Sky Player on Xbox 360 receives first eyes-on analysis

Sky TV has made its arrival on the Xbox 360 today in prompt fashion, with live streaming and on-demand video available, and the keen lads over at Electric Pig already have a preview of the service in action. Their immediate reaction was that the Sky Player interface was “ultra-speedy” and easily navigable using the 360 controller. Streaming at the high-quality setting (alas, there’s no HD on offer yet) was also no problem on a 4Mb broadband connection, though they reserve their highest praise for the on-demand content which was pumped through within a couple of seconds of selection and benefits from an “astonishingly well-designed interface.” For the full impressions of the subscription-based service, which starts out at £15 per month, hit up the read link below.

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Sky Player on Xbox 360 receives first eyes-on analysis originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 08:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No More Live for Modded Xbox 360s

This article was written on May 18, 2007 by CyberNet.

What timing. The Halo 3 beta was just launched out to a pool of overly-excited fans, with a chunk of them undoubtedly using a modded Xbox. Unfortunately for them, Microsoft is cracking the whip and denying consoles with modded firmware access to Live.  This means that they aren’t able to play the most anticipated game of the year with others online.

Any Xbox that has been detected to have modified firmware will be banned from connecting to live.  For those who liked to play their games multi-player with others online, this isn’t a good day for them. For those who don’t care and would rather play games by themselves on their modded console, this is no big deal. The image below shows the message some users are receiving:

Xboxmod

Generally, the comments around the web tend to be positive and people are happy that Microsoft is taking the steps to cut them off.  It’s another way for Microsoft to help curb piracy, and a big way to help eliminate unfair play online.

In part of a statement from Microsoft, they said that “This is an important part of our efforts to try and maintain a fair gaming environment for the large majority of gamers that play by the rules.”Those who have accounts that are found to have a modified system will still have access to Live, they just won’t be able to do it from their console.

Clearly Microsoft can do whatever they want with Live, but do you think they were right in doing this?

Source: Xbox 360 Fanboy

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Microsoft Exec: No Plans for Xbox 360 Blu-Ray Support

When Microsoft head honcho Steve Ballmer sat down with Gizmodo yesterday, the blog leapt on something the outspoken exec said about Blu-Ray, “Well I don’t know if we need to put Blu-ray in there–you’ll be able to get Blu-ray drives as accessories.” While it’s not exactly an outright endorsement of the format, it certainly sounds like the company has softened its position after fighting so hard to push HD-DVD (and, hopefully, irk Sony in the processes).

Xbox Live exec Larry Hryb, however, made a point of addressing the comment in a post on his his Major Nelson blog. “As we have said in the past,” Hyrb wrote, “we have no plans to introduce a Blu-Ray drive for the Xbox 360.” Instead the console is focused on 1080p movie streaming. So, you know, take that, Sony.

Microsoft: ‘We have no plans for Blu-ray on Xbox 360’

A recent Gizmodo sit down with Steve Ballmer led with a headline exclaiming a Blu-ray add-on for Xbox was coming. See, when Ballmer was asked about making the Xbox a home theater companion of choice and where Blu-ray might fit in, the Windows 7 wild man said, “Well I don’t know if we need to put Blu-ray in there — you’ll be able to get Blu-ray drives as accessories.” He then added that on-demand is the future of movies, not physical media. Now our bud Major Nelson, Director of Programming for Xbox Live, has stepped up to lay the conflation to rest. The Major says that Ballmer was referring to Blu-ray accessories for the PC and reiterated Microsoft’s focus of bringing instant-on 1080p streaming movies to the Xbox 360. So… that should end speculation of Blu-ray on Xbox right? Not if history serves, nope.

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Microsoft: ‘We have no plans for Blu-ray on Xbox 360’ originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Oct 2009 01:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Xbox Live update preview program now rolling out

Xbox 360’s resident spokesman Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb wants you to know that the Xbox Live update preview program is now officially a go, with the first wave of registered participants getting automatically prompted to update upon sign-in (you should also receive an email, but apparently they’re behind on the notifications). More people are said to be getting the update “in the coming days,” so don’t lose hope yet — not that waiting for Twitter, Facebook, and Last.fm integration, and 1080p instant-on streaming should cause ultimate despair, but we digress. The only thing you don’t get is the Halo Waypoint preview, which doesn’t join the preview fun until next week.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

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Xbox Live update preview program now rolling out originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ballmer Talks Natal, Says Blu-ray Add-On for Xbox Coming

In the first segment of our exclusive Steve Ballmer interview series, the Microsoft CEO and I talk about Natal, the blurring of console generations, and the surprising assertion that “you’ll be able to get” Blu-ray add-on drives for Xbox 360.

When I asked Ballmer about adding Blu-ray to the Xbox, he said:

Well I don’t know if we need to put Blu-ray in there—you’ll be able to get Blu-ray drives as accessories.

