The Escapist Presents: Preview: Xbox Dashboard Update 2010

onewheeled

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Aug 4, 2009
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I actually really like the current Dashboard design. The way the icons go off into the distance make it easy to see almost everything at once, instead of this two or three at a time we get with this update.
 

anonymity88

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Sep 20, 2010
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It's all so very white.

Still wish they'd make Last.Fm background play compatible, I might use it more often than simply background noise when I'm ironing.
 

harvz

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Jun 20, 2010
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...ew
it looks pretty awful and ive never been into gimmicky garbage so there is nothing i like about this
 

mjc0961

YOU'RE a pie chart.
Nov 30, 2009
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"Narrated By John Funk"
And then I burst out laughing. Thanks for that, as unintended as it probably was.

Pegghead said:
It looks good, I'm glad they didn't change the look of the avatars.
I swear they did... I'm sure my avatar looks taller and just a little bit differently proportioned. Not a radical change, but just enough that it's making me go "I swear it's different. Did they actually change it or am I going nuts?"

Digikid said:
Hmm....the side to side looks retarded. It was way better "fading into the background". This is a step backwards....not forwards. It would be smart of Microsoft to actually let us CHOOSE what direction we want the panels to go instead.
I like it better this new way. It's so much easier to keep that boring IGN drone's canned smile off my screen this way, as you can only show about 3 panels on screen at once. Before, because she was always on the right side of the panel, that stupid canned smile would always be back there, staring into my soul...

Anyway, is the update different for game news organizations or something? Mine has this whole blurb in there about how I'm not supposed to show screenshots, videos, or even talk about the update on forums, blogs, etc... And yeah I just did, I figure everyone else is so why the hell not? :p

anonymity88 said:
It's all so very white.
Just wait until you push the guide button. They did not push the guide button in this video, but when you do... Holy crap, it's a flood of white. It actually startled me the first time I brought up a larger guide window panel (like if you hit the guide button when it says "achievement unlocked" and it takes you directly to the list of that game's achievements). Holy crap man, so much white. It's not supposed to be that bright aaagh!
 

DustyDrB

Made of ticky tacky
Jan 19, 2010
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Holy hell with the painful-to-watch Slim Jim ads. I'm sorry, has this become a Saturday morning cartoon site?
 

Senaro

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Jan 5, 2008
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Ick...I like it better when the icons fade into the background. Now it looks so bland.
 

Andronicus

Terror Australis
Mar 25, 2009
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therandombear said:
Yes, way to go Microsoft, update and make stuff better that I can't get on my xbox.

This makes me a sad panda...or random bear....ah wahtever:p
This.

I'm sure the new update would be REALLY EXCITING if I lived in a place that Microsoft cared about.
 

DwRedux

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Oct 28, 2009
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Last.fm ? -Nope cannot get

Espn? - Nope cannot get it

Netflix? -Nope cannot get it

Zune? get it with like 3 movies to chose from

Chunky avatar menus? I guess that's all I'll get out of this update, guess mainland Europe just isn't a marked microsoft cares all that much about.
 

IckleMissMayhem

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Oct 18, 2009
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Daystar Clarion said:
I can't be the only person who never uses any the stuff like zune etc. I have a TV, why would I need that stuff?
You're not. My 360 gets used for gaming. Oh, and hooray for 'making it easier to use' for Kinect. Sod that. Much preferred what I've got now, but at least I've got time before the dreaded 'If you don't update, you can f### off' message box of doom appears on-screen.

Nice informative video though, I just wish the MS update system wasn't so draconian.
 

Telperion

Storyteller
Apr 17, 2008
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Huh...so that's what I have been missing out on. No Netflix for me, but the rest seem equally uninteresting.
 

sibrenfetter

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Oct 26, 2009
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Ok so I live in the Netherlands and what does this give me? We have no Netflix,no Last.FM, surely not that sports channel, so what do we get? Especially since we pay 60 euros (81 dollars!!!) I really am getting a bit enough of this. I really enjoy playing on my 360 and all, but having to pay more money so that Americans can get more does start to annoy me more and more.
 

LawlessSquirrel

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Jun 9, 2010
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Eh, I dislike the new look and all non-cosmetic bits are for things I've never used and aren't interested in anyway. Seems it'll be like a downgrade for me personally, but congrats to everyone who's benefiting I suppose.
 

Susan Arendt

Nerd Queen
Jan 9, 2007
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Egads! The new avatars are hideous!

Was a dashboard update really necessary? Doesn't the current one function just fine? I certainly don't want (or need) any of that Kinect stuff on my Xbox -- I'm not buying one.
 

kintaris

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Apr 5, 2010
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I swear they've gone back to a previous model for the dashboard design. Usually interface updates are accompanied by actual service improvements, not just a (frankly horrible) cosmetic change. I appreciate there were some improvements to some individual services, but not anything that shouldn't have been there in the first place. ESPN is a nice addition, but there's nothing here for people who, you know, play games...

Seems to me that Microsoft are just chasing around after the other platforms. First they wanted to seem fun and family friendly by stealing the Wii/Mii model, and now they're going all cold and clinical to seem like a professional home entertainment service, which stinks of Sony. With such a distinct and massive community around the 360, where the game part of the console has always taken precedent, you'd think all of this design-by-committee competitor cloning would be completely unnecessary and they could forge ahead in their own direction. But what should I expect? Every new Windows iteration is just an exercise in spectacularly failing to emulate Apple.

Is this where my extra £10 for an annual gold membership is going? Sigh. Steam made a totally awesome update to their interface and it cost me nothing. In fact, they celebrated by making everything ridiculously cheap. And launching Mac compatibility.
 

Fangface74

Lock 'n' Load
Feb 22, 2008
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Kinect friendly!, Zune!, ESPN!, improved Netflix!,

All the things I'll never use in one convenient package that I still have to pay for, just because I want to play games online on my GAMES CONSOLE!
 

Susan Arendt

Nerd Queen
Jan 9, 2007
7,222
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TimeLord75 said:
Interesting. The credits say the piece was narrated by John Funk. Hey...has anyone ever seen John Funk & Susan Arendt in the same room at the same time...? o_O

Also--I had no idea Susan Arendt was a fellow Whovian! Awesome! :D
I have a TARDIS clock on my desk at work and a UNIT cap on my Sackboy. I've been watching the Doc since I was about 10 and can still recite pretty much the entire Tom Baker collection from memory. Yeah, I'm pretty stupid about Dr. Who. :)
 

Dexiro

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Dec 23, 2009
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I prefer the current Dashboard, the way the menu items go into the background give it more of a sense of depth, rather than just going side to side.

I prefer the PS3's XMB to the new update. They're not too far off though.
 

BOBdotEXE

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Nov 17, 2009
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Susan Arendt said:
Preview: Xbox Dashboard Update 2010

Susan Arendt previews the next update for the Xbox Live Dashboard.

Watch Video
I think this is the ESPN ISP list:
http://espn.go.com/espn3/affList