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Week of June 29, 2008
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Benq iXtreme 1.41 Rev 2 Non-Stealth Multispeed
>> From gigabite on xboxhacker.net:
[QUOTE]
The Non-Stealth users of the Benq iXtreme firmware only had one choice speed wise when they chose the Non-Stealth firmware and that was 8x. This package gives users of Benq iXtreme Non-Stealth the choice to use whatever speed they prefer (2x, 5x, 8x, 12x).
This is NOT an update to iXtreme firmware for Benq users... this is merely an update to the Non-Stealth version which only provides different speed choices NOTHING else.
Credit goes to C4E and others, it was named Rev 2 to avoid confusion.
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News-Source: xboxhacker.net
Download: n/a (might be illegal under EUCD/EULA/DMCA)
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Microsoft's Greenberg: Wii Customers May 'Graduate' To Xbox 360
>> From gamasutra.com:
[QUOTE]
Talking to Gamasutra Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg, director of product management for Xbox 360 and Xbox Live, has been commenting on Microsoft's attempts to attract casual gamers, suggesting that Wii customers are "going to want to graduate to an Xbox 360 experience" over time.
When asked about Nintendo's de-emphasizing of hardware power with the Wii, with Gamasutra's interviewer suggesting that "...if they keep going down this path, they don't really need to make a Wii 2", Microsoft's Greenberg pointedly suggested:
"Everyone says that eventually the novelty will wear off, right? I think that a lot of the people that are buying that console today are not people that have generally bought consoles in the past, right?
You see they're not buying games on it, right? They're buying it, it's like something they break out when people come over, and it's maybe a fun thing, but it's almost like the same people that buy a karaoke machine, you know? They're not really buying it for games, they're just buying it as a novelty."
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Full Story: gamasutra.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Rumor: Halo 4 announcement coming at E3
>> From sarcasticgamer.com:
[QUOTE]
Our inside woman/man/thing got hold of some pretty exciting news.
News that Bungie was already hard at work developing what will be Halo 4.
Now we're told that this will be announced officially at E3.
[/QUOTE]
Full Story: sarcasticgamer.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Best Buy Ad Shows Xbox 360 Price Drop Too
>> From kotaku.com:
[QUOTE]
Another retailer has shown that Microsoft is planning to drop the price of the Xbox 360 20GB model -- formerly known as the "Pro" -- to $299, as a Best Buy employee has forwarded us (obligatorily blurry) cell phone pics of an upcoming weekly ad.
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Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Behold, the MS E3 08 press briefing Passport
>> From xbox360fanboy.com:
[QUOTE]
We just received our "Passports" for the Microsoft E3 press briefing set to take place on July 14. For what amounts to a press pass, the thing is pretty elaborate as is the package in which it was delivered.
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More Pictures: xbox360fanboy.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Video Tutorial: Stream Netflix Movies Directly to your 360
>> From crave.cnet.com:
[QUOTE]
Last week we reported about this amazing hack and now we're showing you how to do it! It comes courtesy of Lifehacker.com and takes about 20 minutes to set up.
[/QUOTE]
Full Story: crave.cnet.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
AcidMods DIY FPS Controller for Xbox 360
>> From F00 f00 on acidmods.com:
[QUOTE]
This is basically how I think the xbox controller should have been in the first place. Its way more comfortable now and my gaming has improved too.
Its pretty obvious from the pics what Ive done. I moved the right hand stick to be level with the left and moved all of the buttons to the back. I happy with the way it came out.
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Full Story: acidmods.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Analyst questions validity of 'hybrid' Xbox 360
>> From gamesindustry.biz:
[QUOTE]
Following recent rumours that have suggested Microsoft may allow electronics firms to develop hardware featuring Xbox 360 technology - effectively paving the way for third-parties to build Blu-ray players, PCs and set-top boxes which play 360 games - a leading analyst has said that such a move would prove too expensive.
Michael Pachter, of Wedbush Morgan Securities, believes that any such radical repositioning of Microsoft's hardware business model might help the Xbox 360 penetrate Japan, but in other markets it wouldn't be a viable business for third-parties.
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Full Story: gamesindustry.biz
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Xbox 360 Getting a 3D Dashboard Make-Over?
>> From kotaku.com:
[QUOTE]
We're now hearing from a number of sources that the Live dashboard is going to be getting a second interface option, one that will use the yet-to-be announced motion controller to navigate.
This new user interface, we've been told, will recreate the increasingly cluttered dashboard "blade" system in a 3D environment that will be something more akin to the Minority Report than a filing cabinet.
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Full Story: kotaku.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Official: 360 price slashed in Australia
>> From mcvuk.com:
[QUOTE]
The Xbox 360 has become the cheapest home console on the Australian market after Microsoft slashed the price of the entry level Arcade model from [AUD] $399 (£191) to $349 (£167).
The mid-range 360 console, with a 20GB hard drive, now sells for $499 (£239). Before the cuts it was $579 (£277).
The high-end black Xbox 360 Elite, which adds a 120GB hard drive, HDMI cables and a free 30-day Xbox Live Gold membership, was slashed from $729 (£349) to $649 (£310).
