stealthbox
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Microsoft details Vejle, the new Xbox 360's system-on-chip architecture
There aren't many unresolved mysteries with Microsoft's new console by this point -- apart from perhaps why it wasn't named the Stealthbox, like we were suggesting -- but one thing that hasn't been covered in excruciating detail yet is the new 360's splicing of the CPU and GPU into the same chip. Microsoft has remedied that today, informing us that the 45nm system-on-chip (codenamed Vejle; sorry, Valhalla fans) inside the refreshed Xbox makes do with a relatively minimal 372 million transistors, requiring only 40 percent of the power and less than 50 percent of the die space of its 2005 ancestor. A somewhat bemusing addition, noted by Ars, is the FSB Replacement sector you see in the image above. It's designed to induce lag in the system so that the Vejle chip doesn't run faster than the old stuff, something Microsoft couldn't allow to happen. Facepalm away, good people, facepalm away.
New Xbox 360 hacked to play 'backup' discs, public release underway? (video)
If you're looking for video proof of the latest and greatest Xbox 360 firmware mod, you won't find it in the video after the break, but we're almost willing to take it on Team Xecuter's word and long-standing reputation that they've hacked the new Xbox 360. Banding together with Team Jungle and commodore4eva -- the hacker who brought backups to the original console in 2006 -- the group says they've successfully patched the DVD drive to play burned discs. Better still, they're promising that a public release of said patch "will be available shortly" to help you unlock a Stealthbox by your lonesome. Just remember, kids, circumventing DRM isn't always legal, even if you're copying games that you bought right off the shelf. [Thanks, Tito]
The new Xbox 360 Kinect port, up close
Microsoft has always said Kinect will work with every Xbox 360, but the new black Xbox has a special trick move -- that ExtUSB-ish port marked Aux up there is actually a special Kinect port that handles both data and power for the new motion control system. That means you'll only need one cord to set up a new Xbox + Kinect system, while Xbox 360 original owners will have to connect over USB and plug in a separate power cord for the Kinect unit. And now you know. Update: We just spent some quality time with the Stealthbox in person, and the real port is a tiny little bit different -- it's got an orange line above it. Check it below.
