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Week of April 29, 2007
Modders Beat Microsoft to the Punch: Xtreme v5.3 WIP
>> From gameswank.com:
[QUOTE]
I spoke with Commodore4Eva who is coding the updates for the Xtreme firmwares and he did a quick Q&A with me
* Gameswank: With a current working firmware, why is there a need for a new version of the Xtreme Fw?
* Commodore4Eva: It was let known to me that MS received a report on how to detect backup games sometime ago and were working on it for the dash update, so I thought it timely to release this firmware this weekend
* Gameswank: You say that you had some inside info that the spring update would have the ability to detect and possibly ban 360 modded users from their console and or XBOX Live?
* Commodore4Eva: The method won't detect modded drives but can detect a backup disk and make it not boot, banning someone for a copied disk would be harsh and damaging to MS themselves both in revenue and popularity
* Gameswank: Thanks for your time; I better let you go so you can make some gamers happy! Oh by the way when can expect the new Xtreme V5.3 Patch to be released?
* Commodore4Eva: Saturday night at midnight before Microsoft gets a chance to release theirs
Currently Version 5.3 of the Xtreme Firmware will only support the Samsung series of Xbox360 DVD drives. Though I am told other versions are currently underway, also beta testers have been testing this new version for a week now, and Im told they have a system where they test it and report any bugs before general distribution. So come release everything should be fine.
We also managed to get a little info on a few of the new features of the Xtreme firmware V5.3:
* Support added for DVD drive to Report as Hitachi 79
* Disc-Jitter added for Challenge Types 5/7 to avoid possible replay detection.
[/QUOTE]
Full Story/Interview: gameswank.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Xplorer360 Beta 6 - Adds Support for 120GB HDD and 512MB MC
>> A new version of Xplorer360(info), a tool to read/write on your Xbox/Xbox360 HDD and Xbox360 Memcard on PC, has been released. What's new/fixed:
* support the new 120GB Hard Drives
* support the new 512MB Memory Cards
Official Site: http://www.360gamesaves.com
Download: here
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Has gaming technology progressed so far that it's no longer reliable?
>> From gwn.com:
[QUOTE]
In looking at this more recent crop of consoles, though, I begin to have questions about where the technology is heading. I've been lucky with my PS2 in the sense that it hasn't had the various "disc read error" messages or other technical issues that so many people have suffered through (but I hardly play the system anymore, so it hasn't had a chance to give me any problems). My original Xbox works most of the time, occasionally freezing up in the middle of a random game. So while for the most part I've been OK, I know that there was a pretty large group of gamers that have had issues with both of those consoles over their lifespan.
The Xbox 360, though, is a different story. I'm on my fifth or sixth console now, and this latest one is giving me random issues. I've had to deal with everything from the red ring of death to the disc tray not opening to the system just not playing certain games. In listening to the gaming world beyond my living room, I hear similar stories echoed through message boards and in the game store where I work. While I don't personally own a Playstation 3, in keeping my ear to the ground I hear more horror stories about overheating, locking up during games or movies, controller issues, and such.
Which brings me to my point (yes, I have one): Have the console manufacturers overstepped their limits? In the race to get more photorealistic graphics, more immersive sound, and more features (online! movie playback! music! deep frying!), have we gone past the point where we, as humans, can even build the tech we're envisioning?
My basic thought is that maybe we've just built too far ahead of ourselves, or at least farther than is affordable in a consumer space. We've gotten so focused on what the machine can do performance-wise, that we've stopped making sure that the machine can do the most basic functions, like turn on and play games. Rather than take the time to ensure that everything works like it should, there's a race to see how much we can pack into the shell before sending it out into the world, before it's ready to be there. The end result is that the systems are malfuctioning at a much higher rate than they should, and everybody is shrugging their shoulders and saying that this is to be expected with such a high tech device.
Perhaps we've just hit this "disposable" mentality where we don't even expect to get more than a few years out of a machine before we've moved on anyway. The manufacturers don't expect us to still be playing the console once their next generation hits the shelves, so at most the machine has to last five years before they want us to rush out and buy the shiniest new toy. In the earlier days of gaming, when the next generation of consoles was not assured, maybe the mentality was different.
