Xbox LIVE Still Experiencing Issues *Update4: Broken again*
>> Since December 21st Microsoft has been having on-off issues with their Xbox LIVE service. After the long xmas weekend the problem was said to be solved, but it seems that LIVE's 'Intermittent Issues' are back again. Currently they updated their support page with this message: [QUOTE] Users may experience intermittent issues logging onto Xbox Live. Our engineers are continuing to investigate and are working to resolve this issue. We apologize for any inconvenience. [/QUOTE]
There also news on Major Nelson's website and Twitter: [QUOTE] You may have noticed that the LIVE service has been having a few issues over the past few days. This includes things like signing in, matchmaking and account recovery. Not everyone has had problems, but I know some of you have and I wanted to give you and update. While the service was never completely offline, problems like this are not acceptable. The entire LIVE team has been working day and night to ensure that you can have a great LIVE experience. While we're not done yet, I wanted to let you know that things are getting better each hour and that no one on the team is going anywhere until the job is done. Thanks for your patience.
Twitter (newest msgs first): * I don't have an ETA on things getting better since things are happening really fast. Some things (NOT ALL) are already fixed and working. * Hey folks, we know some of you are having problems. We're working on them. [/QUOTE]
*Update* I updated the above info with the latest LIVE status message and new MN's Twitter messages. It's seems to be mostly solved now, but still some problems apparently. *Update2* Added MN news post. *Update3* Problems seems to be solved ... for now. *Update4* New Problems lol (twitter and status messages above updated)
Too many people bought an Xbox 360 for Christmas? lol
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
>> Sorry for the delay, but here's the on-demand video stream of Felix Domke's (alias Tmbinc) and Michael Steil's (alias Mist) lecture at the 24th Chaos Communication Congress in Berlin, Germany: "Why Silicon-Based Security is still that hard: Deconstructing Xbox 360 Security". They explain the Xbox360 security and tell how it was hacked to run Linux (Hypervisor and Shader Exploit and the Timing Attack). The anonymous 'Hoodie Guy' from last year's CCC also makes a short appearance :) They also show a 3d-demo using their reversed engineered driver for ATI/AMD's Xenos gfxchip. At the end there's also a short video of native Wii homebrew! Even if you don't understand every part of the lecture (it's pretty technical) it's certainly worth a watch to understand more about the Xbox360 security.
TeamXbox Confirms Enhanced Xbox 360 Controller Research
>> From teamxbox.com: [QUOTE] TeamXbox.com can confirm that Microsoft has been researching alternative input technologies for the last two years, including vision-based recognition such as the one used on Xbox Live Vision, as well as motion sensing technologies similar to those seen in the Microsoft Freestyle Pro and the PlayStation 3 SIXAXIS.
Particularly, Microsoft has looked at ways to improve the right analog stick input and you'll hear more about those efforts soon. [/QUOTE]
>> Here's a live stream of Felix Domke's (alias Tmbinc) and Michael Steil's (alias Mist) Lecture at the 24th Chaos Communication Congress in Berlin, Germany. "Why Silicon-Based Security is still that hard: Deconstructing Xbox 360 Security
The Xbox 360 probably is the video game console with the most sophisticated security system to date. Nevertheless, is has been hacked, and now Linux can be run on it. This presentation consists of two parts."
*update* The lecture is over now. They fully explained the HyperVisor and Shader (King Kong) Exploit and how these could be used to boot Linux. They also talked a bit about the Timing Attack. At the end they talked about native Wii homebrew, but we're no Wii site so let's pass ;p We'll try to offer you a on-demand stream of this lecture as soon as possible.
Discuss this news item on our forums: forums.xbox-scene.com
>> It's starting to get a real tradition to see the xbox-linux/free60 guys at the Chaos Communication Congress at the Berliner Congress Center in Berlin, Germany. The 24th edition of the congress (25C3) started yesterday (Thursday), and later today (Friday) Felix Domke (alias Tmbinc) and Michael Steil (alias Mist) will hold their 1-hour "Console Hacking 2007" lecture.
