What do you want to see in the Spring Update?


Recommended Posts

It would be nice to have private chat support more people, but I can guess why it's just 1 on 1. Imagine playing search & destroy against a team that was all in a private chat together, where the fragged could talk to the living.

+1 on increasing speeds, I've noticed that the more games you play and the more demos/arcade games on the system the slower it gets. Mine is unbearably slow now, I've got about 50 arcade games. I just recently deleted a bunch that I don't play anymore in hopes of speeding things up a bit, but it's still very slow. By "it" I mean everything, the dash, the blades, the menus, the marketplace, everything.

As far as the browser goes, meh. I can see advantages (especially if you could open it in-game to check gamefaqs or ask a stupid question on neowin) but I never use the PS3 browser at all. If I could open it in-game I might use it more, but it's pretty easy just to switch the display back to my computer (comp and PS3 share a monitor). It really depends on your setup. If the computer is in the next room you'd probably like to have a browser on the 360.

I was pretty pleased with the last update, I don't expect future updates to be very feature-packed (hope I'm wrong).

If Microsoft follows the same schedule it did last year, the Spring system update for the Xbox 360 should be right around the corner. Today, an alleged and wholly unconfirmed list of changes included in the "Q2 2008" update was sent to us, supposedly forwarded from an internal source. The full list?which is after the jump?features about 80 new feature additions, tweaks and changes but was purported to be incomplete and subject to change.

Some are simply interesting as curiosities, such as an option to purchase Xbox Live memberships for charities and the addition of a Media section for audio delivered through feeds, such as podcasts. Others sound more feature robust, such as Windows Live Mail integration and an expanded "Inside Xbox" with news, weather, entertainment, help and community features.

Perhaps the most interesting additions are "Calibration options for motion sensor devices" for the Dashboard and "Support for titles to store installation data on Storage Device for faster loading" for Games. If true, the former would lend further credibility to frequent rumors that Microsoft is planning to introduce a motion controller for the Xbox 360. The ability to store installation data on a hard drive?as is done with some PlayStation 3 games?would certainly be a welcome option, if that's how the wording should be interpreted. Continue on for the full list of rumored updates.

Source

Rumoured list of additions to the Spring Update ...

Xbox LIVE

1. Option to delay sign-in to Xbox LIVE upon booting console (to allow user to set Online Status).

2. Option to promote Child Account from Family Settings.

3. Disallow Child Accounts (over 18) to override Family Settings by launching Privacy Settings through a title.

4. Option in Family Settings for Child Accounts to enable child-oriented/non-mature advertisements.

5. Introduce a group chat (4) for Private Chat and conferences through Video Chat.

6. Support to indicate media being watched to gamercard status (video content from Marketplace only).

7. Extend height for Bio field in Personal Profile, easier navigation through text.

8. More fields present in Personal Profile - recent achievements, interests, games, movies, links, custom section.

9. Compact Personal Profile for new fields (navigating to field will open it up).

10. Mandatory option to delete duplicate titles from gamercard (excludes Games for Windows - LIVE). User disconnected from Xbox LIVE when booting any title until action complete.

11. Option to remove payment information from gamertag.

12. New payment methods for international users.

13. Download History on Account Management better organized - games, genre, type, download date, miscellaneous.

14. Long descriptions of items on Marketplace can be scrolled using right stick.

15. Better organization of free content on Marketplace.

16. Option to 'ping' when testing connection.

17. Allow re-connection to Xbox LIVE if Ethernet cable is re-inserted whilst powered on.

18. New strip colors available to developers, staff gamercards.

19. New corner icon available to ambassadors.

20. Re-introduce Messages button for Inside Xbox updates only.

21. Option to store up to 10 messages permanently on server (excludes invites, status messages).

22. Increase character limit for text messages between friends only.

23. Option to disable invites from non-friends or all players.

24. Option to disable invites from titles not on gamercard (excludes demos).

25. Option to have smaller items moved up in Active Downloads.

26. Automatically re-connect to Xbox LIVE if disconnected unexpectedly (set intervals).

27. Option to download gamer picture (if available) from a gamercard being viewed.

28. Display random tips to replace static text on Xbox LIVE and Games blades.

29. New button on Marketplace for optional dashboard features - uses Storage Device memory.

30. Option to donate Microsoft Points to anybody with a Windows Live ID.

31. Option to purchase Membership for charities (includes benefits).

32. Integrate file-sharing for selected titles on Xbox LIVE and Games for Windows - LIVE.

33. Disable notifications to friends of user repeatedly signing into service (set period).

34. Option to see 'snippet' of text message in notification.

35. Windows Live Mail integration - includes support for Xbox LIVE Vision.

36. Web feeds integration - text, images, audio. Includes support for specific item codes on Marketplace.

37. Option to display gamer picture or standard picture as display picture in Windows Live Messenger.

38. Support for headset, Xbox LIVE Vision in Windows Live Messenger.

39. Support for limited 'winks' that display on dashboard interface. Option to disable 'winks' and 'nudges' added.

40. Notifications separate from Windows Live Messenger to Xbox 360 notifications.

41. Disable multiple languages from being used in any Xbox LIVE editable fields.

Games

1. Option to delete titles from gamercard with 0 gamerscore and 0 achievements (excludes some titles that will be re-added to launch another title).

