Xbox
”One-Eyed Alligator Eats an Xbox 360
It just goes to show you that a pissed off one-eyed alligator will eat just about anything in a pinch. All joking aside, this is actually a cool- looking casemod produced by a talented guy with the forum handle dfw monkie. The alligator effect was pulled off using hand-sculpted layers of Bondo coated with paint and clear coat along with a plastic alligator eyeball over the power switch. It's not a super-complicated mod, but the results speak for themselves. [Llamma Repair Forums via Technabob]
Watch Netflix Downloads On Your Xbox 360
Microsoft Surface + Xbox 360 = What?
Stefano from onthetabletop attended CHI 2008, where several members of the Microsoft Surface team was there tossing around ideas. One of the more interesting ideas, besides slimming down the table so it could fit inside spaces smaller than bars and AT&T stores, was shoving an Xbox 360 inside. Why would you do this? To allow the 360 to become an additional control input mechanism, possibly making RTS games SO MUCH EASIER TO PLAY. Will it happen? Who knows. These guys could have just been just daydreaming possible features to impress female attendees. [On the Tabletop]
Behind the Xbox 360 Hard Drive's Insane Price
You might not know this, but 120GB hard drives don't actually cost $180. Unless they're for the Xbox 360. The teardown fanatics at iSuppli attempted to find some method to this madness. As you can guess, the numbers don't quite add up to $180, but it actually gets a lot closer than you'd think. More »Microsoft Hits Fresh Blu-ray Xbox 360 Rumor With a Fresh Denial
Either Microsoft really isn't doing a Blu-ray drive for the Xbox 360, or Microsoft's PR are gonna be called out as gigantic liars in the near future. Their officials have just shot down the latest rumor saying that an Asus subsidiary was making Blu-ray hardware for Microsoft's console, saying "we have no plans to introduce a Blu-ray drive for Xbox 360." If this is true, Microsoft's really just letting the PS3 be the Blu-ray console, and shoving its stack of chips behind digital downloads. Is this smart? Consumers already half transitioned from CDs to digital music downloads, so we'll see in five years whether video will be the same. [Game Pro]Asus Subsidiary Making Blu-ray Xbox 360
Despite repeated bashing and smashings, the Xbox 360 Blu-ray rumor is eternal like the sun god. Taiwanese rag Economic Times is reporting that Pegatron Technology—an Asus subsidiary, not a Decepticon as McWhertor points out—has received an order from Microsoft for a Blu-ray-equipped Xbox 360, due to be manufactured soon and shipped in time for the holidays. Weeks ago, Digitimes said Lite-On was going to make 'em. Let's assess. More »Upcoming Xbox 360 Skateboard Controller Lets You Shred, Fight The Man, Retake Geometry For the Third Time
Actiga's partnering with Microsoft to make officially sponsored third-party wireless peripherals, the first of which is a skateboard controller. It's going to be compatible with the latest skating games, presumably, but there haven't been any compatibility announcements yet. What Actiga is going to follow this up with is unclear, but we'd think maybe a gun controller for all the FPS games, or a...yeah there's pretty much mostly shooter games on the 360. [Kotaku]Xbox 360 HD DVD Player Now $29.99
Some day these Microsoft Xbox 360 HD DVD players might be worth something to someone. We can't really imagine who—maybe the technology museum of the 22nd century—but someone should want it. And with the limit of 12 per customer, you and your family can even stock up and make a fort out of these. A giant, obsolete fort. [Overstock Dealz via Kotaku]Windows Sales Way Down, Microsoft Makes Less Money (Vs. Last Year)
Here are the meaty bits in the cold platter of numbers that is Microsoft's quarterly earnings report. Windows sales are way down (the client division, which makes Windows, saw sales drop by 24 percent vs. last year). Office is doing alright, but they're losing their ass on online services. The entertainment division (Zune and Xbox) is balling, with revenue up 68 percent, making Xbox and Zune profitable for almost a year now. But bottom line, Microsoft's income was down 11 percent from last year. [Microsoft, WSJ via Valleywag]Xbox 360 Wiimote Might Be Made By Motus, Not Gyration
Netflix Working With Three Secret Hardware Partners: No Names, Just Hints
We already know that Netflix has partnered up with LG, but a recent conference quarterly call has revealed that there are three other players in the mix:At this point, I can tell you we have LG plus three additional partners actively working on integrating our technology into their products. Three of the four partners are major companies which each sell millions of devices per year and will enable the Netflix functionality in some of those devices likely in Q4 of this year. The fourth partner is a small company with which — which will likely launch sooner than Q4.So which companies could they be talking about? More »






