Going Geek On Ya'

You'll have to forgive me, but today I'm going to have to get a little geek here on the blog.

Today is the release date for the "New Xbox Experience" or, as Microsoft likes to call it, the "NXE". What it is, is an update to the operating system on the Xbox 360. It's really more than an update though, it's more like a complete overhaul. They've completly redesigned the look and feel of the OS. They've also added a fair number of new features.

They're doing avatars now that look like a teenage version of Nintendo's "Mii" avatars.

One feature that I'm excited to try out is that you can now install a game to your harddrive. You still have to have the game in the drive to play it, but when you're playing, the game disc never has to spin. For those of you who don't have a 360, let me say that this is definitly something cool. The 360 is a fairly large machine and the amount of noise it makes while playing games is unreal. Anything to get it quietier is a worthy feature.

Possibly the coolest new feature though is that you're going to be able to do Netflix streaming to the 360. If you have a 360 and Netflix, you can log on to your account and add movies to an "instant queue". You then go to the 360 and you can cycle through your instant queue and watch any of the movies through the Xbox. They're also doing a small amount of HD material. I'm not sure how our internet connection will hold up to HD streaming, but you can bet I'm going to be giving it a try.

So forgive the trip down geed lane. Something like this always gets me excited though. I'm a sucker for new tech and new software. I guess that's why I do the work I do. Anyway. Have a good Wednesday.

--Paul