2. Organize My Games at the Games Library section better (includes disc-based titles) - sort by genre, platform (Games for Windows - LIVE), percentage completion.

3. Support to display friends leaderboards for disc-based titles.

4. Show dates of an achievement unlocked when comparing.

5. Preload Games Library upon dashboard bootup for faster access.

6. Game updates now shown as items in Memory, increased amount of updates on Storage Device.

7. Option to delete game updates, removed 'cheat code' as no longer needed.

8. Support for more titles to display banner when accessing guide in-game.

9. Option to re-introduce awarded gamer pictures from titles that do not have their own re-introduce feature (requires saved game).

10. Disable gamer pictures from being awarded from trials.

11. Support for titles to store installation data on Storage Device for faster loading.

12. Synchronization to achievements offline/online that were deleted and then re-added from developers.

Media

1. Option to hold LT and RT for rewinding/fast-forwarding video content.

2. Option to delete individual music tracks from storage device.

3. Option to rip music CD at different quality.

4. Copy non-protected files (pictures, music, videos) from USB storage devices, CDs and computers to proprietary storage devices.

5. Support for menu, top-menu features on video content downloaded from Marketplace.

6. Section added for audio delivered through feeds (podcasts). Option to stream, download to Storage Device.

7. Support added for video titles/description to gamercard status.

Dashboard/Miscellaneous

1. Option to navigate quickly out of several menus back to respective blade home (applies to Games, Media, System).

2. New blade trim styles added.

3. Introduce expanded Inside Xbox as a portal to news, weather, entertainment, help and community features.

4. New sounds for various functions (notifications, blades, navigation).

5. Calibration options for display/sound.

6. Calibration options for motion sensor devices.

7. New effects for Xbox LIVE Vision and dashboard background.

8. Disable changing of Theme when on Memory to prevent 'hanging'.

9. Preload recent, limited items upon dashboard bootup on Memory.

10. Faster loading of Themes section on guide.

11. Option to see what items will not work offline due to DRM license changing from Memory.

12. Option to automatically associate new DRM to items downloaded for free.

13. Indicate 'charging' status on guide when Play & Charge kit is connected.

14. Option to change text colors on guide to better contrast some backgrounds.

16. Language improvements.

18. Word censor updated for fields.

19. Privacy Settings/Family Settings updated for new features.

20. Voice, picture messages can be read at Xbox.com (Gold accounts).

[SOURCE]

If this list is true: Awesome update! Microsoft has come through yet again. :D

My favorites from the list:

5. Introduce a group chat (4) for Private Chat and conferences through Video Chat.

14. Long descriptions of items on Marketplace can be scrolled using right stick.

15. Better organization of free content on Marketplace.

24. Option to disable invites from titles not on gamercard (excludes demos). Very insightful feature here

25. Option to have smaller items moved up in Active Downloads. Genius! lol

27. Option to download gamer picture (if available) from a gamercard being viewed.

32. Integrate file-sharing for selected titles on Xbox LIVE and Games for Windows - LIVE. Oh man this could be quite cool!

33. Disable notifications to friends of user repeatedly signing into service (set period). Yes, finally!

34. Option to see 'snippet' of text message in notification.

35. Windows Live Mail integration - includes support for Xbox LIVE Vision. What? That's crazy! :D

36. Web feeds integration - text, images, audio. Includes support for specific item codes on Marketplace. RSS??

38. Support for headset, Xbox LIVE Vision in Windows Live Messenger.

1. Option to delete titles from gamercard with 0 gamerscore and 0 achievements (excludes some titles that will be re-added to launch another title). Finally!

11. Support for titles to store installation data on Storage Device for faster loading. Hopefully GTA IV can make use of this ;)

6. Section added for audio delivered through feeds (podcasts). Option to stream, download to Storage Device. Awesome!

6. Calibration options for motion sensor devices. What? New motion sensor controller maybe?? :shiftyninja:

20. Voice, picture messages can be read at Xbox.com (Gold accounts). Sweet!!

If true, great update! But I agree with some, it really does sound too good to be true. Here's hoping! :D

4. Copy non-protected files (pictures, music, videos) from USB storage devices, CDs and computers to proprietary storage devices.