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Full Story: gwn.com (2 pages)
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Ten lessons the Xbox Team can teach the rest of Microsoft
>> From zdnet.com:
[QUOTE]
When it comes to building community -- and profiting from it -- Microsoft's Xbox team is helping write the playbook.
That fact isn't lost on the rest of the company. Increasingly, other divisions at Microsoft are studying what the Xbox folks are doing right and trying to apply those lessons to their own products and services.
What are other Xbox learnings that various Microsoft teams -- from Windows, to Office Live, to CRM Live -- are looking to adapt and apply to their divisions? Richards offered up a number of examples:
1. Tiers need to be clear and simple. In Xbox Live, there is gold and there is silver. Fewer, simpler SKUs are better.
2. The dashboard is the UI. Users want access to lots of data, all in one place. They don't want to have to hunt for it.
3. An online marketplace sells content.
4. Arcade: Not everyone is a shooter-game pro.
5. Achievements are a way to stay in touch.
6. Ubiquitous voice and text are de rigeur.
7. Roaming accounts are key. Users want their audio and video content, contact lists, address books, favorites and other settings available on any device, anywhere at any time.
8. Build communities within your community. Gamerzones in the Xbox world allow similar types of users to more easily connect
9. Points are the new online currency.
10. Gamerscore = reputation. Other divisions at Microsoft have been wrestling with how to rank community participants by "reputation" to help users gauge which content/commentary to trust.
[/QUOTE]
Full Story: zdnet.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
New Microsoft Game Studios Office For Europe
>> From gamasutra.com:
[QUOTE]
Officials from Microsoft have announced that the company will be establishing a new European office of Microsoft Game Studios (MGS), to be based in Reading in the UK.
The new arm is aimed at focusing "on continuing and growing the success of MGS-published content in Europe and in building ever-deeper relationships with European development talent". The new office will be headed by Phil Spencer, currently general manager at MGS.
"Europe is obviously very important to our platform efforts and an area where have a strong history of working with some of the best game industry talent," said Spencer.
[/QUOTE]
Full Story: gamasutra.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
EkszBox-ABX v1.6
>> Kernel Master informed us he released a new version of EkszBox-ABX(info) - an audio extraction/injection tool which supports multiple xbox audio/container formats.
What's new/fixed:
* 35 formats supported.
* Exclusive Hot support (Voodoo Vince).
* Exclusive Pak support (Goblin Commander).
* Exclusive Wmapack support (Forza Motorsport).
* Bif support (Star Wars: KOTOR).
* Dat support (RollerCoaster Tycoon).
* Zsm/Zss supprt (X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse) (Xbox only).
* Wav support (Hybrid mode).
* Wma support (Hybrid mode).
* Xbp's containing Wma's are supported (Hybrid mode).
* Exclusive Stx FileSwap support (Kakuto Chojin).
* Stx loop point clicks have finally been taken care of.
* Stx's which have 4 channels are now extracted as 2 seperate stereo files.
* Optimized Stx To XbAdpcm conversion code (Up to 100% faster with SpeedHack on).
* Much improved Xwb FileSwap compatibility.
* GTA: San Andreas files are now processed via Hybrid mode.
* SCX now reads/calculates filesizes based on header info from wav/wma/xwb formats.
* SCX format recognition is more robust.
* Various other SCX fixes/tweaks.
* Specs are now read from Wma's.
* Fixed extension remover code error.
* Fixed Xwb code error which may have influenced compatibility.
* Xwb Hack mode- allows certain non standard xwb's to work.
* SpeedHack option- speeds up file extraction > 100% in some cases
- (Biggest difference when using batch mode file extraction).
* Only non standard Xwb's are now scanned for xwb headers (Faster).
* Drag & Drop support.
* Check All audio option in list menu.
* Fast scroll checkbox settings were not saved- fixed.
* All code totally re-organised & restructured.