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Full Story: mcvuk.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
XLink Kai 7.4 Beta released
>> Team XLink released a new version of their global gaming network (that allows you to play system-link enabled games (incl. Xbox and 360) online for free):
[QUOTE]
What's the point?
XLink Kai(info) 7.4 began a few months ago to address the following issues:
1. Internationalization - the existing Kai UI does not support many languages and character encodings.
2. Platform Independence - Linux and OS X client software is no longer feature compatible with the Windows client
3. Unified Development - numerous versions and variants of the engine and client exist creating compatibility issues and fragmented development/support.
Team XLink prides itself as a 'Global Community' of gamers. To us, this means people who speak different languages, who use different Operating Systems, and who live all over the globe should be able to connect with one another and make Team XLink their home. Our year to year userbase growth and concurrent player statistics tells us we've been making excellent strides towards our global ambitions. Still, to truly move forward with the project, we need to address infrastructure and compatibility issues so that we have a solid platform that encourages further growth. Kai 7.4 addresses these issues and provides a solid foundation for future plan that simply would not be possible with the previous versions of Kai.
So what's new?
The biggest change to Kai is somewhat invisible--the code. Kai was designed primarily as a Windows-based system with compatibility for Linux/OS X (and other *nix systems) added later through the Kaid project and numerous third-party clients. This created a rift in development where any features added to the Windows Engine and Client needed to be added to Kaid and the third-party clients needed to be updated. A small change in the Windows client required all the other clients to be updated. Updates to the Windows engine (ex: new PSP MAC addresses) required Kaid be updated. As developer interest in Kaid and the many clients waned, it has become increasingly difficult to add any new features without breaking existing compatibility for those not using Windows. To address this, Kai 7.4 uses a single codebase and non-proprietary libraries so that the same code that compiles the Windows binary also compiles under Linux, OS X, BSD, etc. This required removing all the MFC code from Kai and replacing it with platform-independent alternatives like the Boost and wxWidgets libraries. With this unified codebase, future updates and changes will be made available on all supported Operating Systems at the same time.
The most visible change found in Kai 7.4 is the Client Web UI. Instead of designing multiple User Interfaces for every supported OS and every language we decided to drawn on the strength of existing cross-platform technology: the web browser. The Kai 7.4 engine contains a small web server which serves the client to your web browser (Safari, Firefox, Internet Explorer(info), etc.) and communication between the web browser and the Engine is achieved using Ajax programming. Aside from the obvious elimination of platform compatibility issues, switching to a browser-based client has some wonderful side effects:
1. Updates and additions to the client are served immediately without the need to restart the Engine.
2. The client is 'skinable' allowing users to develop and share their own customizations.
3. Kai can integrate other web technologies such as streaming audio and video.
4. Kai can be controlled using embedded systems with compatible web browsers (ex: iPhone).
5. The Kai engine can be accessed and controlled remotely via the web browser ( chat from work/school :P )
Another notable improvement found in Kai 7.4 is the support for uPnP routers. Most modern routers support uPnP allowing on-the-fly port mapping. When started behind a uPnP router, Kai just works--no port forwarding or router configuration required.
Lastly, all language has been stripped out of both the Engine and the Web UI Client and replaced with language templates. Currently, English and Japanese translations are available; however, support for Korean, Spanish, and many other languages are being added as translation becomes available through the community.
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Official Site/Downloads: http://teamxlink.co.uk
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Aussie Retailer Adds To 360 Price-Cut Chorus
>> From kotaku.com:
[QUOTE]
It's not just American retailers convincing us that a 360 price-cut is imminent. Australian retailers are now in on the act as well. The local branch of K-Mart is advertising a 360 Pro bundle for AUD$449 (USD$430), a steal when you consider the rrp for the console is AUD$579 (USD$555).
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Full Story: kotaku.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
J Allard Gets a New Job
>> From zdnet.com:
[QUOTE]
After Rick Thompson became Corporate Vice President of Zune last fall, more than a few Microsoft watchers were wondering what Allard would do for an encore. Would he become yet another Softie who would take a "sabbatical," never to return to Microsoft?
It looks like Allard has a new mission and new title to prove it. As of June 24, according to the Microsoft executive bio site, Allard is now "Chief Experience Officer" at Microsoft, as well as as yet another in a line of Microsoft's Chief Technology Officers.
From Allard's updated bio:
"As Chief Experience Officer (CXO) and Chief Technology Officer (CTO), J Allard is responsible for the technical architecture and user experiences related to products and services of the Entertainment and Devices (E&D) division. Allard works closely with technical leaders across the company to align E&D product teams with Microsoft's overall services strategy and product architecture, and drives the technical and design agenda to deliver Connected Entertainment experiences for consumers."
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Full Story: zdnet.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Rumor: Microsoft to drop price on 20GB 360, make room for 60GB
>> From arstechnica.com:
[QUOTE]
A leaked scan of an upcoming K-mart ad that shows the 20GB 360 Pro model selling for $299.99 has led many to believe that the system will see a price drop at E3. I have since received an e-mail with a copy of a communication from a usually trustworthy source that claims that the price drop is not only pending, but a 60GB Xbox 360 is coming as well.