I need a bigger HDD if this comes out to be true :D

It's a nice list but MS has lot more things to fix, 360 have lot of potential but the only thing stopping it is MS by delaying these fixes. Microsoft has always been like this even though they say they havn't seen the list before I am pretty sure this might be the list and some of the fixes might be missing when they release this update.

MS Stated to the source although they do not comment on rumours and speculation one thing they could tell them is that they had never seen that list before.

Then again MS isn't always that truthful...

Just like how they denied every single rumor about HDMI on the 360... :shiftyninja:

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Saluton, Paŭlo. Dankon pro la ĉefartikolo. Ĝi estis interesa. Mi esploros pli pri la aplikaĵo kaj ĝia koncepto. Kompreneble, se vi konas min entute, vi scias, ke mi dirus, ke viaj artikoloj bezonas iom da redaktado! Mi ĉiam faras tion, ĉu ne? Ekzemple, la artikolo foje mencias koncepton antaŭ ol difini ĝin, ekzemple, relajsoj.
    • Screamer is 50% off on Steam, making it £24.99 here in the UK: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2814990/Screamer/ You might remember the series from the mid 90s / early 2000s, this new game is also by Milestone who created the older games.
    • U.S. partially reverses Anthropic AI ban for Mythos but keeps Fable 5 off the market by Karthik Mudaliar Anthropic says that the U.S. government has finally allowed it to restore Claude Mythos 5. But of course, there's a catch. The rollout is again for a limited set of U.S. organizations that operate and defend critical infrastructure. The company announced this in a post on X (formerly Twitter). This does not mean that Anthropic's latest frontier models are back to normal availability. Fable 5, which was a tuned version of Mythos 5 for public release, remains unavailable. Anthropic said that it is still working with the government to expand Mythos 5 access and make Fable 5 available again, but there's no timeline. Reports from Bloomberg and Reuters say that this decision actually came through a letter from the U.S. Commerce Department. According to Reuters, this would allow more than 100 companies and institutions access to Mythos 5. Reuters also reported that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s letter removes the need for export licenses for approved companies’ non-US citizen employees, as well as Anthropic’s own non-US citizen employees, while restrictions remain for organizations outside the approved list. Anthropic isn't alone with this kind of controlled rollout. OpenAI's newest model family, GPT 5.6, was announced just yesterday, but isn't available for everyone yet. In its announcement, OpenAI also said that access to these models is initially limited to a select group of trusted partners and organizations, with broader access planned later this year. Both of these cases show that frontier AI launches are no longer just ordinary product releases and more like slow and vetted deployments shaped heavily by the U.S. government.
    • Sol, Terra, Luna - aren't those the names of failed crypto coins? 🤣🤣🤣
    • Microsoft Weekly: 5 years of Windows 11, more support for Windows 10, and expensive Xbox by Taras Buria This week's news recap is here, with Microsoft giving Windows 10 one more year of support, Windows 11 getting new taskbar settings in preview updates, Steam Machine prices, higher XBOX prices, and many more. Quick links: Windows 10 and 11 Windows Insider Program Updates are available Reviews are in Gaming news Great deals to check Windows 11 and Windows 10 Here, we talk about everything happening around Microsoft's latest operating system in the Stable channel and preview builds: new features, removed features, controversies, bugs, interesting findings, and more. And, of course, you may find a word or two about older versions. On June 24, 2026, Windows 11 turned five. The controversial operating system was released half a decade ago, and during these years, it received a fair share of criticism (such as poor Windows Search and its web results), which Microsoft is now actively addressing with regular preview updates that deliver missing, long-requested features. With Windows 12 nowhere to be seen on the horizon, it will be interesting to see if Windows 11 can stay on the market for as long as Windows 10 did. Speaking of Windows 10 and staying on the market, this week, Microsoft quietly prolonged the Extended Security Updates program for Windows 10, allowing users to get one more year of security updates if they do not want or cannot upgrade to Windows 11. Finally, Microsoft released this month's non-security update for Windows 11. KB5095093 arrived with a traditionally long list of new features, including point-in-time restore, new Windows Update settings, quieter Windows Widgets, new accessibility features, File Explorer updates and performance improvements, and more. Windows Insider Program Here is what Microsoft released for Windows Insiders this week: Builds Canary Channel Build 29617.1000 and build 28120.2374 These builds bring new accessibility features, new Windows Update controls, audio improvements, and more. Dev Channel Build 26300.8758 This build includes redesigned taskbar settings, File Explorer improvements, and more. Beta Channel Build 26220.8754 and build 28020.2366 This small update fixes the OneDrive bug in File Explorer, tweaks system sounds in dark mode, and more. Updates are available This section covers software, firmware, and other notable updates (released and coming soon) delivering new features, security fixes, improvements, patches, and