* Added more details to the Kakuto Chojin Xct entries.
* Changed San Andreas Xct entries (due to hybrid mode support).
* Added Goblin Commander, RollerCoaster Tycoon & Splashdown to the Xct database.
Official Site: n/a (by Kernel Master)
Download: here
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Xbox 360 Marketplace Territory Controls Strengthened
>> From gamerscoreblog.com (FYI: MS owned blog):
[QUOTE]
Some Xbox LIVE members may experience some changes when downloading Marketplace content, as we strengthen the territory controls on the service with the Spring Update coming next week.
As you may have noticed over the past few months, Xbox LIVE Marketplace has seen tremendous growth with tons of additional gaming and entertainment content, as well as a number of new partners. We are committed to providing great content to all of our users, however not all content is available for use in all countries. For example, as indicated in our Terms of Use, the movies and TV shows available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace are currently available only for use in the United States.
Some of our contracts and agreements with content partners, particularly in the area of entertainment, restrict in which countries we may make certain content available. There are a number of reasons for these restrictions, including legal rights and regulations. In addition, various countries such as Germany have regulations when it comes to what content is acceptable for distribution to their residents. As a digital distributor of content, we are responsible and accountable to comply with those government regulations and the licensing agreements we have with our partners. As a general policy we try to get global rights to content, but in some cases, it's not possible because of legal restrictions. In other instances, we have to get legal rights on a country-by-country basis, which unfortunately results with us having content on the service that has to be filtered based on geographical location.
So what does this mean to you? Well, if you have an account that matches the country where you are located, then you will probably notice little to no difference. However, if you have set up an account that does not match the country where you are located, you will find that these new security measures will only allow you to purchase and download content that is licensed in the country where you are located.
For example, if you are not located in the US, but have created a US Xbox LIVE account, you will not be able to download TV shows and movies that are currently available for use only in the US.
Again, for most people this will not be an issue, but we have heard that there are a few folks out there who have tried to access restricted content this way. We understand that this may be frustrating for some users, and hope they understand our responsibility, and the necessary security requirements that need to be in place in order to comply with applicable laws and honor our agreements with content providers.
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Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Bach Interview: Microsoft Poised to Rule Entertainment, Devices World
>> From eweek.com:
[QUOTE]
Q&A: Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division, discusses the Xbox, Zune and the competition in a three-part eWEEK interview.
* When do you think Xbox will be able to contribute a billion dollars to Microsoft's bottom line, and how?
* Yeah, that's a good question. So, there's a couple different ways to think about the question. One, we tend to think of the Xbox P&L as a life-cycle P&L. It's the only way to actually think about it. Because I could make a billion dollars in one year, and you can legitimately say, well, you didn't contribute a billion dollars to the company because you lost 200 million in the first year.
So, we think of our P&L as a life-cycle P&L. And in the early phases you lose some money, you try to keep that as low as you can, and then in the later phases you try to harvest as much as you can.
There are three ways to make money on an Xbox. Generally it's not on the hardware itself; we'll probably be gross margin neutral on that over the life cycle of the product and try to break even on that.
The second thing you try to do is you make money on the games themselves, and there are two models there. One is first-party games that Microsoft produces. The other is games that Electronic Arts or an Activision produces, and we get paid a royalty on those games.
The third place you make money is on Live, and where we actually have a very nice service that's scaling very well, and that is a business model that's subscription, ad-based, and download-based. It kind of has the full gamut of business models associated with it, and I think you're going to continue to see that grow.
And then the final place you make money is on peripherals, so game controllers, cameras, steering wheels, a whole other set of things.
Right now we're doing a pretty good job. We're humming pretty well in the business. Our costs are a little higher than we'd like, [but] we're pushing those down; there are good initiatives underway to drive that. Game attach rate [is at the] highest level in history for a game console at this stage in the life cycle. The same with our peripheral attach rate. Xbox Live has over 6 million members.
