My new Xbox Avatar. It didn't take too long to set up, and I think these guys look a lot better than Nintendo's Miis.
After a lot of waiting, Microsoft has finally released its new dashboard for the Xbox 360.
So far, I think my favorite feature is the Netflix streaming video. Granted, Netflix hasn't added all their movies to this option yet, but they still have a very nice collection. From the few minutes I had to play with it, the videos seemed to work pretty seamlessly with the Xbox and Netflix.
Here's a rundown of some of the new features (from xbox.com).
Avatars
One of the most obvious things you'll discover is avatars. When you first sign in after the update, you'll be asked to create one. Make your little avatar look just like you, or go for a bizarro world alter ego.
Once you have your avatar all sorted out, make it your gamer picture! Snap a quick picture of your avatar's face, eye, armpit, or whatever. And don't worry, if you don't want your bobblehead on your gamer picture, you can skip it, or replace it later with a regular gamer picture. (You need to be signed in to Xbox LIVE to update your gamer picture with your avatar.)
Oh, and in case you're wondering, yes, I do have purple hair in real life. If you want to know how I got it for my avatar, I offer this clue: Good things come to those who wait!
Parties
Some of you have been asking for a while about party chat, that is, the ability for multiple people to gather on a chat channel outside a game. Not content with just the minimum, Xbox brings you Xbox LIVE Parties, which not only allows eight people to chat together, but also lets you take those people into games and participate in activities like photo sharing.
Setting up a party is just like sending out friend requests. Pull up a player's profile, send an invite, and go about your business while you wait for them to show up. Once you have your party gathered, you can just chat, or you can start up a game and send game invites to everyone at once.
The party chat channel is managed alongside the game and private chat channels, so you can just flip back and forth between them.
Play From the Hard Drive
You can also install games to your hard drive. When you play an installed game, it'll run from the hard drive, making load times quicker and cutting down on console noise. It will check for the original game disc when you start, but after that it's smooth sailing. Most Xbox 360 games are supported, even multi-disc ones.
Install your games to the hard drive.
You can install a game from the game details panel (with the disc in the drive, go to the My Xbox channel and press Y, or select the game in your game library). If you're done with the game, or need to make room for other games, you can delete it from the same place.
Netflix
Ever since Xbox 360 launched, we've been introducing entertainment choices that go beyond games. We started with a modest offering of game videos and trailers, building up to blockbuster movie hits and TV shows. We're extending this now with a partnership with Netflix, which lets Netflix subscribers stream movies and TV shows from their Netflix instant Queue. Select your movies on the Netflix site and start streaming them instantly on your console.
You do have to be subscribed to an unlimited streaming plan with Netflix, and there may be some special offers for you. Check out the site for more details.
Xbox LIVE Marketplace
Marketplace has gotten so big now that it just can't be contained in one place. Now you get new stuff all throughout the Xbox Dashboard. Game detail panels help you find all related content for a game. And you can always browse the Game Marketplace and Video Marketplace channels.
A new feature is the ability to shop Xbox LIVE Marketplace from the Web. Buy and queue up all your downloads. They'll get added to your console's active download list when you sign in.
One cool new addition to the Game Marketplace is XNA Community Games. Play games created by gamers just like you! If you're a gamer who wants to submit games to Xbox LIVE, get the full scoop at the XNA Creators Club Online site.
That's Not All
If you're curious where your themes went, they're still there. Backgrounds show up behind the channels, and multi-image themes change depending on the area you're in. Be sure to check out the new NXE themes: Xbox 360, Spectrum, Day, and Night. Bonus feature: Your friends channel changes with your theme.
If you're looking for something familiar, head over to System Settings. You'll find that it feels a lot like the old System blade, with one major difference: network settings. Networking can be challenging to set up and troubleshoot, so we've revamped the network test to make it a little easier to figure out.
You'll also find support for additional display modes and a way to change the alphabetical virtual keyboard to QWERTY. Overall, not a bad update, if I do say so myself.