Though he says it with certitude, the timing of any kind of Blu-ray accessory is unclear. Could he have mispoken? Certainly. However, when I asked Xbox spokespeople about Ballmer’s revelation, they responded:

Our immediate solution for Blu-ray-quality video on an Xbox 360 is coming this fall with Zune Video and 1080p instant-on HD streaming. As far as our future plans are concerned, we’re not ready to comment.

Microsoft PR is good — we trust them to say no if they’re not making one, and in this case, the best strategy is a “no comment”. Which turns out to be a comment.

Of course, his Blu-ray comment may not mean that Microsoft is coming out with an external drive—he may have just been shooting down the idea that the Xbox 360 will ever have an internal Blu-ray drive, by saying that any Blu-ray the Xbox gets would have to be external. On the other hand he did actually say, “You’ll be able to get Blu-ray drives as accessories.”

As you can see in our back-and-forth, Ballmer plays his cards close to the chest, but in my sit-down interview with him, he shared a lot. Prior to the Blu-ray business, Ballmer and I talked about Natal, and the excitement that Matt and Mark experienced when they stepped into the chamber back at E3. When I asked him if Natal was Microsoft’s attempt to do away with concept of game console generations (thereby prolonging the life of a given platform indefinitely), Ballmer smiled knowingly and said “We’ll see.”

Stay tuned for more exciting Ballmer moments (and facial expressions) over the next day, and then the full uncut interview video on Friday. Video by Mike Short

Steve Ballmer Exclusive Interview Series:
Part 1: Ballmer Talks Natal, Says Blu-ray Add-On for Xbox Coming
Part 2: Ballmer on the Smartphone Race: “It Doesn’t Matter What the Critics Say”
Part 3: Ballmer on Zune: Sometimes You Get It Right The Third Time?

WrapUp: Zune HD on Sept. 15th, Xbox 360 Elite Price Drop, and More

This article was written on August 17, 2009 by CyberNet.

Welcome to the WrapUp by CyberNet. This is a collection of news stories, downloads, and tips that we have collected over the last few days, but never got around to writing about. Don’t forget to send in your own tips, or just leave a comment on this page if you think you’ve got something we should include.

–News–

netscape founder.jpgNetscape Founder Backing a New Browser
Netscape helped kickstart the Internet revolution, but it didn’t take long for Internet Explorer to drive it to extinction. A start-up called RockMelt is being backed by Marc Andreessen, the founder of Netscape, who says that other browsers have not kept pace with the evolution of the web. Apparently RockMelt will be different though. It will be interesting to see what they come up with… even if their name does suck.


computer ram.jpgWindows 7 64-bit Supports 192GB of RAM
If you’ll be sporting Windows 7 Home Premium, Enterprise, or Ultimate you’ll be happy to know that you can stuff up to 192GB of RAM into your 64-bit machine and still have Windows use it all. Now that’s one way to ensure that you’re getting the smoothest gameplay out of Solitaire.


zune hd.jpgZune HD Coming September 15th
I’ve never been a big fan of the Zune, but I have to hand it to the people who came up with the design for the Zune HD. Appearance-wise it looks unbelievable, and in a month everyone will be able to find out for themselves just how good it actually is. Pre-orders are now available.


mac snow leopard.jpgMac OS X Snow Leopard Goes Gold?
Rumors are floating around that the latest developer release of Snow Leopard will become the final version that ships. Apple said that their next OS will be released in September, but some sources are saying that it may be available as soon as August 28th. In the meantime the build in question (10A432) has been leaked to your neighborhood BitTorrent site.


chrome sync.jpgSync UI Appears in Google Chrome
We knew that Chrome was going to let users sync bookmarks soon, and the first glimpse of the UI has found its way into the development releases. Download Squad points out how you can enable the feature, but at this point it’s more of a “look, don’t touch” kind of thing… you can see the options but they don’t actually do anything yet.


facebook lite.jpgFacebook Lite to Compete with Twitter?
Facebook accidentally rolled out a “lite” version of their site to a large number of users last week, and quickly retracted access once they caught their mistake. Facebook Lite, from the sounds of it, is inching even closer to Twitter by placing a heavy focus on status updates.


microsoft office mac.jpgOutlook Coming to Microsoft Office for Mac
The next version of Microsoft Office for the Mac OS is due out late next year just in time for the holidays, and it will finally include what is the most requested application: Outlook! This could be pretty big news in the corporate world.


xbox 360 price drop.jpgXbox 360 Elite Dropping to $300?
The Xbox 360 has done pretty well for itself, and part of the reason is due to its competitive pricing. On August 30th it could be getting even more interesting. According to a leaked photo of a retail ad it appears as though the Xbox 360 Elite console (with a 120GB hard drive) will shave $100 off its price tag bringing it under the $300 mark.