more from Microsoft and third parties. If you use AI-powered browsing history search in Microsoft Edge, the company has bad news. A new update on the Microsoft 365 Roadmap revealed that Microsoft is discontinuing the feature. Despite using on-device models for natural search, some users found it creepy, claiming that Microsoft lacks trust in features like this. While the ability to find pages without using 100% precise words may sound cool, customers argued that it was nothing but another feature to bloat the browser with more AI. Good riddance? PowerToys received several updates this week. For one, Microsoft released version 0.100.1 with several improvements and bug fixes for the recently arrived version 0.100. A couple of days later, Microsoft dropped another update, this time fixing memory leaks in Command Palette Dock. In addition, the company is working on a new module that will make it easier to switch between windows within one application using the Alt + ` shortcut. The new module should make it to the stable release somewhere soon. Here are other updates and releases you may find interesting: New Ventoy update adds Windows 11's mandatory update support and more Microsoft updates Visual Studio Code with chat cost tracking and multi-agent chats Microsoft is building an AI datacenter that "uses less water than a fast food restaurant" Microsoft adds new AI study and teaching tools for free to Microsoft 365 Education Researchers claim Microsoft's quantum breakthrough is flawed by basic Python errors Microsoft is bringing a much-needed Recap app to Teams Microsoft's fast coding model, MAI-Code-1-Flash, comes to Copilot Business and Enterprise Here are the latest drivers and firmware updates released this week: AMD Radeon Software 26.6.2 with FSR 4.1 support for RDNA 3 graphics card. However, the driver contained a bug, which prevented installations on Windows 10 PCs. AMD fixed that with a quick hotfix update. Reviews are in Here is the hardware and software we reviewed this week This week, Steven Parker published several reviews. He shared his experience with the Creative Sound Blaster AE-X PCIe, a high-quality sound card with a headphone amp, low-latency communications, great build quality, and DSD256. However, it is on the pricier side of the spectrum, and it lacks EMI shielding. Check out the full review here. The second review is about the TerraMaster F4-425 Pro, an octa-core Intel NAS with a stand-out feature: built-in AI (OpenClaw). We also published a few Hands On reviews, which you can view below: We check out the SKG PS700 Neck Massager SKG Hand Massager with Heat OS500 hands on Hands-on with BOOX Tappy: cute little reading accessory Hands on with the ProtoArc EM25 affordable ergonomic mouse On the gaming side Learn about upcoming game releases, Xbox rumors, new hardware, software updates, freebies, deals, discounts, and more. If you plan to purchase a new Xbox, it's time to act now. This week, Microsoft announced yet another Xbox price increase. Starting August 1, 2026, all Xbox Series X|S models with 512 GB of storage will cost $100 more. As for the 1TB models, they are going up in price by a whopping $150. Finally, Microsoft is discontinuing the 2TB Xbox Series X. To make up for that, Microsoft announced a few programs to make its consoles more accessible. Those include BNPL, interest-free financing, pre-owned consoles, certified refurbished consoles, and more. Valve also shared some not-so-welcome news. The company has finally announced prices of the upcoming Steam Machine console, and if you plan to buy one, get ready to spend a whopping $1,049 on the 512GB configuration. The Steam Machine is now available for preorder, with shipments scheduled for June 29, 2026. Grand Theft Auto VI also received its official price tag. Rockstar Games announced that the long-anticipated game will launch at $79.99 for the base edition and $99.99 for the ultimate edition. The latter includes an exclusive collection of premium vehicles, weapons, apparel, and action threaded across all aspects of Jason and Lucia’s story." Those who preorder the game will get extra bonuses, including a Vintage Vice City Pack of cosmetic items as well as a free month of GTA+. NVIDIA announced new games for its GeForce NOW streaming service. Those include Dark Scrolls, SAND: Raiders of Sophie, Deer & Boy, EMPULSE, and more. Steam is running its annual Summer Sale, during which you can purchase plenty of various games with big discounts. It runs until July 9, so in case you missed it, you can still get some games at a lower price. Also, you can get two games for free in the Epic Games Store, plus more deals are available in this week's Weekend PC Game Deals issue. This link will take you to other issues of the Microsoft Weekly series. You can also support Neowin by registering for a free member account or subscribing for extra member benefits, along with an ad-free tier option.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      flexorcist earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Month Later
      Woland13 earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      Woland13 earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Year In
      bernmeister earned a badge
      One Year In
    • Week One Done
      Scoobystu earned a badge
      Week One Done
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      502
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      226
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      156
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      75
    5. 5
      FloatingFatMan
      71
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!