Occasionally I get left things that I can give away and I have a little stack of things at the moment up for grabs including a Router and a powerline networking kit.  I’m going to kick off the first of my giveaways though with some promotional Xbox Kinect games I was sent to try.  I’ve got six in total to give away and here’s how I’m going to do it.

The giveaway will start live tomorrow (Thursday 11th August) at these times…

10AM PT, San Francisco | 6pm – London | 1pm – New York | Fri, Sep  2nd at 3am – Sydney | Fri, Sep  2nd at 2am – Tokyo | Fri, Sep  2nd at 1am – Beijing | 10:30pm – Mumbai

At that time I’ll announce the titles of the six games live on my Facebook page along with an email address (you can access the Facebook page to read the post without needing a Facebook account).  The first person to email me the name of the title they want will get it sent to them in the post.

Suffice to say I’m not going to announce the titles just yet but I will say that they include titles for kids, adults, men and women and are some of the best (I think anyway) games available for the Kinect.

You’ll need to include your name and full postal address in your email for your entry to be valid.  I’ll contact the winners by email when the giveaway is over and announce when the prizes are gone on Facebook.  An Xbox and Kinect are not included in the giveaway, you’ll need your own and, sadly, in the very unlikely event that a game goes missing in the post I won’t be able to replace it.

Now, website This is my Next is claiming a Microsoft insider is telling them that sometime in 2015 or 2016, ie. around the time Windows 9 will be due Microsoft will make a switch to put it’s core operating system on all their devices.  This would put it around the right time for a next generation Xbox to be introduced.

The plan, will mean there will be just one operating system across all these devices.  They are also saying that Microsoft is ‘seriously considering ditching the Windows brand name in favour of something new when this all goes down’.  So let’s have a look at what’s realistic and unrealistic here and try and put it all into some perspective.

It makes complete sense for Microsoft to want to bring a unified interface to all its devices.  This helps people get up to speed with them easily when they’ve used the interface on one device.  There are limitations to this however as there’s only so much porting that’s appropriate and workable.  The Windows 8 tablet interface isn’t suitable for day to day desktop working, and that won’t be going away by 2016.

It also makes complete sense to put one OS on all their devices, after all Apple have already been doing this for years.  The timing of this all boils down to which version of Windows finally pulls all the legacy code from its kernel.  If it’s Windows 8 then we can expect this to happen quite quickly, and indeed the CEO of Intel hinted way back in January that they will be making phones running Windows 8.

If this doesn’t happen for Windows 8 though, and we’ll find out for certain in September when the OS is unveiled, then it will definitely happen for Windows 9.  By this time we’ll see a unified launch for new Windows, tablets, smartphones and the Xbox.  This means that the first of these two rumours is nothing more than an educated guess that anybody with just a little current product knowledge would come to.

As for the other rumour, the ditching of the Windows brand, this is much less likely.  A couple of years ago if someone had suggested this then it might have been taken seriously.  At this point in time the Windows brand was mud after years of security scares with XP and the debacle that was Vista.  Now though Microsoft have pulled it around and, even though people thought using the brand on their new smartphone OS, after all the bad publicity Windows Mobile had received over the years, was a terrible idea, it doesn’t seem to have done them much harm at all.

Windows is a very strong brand with worldwide recognition, it’s up there with Coke and Ford.  It’s very unlikely then that Microsoft would want to drop the brand.  The sole exception here would be in gaming.  Xbox is also an incredibly strong brand so if there was to be a move to a single brand either Windows or Xbox would have to go.

I think it’s more likely that we’ll see the unified interface, and the same underlying OS, and the names remaining the same.  This is what Apple are doing with OS X and iOS and it’s not doing them any harm at all.

It’s is possible that Microsoft might bring back the name Windows Next however, which was the codename used for Windows 8.  If they were moving towards a unified platform and major a interface overhaul across their devices then this branding would make sense.

