July, 2008:

Looks like the Fall dashboard update is going to be a big overhall.
There are a bunch of new features.

Here are my personal favorites:

1. Netflix streaming support.
Not so happy I just bought a Roku box, but that isn’t the Xbox’s fault.

2. Watching Netflix movies with other Xbox Live Gold members (they must also have netflix accounts).
Microsoft calls this the “LIVE Party system” and it sounds fun, especially in the next few months, when I will be moving.  Time to get the video camera.

3. More HD content. I have never paid for any HD content from the Xbox marketplace, but I probably would if more was available. NBC/Universal stuff should be live today.

4. Save time and sound by “Play from hard drive”.  Finally get some real use out of that hard drive.  I’ve wanted this for a while, especially since the DVD drive is so darn loud.

5. 16:10 aspect ratio supported via VGA and HDMI.  So I can use my LCD monitors as the update will add support for both 1440×900 (my 20″ LCD) and 1680×1050 (my 22″ LCD).

Big panorama

and the whole source set

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