Sorry for the total lack of posting this month.  I have been focusing all of my energy on my new project, LiveSide.  We've been going for under a month now and it has far surpassed anything that I thought it would be at this point.

 

On that subject, be on the lookout for the release of MSN Spaces 10.5 over the next couple of days.  I'll be sitting down with Mike Torres to talk about the release for a LiveSide interview soon.  So, I'll definately put a post up here and on LiveSide when that goes up for download.

 

Hope all is well with my readers.  Do me a favor and check out LiveSide, we've got a lot of great content and things coming up.  That's all for now!

   While I was away at CES, we launched our brand new site, LiveSide.net.  Myself and a few other people are working on this project right now.  Our goal is to bring you the most up-to-date news on Windows Live, Xbox Live, and Office Live (among other things) in an easily accessible, central location.  It definately still needs some work, so think of this as version 0.1.  We look forward to seeing you all there.  We've got some very exciting things planned for this site, so stay tuned!

 

 

 

   In a few hours I will be on the plane to Las Vegas for the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show. I'll keep my blog updated with the new products on display there.  If you're going to be there as well, just leave a comment here. :-)

  If you're participating in the Windows Live Mail beta, you can now access the Kahuna client from your mobile phone.  Just follow the follow these instructions:

Happy New Year everyone!  Hope you all go out and have some fun tonight.  Be on the lookout for some exciting things next year.  See you in 2006. :-)

   It's official, Intel's long time ad-campaign "Intel Inside" is dead.  Their new logo and catch phrase are Intel: Leap Ahead.  I'm sure we'll see a ton of Leap Ahead banners, signs, .etc plastered all over CES.  By the way, anyone else out there going to CES?

   As Windows Live Fremont is moving out of beta, it is moving into it's permanent home.  Windows Live Expo will be the official name for Microsoft's new listing/classifieds service.  The site is not live as of yet, but is returning a Runtime Error.  When the site goes live, I'll update this post with the link (I don't want the site to get hammered as they're trying to bring it online).  I must say, this is great timing on Microsoft's part with the release.  The day after Christmas...I'm sure a lot of unwanted or duplicate gifts will be going up. :-)

 

Thanks to Chris for the initial heads up on this.

  If you have an account on Xbox Live, you should definately check this one out.  Microsoft has just started up a program which will provide Xbox Live subscribers with even more benefits.  Free of charge to you, Microsoft will send you a spiffy looking card, personalized with your gamertag.  Microsoft partnered with several companies, such as Hollywood Video and Quizno's Subs to provide discounts to cardholders.  So, it may expand from here, but it's definately worth it for the sweet card. :-)

  Earlier today, Microsoft released its December "Community Technology Preview" of its next-generation operating system, Windows Vista to its beta testers.  Build 5270 weighs in at a little over two gigabytes.  The download servers are currently swamped, so I'll have a review up with screenshots sometime tomorrow after I get it all installed!

  I reccomend that everyone who has ripped a CD to their computer in the last 2 years download this tool from Lavasoft and scan for Sony's rootkit.  It takes less than a minute.  It's quick,  painless, and your computer will be better off for it.

 

  The current build of Windows Live Messenger has just been released to official testers, "according to Leah" over at the MessengerSays blog.  Some of the new features include Sharing Folders, VoIP, a totally redesigned user interface, and countless other improvements.  The "Future of Messenger" is here. :-)

Cingular just posted thier new 2125 phone to their website today.  Anyone heard anything about this phone?  Thinking about getting it.

 

 

Dion Hinchcliffe has put together a very nice list of Web 2.0 software for 2005.  I can't believe it, Microsoft is actually noted for it's efforts with Start.com.  Good to see that Microsoft is finally making some progress in being noticed for their Web 2.0 work.

 

Just a little foreword for this Xbox 360 review, this is an article that I wrote for our school newspaper, so it may contain many things that you already know about Xbox 360 since much of it is geared primarily towards those sitting on the fence of whether or not they should purchase a 360.  With that said...On with the show!

  

   After nine hours of sitting in an enormous store with fluorescent lights, on November 22^nd after school, at 12:01 am myself and my fellow camper, Scott, managed to get two out of the twenty-six Xbox 360’s available at our local Wal-Mart.  Judging from the number of people in line, all of the store’s supply was sold out by 4:00pm for a midnight launch.  On “Day 1,” Microsoft sold a total of 400,000 Xbox 360’s, selling out in every single store across the country.  Over the last few weeks, I had the chance to check out the system itself, accessories, and several of the launch titles.  Here is what you get with the “Premium” Xbox 360 System (the white box):

 

-          Xbox 360 Console

-          20 GB Hard Drive

-          Wireless Controller

-          Xbox Live Headset

-          Cables for connecting your 360 to a HDTV or regular TV

-          Ethernet Cable

All of this comes standard in the box for a MSRP of $399.99.

   You may think that the Xbox 360 is just for playing the best games available on the market now.  That is where you would be wrong.  The Xbox 360 is arguably the best media device available now.  Along with playing games, you can play DVD’s, listen to CD’s, connect your iPod or other MP3 player to it and listen to all of your music, connect your digital camera and view pictures on your TV, and stream music, pictures, video, and movies from your computer straight to your 360.  You can even use your favorite music tracks on your computer as the music in your favorite 360 game.  The 20 GB hard drive allows you to save as many games as you want without having to worry about buying more memory cards.  It also serves as space to rip your CD’s and pictures directly to your Xbox 360.  On top of that, you can play many of the original Xbox games on your 360.