The thing to remember with these rumours though is that any discussions within Microsoft on branding will be taking place in quick words exchanged between meetings.  It’s simply far too early to decide what a product is going to be called, especially given that it will only exist in a very early Alpha at the moment, if at all.

A unified platform is a very exciting prospect though that can only have benefits for everyone, and we’ll no doubt hear much more about this in the next three years.

Apple managed to sell 2 million iPads on the first two months after it went on sale.  The Kinect figures are several leagues ahead of this with 2.5 million selling in just 25 days, an average of 100,000 units a day according to ReadWriteWeb.  Indeed it makes you wonder how Microsoft can produce the device in such huge quantities to keep up with demand.

You have to consider here that both the iPad and Kinect are completely different devices aimed at completely different markets and one should not be directly compared to another.  Kinect is also considerably cheaper than the iPad.

Some people are now asking if the Kinect can maintain these high sales figures.  Clearly it can’t as there are only a finite number of people who already own Xbox 360 consoles and, until we have a critical mass of games for the device, there will only be a limited market for new Xbox purchasers who are interested in the device.

It could be though that many people see the Kinect as the logical successor to the Nintendo Wii.  If this proves to be true than the potential market for Microsoft is enormous and both Nintendo and Sony will have a lot of work on their hands as they gear up for their next generation consoles.

The seal of approval, that was carried in a banner across the top of boxes for games that participated in the programme, was intended to convey that the game had been tested by Microsoft and would work happily, but also that it would integrate with the Games Explorer in Windows Vista and Windows 7.  Here it could be launched easily and the games explorer could also handle extras for you such as parental controls, patches and updates.

Sadly it was let down by poor support from the games industry, but today Microsoft are relaunching the brand, as reported by CNet, and wants gamers to know that Microsoft is serious about PC gaming.

A new Games for Windows Marketplace will allow people to buy games via download from the Internet.  There are about 100 games available so far but Microsoft is very keen to turn Games for Windows into a full-on gaming app store.

The store will also integrate with the Xbox and Zune stores and allow gamers to use points they have collected in the new store to purchase content.  People can also pay by credit and debit card if they so wish.

It’s “the biggest game Microsoft has ever released,” said Phil Spencer, the corporate vice president of Microsoft Game Studios, in a statement. “Every major installment has grown in scope and popularity, firmly cementing the ‘Halo’ franchise as one of the most popular entertainment properties in the world over the past decade.”

The amount taken is more than its predecessor, Halo 3 which tool $170 million in its first 24 hours and is proof positive that the worldwide computer games industry is at least as big now as the movie industry.

Microsoft needs popular games such as Halo, that are designed in house, to recoup the massive losses buit up in developing and subsidising the XBox and XBox 360 consoles.

Microsoft are claiming that Halo:Reach is the biggest entertainment launch of 2010 in the United States.  In this they have taken into account the initial takings of movies such as Iron man 2 and Toy Story 3, during their opening weekends.  Some people are speculating that the forthcoming launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops could be even bigger.

Halo 3 previously held the title for the biggest selling game of all time, a record now held by another XBox 360 title, Call of Duty 2: Modern Warfare.  Halo 4 looks set to propel the series back to the top of the charts.

The first Halo game was the launch title for Microsoft’s original XBox console and was as well received then as it is now.

Last month, the new game was leaked onto the Internet and appeared in file-sharing websites such as The Pirate Bay.  Microsoft has threatened to permanently cut gamers who illegally download the game off from the XBox Live gaming service.

Halo 4 has generated a huge amount of interest so far and is an example of how well the gaming industry has  weathered the global economic downturn.  The latest version puts the player in the role of a super-soldier called Noble 6, in battles against an alien collective.

Microsoft’s entertainment director, Stephen McGill has described the new release as the “biggest Halo release ever” and the marketing budget has grown by 60% since the release of the last title.

Source : BBC

“We have a push with our hardware partners” he said, adding that such devices would be coming “soon”.  But where does this leave other Microsoft properties and was Ballmer just telling the attended audience of Wall Street journalists what they wanted to hear?