The title for this year is "Why Silicon-Based Security is still that hard: Deconstructing Xbox 360 Security", so I guess they will not only explain and talk about the Hypervisor Exploit (remember: it was introduced 'anonymously' last year during one of the 'Lightning Talks' at 23C3 by the 'hoodie guy' ;)) but also about the Timing Attack downgrade-hack. To know if there will also be some new stuff introduced we'll have to wait till after the 1-hour lecture that will take place at 4pm CET.
Here's the introduction of their lecture: [QUOTE] The Xbox 360 probably is the video game console with the most sophisticated security system to date. Nevertheless, is has been hacked, and now Linux can be run on it. This presentation consists of two parts.
In the first part, we describe the motivation and the design of the Xbox 360 security system from a very high-legel point of view, present the hack and what is possible with Linux, and discuss how the situation can be improved both for the manufacturer and for hobbyists with future devices.
In the second, very technical part, we will discuss the design and implementation details of the Xbox 360 system and security architecture and describe in detail how and why it was hacked, as well as how Linux was ported to this new platform. [/QUOTE]
Other console related lectures at 24C3: * 'Playstation Portable Cracking' by TyRaNiD on December 30th 5:15pm CET * 'Console Hacking: State of the Wii' by Ben Byer+others - 14th in line of the 'Lightning Talks' (5-minute talks)
Next-Gen's Top 10 Blunder of 2007: 3 Entries for Microsoft
>> From next-gen.biz: [QUOTE] There are certain events of 2007 that industry folks would just as soon not ever hear about again--so here they are...
#10 - The Non-Elite Elite "Now, for only $20 shy of the price of a PlayStation 3 you could own a wireless-less, HD-DVD-less system with a larger hard drive and that thunderous Xbox 360 fan noise. To its credit, it did have a sweet black paint job..."
#7 - Surprise! Zombies! "The corporate VP of Microsoft Game Studios, Shane Kim, had a secret. Each morning he chuckled quietly to himself, knowing it would make a huge splash at E3 in 2007. Then a Game Informer interview ruined it. You can't really improve on the original, so just read for yourself"
#1 - Red Ink of Death "With a year's headstart and exclusive hits like Gears of War, Microsoft started 2007 looking every bit the confident market leader they'd longed to be since 2001. Beneath that sanguine exterior, however, lurked a horrible, horrible truth: "Things break." So said Microsoft's Peter "Antoinnette" Moore of increasingly prevalent Xbox 360 hardware failure - known colloquially as the Red Ring of Death - in a May 2007 in an interview with Mike Antonucci of The Mercury News. Within two months Microsoft publicly acknowledged finding several design flaws which were killing systems and took a $1 billion charge to extend consumer warranties. That charge alone cut Microsoft's profit for the quarter by 25%." [/QUOTE]
Fake Xbox 360 Motion Sensing Controller Pictures - Wii-Mote Prototypes
>> There's a growing rumor on the internet about leaked pictures of the rumored Xbox 360 motion sensing controller. While it's possible we'll see an official motion sensing controller from Microsoft in 2008, the image posted on the internet today is definitely fake. It's actually an old picture of some prototypes Gyration designed for Nintendo years ago. Basically these are Wii-mote prototypes and not related to Microsoft or the Xbox 360. Below is the original image instead of the very low res version that's doing the rounds now.
Why LIVE Members Under 18 Can't Access some Demos and Trailers
>> From majornelson.com (FYI: MS onwed blog): [QUOTE] I have received a few questions as to why Xbox LIVE members under 18 cannot access game demos or trailers on Xbox LIVE. The answer lies with video game ratings organizations, like the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). Game demos and trailers distributed over Xbox LIVE are considered advertising and in accordance with the ESRB's Principles and Guidelines for Responsible Advertising Practices Xbox LIVE members under 18 do not have access to demos or trailers for a title rated M (Mature) or RP (Rating Pending.) ESRB Guidelines are industry wide and are not unique to Xbox LIVE. In other words, these are the rules that all online console stores, like the Wii Shop Channel and the Playstation Store, need to adhere to in order to in be in line with the ESRB's Guidlines. [/QUOTE]
>> From xboxfamily.com: [QUOTE] If what we're hearing out of Saratoga, California is true, Xbox 360 owners can expect to be playing motion sensing games, much like that of the Wii or PS3, by the end of next year. The details are still sketchy, but it appears a first-party add-on to existing controllers may be the delivery method of the technology.
