xbox

Dear Santa, what my home network wants for Christmas

Chip Wenz — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 09:48:01 -0500

Dear Santa, Since my network isn’t here to speak for itself (it’s out looking for Sarah Conner), I thought that I would drop you a note and tell you that although there were a few minor indiscretions over the last year (a couple of viruses and a particularly nasty Trojan) my network has been good and would like to have the following things under the tree on Christmas morning:

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Did Microsoft make a bad call on banning a Gamertag?

Microsoft Subnet — Thu, 22 May 2008 11:03:41 -0400

The gamer blog Kotaku is reporting on a really weird story involving Microsoft and a decision that is, shall we say, hard to believe. Microsoft reportedly banned the Gamertag of a gentleman using his legal name, Richard Gaywood. Apparently, the man's actual name violates Microsoft policies on politically correct and clean Gamertags.

Microsoft's Xbox terms of use policy says a user cannot ...

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iPod, Xbox and RAZR development shows benefits of taking turns, MIT and Stanford researchers say

Alpha Doggs — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 17:30:48 -0500

Apple, Google, Motorola and others stand to deliver more successful products the more they are willing to cede total control to development partners – at least temporarily, according to new MIT and Stanford University research.

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Key “Big Picture” Challenges

Michael Dortch — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 19:27:56 -0400

So what business or businesses is Microsoft in, anyway, and what business or businesses will it be in next year? In two years? In five years?

These time frames are almost intolerably long in what's been referred to as "Internet time." I prefer the perspective uttered, as I remember, by Indiana Jones in "Raiders of the Lost Ark." That is, "It's not the time - it's the mileage."

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Angry players file second class action suit over Xbox

Microsoft Subnet — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 18:26:30 -0400

The turmoil over Xbox hardware problems continues to boil for Microsoft. Now the company has been served with a class action suit – its second – over claims that the Xbox scratches and permanently damages expensive game discs, reports InformationWeek.

On heels of $1billion fiasco, Xbox exec out the door

Microsoft Subnet — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 11:21:35 -0400

If you are an executive in charge of a unit that cost your company $1 billion dollars, you can't expect to keep your job for too much longer. Yesterday, Microsoft announced that Peter Moore resigned. However, Moore says that his exit has nothing to do with the Xbox problems.

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Microsoft apologizes for faulty Xbox consoles; dedicates $1 billion to making amends

Microsoft Subnet — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 18:28:59 -0400

The Xbox community has been infuriated and frustrated by ongoing hardware failures with their favorite toy. Today, Microsoft stepped up and announced it would be extending its warranty to three years against hardware failures, indicated by three flashing lights on the console. It expects this action to cost $1 billion – is taking that as a charge against earnings for the quarter that ended in June, it says.

Microsoft’s Peter Moore wrote an open letter to the Xbox community, published in its entirely on Microsoft’s Xbox 360 site.

Moore promises:

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Gaming innovations heading to an enterprise near you (namely yours)

Microsoft Subnet — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 14:41:25 -0400

Want to know what’s coming next to your network? Watch the world of gaming hardware. As Patrick Mannion writes in the Under the Hood blog:

“The next round of game-platform redesigns may still be four to five years out, but chip and software designers in the areas of wireless, microeletromechanical systems, displays, miniature cameras, sensors, actuators and storage have an opportunity … by converging on interactivity, connectivity and information display.”

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Tron, Discs of Tron return to Xbox Live Arcade

NetworkLife — Thu, 03 May 2007 15:59:54 -0400

As part of this summer's 25th anniversary of Disney's Tron movie, Disney Interactive Studios will release versions of the Tron and Discs of Tron video games on the Xbox Live Arcade service for the Xbox 360 gaming console.

The 1982 Tron video game included four games – battle the "grid bugs" to get into the I/O tower; race your light cycle against others and don't get boxed out; battle other tanks and don't get shot; and a 'Breakout' style game where you get to the top of the I/O tower without getting hit by a brick. The 1983 Discs of Tron arcade game had players throwing energy discs at Sark while avoiding or blocking his attacks (think tennis meets a boomerang type game).

Tron has appeared in other video games as well, including 2003's Tron 2.0 for Windows, 2004's Tron 2.0: Killer App for the Xbox and Game Boy Advance. Tron as a character also appeared in Square Enix's Kingdom Hearts II for the PS2 (a great game).

Guitar Hero II Xbox 360 downloads announced

NetworkLife — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 16:00:59 -0400

Activision announced some of the songs available for download through the Xbox Live Marketplace service for its Guitar Hero II game. The content will be bundled into "track packs" with three songs each, and will cost 500 gamer points (about $6.25). The tracks will all include the co-op gameplay (lead, rhythm and bass guitar) features in addition to single-play. Here are the songs:

Track Pack 1:
* Bark at the Moon (as made famous by Ozzy Osbourne)
* Hey You (as made famous by The Exies)
* Ace of Spades (as made famous by Motorhead)

Track Pack 2
* Killer Queen (as made famous by Queen)
* Take It Off (as made famous by The Donnas)
* Frankenstein (as made famous by The Edger Winter Group)

Guitar Hero - Track Pack 3
* Higher Ground (as made famous by Red Hot Chili Peppers)
* Infected (as made famous by Bad Religion)
* Stellar (as made famous by Incubus)

Additional downloadable content includes theme packs with Guitar Hero identities (150 points) and gamer pics (100 points). The Xbox 360 version includes 10 new tracks not seen in the original PS2 version, as well as new rock venues, HD characters, and new unlockable guitars.