Xbox 360 Hacks - News, Hacks, Cracks, Mods.

Little has actually changed with the internal design of the console, obviously some components have changed (e.g. DRAM) but the general layout remains the same after two years.

It’s possible that all three chips are now 65nm, or a mixture of 65nm and 80nm (TSMC’s 80nm half-node process was used in ATI’s R600 GPU). Needless to say, the chips are all smaller, which should yield some nice power savings.

The power savings of the new Xbox are dramatic, if you consider 53 watts less power use, dramatic.

Full Story: anandtech.com (6 pages)

To claim your 500 Microsoft Points [MS offers to active member who joined the service in 2002], all you have to do is register on this web site using your Windows Live ID associated to your gamertag. You can register until midnight (Pacific Time) on November 29, 2007, and after you do so, you will receive an e-mail with a 25-digit code that lets you to activate your Microsoft Points through your Xbox 360 console. Don’t expect that email to arrive instantly as the deadline for that email is December 21, 2007.

Microsoft has been vigorously inspecting Xbox 360 consoles sent in for repairs in Taiwan which has resulted in the usual turnaround time of seven days being extended to as long as one month since October, according to retail channels in Taiwan.

The sources commented that the tighter inspection was motivated by a need to see if game consoles have been illegally modified to use pirated games and a need to screen consoles which really need repair. However, consumers are increasingly becoming discontent with the tighter attitude towards after-sales repairs, the sources pointed out.

News-Source: digitimes.com

Xbox LIVE membership soars past 8 million mark, Microsoft unveils new download service for Xbox games direct to your living room beginning Dec. 4.

Starting on Dec. 4, all Xbox LIVE members will receive a free system update (when have you ever paid for a system update?) with a host of new features and enhancements. Included in this update will be the launch of Xbox Originals, which, for the first time, will enable consumers to download and own full Xbox games, such as “Halo,” “Psychonauts,” “Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge” and “Fable,” among others, directly to their Xbox 360. This new service will launch with an array of blockbuster titles spanning the most popular genres from action-adventure to classic role-playing games.

More information can be found online about the downloadable games available on Xbox LIVE, the evolution of Xbox LIVE or the Xbox LIVE is 5IVE member rewards at http://www.xbox.com.

So, lets recap: Free game, 500 Free points (if signed on in 2002), System Update on Dec. 4th,  and XB1 Classic game downloads at 1200 points each.  Yay, I can’t wait…

First, Wistron: LINK

Wistron is reported to have phased out of Xbox 360 production and has ended its six year cooperation with Microsoft, according to market sources.

Wistron declined the opportunity to comment on this report.

Full Story: digitimes.com

Couldn’t have picked a better time, with X-mas around the corner.

Microsoft told the Official Xbox Magazine that the update, scheduled for December 4, will allow Xbox 360 owners to download classic titles such as Halo, Fable, Crash Bandicoot and Burnout 3 via Xbox Live Marketplace for around 1200 Microsoft points per title. As time goes by, the platform holder reportedly hopes to make as much of the original Xbox’s back catalog of titles available to Xbox 360 owners as possible.A movie-on-demand service similar to the US Video Marketplace will also be launched in Europe, although a solid start date for this service has yet to be confirmed. Effectively an online rental service, users will be able to download movies to their Xbox 360 hard drive. They will have 14 days to start watching the downloaded content. Once they begin watching the content, they will have 24 hours to finish it before it is automatically deleted from their hard drive.

Along with this update, is the Xbox 360 Family Timer is an addition to the console’s existing set of industry-leading parental control features. Similar to its Windows Vista counterpart, the new Xbox 360 Family Timer can restrict children’s activity time and can be set on a per-day or per-week basis. Helpful “notifications” will appear to warn the gamer that the session is nearing the end, and the feature will automatically turn off the console when a pre-determined time limit has been exceeded.

I will be using the time limit feature, and have been waiting for something like this for years.