It appears Microsoft has contracted the Saratoga, California firm, Gyration to handle the peripheral. If that name sounds familiar, it's for good reason. Gyration is the company responsible for the prototype designs of the Nintendo Wii-mote, which we all know has become a huge success. [/QUOTE]
>> Carcharius released a new port of ScummVM for Xbox1 on forums.xbox-scene.com: [QUOTE] I've just released a beta of my port of ScummVM. This one is based off of the current ScummVM subversion tree (0.11.0svn).
This isn't an update of my previous port, it's a complete 'do over' (as an american might say). Some (xbox specific) things are in this version that weren't in my previous port and it's likely that some things from the previous version aren't in this one.
It is something that I've had in progress for a while now, other stuff kept getting in the way so I couldn't spend time on it. Because of that it's probably not as well tested as it could have been.
That's where you guys come in - please test the hell out of it during the next week or so and post any feedback so that I know what to look at.
Please remember that this is not an official port or part of the ScummVM project itself, so lease don't go bothering those guys with any issues. If you find anything wrong, please come and tell me about it here on xbox-scene. [/QUOTE]
>> From spong.com: [QUOTE] The Scottish Government is trying a new approach to warning youngsters against the perils of drink driving: inserting adverts into Xbox 360 games.
£10,000 is being spent on the campaign to put adverts on in-game virtual billboards. The titles set to feature the ads include Need for Speed: Carbon, Need for Speed:ProStreet, Project Gotham Racing 4, NBA Live and Pro Evolution Soccer 2008.
Should this trial prove successful, the Scottish government tells us, the same approach could be used for other road safety messages.
Scottish Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson said, "With statistics showing that road deaths, particularly among young people, are continuing to rise, it is clear we must look at new ways of getting road safety messages across. This is exactly the kind of initiative we should be trying. [/QUOTE]
Microsoft Announces New Xbox 360 Points Gifting System
>> From gamasutra.com: [QUOTE] Xbox Live director of programming Larry Hryb, better known as Major Nelson, has revealed as part of a new post in his popular weblog that Microsoft is offering an Xbox 360 Points gifting system, currently U.S. only.
Now, when purchasing Microsoft Points online at the official website, users may also elect to gift points to other U.S. users, using the recipient's Windows Live ID (not their Gamertag). [/QUOTE]
The Best New Xbox 360 IPs of 2007 and The Most Anticipated of 2008
>> From xbox360.thegamereviews.com: [QUOTE] New Original IP's for 2007: * BioShock * Mass Effect * Crackdown * Lost Planet: Extreme Condition * Blue Dragon
New IP's of 2008: * Alan Wake * Too Human * Left 4 Dead * Lost Odyssey * Huxley [/QUOTE]
>> T3CH released a new SVN compile (rev11071) of XboxMediaCenter(info) for Xbox1. 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 Noteworthy/XML/Script changes: * I wish everyone Happy Holidays! * New script T3CH Upgrader made by BigBellyBilly replaces the old T3CH Downloader script. Thx Man! * AMT including it's bundled plugins updated to rev1778. XBMC Lyrics updated to rev1771.
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.
>> From Team BlackBolt: [QUOTE] Merry Xmas (or whatever holiday you celebrate this time of year, if any)!
My plans changed today, so I had some free time to tend to some things in MC360 that I've wanted to do since the fall update to the real Xbox 360 dashboard. I've changed some icons around, fixed the size of the Gamertag font on the Gamercard and made a few small fixes. As always the SVN is the best place to get MC360 and stay up-to-date, but for those still not with the times, I've added a build of the new revision 1077 to the MC360 downloads section. Enjoy. [/QUOTE]
Microsoft's Vrignaud about Intel Working on Next-Gen Chips
>> Microsoft's Andre Vrignaud (Ozymandias), managing the gaming platform strategy for Xbox and Windows, talks about the recent article suggesting Intel is working on CPUs for the (next-)next-gen consoles: [QUOTE] Unfortunately (for Intel), Motorola really swept the parts-provider role in this current generation... sounds like Intel doesn't intend to allow that to happen again.
Really can't say anything more since I know a bunch of folks who have left various companies to join Intel on their new effort. I will say that it's great to see a reinvigorated Intel getting back into the game! [/QUOTE]
