Taxman
11-05-2006, 09:57 AM
http://ottawasun.com/Showbiz/VideoGames/2006/11/05/2242109-sun.html
Xbox 360 update a nightmare
By STEVE TILLEY, SUN MEDIA
What's white, costs $499 can be used as a doorstop, paperweight or boat anchor? Some gamers' Xbox 360s after applying this week's dashboard update, apparently.
What should have been an occasion for joyous celebration (or at least quiet contentment) turned into a teeth-gnashing nightmare for some unlucky Xbox 360 owners earlier this week.
The latest software update for the console, which as of Tuesday had to be downloaded before logging into Xbox Live, inexplicably cratered thousands of Xbox 360s, rendering them ivory hunks of useless electronics.
After Internet forums lit up with wails of anger and frustration, Microsoft quietly admitted there was a problem with the software update, and replaced it with a safe, non-castrating version on Thursday.
Xbox 360 owners whose consoles got "bricked" by the update - Microsoft says the problem affected less than 1% of all 360 owners - need to call customer support at 1-800-4-MY-XBOX to arrange for repair or replacement.
For those of us who downloaded the update with no problems, the 360's dashboard has been upgraded with a few welcome new features, like better organization of Xbox Live Marketplace content (though it could still use an overhaul), the ability to stream Windows Media Video files from a Windows XP computer to your 360, and 1080p video resolution output support. There are a few dozen other less obvious tweaks as well.
Not that it's going to matter if you're among that 1% whose consoles got fried by the update.
Let's hope the repair turnaround is quick - Gears of War is two days away. Maybe Microsoft can invest some of the game's profits into better update testing, eh wot?
- - -
Sony has made much of the fact that both models of the upcoming PlayStation 3 will come with a hard drive.
And why not? Microsoft's decision to release a version of the Xbox 360 without a hard drive (unaffectionately known as the "tard pack") was a silly move, in my ever so humble opinion.
But does a hard drive in every PS3 mean that we're going to see the era of console games that need to be installed before playing?
While the PS3's much-ballyhooed Blu-ray discs have several times the capacity of DVDs, the speed at which the Blu-ray drive reads data off the disc is actually slower than most current DVD-ROM drives.
Coincidentally - or not - we learned this week of two PS3 launch games that will allow you to install a chunk of the game to the hard drive for faster loading times.
Genji: Days Of The Blade will have an option to install 4 GB of data onto the PS3's hard drive, and Ridge Racer 7 will ask gamers if they want to install a 5 GB hunk of the game to the drive before playing.
Using the PS3's built-in hard drive to speed load times is a good thing, sure. But having to wait to install a game before the first time you play it, or watching the space on your hard drive get consumed by multiple game installations, are drawbacks of PC gaming that console gamers have never had to contend with before.
It'll be interesting to see where this trend goes, and we'll be watching closely. Suddenly, the 60 GB version of the PS3 is looking a lot more attractive.
Xbox 360 update a nightmare
By STEVE TILLEY, SUN MEDIA
What's white, costs $499 can be used as a doorstop, paperweight or boat anchor? Some gamers' Xbox 360s after applying this week's dashboard update, apparently.
What should have been an occasion for joyous celebration (or at least quiet contentment) turned into a teeth-gnashing nightmare for some unlucky Xbox 360 owners earlier this week.
The latest software update for the console, which as of Tuesday had to be downloaded before logging into Xbox Live, inexplicably cratered thousands of Xbox 360s, rendering them ivory hunks of useless electronics.
After Internet forums lit up with wails of anger and frustration, Microsoft quietly admitted there was a problem with the software update, and replaced it with a safe, non-castrating version on Thursday.
Xbox 360 owners whose consoles got "bricked" by the update - Microsoft says the problem affected less than 1% of all 360 owners - need to call customer support at 1-800-4-MY-XBOX to arrange for repair or replacement.
For those of us who downloaded the update with no problems, the 360's dashboard has been upgraded with a few welcome new features, like better organization of Xbox Live Marketplace content (though it could still use an overhaul), the ability to stream Windows Media Video files from a Windows XP computer to your 360, and 1080p video resolution output support. There are a few dozen other less obvious tweaks as well.
Not that it's going to matter if you're among that 1% whose consoles got fried by the update.
Let's hope the repair turnaround is quick - Gears of War is two days away. Maybe Microsoft can invest some of the game's profits into better update testing, eh wot?
- - -
Sony has made much of the fact that both models of the upcoming PlayStation 3 will come with a hard drive.
And why not? Microsoft's decision to release a version of the Xbox 360 without a hard drive (unaffectionately known as the "tard pack") was a silly move, in my ever so humble opinion.
But does a hard drive in every PS3 mean that we're going to see the era of console games that need to be installed before playing?
While the PS3's much-ballyhooed Blu-ray discs have several times the capacity of DVDs, the speed at which the Blu-ray drive reads data off the disc is actually slower than most current DVD-ROM drives.
Coincidentally - or not - we learned this week of two PS3 launch games that will allow you to install a chunk of the game to the hard drive for faster loading times.
Genji: Days Of The Blade will have an option to install 4 GB of data onto the PS3's hard drive, and Ridge Racer 7 will ask gamers if they want to install a 5 GB hunk of the game to the drive before playing.
Using the PS3's built-in hard drive to speed load times is a good thing, sure. But having to wait to install a game before the first time you play it, or watching the space on your hard drive get consumed by multiple game installations, are drawbacks of PC gaming that console gamers have never had to contend with before.
It'll be interesting to see where this trend goes, and we'll be watching closely. Suddenly, the 60 GB version of the PS3 is looking a lot more attractive.