The pieces are in place to drive the proverbial billion dollars. Specific date--oh, that's going to depend on what happens in pricing, which partly we control, partly we don't. You know what happens in component costs--mostly we have pretty good influence over that, but there are places where we don't. Pricing on memory goes up and down seemingly like a yo-yo, so [we have to manage] through that.
So, it's a business that will be profitable next year--we'll make money next year and that will be the first time, which is pretty exciting. And then the next two or three years are the place where you need to make tracks, and the next two or three years are where you have to make money.
[/QUOTE]
Full Interview: eweek.com (2 pages)
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Xbox 360 Video Marketplace due in Europe in 2007
>> From n4g.com:
[QUOTE]
In an exclusive interview with 360Zine issue 5, Robin Burrowes, the UK's Xbox Live Product Manager, reveals he's on a personal mission to bring the video marketplace to Europe this year. "We hope to have some content that hits in 2007," he said.
[/QUOTE]
Full Story: n4g.com and gamerzines.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Talismoon ElectroTwister Blue/Green Lightning Kit
>> Talismoon released a new casemod product:
[QUOTE]
Now you too can "bend light". The Electrotwister provides safe, cool, flexible accent lighting for any Xbox 360 mod installation. Safely route the light around corners to trace major components, or use as an underglow or other indirect lighting. The Electrotwister is cool to the touch and can fit almost anywhere!
The electrotwister is the most versatile lighting mod on the market today. It is a wire whose insulation glows brightly when powered by low voltage current. It requires no soldering, it is extremely easy to install. Can be used for highlighting details, or indirect lighting. It is recommended that you cover the cable with heatshrink or electrical tape in places that you don't need to see it glowing. A perfect mod for people who feel that typical case mods are limiting or too standardized.
Important Information:
1) No soldering is required, just open your xbox 360 and plug in the electrotwister.
2) Cover parts of the wire that you do not want people to see glowing with electrical tape or heat shrink tubing
3) You can cut the electrtwister with scissors, but terminate the cut end properly you can cover teh cut end with electrical tape)
4) Fix the Electrotwister into place with non-conductive tape or a drop of epoxy super gluw is NOT recommended)
[/QUOTE]
Buy Now ($10): ElectroTwister Blue | ElectroTwister Green
Official Site: www.talismoon.eu
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Xbox 360 not as useful as PS3 for Folding-at-home
>> From pro-g.co.uk:
[QUOTE]
Vijay Pande, creator of the Folding@home project, which harnesses the power of networked Playstation3s across the world to carry out essential research into Alzheimer's Disease, has revealed to Pro-G that the 360 is of limited help to his work.
After being asked if he thought the power of the 360 could be useful, he said: "Possibly, although the cell processor in the PS3 is much more powerful for our calculations than the CPU in the Xbox 360."
"We are simulating key processes in protein folding and misfolding in Alzheimer's Disease. PS3's are performing aspects of these simulations, and doing so about 20 times faster than a typical PC."
[/QUOTE]
Full Story: pro-g.co.uk
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Free60 Adds Linux Support for Toshiba-Samsung Drives
>> Free60.org now found a way to add support for Toshiba-Samsung ODDs (which hanged on the SATA device detection) to boot Linux on your Xbox360 (using the hypervisor vulnerability, KingKong shader hack and ODD FW hack - more info):
[QUOTE]
We now have a fix for Samsung users We will soon release an updated LiveCD. If you want to build your own kernel, see Linux Kernel Development for patches against linux-2.6.21
[/QUOTE]
Official Site: www.free60.org
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
360 Queenz Theme too Mature for Marketplace
>> From xbox360fanboy.com:
[QUOTE]
It looks like Microsoft put their foot down and stopped the sexually charged 360 Queenz theme and gamer pictures from making it to the XBLM. Deacon, the guy who posted the exclusive 360 Queenz preview, updated the Unscripted 360 community saying that "Microsoft isn't going to release it for whatever reason. too provocative? please. if this is too provocative then i'm at a loss for words".