   The unit itself is a technical powerhouse.  The Xbox 360 boasts a three core CPU, with all of the cores running at 3.2 GHz, 512 MB of RAM, 20 GB hard drive, 500 MHz ATI graphics processor, 3 USB ports, Ethernet support, and High Definition capabilities.

   Xbox 360 is all about customization.  Whether it is through snapping a new faceplate onto the front of the console, applying a theme to your 360 Dashboard, changing your Gamer Picture to fit your style, or playing all of your content on your TV Xbox 360 always revolves around what you want to do.

   Xbox Live is taken to a whole new level on Xbox 360.  Now, you can play your favorite games online against opponents across the globe, talk to your friends via the headset regardless of if they are playing a game or just watching a DVD, customize your GamerCard and Gamer Profile, and last but not least, use the Xbox Live Marketplace.  Xbox Live Marketplace serves as a place to download demos for upcoming and current games, watch movie and game trailers, download customizable themes and Gamer Pictures, and have Xbox Live Arcade games delivered right to your hard drive.

   The first Xbox 360 game that I got a chance to check out was Project Gotham Racing 3.  When I fired up my first race in PGR3, I was stunned at the level of detail of not only the car I was driving, but also the buildings and scenery around me and the people watching from behind barricades and fences.  The team that created PGR3 at Bizarre Creations spent a lot of time examining all of the high end cars included in the game, detailing their design, sound, and mechanics.  PGR3 has a decent single player mode where you progress through series of races, unlocking new cars as you go.  One thing that I love about PGR3 as opposed to other racing games is that when you start you already have cars which are comparable to the best cars in the game.  Within fifteen hours of play, you can unlock almost all of the cars that are available.  The game comes with its own soundtrack consisting of a mix of rock, alternative and hip-hop, but if you don’t like it you can always plug in your iPod or stream music from your computer to listen to while you play.  The part of PGR3 which really stands out, however, is the online play.  Project Gotham Racing 3 utilizes Xbox Live on 360 better than any other launch title.  Online activities include an online career mode and their breakthrough feature, Gotham TV.  Gotham TV lets you ride in the car as you watch your friends or even the best players in the world race.  You can also save replays of your races for later viewing in Gotham TV.  The first person, in-car, view provides a very immersive driving experience.  You can look around in the interior of the car and dirt will even get on your windshield if you decide to take a spin through the grass.  Overall, Project Gotham Racing 3 is the most solid racing game that I have played in a long time and it is definitely worth a look.

   Next, I played around with Activision’s next-generation shooter, Call of Duty 2.  COD2 has the best single player mode, by far, of any launch title that I have played.  The realism that Call of Duty 2 creates in its Campaign mode is outstanding.  It does a great job of showing what it might have been like to fight in World War II.  One weak point of Call of Duty 2 that I see is that it forces you to play as Soviet, British, and American soldiers throughout the game.  This creates a sort of discontinuity of the story.  This fact is almost completely outweighed by the excellent game play and easy to learn controls.  The online experience is definitely the weakest of the games that I have seen thus far.  When the games work smoothly, it is great.  The problem is that a lot of the time you end up with games that have a lot of lag for a portion of the match.  It also lacks a lobby for you and your friends to hang out and decide what you want to play next.  Despite the poor Xbox Live play, Call of Duty 2 is worth picking up just for the Campaign mode alone.

   Finally, I was able to play the game that I was anticipating the most in the launch lineup, Perfect Dark Zero.  Rare, the developer that made Perfect Dark Zero, is most famous for making the games GoldenEye and the original Perfect Dark for Nintendo 64.  Those happened to be two of my favorite shooters of all time, so I was very excited to try out their next-generation follow-up.  Released by Microsoft Game Studios, Perfect Dark Zero was probably the most hyped game for the Xbox 360.  The single-player missions serve mainly as a warm-up for the intense multiplayer action, although some of them prove to be very trying, especially on the harder difficulty levels.  Multiplayer, both on Live and locally is where Perfect Dark Zero excels.  PDZ’s multiplayer features wealth of options for you to tweak to your liking.  You can choose from different weapons sets, maps, and even mix in some bots with real people for a richer experience.  Overall, Perfect Dark Zero is by far the best multiplayer shooter in the launch lineup.

   My first impressions with the Xbox 360 are very positive.  The user interface and services that Xbox Live provides feel very solid.  The graphics of the new games look amazing, with even better games on the way.  Although the Xbox 360 made a strong showing at launch with its game lineup, the best is yet to come.

   On Thursday night, I managed to snag a copy of Call of Duty 2 and a Wireless Controller for Xbox 360 from a local unnamed store.  Friday, my preorders for Project Gotham Racing 3 and Perfect Dark Zero (Limited Edition) came in at Best Buy.  I have to say that the packaging for the Limited Edition Perfect Dark Zero is incredible.  Easily one of the best packaging jobs that I have seen on a video game.  I also have to compliment Microsoft on a great job with the Wireless Controller packaging.  It was designed in a way that if you hold the box in your hand, as you would a controller, it feels really comfortable.  You really don't even need to open the packaging in order to tell how nice the controller will feel.  I have attached a bunch of pictures of all of this stuff for your viewing pleasure. :-)  3 Days!

I came home yesterday to find a package from the folks over at Windows Live Mail.  A nice little treat for trying out their new email service.

   Today marks the start of Microsoft's new ad campaign for Windows Media Center.  Following in the fashion of their "Start Something Inspired" campaign, "Start Something Entertaining" it timed to coincide with the launch of Xbox 360 and help to promote it's Media Center functionalities, thus, hopefully, thrusting MCE into the mainstream.