"At E3 Microsoft will make an official announcement that we are dropping the 20GB pro console to $299... As we launch the 60GB SKU throughout July, the 20GB SKU will DISCONTINUE. You will see the new SKU on your 7/1 price list," the communication reads.
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Full Story: arstechnica.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Radio Shack Ad Shows Xbox 360 Price Cut Too
>> From joystiq.com:
[QUOTE]
The beans may already have been spilled by Kmart, but now another store has briefly emerged from retail obsolescence to spread the legend of the $50 Xbox 360 price cut. A Radio Shack employee recently mailed us the evidence, some scans of what they claim is an upcoming ad set to take effect on July 13 (same as the Kmart ad).
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Full Story: joystiq.com
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
TVersity 1.0 RC1
>> From the official tversity blog:
[QUOTE]
We are delighted to announce the general availability of the first release candidate of our 1.0 version. Please note that this is a release candidate and not a final release, meaning that we need your feedback in order to fix issues and turn this into a final release as fast as possible.
We will post full release notes shortly, in the meantime in case you missed it, this release is all about user interface and usability, but it also includes many bug fixes and other minor and major improvements to the transcoding engine, media library, auto discovery by devices, and much more.
In order to simplify some of the initial configuration needed to get TVersity up and running for the first time, we are including in this release a configuration wizard that can do most of these tasks for you. This includes firewall setup, service auto-start setup, Vista setup issues and more.
The codec pack has been updated as well, for best transcoding results it is recommended to install it. Our transcoding engine can now for the first time download FLV and MP4 videos, convert them and stream them to devices all at the same time. We have had this capability for a while with WMV streams but other formats needed to be pre-downloaded - not anymore!
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Official Site: http://tversity.com
Download: here
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
Evidence Against the Authenticity of MyGamerpad
XBMC for Xbox 2008-06-30 SVN rev13851 build - T3CH
>> T3CH released a new SVN compile (rev13851) of XBMC for Xbox (XboxMediaCenter(info)).
This T3CH-compile is a complete snapshot of what is in SVN at the time the build was compiled, with just a few small additions.
Special Notes and Added/Noteworthy/XML/Script changes:
* AMT updated to pre-0.99.5b, Nuka1195's Plugin Installer to 1.2a
* added: .evo to supported video files (merged from branch)
* added: Python method setPluginFanart()
For the full changelog (all added/fixed/changed/updated stuff) since the 2008-06-16 SVN Rev13573 build click here.
Keep in mind this is a SVN snapshot of the current development tree. It's not an official (stable) point release. Use only if you know what you are doing.
Official XBMC Site: http://xbmc.org (manual and FAQ)
Official T3CH Site: http://t3ch.yi.se (release RSS feed)
Download Binaries: n/a (built with XDK) | Download SourceCode: here
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
XBPartitioner Version 1.1
>> A update to a xbox1 based application to manipulate partitions of xbox harddrives...
Whats New/Fixed:
-Update by Bomb Bloke (see end of document for my moment on the soapbox).
-Cluster size update correction.
-Automatically uses 64k clusters when formatting > 512GB partitions,
128k clusters when formatting > 1TB partitions, and so forth.
(New system does not allow for users to 'toggle' cluster size via Y button).
-Switched display of megabytes to equal 1,048,576 bytes (1024^2).
-Extended partitions are now displayed in gigabytes.
Official Site: n/a (by Bomb Bloke)
Download: n/a (built with XDK)
News-Source: Xbins.org Full Readme
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
ConSign
>> A container file signature tool finally goes public....
What is it?
============
The CON file tool updates signatures found in Xbox 360 user content files ("CON" file). CON is the format used for saved games and settings. The tool requires a valid keyvault file to work.
How it works:
=============
In the keyvault of every Xbox 360 is a unique CON keypair that is used for signing CON files. The public key component of this keypair is signed by Microsoft to ensure that arbitrary keypairs cannot be used.
A copy of the public key and its signature is stored in each CON file. This allows Xbox 360 consoles to verify CON files that may be signed by other Xbox 360 consoles.Because the signing keys are per-box, individual consoles can have their keypair revoked in firmware updates.
For more information, see the source code included in the archive.
What can it do?
===============
The tool is not very interesting from the perspective of running unsigned code or Linux. It would require an exploit that is unlikely given the architecture of the Xbox 360.It is useful for activities such as porting saved game content from PC to Xbox.
Credits
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roofus & angerwound for proving it was possible and posting on xboxhacker.net the basic outline of how it works.
Rene Ladan for package file research, including hash table research.
No Credit
=========
superaison & haxalot88 (ie Michael Kaufman of Talent, Oregon 97540) who stole this work in order to try to live up to fantasies of messing with Xbox Live and somehow making financial gain out of it, then trying to claim it as their own work.
Official Site: http://xss.ath.cx
Download: n/a (May be illegal under EULA/DMCA)
News-Source: xbins.org
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
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