A new firmware release for the Samsung TS-H943 Xbox360 drive..
(v1.3) Improved media detection
(v1.3) Fixed PTP DVD Movies
(v1.3) More Secure for Xbox Live
(V1.3) Multiple Speed Versions

Note: In regards to the ‘More Secure Xbox Live’ feature, it is just further cleanup of the DMI code on failed boot (non-stealth games), plus a quicker lockdown of video partition when requested to reset to the video partition. “PTP” stands for Parallel Track Path DVD’s. It is a rare format (approx. 1 out of 50) that is used. Previously they would not play under iXtreme versions.

You have to go through normal channels to download the firmware.

News-Source: xbins.org

Here are the latest installments for your VAD6038 benq drive!

Whats new/fixed (ixtreme 1.1 rev2): (v1.1 rev2) Fixed ‘quiet’ version.

VAD6038 ‘xtreme’ version:
Boots Stealth and Non-Stealh Xtreme backups.  Non-Stealth backups will be detectable and banned on Live.

Thanks to all the beta testers,everyone involved for without their effort this would not have been possible. Schrtom for Dosflash. Caster420 for firmtool. Keep up the good work everyone.

Note: The ‘quiet’ version is fine within the original 1.1 release, it just didnt function at 4x (quiet), and instead ran the same speed as fast (12x).Here are the latest installments for your VAD6038 benq drive!
Whats new/fixed (ixtreme 1.1 rev2):
(v1.1 rev2) Fixed ‘quiet’ version.
VAD6038 ‘xtreme’ version:
Boots Stealth and Non-Stealh Xtreme backups - will be detectable and banned on Live if using non-stealth backups!
Thanks to all the beta testers,everyone involved for without their effort this would not have been possible. Schrtom for Dosflash. Caster420 for firmtool. Keep up the good work everyone.

Note: The ‘quiet’ version is fine within the original 1.1 release, it just didnt function at 4x (quiet), and instead ran the same speed as fast (12x)

News-Source: ixtreme 1.1 rev2 and xtreme 1.1 non-stealth

What will possibly be the only major problem for developers for both consoles in the near future?

1). Lack of memory on the PS3 (How the Cell CPU accesses it).
2). Lack of storage space on the Xbox 360 (Optical of course, not HDD).

Watch out for that one (#2). It will be here sooner than you think, if not already.

But everyone, just bear this in mind. The Xbox 360, for all the badgering it gets, is really quite a powerfull piece of kit. It has 3 seperate PPC CPUs, which basically equates to 6 hardware threads. It has more memory to play with, a superior GPU, and superfast bus rate.

All the BS talked about Gears Of War pushing the 360’s limit is almost toss. Sorry. It was only running on two thread system, and; even that engine was very buggy and “heavy” at the time. If not totally overated in its own right as well.

Honestly, if MS decided to put some form of a HD disc in it, Blu Ray, or HD-DVD, the damn thing would be almost future proof, with the exception of the over heating, of course. As it stands, the PS3 only has the storage space over the 360. Its not anymore “advanced” at all, and in many ways, slightly less.

BL with your cell phone?! You bet! If you are in an area where broadband is unavailable, and your only means of an internet connection is dial-up, then you have an alternative. Your cell phone. For XBL, and much more. Read on about how people had 10 XBOX 360’s connected to XBOX Live via a cell phone.

Too stubborn to live with what many the neighbors live with, and have been living with for quite some time, and will probably continue to live with.  Their next option? Wireless. But where to start? There are not that many carriers, and the devices are somewhat cumbersome as far as what they’ll accomplish. But, they knew that there were OTA transmissions on a cell phone network that reached speeds far in excess of 26k. It wasn’t as good as Cable or DSL, but it was a start.  Their research led them to the Samsung i607 Blackjack on AT&Ts EDGE (and soon 3G, but we’ll get into that later) network.

Full Story: hushedcasket.com