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Spencer: Screenshots, themes and more coming to Xbox One
Xbox boss Phil Spencer has announced that dashboard customization options such as themes and background images will arrive on Xbox One in the future. Spencer also confirmed the ability to take screenshots, something he says people "beat us up" about, will come in future updates. "We're going to deliver on them. I can't give you a when yet, but people should know they are coming," Spencer told The Inner Circle Podcast, available in the video above at 37m 3sec.
Microsoft 'retiring' Facebook and Twitter Xbox 360 Dashboard apps
Eagle-eyed gamers may have already noticed that the Xbox 360's dedicated Twitter and Facebook apps have gone missing after the latest Dashboard update, and now Redmond has confirmed it's put the applications out to pasture. According to a Microsoft representative that spoke to IGN, the firm is "retiring the Facebook and Twitter apps" as it works to streamline functionality. When asked if the pair of apps will ever make a comeback, Ballmer and Co. didn't comment. Still crave to update your friends on your latest gaming exploits through the console? Spreading the news on the digital grapevine is still possible, but you'll have to access the social networks through the freshly added Internet Explorer app -- an experience we hope Xbox SmartGlass will improve.
Xbox 360 Dashboard update hands-on (fall 2012)
Is it Fall again already? Must be time for another Xbox 360 Dashboard update. Every year Microsoft Drops the console a little bit of code to match the descending leaves, delivering new features, interface tweaks and additional content to hide behind the Xbox Live Gold paywall. Redmond's latest update isn't quite the overhaul it gave the gaming rig last year, but minor changes can have big effects. Join us after the break to see the machine's latest update, and what it means for you. %Gallery-168426%
MLB.tv Premium for Xbox 360 now live in 18 more countries, CinemaNow adds rentals in the US
Feels like it was only yesterday that the MLB.tv app was landing on Xbox consoles in North America, and starting today, the application will be available to more baseball lovers around the globe. As Major Nelson notes (again), the Major League Baseball service is now live in Brazil, France, Germany, India, Italy, South Africa, Spain and the UK, among a few other nations. Naturally, if you're hoping to catch any ball games via MLB's Premium goods, you'll have to shell out a subscription fee along with having a fancy Xbox Live Gold account. In other 360 news, CinemaNow has made the switch from being a locker-only application to now offering TV show and movie rentals to folks in the US. You can check out what other countries made the MLB.tv cut at the Major Nelson site, link is down below.
Microsoft confirms Xbox dash video issues, is working on a fix
The Xbox 360 dashboard update left some users seeing gray -- not metaphorically in the "their lives had lost all color and meaning" way, but in a literal sense. Videos on the new dash have appeared washed out and dull for some users, with black reading as gray, and Microsoft had previously ignored the complaint, even when it was brought up in beta testing, Eurogamer reports.Xbox's Major Nelson tweeted yesterday that he's heard the public outcry -- or maybe he saw Eurogamer's in-depth demonstration of the new dash's short-range RGB levels -- and he says the team is working on a solution. "We're aware of the colorspace issue w/ some Xbox video apps & are working on a fix," Major Nelson wrote. "No ETA yet but we hope to have an update soon."For now, maybe pretend all the new videos you watch on the Xbox dash are in "sepia" mode.
PSA: UFC, VUDU, other video apps now available on Xbox 360
A slew of new video apps have debuted through Microsoft's updated Xbox 360 dashboard, including the UFC app and VUDU. Here's the full list: 4 on Demand (C4) -- United Kingdom ABC iView (Australian Broadcasting Corp.) -- Australia Dailymotion -- Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, India, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland , Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States, South Africa Demand 5 (Five) -- United Kingdom M6 -- France MSN Video -- France UFC on Xbox LIVE (UFC) -- Canada, United States VUDU (Wal-Mart) -- United States You can download each app through the video tab on your Xbox 360, assuming you're in a region that supports it.
Xbox 360 Fall Dashboard update video leaks, tours Metro in silence
Last month, we sat down with Microsoft for a quick look at the Xbox's upcoming Dashboard update -- it was sleek, searchable, and extremely camera shy. A quick trip to Europe seems to have cured it of its bashful ways, however, and the budding update can now be seen in a slightly blurry piece of French cinema. This leaked video shows a Dashboard with a smidge more polish than the demo we saw in September, and silently plods on without so much as a bleep or bloop. Our mute host briefly peeks at the Xbox Live Marketplace, casually glances at the Bing search page and scrolls leisurely through the new Dash's very Metro menu. The whole shebang is en français, of course, and the update's snappy voice-control gimmick is sadly absent. Sure, there's not a lot of depth here, but if you want a glimpse of what's coming when the update drops later this Fall, it's definitely worth a look. [Thanks, John]
Xbox Live Fall 2011 Dashboard update preview: Bing search, voice control, and a Metro overhaul
Autumn is fast approaching -- and you know what that means: it's round about time for an Xbox Dashboard update. Sure, we got a peek of Microsoft's upcoming harvest back at E3, but the good folks from Redmond invited us to take a closer look at what they're calling the "most significant update to the Dashboard since NXE." Senior project Manager Terry Ferrell was on-site to walk us through an early engineering beta and show us how an updated Metro UI, Bing search and deeper Kinect integration is going to change the way folks manage their entertainment content.