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Full Story: xbox360fanboy.com and unscripted360.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Court Case a Warning to Pirates
>> From next-gen.biz:
[QUOTE]
In August 2006, the 40 year old was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment at Bristol Crown Court for his involvement in the largest counterfeiting case that South Gloucestershire Trading Standards had ever prosecuted. Hunter, who ran an illegal copying operation from home, had pleaded guilty to a total of 17 offences relating to the selling, possession and production of illegally copied computer and video games.
Mr Hunter's home address was then raided by South Gloucestershire Trading Standards, ELSPA (Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association) representatives and officers from Avon and Somerset Police. They found computer hardware capable of creating pirated discs on a commercial scale, packaging equipment, and copied games and business software products with a retail value exceeding £58,000.
The subsequent investigation revealed that Hunter had established an operation that could produce up to 16 pirated games at a time, and it was deemed that his lifestyle had been wholly subsidized by his illegal activities which were estimated to have earned him approximately £74,500.
Hunter was ordered to sell his house to satisfy the confiscation order of £46,000, which must be paid off in three months. If Hunter were to default the order he would be sentenced to a further 16 months imprisonment with the money still to be paid.
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Full Story: next-gen.biz
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Dragon Electronics: Step Down AC Adapter for PS3 and Xbox 360
>> Not really a unique product, but Dragon Electronics released a sharply priced ($19) Step Down AC Adapter for PS3 and Xbox 360 that can be useful for all European gamers importing consoles from N-America or Japan. It looks like a small PS3 and with its 500W output you'll have more than enough output to power your 100-110V Xbox360 on a 220-240V network:
[QUOTE]
Use any Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 console from USA/Asia, that use 110V current, in countries that use 220V like Europe with this convenient power adapter. Plus it looks stylish and is very safe for your console.
Specifications :
* Built-in fuse for more safety
* Compatible with Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 systems
* Stable and high output power (500W)
* Built-in cooling fan to keep temperature low
* Step down function input: 220-240V // Output: 100-120V
[/QUOTE]
Buy Now ($18.95): divineo.cn
Official Site: www.dragon-electronics.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Final Fantasy creator takes aim at Sony and Microsoft
>> From gamesindustry.biz:
[QUOTE]
Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of the Final Fantasy series, has criticised the PlayStation 3 for being difficult to develop for - and accused Microsoft of failing to promote Xbox 360 effectively in Japan.
"Microsoft has to change its marketing strategy in Japan. There are a lot of excellent games on the 360, far better games than what's on the Wii or PS3. But not a lot of people in Japan have a clear idea what games like Gears of War are all about," he said.
And it's not just the marketing for Xbox 360 which Sakaguchi feels is lacking: "Just look at the Windows Vista commercial - it's terrible," he stated.
[/QUOTE]
Full Story: gamesindustry.biz
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
UBS analyst Predicts sales by 2010: 51.9m Wii, 47.2m PS3, 38.9m 360
>> From gamedaily.com:
[QUOTE]
UBS analyst Benjamin Schachter believes the PS3 will be just fine, just not as dominant as the PS2. By 2010, he forecasts that the PS3 will have sold over 21 million units in the U.S., just slightly behind the Xbox 360 with over 22 million, but ahead of the Wii (nearly 19 million). In Europe, the numbers by 2010 are also expected to be fairly balanced: 14 million for PS3, 15.5 million for 360, and 12.5 million for Wii. Interestingly, in Japan he believes the discrepancies will be far greater. By 2010 in Japan the 360 will have sold 900,000, but it's the Wii that dominates with 20.5 million compared to the 360's 11.7 million.
On a worldwide basis, Schachter believes the Wii will slightly out pace the PS3, 51.9 million vs. 47.2 million. The 360, he predicts, will come in third globally with 38.9 million.
[/QUOTE]
Full Story: gamedaily.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Gears of War, Hidden Fronts Multiplayer Map Pack
>> From the press release:
[QUOTE]
On Thursday, May 3, at 9 a.m. GMT, Xbox LIVE gamers should ready their weapons and prepare for battle as "Gears of War", rated M for Mature, releases four new action-packed multiplayer maps in the thrilling "Hidden Fronts" Multiplayer Map Pack. For 800 Microsoft points, COG soldiers and the Locust Horde will clash once again for control of these four dynamic new areas, including Bullet Marsh, Garden, Process and Subway.
