCA offerings, including Olympic-sized pools, basketball courts, exercise room with strength training equipment and free weights, and various exercise studios, where you can take a host of classes. As we found out yesterday, their Zumba class is extremely popular. If you do not know what Zumba is, which we did not, it “fuses hypnotic Latin rhythms and easy-to-follow moves to create a one-of-a-kind fitness program that will blow you away” per the description on the official Zumba Website. Many people showed up just for that class and left immediately after discovering it was canceled for the holiday weekend; forget about getting physical activity any other way, sadly it was “Zumba or nothing” for them!

The YMCA a little further from our home is slightly nicer and also has an indoor track and a small exergaming studio, which contains a few interactive gaming bikes, one DanceDanceRevolution or DDR (see Chapter 3 of Vintage Games) set-up with medium-grade dance pads, and one Wii console set at an angle by the doorway. While the studio was a little underwhelming and it would have been nice to see a bit more equipment, some exercise accessories (such as weights, step risers, etc), and a slightly larger room, we appreciate the fact that the facility offers an exergaming option. Certainly, it is possible that their set-up is more than adequate. The room was empty when we were there and the equipment looked to be in very good shape, so we would love to know how much traffic it gets. Regardless, its presence is an indication of the ever-growing exergaming trend.

Editor's Note: We at Armchair Arcade sometimes like to give voice to the occasional off-topic feature. With that in mind we present Christina Loguidice's "Catalyst for change: 10 ways to eat healthier", which was originally meant as an article for magazines like Women's World Weekly, and for which my wife has adapted for use here. We thank you for checking out this diversion from our regularly scheduled programming and both we and the author would love to hear your comments. So, read on and enjoy! -Bill