The Xbox 360 Fall Dashboard update that is necessary to support the upcoming release of Kinect will start arriving today. For those that are not planning to purchase Kinect, the update really doesn’t actually add that much new.
Many had hoped that this update would finally raise the Xbox Live friends limit, which has been capped at 100 since the days old. Apparently Microsoft is still exploring this and it didn't make it in this update.
In addition, you can expect some new changes to the dashboard itself with what is being called a “sharper and flatter look” to make browsing for this with Kinect a bit easier. The fonts and colors have also been changed, which will give the Dashboard a fresher look. Access to the new ESPN streaming will be part of this update, but you will need to have a Gold membership to access it.
From what we hear, this will be the last Dashboard update this year; but apparently, Microsoft is already working a new update that is projected to arrive in the spring time frame. While we don’t know any specifics yet about the next update, multiple sources claim that this update will add support for Hulu Plus as well some additional enhancements for Kinect.
We will have to wait and see if this is the case; in the meantime, the new update adds a few things, but the fact that it is mandatory to use Xbox Live after November 1st requires everyone to update to it.
Support for Kinect ahead of release
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