android multitouch.jpgMultitouch will be in Android 2.0
CNet is saying that Google might be including multitouch support in the Android 2.0 release that should be available later this year. Motorola is expected to have a phone ready in time to showcase the new software as well.


ebay car dealer.jpgeBay Targets Car Dealers
Things haven’t been looking good for eBay, and now it appears that they are branching out to new markets. They’ve teamed up with General Motors to launch a new site, gm.ebay.com, which serves up vehicles from car dealers. Right now it’s limited to California while the system is tested out, but if you want to see what it’s like just use zip code 90274 to get some results. I noticed that the vehicles listed with Buy It Now prices aren’t really a bargain, but you can always name your own price with the Make an Offer option. Of course it’s up to the dealer as to whether they want to accept that price.


google.jpgGoogle Tests Under-the-Hood Search Improvements  
Last week Google announced a new search system they’re testing called Caffeine, which at first glance is no different than their current search system. The changes, however, are all behind-the-scenes. They say that the new system focuses on size, indexing speed, accuracy, and comprehensiveness. They also provide a special URL where you can test out what the results are like.


–Tips, Tutorials, and Reviews–

windows 7 media center.jpgWindows 7 Review
Engadget has written up a pretty nice review of Windows 7, and they outline all of the most notable features. It’s definitely worth a read if you haven’t played with the Beta/RC yourself. I also plan on writing my own take on Windows 7, but I’ll be focusing mostly on the Media Center aspect.


freefilesync.jpgFreeFileSync: Another Backup Utility
Man, there’s definitely no shortage of backup utilities out there! This is another free (and open source) solution that has quite a few advanced options to pick from, and does it all in a fairly clean interface. If you haven’t found the backup utility that fits you just right this is one you should definitely check out.


mycollections.jpgMyCollections Organizes Your Media
I’m not really the type of person who buys a lot of physical media (DVD’s, CD’s, books, etc…), but I know plenty of other people are. This app will help you organize all your stuff so that you know exactly what you’ve got. Even though it’s free I can’t help but think that they could have made the interface a bit better.


dvd flick.jpgBurn Any Video to DVD
Once you’ve downloaded some television shows or movies you might be wondering how you can watch them on your TV. Some people just stick with watching them on their computers, but with the right tools you can burn just about anything to a DVD.


thundbird mac theme.jpgGood Thunderbird Themes
To be honest I never even thought to look for themes for Thunderbird, and I’m not sure why. This article covers 10 different themes that can be used with the email client… some of which are better than others. Mac users will definitely like the iLeopard theme though that makes the app fit in better with the Mac operating system.


url shortener.jpgCreate Your Own URL Shortening Service
Bored? If so maybe you’ll find some enjoyment in creating your own URL shortening service. That way you won’t have to rely on some other service to manage your URL’s, but the downside is the lack of integration from third-party applications. It might be fun to do regardless.


–Downloads–

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Forthcoming Xbox 360 update locks out ‘unauthorized’ memory units

Using a less than official memory unit with your Xbox 360? Then you’ll probably want to get your act together before diving into the upcoming preview program for the latest 360 update, as it will apparently lock out any “unauthorized” memory units as it adds all those nifty Facebook, Twitter and Last.fm features. That word comes straight from none other than Xbox Live’s Major Neslon, who also warns anyone using said memory units that they’ll basically be flat out of luck if they update before backing things up to an official storage device and then go looking for their saved games — which, you know, would be a bit of a pain.

[Via Joystiq]

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Forthcoming Xbox 360 update locks out ‘unauthorized’ memory units originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 18 Oct 2009 18:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Homemade pink Xbox 360 controller makes the ladies say ‘heyyy!’

Not that we haven’t seen pink Xbox 360 controllers before (including one from Microsoft itself), but this one just oozes class. Constructed by Flickr user 4apples for the lovely lady (ladies?) in his life, he took all the time one would expect a handsome young bloke to take by dissembling it, painting each piece in varying shades of pink and slapping it all back together. Have a look at the read link for the finished project, and naw, we won’t tell your special someone if you decide to follow suit and call it an original.

[Via technabob]

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Homemade pink Xbox 360 controller makes the ladies say ‘heyyy!’ originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 18 Oct 2009 05:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Xbox 360 Modern Warfare 2 bundle nabs November 10th release date

Call it coincidence or call it fate, but precisely a week after Sony’s extra-capacious 250GB PlayStation 3 Slim hits the States for $349.99, Microsoft’s 250GB Xbox 360 Modern Warfare 2 bundle will arrive with a game and a pair of black wireless controllers for $399.99. Both Costco and Amazon have a November 10th ship date listed for the package, though oddly enough, neither site lists the machine as coming with a component cable. It’s standard def or bust, y’all.

[Thanks, Manoj]

Read – Costco’s listing
Read – Amazon’s listing

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Xbox 360 Modern Warfare 2 bundle nabs November 10th release date originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 18 Oct 2009 01:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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