Xbox Live Fall 2010 Dashboard Update preview: ESPN, Netflix search, Kinect, and more! (Update)
Shortly before Kinect hits store shelves on November 4th, Microsoft plans on rolling out the Fall Update to Xbox Live -- even sooner for those who signed up for the preview program. That shouldn't come as much of a surprise, really: even without the numerous leaks, the fall update is a longstanding tradition for the almost five-year-old console, and the company devoted a large chunk of its E3 2010 presentation to talk about the biggest additions. That includes Netflix search (finally!), Zune music, and an entertainment hub for a certain worldwide sports broadcaster... ESPN. We've had a chance to spend some time at home with the Fall Update, follow us after the break for our full impressions! Update: As both Joystiq and a number of tipsters have alerted us, Microsoft has pulled the large, wooden lever in its dark underground lair that allows for the Fall Update to trickle out and assimilate itself into the consoles of those smart enough to sign up for the preview program. If you receive a prompt upon signing in, rejoice! If not, well, have patience! P.S. - Looking for more? Our BFFs at Joystiq have compiled a series of exhaustive videos chronicling the Fall Update. Check it out! %Gallery-103613%
Leaked Xbox 360 dashboard gets demonstrated on video
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Xbox 360 'Games on Demand' priced between $20-$30
Microsoft informed us this afternoon that its initial offerings of Games on Demand, the company's selection of downloadable Xbox 360 titles, will be priced between 1600-2400 -- that's $20-30 in American credit card currency. We got a little curious after one price was revealed in a video earlier today, but we wanted to make sure about the rest. We're currently working on getting the full list of prices for each game, but all will be revealed next week when the latest dashboard update goes live, on August 11.
The more you know: How to turn off automatic Xbox Live renewal
By default, Xbox Live is set to automatically renew Gold subscriptions when a user's current membership expires, but not everyone is down with a surprise credit card charge -- especially if they're rocking a parent's plastic. Thankfully, Xbox Live's Major Nelson has posted a quick guide to help users disable the automatic renewal process. The steps are simple: Sign in to Xbox.com and go to the My Account section. Click the Membership level link on the left. You'll see a page that has your Membership level, and the end date. Under that, you'll see your "Automatic Renewal" status (as shown above). If it reads ON, users can click the ON link and be brought to a page to turn the feature OFF. If you'd like to change the setting to ON or OFF -- Click the link, make your selection, then click next. You'll be returned to your Membership level page, where you can confirm your selection That's it. Easy as warm apple pie -- now excuse us, we just got hungry. [Thanks, Juan]
PSA: Xbox 360 Dash Preview invites in the mail [Update]
Update: According to the comments in this story, the Xbox 360 Dashboard Preview has begun to roll out now.If you were quick enough on the draw to sign up, you may notice an email from Microsoft in your inbox today inviting you into the new Xbox 360 Dashboard Preview. The public preview -- which opened up for selected press and MVPs earlier last week -- is not fully live just yet, but Microsoft is notifying users if they were accepted into the program. Unaware of what to expect when the new dashboard hits this August? Joystiq has a lengthy guide with a plethora of videos to show you the ropes for the "New New Xbox Experience." Those guys are swell.
Purchased themes will work with New Xbox Experience
Microsoft's Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb has settled it. "It" being the question of whether Xbox 360 Dashboard themes downloaded (and even purchased) before the upcoming New Xbox Experience rolls out later this year will be rendered useless with the switch to a different UI. The answer's a welcome one: they'll work just fine with the new Apple TV-esque interface.To (literally) illustrate the point, Major Nelson uploaded images of the NXE with an existing theme applied to his flickr gallery. It isn't explicitly stated in the accompanying captions, but we'd venture a guess that the background image will change as you page through the new category "frames." With this mystery solved, you can now go back to complaining about all of the things you actually wasted money on.[Via X3F]
Reminder: Everyone's looking at your friends
We just wanted to take a moment to remind you: If you're the sort who likes to preserve their digital privacy, an e-hermit if you will, you'll want to beat cheeks over to Xbox.com and change your "Friends of Friends" preferences. As we speak, people are looking at your friends list. And they're judging you ... harshly.This also gives us the opportunity to ask a question we've been considering: How will you set your preferences? Do you care if the earth eyeballs your list? Are you going to restrict it to friends? Or are you going to hide your friend light under a proverbial bushel?%Poll-6602%