* Bullet Marsh: In this Kryll-infested swamp, an old generator still powers the area lights. A few stray bullets could easily knock out the generator, leaving combatants to fend for themselves against the Kryll.
* Garden: This overgrown and crumbling conservatory still has a working fertilization and pesticide system. This system can pose a serious hazard to anyone who ventures into the greenhouse without first venting the air.
* Process: Teams must fight for control of this subterranean Imulsion processing plant, still active despite the cessation of the Pendulum wars.
* Subway: Timgad's Central Subway station used to serve as a central hub for commuters. Now the tunnels are crawling with Locust.
The "Hidden Fronts" Multiplayer Map Pack will explode onto Xbox LIVE Marketplace on May 3 for 800 Microsoft Points as gamers steady their aim, pull the pin from their grenades and get ready to battle once more! All four of the new maps will be made available at no cost over Xbox LIVE on Sept. 3, 2007.
[/QUOTE]
Full Story: press release
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Some Xbox360 Elite Consoles have BenQ DVD-Drive
>> While we've already seen reports of Hitachi-LG (v78 or v79) DVD-drives found in Xbox360 Elite consoles, apparently Microsoft is also using the new BenQ VAD6038 ODD on some of their Elite production lines.
Earagon22 posted a picture of his Xbox360 Elite console with BenQ drive on the xbox.com forums.
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
DFC Intelligence: Is Elite an Error?
>> From next-gen.biz:
[QUOTE]
With the launch of Xbox 360 Elite, Microsoft is now chasing Sony for the high-end market. But will this strategy alienate mass-market consumers? In this excerpt from its new report, DFC Intelligence weighs up the arguments...
When video game systems are priced in the $200 range and lower a small price change can really move product and consumers tend to be very price sensitive. However, in the $300 and up range consumers tend to be a little more careful with their purchase. Consumers don't want to spend $400 on a piece of hardware and be told they are not "elite" and only getting second best. At that range the tendency is to want to spend the money on the best or else wait until you can afford the best.
The biggest problem with the Xbox 360 Elite is probably the issue of HDMI output. Consumers can understand what a bigger hard drive means and can also feel comfortable knowing that they can always upgrade their hard drive. However, it is a safe bet that the vast majority of consumers aren't quite sure what an HDMI port means. You can be sure that the sales clerks in your average retail store will probably be telling a lot of different stories.
Of course, this ignores the fact that a year ago Microsoft was arguing that you don't need HDMI to do high definition and for the vast majority of consumers regular component cables will in fact work just fine. However, in the average consumer mind they don't know that. All they know is that one day they may want a high definition system and if they are spending this kind of money they better go with the high-end system. Or maybe, they should just go home and play with their PlayStation 2 while they research the issue some more and let the market shakeout.
[/QUOTE]
Full Story: next-gen.biz (2 pages)
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Semiconductor Insights Looks Inside Microsoft's Xbox 360 Elite
>> From eetimes.com:
[QUOTE]
Semiconductor Insights got hold of the just-released Microsoft Xbox 360 Elite and kept the cameras rolling as they popped the lid and dove inside. The teardown is a follow-on to the company's teardown of the Playstation 3 (view video) and Nintendo Wii (view video) last year and provides insight into what Microsoft is doing to remain competitive in a hotly contested three-way market.
There has been considerable speculation regarding the lithography of the IBM processor. Some sources have claimed that it uses a 65-nm processes lithography, while other claim that it's 90 nm. Semiconductor Insights (SI) performed a cross section of the device, measuring the transistor length, and confirmed that it's the same as that used by the original XBox 360.
