New XBox Experience
November 14, 2008 | 0 Comments
Today I was lucky enough to be included in the final wave of invites into the NXE Preview — that’s New XBox Experience to you n00bs. This Wednesday Microsoft will drop the update on all 360s around the world, but today I was lucky enough to get a taste. The following is my impression after a few hours with the new system.
Installing
Considering this is a completely new operating system for the XBox 360, I figured the download would take a while and was planning to wait a few days after the update dropped on Wednesday. To my surprise, the updated downloaded and installed in less than five minutes. Once installed, you’re treated to a wild, but strange, introduction video.
Setup
After the video, I was asked to choose which account to login to. Once logged in, I began the avatar creation process. When I first heard about NXE avatars I figured it was a pretty cheesy Mii rip-off. It seemed to cheapen the 360 experience a bit. They also seemed pointless. All that said, I did have fun creating my avatar and trying to get it to look like me. I’d show you how it turned out, but short of taking a picture of my tv (which is lame) I can’t get the image off — the XBox.com site won’t display them yet.
Dashboard
I don’t even know if it’s called the dashboard anymore, but that’s what I’ll call it for lack of a better term. Despite looking completely cluttered and slightly unorganized, finding what you’re looking for is fairly simple. The graphics make the old “blade” system look rather archaic (although that is more or less what you get when you hit the XBox button on the controller) and look awesome in HD. There is now a quick button to the Marketplace to make purchasing Rock Band songs even easier. Also easier to find is the newsfeed that was added in the last console update, if you’re into that sort of thing.
Games
If there is a game currently in the drive, the first panel on the Games blade (are they still called blades?) is dedicated to that game. In my case, there is a pretty cool image of a member of the Brotherhood of Steel letting me know Fallout 3 is currently ready to go. Subsequent panels feature recently played games and a much better way to look through a games achievements.
One of the NXE features that I didn’t find out about until recently is the ability to install games to the hard drive. It took about 10 minutes to install Fallout 3 to the hard drive and while I didn’t really notice any in-game load differences, the initial launch seemed more snappy. Though playing a game without hearing the crazy-loud disc drive was a huge bonus.
Netflix
A huge addition to the NXE, and one of the reasons I left Blockbuster, is the ability to stream movies from Netflix. This comes in the form of a 3MB download that, once run, gives you an activation code to enter on Netflix’s website. Once activated, about 30 seconds, my instant queue was brought up. There is no way to add titles to the queue, though you can remove titles and rate them. Quality is pretty good and looks a little worse than a typical HDTV broadcast (I tested with an episode of the Office). The function of the Netflix portion of the NXE is great and goes a long way in making the 360 an actual entertainment hub, especially for us Mac users.
Network
The 360 is notorious for having trouble handling extended networks using Apple routers — using multiple routers to extend a wi-fi signal. In my house, I do just that. My 360 is on the complete opposite end of the house from the initial router and, despite an AirPort Express relaying the signal only 20 feet away, the 360 has trouble with the network. Now, I have absolutely no proof or way to test this, but it seems that with the update I have better signal strength. Again, there’s no way to know if this is a placebo effect or not, but it does seem quicker, especially when downloading things from the Marketplace.
Final Thoughts
Note: One thing I want to test but haven’t yet had time to do so is the DVD playback. The 360’s playback has always been mediocre at best, especially when displaying text. I’m hoping that the NXE update addresses this issue, but I’m not going to hold my breath.
All in all I’m pretty impressed with the New XBox Experience. Looking at the pre-release features it looked like the NXE could be a lot of eye candy and very little substance, but instead the update is a welcome change. While the avatars do seem a bit cheesy, they aren’t too bad. Unfortunately I can see the money hounds on the horizon as paid avatar updates and themes will come — there’s already a spot for it on the avatar editing screen. It’s a nice update and if you have a 360, be sure to download the update on Wednesday.
Dear Blockbuster
October 26, 2008 | 5 Comments
Dear Blockbuster Total Access:
We’ve been together since 2005. Our relationship started out so well. You were sending me great movies and coupons which let me rent more movies and video games in store! Then you went and did something even better. You told me I could exchange the movies you sent me in store for even more free movies. It was great. We really had a good thing going.
Then things started to change. I guess you realized your stores were no longer making any money. So before I could exchange a movie for a free rental, you made me weave through a maze of cheep candy and over-priced movie posters. Then, at the counter, you asked if I wanted to take advantage of the great deal on popcorn. Frankly, you were being too pushy and I felt a bit smothered.
Then you changed the rules. You told me I was no longer getting any coupons. In fact, I could now only exchange movies in store twice a month. You became too overbearing. I couldn’t take it any longer.
I hate to tell you this, but last Saturday I cheated on you. Netflix told me to give it a try, so I did. I didn’t want to at first, but their site was so much easier to use and recommended better movies. Sure, I can’t take stuff into a store with Netflix, but honestly Blockbuster, you’re stores are pretty old and disgusting. You really should clean every now and then. Besides, Netflix told me that by the middle of next month I’ll be able to download and watch movies on my XBox instantly and sometime soon I’ll be able to do that on my Mac too.
What I’m trying to say, Blockbuster, is that it’s over between you and me. We had some good times, but it’s time to go our separate ways. I’d like to say it’s not you, it’s me, but this time it really is you. I wish you the best in the future.
Signed,
Justin Cox