As P$£ gets background downloading, XBOX 360 gets SLEEP downloading!

http://uk.gizmodo.com/2007/04/07/off...ox_360_to.html

"Friends at Kotaku and Engadget are claiming this unconfirmed video is
of the XBox 360 Spring Update. There's lots of detail
here...unconfirmed detail...but the most important unconfirmed tweaks
are:

·Unconfirmed integration with MSN messenger by way of friends list and
on screen chat pop ups
·An unconfirmed live download mode that puts the console into Jedi
sleep

Off the record, let's be honest: It looks real to me...unofficially.
But until official confirmation, it's all officially speculation. Got
it?-Brian Lam

Rumor: 360 Spring Update Video [Kotaku and Engadget]"


Also Marketplace has it's own blade now, as well as more informative
acheivements.

HAHAHAH eat that PRAY$TATI0N H0M£!

http://kotaku.com/gaming/xbox/micros...ate-249611.php

Looks like that video was legit after all. As was the QWERTY keyboard.

Microsoft tonight unveiled the details of this spring's Xbox 360
update, set to hit on May 7.

While the update has a plethora of new features, the biggest by far is
that Microsoft is bringing instant messaging and a new snap-on
controller keyboard to the console.

The new feature will allow Xbox 360 and PC users to text chat with on
another using Windows Live Messenger.

"The big news we are integrating instant messaging to live," said John
Rodman, Senior Product Manager for Xbox LIVE and Xbox 360. "You can
instant messenger to the Xbox from anywhere in the messenger family."

Rodman said the new feature, free to Silver and Gold users, will allow
users to have six instant message conversations going at once, each
with multiple contacts. The message boxes will pop-up in an opaque box
much like standard game messaging is already treated on the console.

Your current contacts from Live Messenger will also be added to your
360, which will let you know if your friends are on a PC or the
console.

While the instant messaging will support the virtual keyboard and USB
keyboards, Microsoft plans to release a cool-looking new keyboard
attachment for the 360 in the future.

The QWERTY keyboard, expected to be officially announced this summer
with a price and date, will fit neatly between the "horns" of the
controller and allow you to play and type without having to switch
devices.

When asked if this was a step toward the Live Anywhere feature first
announced last year, Rodman said he couldn't talk directly about how
that was coming.

"I can't speak to the progress of the overall program, but I can say
this is one of the building blocks come to life," he said.

While instant messaging is certainly the biggest change coming with
this next update, it's not the only one.

Other new features include:

· A richer Achievement notification pop-up will showcase the name of
the unlocked Achievement and the gamerscore value without needing to
leave the game to check the Achievements list.
· Enhanced family settings features for Xbox Live communications
enable different defaults for video chat and voice chat.
· A new Xbox Live Marketplace blade lets Xbox Live members access the
content they seek--whether it is game content or TV shows and movies
(available in the United States)--from one place on Xbox Live.
· Updates to Xbox Live Arcade allow owners to quickly see which Xbox
Live Arcade games their friends are playing and join in the fun. Xbox
Live members can also compare progress of leaderboard scores and
Achievements directly with all friends on their friends list. Expanded
"Tell a Friend" capabilities make it easier than ever to boast about
Achievements and high scores.
· A new option in Auto Downloads provides faster access to the entire
collection of free, trial-version Xbox Live Arcade games.
· New progressive download controls provide easy access to optimal
viewing options by letting people fast-forward, rewind, pause and
resume as their video is downloaded from Xbox Live Marketplace.
· Extension of the background download functionality will allow owners
to set their Xbox 360 console to turn off automatically after
downloads are complete.


The update will also tweak the look of the console with some minor
changes in the way the dashboard looks, including:
· The name of game in tray is now displayed in the dashboard.
· When the tray icon is highlighted, a list of achievements, game icon
and gamerscore for that game is displayed.
· Video trick modes are enabled for content that is being
progressively downloaded from Video Marketplace.
· Playback progress bar indicates download completion.
· Improved skip forward, skip back functionality during video
playback.
· Switchable aspect ratio now available during video playback (Auto to
Letterbox, Zoom, Stretch, Native).
· Background downloads can occur after the console has been turned
off--the console will automatically power down when background
downloads complete (not enabled by default).
· Earned Achievement notifications now show Achievement and Gamerscore
details over the game without having to bring up the guide or leave
the game.
· Player and friends lists now quickly show session presence
information for quick identification of users that are joinable.
· Marketplace has now been raised to its own Dashboard blade to
improve navigation.
· Added Windows Live ID management functionality to Account
Management.


Rodman said that Microsoft has decided to stick to major updates twice
a year to because it "gives us a chance to collect our breath, listen
to customers and concentrate on the things that people are asking
for."

"We've been hearing feeback about how cool IM integration would," he
said. Brian Crecente

On 9 Apr, 20:33, "Sammus McMouldenus" <bigboobs_li...@lycos.co.uk>
wrote:
> http://uk.gizmodo.com/2007/04/07/off...ox_360_to.html
>
> "Friends at Kotaku and Engadget are claiming this unconfirmed video is
> of the XBox 360 Spring Update. There's lots of detail
> here...unconfirmed detail...but the most important unconfirmed tweaks
> are:
>
> ·Unconfirmed integration with MSN messenger by way of friends list and
> on screen chat pop ups
> ·An unconfirmed live download mode that puts the console into Jedi
> sleep
>
> Off the record, let's be honest: It looks real to me...unofficially.
> But until official confirmation, it's all officially speculation. Got
> it?-Brian Lam
>
> Rumor: 360 Spring Update Video [Kotaku and Engadget]"
>
> Also Marketplace has it's own blade now, as well as more informative
> acheivements.
>
> HAHAHAH eat that PRAY$TATI0N H0M£!

On Apr 9, 3:44 pm, "Sammus McMouldenus" <bigboobs_li...@lycos.co.uk>
wrote:
> "We've been hearing feeback about how cool IM integration would," he
> said. Brian Crecente

Yeah, it's too damn bad that most people I know use and prefer AIM.
Otherwise this would be pretty useful! Too bad MS can't see the
forest from the trees and make a Trillian-style client.