The reason being is that Microsoft are soon to release not only their new XBox 360 platform with the new camera-based games, but also the hugely important Windows Phone 7.  Every single one of these should surely be “job number one” for the company?!

Windows Phone 7 for instance is pivotal to the company’s future as, if they don’t get this right first time then they’ll be spending the rest of this century building iOS and Android support into their Exchange Server platform and nothing else.  It’s critical that they make this a success, far more so I would say than Windows 7 which is already a runaway success and, frankly in my opinion, doesn’t lend itself well to a slate form factor anyway.

I’m nit picking here over words, but words from the CEO of one of the world’s biggest companies can have a significant effect.  So let’s see what the numero uno job for Microsoft really is as these three products hit the market at the end of 2010.

In a rare occasion, Ballmer apologized to the masses of gamers who were let down after the excitement of the news of an upcoming next generation console. After reports of gamers talking about the “new console” arose, Aaron Greenburg of Microsoft stated, “We’re not going to be launching a new console any time soon.” This devastated many excited gamers who are looking forward to any hints of next generation consoles to come in the distant future.

“I confused the issue with my poorly chosen words,” Ballmer told IGN. “There is no news in my comments.” Microsoft hasn’t officially confirmed a date for the release of the add-on peripheral for the Xbox 360, but Ballmer’s comments have led many to believe the “controller-free gaming and entertainment experience” will arrive sometime in 2010. Although, the confusion over the “new console” disappointed gamers, many are still excited about the upcoming feature for Xbox 360 which is likely to release in late 2010.

Project Natal, which was announced on June 1, 2009 featured many demos including a game called “Ricochet” where the player can use his or her body to bounce balls at blocks. Natal also allow players to log in to their console faced on facial recognition and try on clothes in 3D. Other demos shown at E3 were “Paint Party” where players can “throw” paint on walls using body motion and “Burnout Natal” where players can race in cars using their body motion to steel the wheel of the car instead of a controller that current gaming technology requires. Because of the new technology behind the project, the announcement has caused the Xbox 360 to gain more ground in the market.

The name Natal comes from Microsoft’s tradition of code naming products from cities. The name Natal, a city in Brazil, was chosen by Microsoft’s director, Alex Kipman, as a tribute to his home country. The word natal also means “relating to birth” where Microsoft shares its view that the addon is the “birth of the next-generation of home entertainment.”

Microsoft demoed the technique at the E3 which means that the technique is already existing and working. Information on the techniques itself are scarce. From what could be gathered a hardware device is needed that will send the body’s motion and sounds to the Xbox gaming system. The system is able to follow the moves of every person in the room. It can easily identify and distinguish people. Natal cannot only identify people but also objects in the room.

This leads to some interesting new applications. Think of a quiz where the moderator addresses the gamers by name and repeats their answers.

Take a look at the videos below to get a good first impression on what Project Natal is about:

The official Youtube channel offers tons of videos showcasing Project Natal.

There are two factors that can influence the success of the new hardware device. First the price of the device. If it is expensive than it might become a niche product instead of the new default way of gaming. The second is game support by game developers. Game developers need to produce games for Natal or make their games compatible with the product.

What are your thoughts on Project Natal?

What I like is that the Xbox 360 plays those movies from CD or DVD instead of streaming them over the network. I’m not that up to date when it comes to modchips for the Xbox 360 and possibilities to add a bigger hard drive to store files on it, but I’m sure some of you know the answer.

I would replace my old Xbox with the new Xbox 360 if I could use it as a media center again. I’d also like to know if the noise of the Xbox 360 has been finally reduced or if it is still that loud which would be another drawback.

Divx is supported back to version 5.0 which means that most movies should play just fine on the Xbox 360.

It took the author 20 days to encrypt the protection using his Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive and lots of free time. He started looking at solutions because he was unable to play a purchased HD-DVD movie using a HD-DVD drive and a HD monitor. I never fully understood why they created such restrictive formats in the first place. They only make their customers angry with restrictions like this, hackers will always find a way.