"The CPU in the Xbox 360 Elite seems to be assembled in Canada whereas the CPU in the previous Xbox was marked 'Taiwan'," stated Rob Hilkes, a lead technology analyst at SI. "This may indicate that while the previous CPU was built on Chartered's Fab7 in Singapore and assembled in Taiwan, the CPU of the Elite may be built in IBM's Fab B323 in East Fishkill, New York and assembled at IBM's assembly facility in nearby Bromont, Quebec." IBM and Chartered share design data at the 90-nm node. "We seem to have evidence now that Microsoft is indeed using both sources for the XBox CPU." Concern about the original Xbox 360's power consumption may also have been addressed. "Microsoft has redesigned some aspects of the power architecture, resulting in a lower component count."
[/QUOTE]
Full Story: eetimes.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Penny Arcade LIVE feature: Call the Fucking Police
>> Here's Penny Arcades latest web comic ... they suggest a new feature for Xbox LIVE ;) Who knows what Microsoft will add in the spring 2007 update (hitting your Xbox360 the week of may 7th).
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Xbox 360 GPU to go to 65nm in fall, says paper
>> From digitimes.com:
[QUOTE]
Sources at equipment makers were cited by a Chinese-language Commercial Times report as saying that the Xbox 360 will be equipped with a 65nm-made Xenos graphics processing unit (GPU) in the fall.
The paper cited the sources as saying that an engineering version of the 65nm-made Xenos has been sent out and production will start in May.
TSMC also announced the introduction of 65nm-made embedded DRAM in March. In the 90nm version of the Xenos, embedded DRAM is manufactured by NEC.
[/QUOTE]
Full Story: digitimes.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
XboxMediaCenter (XBMC) 2007-04-29 SVN rev8692 build - T3CH
>> T3CH released a new SVN compile (rev8692) of XboxMediaCenter(info) for Xbox1.
This T3CH-compile is a complete snapshot of what is in SVN at the time the build was compiled, with just a few small additions.
Special Notes and Noteworthy/XML/Script changes:
* added: Favourites dialog. Replaces submenu dialog in PM3 - up to other skinners to include if they like. Add items to favourites via the context menu from the media views.
* added: Support for comment and rating fields in music files. Rating fields read from files are POPM fields for mp3, and RATING tags for all others (also RATING in TXXX a la foobar2000). Rating is stored 0 (no rating) or 1-5. Rating and comment are both supported in smartplaylists, and you can sort by rating in the song levels of the music library.
* fixed: timidity codec would crash after about 10 songs.
* keymap.xml: changed: Keymap for scripts window so Black Opens script info and White opens context menu for new favorites menu
* Many people have speculated whether I would include Linksboks from now on, since it's "now in" SVN. Answer is no, T3CH's are builds of what's in Main Trunk. As soon as Linksboks hits trunk it will be included by default.
* AMT updated to 0.97.5, Lyrics script updated to 1.5.
* I've tweaked the win32 run_me_first.bat so it runs and then unmounts the virtual drives when you exit.
* I'm including the XBMC Win32 PC environment.exe that is meant for skinners & python developers, read more about the concept here. It was built using Microsoft DirectX Summer 2004 SDK.
For the full changelog (all added/fixed/changed/updated stuff) since the 2007-04-20 SVN Rev8582 build click here.
Keep in mind this is a SVN snapshot of the current development tree. It's not an official (stable) point release. Use only if you know what you are doing.
Official XBMC Site: www.xboxmediacenter.com (manual and FAQ)
Official T3CH Site: http://217.118.215.116 (release RSS feed)
Download Binaries: n/a (built with XDK) | Download SourceCode: here
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
The Elite is Out and Seems Readily Available
>> From arstechnica.com:
[QUOTE]
I showed up at a local big box retailer, picked up the system, noticed no one else in line, and went on my merry way.
Reports coming in from readers indicate that this is how it is throughout most of the United States, although a few of you did have to check more than one store to find a unit. We called around Boston and NYC, and retailers all had plenty of units in those cities, too. Indy, Chicago, and San Diego also seem well stocked. Demand, in other words, is light, but that's not too surprising given that this is a hardware spec bump and not really a new console per se.
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Full Story: arstechnica.com
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