The author published a youtube movie, here it is:

The faq that comes with the program gives valuable information. I decided to publish it fully as well.

You can access the complete release information at the official xbins.org website. Is it legal to use and download those drivers ? I honestly do not know the answer to this. I can only project that it will surely be released to p2p networks, usenet and offered on irc channels to everyone who knows how to use those channels. I can’t seem to find a reason why it could be illegal though.
The best way would probably be to try and get the file from the xbins irc channel on the Efnet network. Once there you join their channel /join #xbins and pull the list of fileservers from the channel by typing /msg xbins !list

Follow the information provided and you might find the tool there. I say might because I did not try that.

If you do not delete the personal files on the hard drive before you sell the system the new owner will be able to watch, hear and view them just like you did. What Microsoft did not tell you is that it is likely to recover the files even though they have been deleted by connecting the xbox hd to a computer. File Recovery tools work on xbox hard drives as well.

If the new owner knows what he is doing and suspects you had some personal files on the hard drive he might want to take a look. The same holds true of course for every other sort of storage device that you are going to sell. It is possible to recover files even though you deleted them.

The only secure way that I know that would delete the files safely would be to connect the hard drive to your pc and use a tool like eraser to erase the personal files on it.

You need to unlock the hard drive of the xbox before you can access the xbox hard drive in windows.

It is also a good idea to remove account data from the system before you are selling it, this can be done from the menus provided which means you do not need external tools for it.

We all know that one solution would be to buy an expensive barebone or multimedia computer that is simply a small computer next to your tv which outputs the signal to the tv instead of a pc monitor. Another option would be to buy a multimedia adapter which is a device that makes it possible to stream media from a computer to your hifi or dvd player. This is indeed a possible solution but it would still mean that your pc has to be running to stream the contents.

The solution that I installed at my home is simple, relativly cheap and offers extra values. I’am speaking of a xbox with a replaced hard drive and modchip installed. I’am talking about a first generation xbox but with the first mod chips appearing for the xbox 360 this will most likely soon be possible with the new system as well. You should check your local laws before you think about buying the parts that you need for this operation, it should be legal in most countries though.

The price of a xbox, a mod chip and a larger hard drive (160+ GB) should be no more than 400$, most likely less than that. It also depends on the type of mod chip that you want to install and if you are doing the changes yourself or let someone do them for you.

It really does not matter which mod chip you choose, I would choose a solder less one if you are not that tech savy and want to do it yourself. There are ways to buy a pre modded xbox on the net and replace the hard drive with a bigger one. All you need is a special partition tool that converts the bigger hd to xbox format. (Slayer) You burn this tool to dvd and run the dvd when the hd has been replaced. Really easy, I was able to do it..

You can setup an ftp server from within your xbox afterwards and connect the xbox to your pc network. Use an ftp tool to transfer files to the xbox. One that you definatly need is XBMC (Xbox Media Center) This is a free media player that plays many formats, this will be your multimedia player. XBMC is only available as a source file, you could try IRC or Usenet for binary versions.

You transfer movies, music and pictures using ftp as well. The xbox has a 100 mbit network card which means transfers are really fast. You are also able to play region free dvd movies on the xbox and play xbox games. (of course).

If you want to enjoy online play I suggest a xbox with a modchip that you can turn off when you want to play online. Microsoft may detect modchips when you connect to them and could ban you.

My Xbox has a Xecuter modchip installed, this was some years ago, think it was three years ago. I never had to replace the hard drive, it is still working and I can watch all sorts of divx, xvid, avi, wmv and the like movies. Never used it for music or pictures but this should be running fine as well.

I think I replace my old Xbox with a new Xbox 360 once stable modchips come out for this system and the complete system will be a bit cheaper. This will most likely happen before christmas because Nintendo Wii and Sonys PS3 come out before christmas as well.

Let me know if you want me to go into detail somewhere or if you are using a different multimedia device.