Xbox gets a longer warranty

New one year limit applies to future and present owners

REDMOND, Wash. - Microsoft Corp. is extending its warranty on the Xbox 360 video game console to one year from the previous limit of 90 days.
The change announced Friday applies to future and present owners. (MSNBC.com is a Microsoft NBC Universal joint venture.)
The one-year warranty matches what Sony Corp. and Nintendo Co., already offer on their latest video game consoles, the PlayStation 3 and the Wii.
Microsoft said it extended the deal to make its U.S. and Canadian warranty consistent with what it offered in many other countries.
Customers who already have paid repair bills on Xbox consoles that they've owned for less than one year will automatically get refunds, Microsoft said in a statement.
This autumn, Microsoft acknowledged that a glitch in the Xbox's online update system damaged a small number of customers' consoles before the problem was quickly fixed. At least one customer has sued over the incident. (Article courtesy Associated Press)

Team e-mail back up

Team e-mail appears to be back online, however I am running in safe mode. Maybe I'll have to have a chat with GhostRiderTGAC to discuss what the problem might be....

Have a great day

Gifts revealed...

IcemanXBTR unwrapped several XBOX360 items on Christmas morning:

• 2nd wireless controller for my console
• battery and recharger kit for the wireless controller
• wireless headset (can't wait to use this)

Also received a copy of GhostRecon - Advanced Warfighter for XBOX360 and a Halo faceplate for my XBOX360 (I'm a big fan....)

Looking forward to hearing what all of you picked up today....

Team e-mail box down temporarily...

A couple of days ago we told you about the latest update for Internet Explorer being available on the Microsoft website. Well, in my infinite wisdom, I downloaded the upgrade and applied it to my system, and now my Microsoft Outlook is SHOT! Yes, my computer has been corrupted by a Microsoft upgrade, surprise, surprise, surprise...

At any rate, the team e-mailbox is down until I correct the problem on my computer, and I'll let you know as soon as its back up.

IcemanXBTR

From all of us at XBOX Team Rochester

XBOX Team Rochester wishes you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a safe a prosperous New Year!

Tell XBTR what was under your tree...

Yes, I know we're still a day and a half away from "The Big Day", but XBTR wants to know what XBOX goodies you received for the holidays. Take a digital picture of it and send it in, and we'll post it to the website.

Send an e-mail (with some pictures) to us after the holidays so we can put up the info.

Internet Explorer 7 now available for download...

Last night I downloaded the latest version of Internet Explorer from Microsoft's website and at first glance, the interface seems to be quite a bit different from that of its V6.0 cousin.

The app is supposed to offer alot more in the way of system security, however I guess that remains to be seen.

Click here for more information and to download

There's still time....

Yes, Christmas is rapidly approaching, however you still have time to pick up some hot new items for the XBOX gamer in your life. We've provided a couple not so obvious ideas, along with some widely available solutions you can find in just about any electronics store or game system solution provider:

• XBOX LIVE! Subscription Cards - I believe you can pick these up in 1 month, 3 month, 6 month, and 1 year values. This gives your gamer access to the hottest online gaming network in the world.
• OXM - Yes, a subscription to the Official XBOX Magazine would give your gamer the most up to date information about XBOX gaming every month, along with an exclusive gaming sample cd with playable demos of the hot new games available for XBOX and XBOX360.

Wireless XBOX360 controller: MSRP $39.95/$49.95

Microsoft XBOX LIVE! Vision Camera for XBOX360 (see image above): MSRP $39.95/$49.95

HD LCD TV's on a budget

What better way to game than in Hi-Def?

While I'm more than impressed with the capabilities of my newly procured 360, I know I'm not utilizing the system to its full potential. I have the console plugged into a 15 year old receiver with Minimus 77 speakers (GhostRiderTGAC knows what these are) that I believe are on the edge of exploding, so I can forget about taking advantage of the Dolby Digital Surround Sound. I also have a 32" Panasonic television (CRT) which I purchased 3 or 4 years ago which is nice, but far from the 1080i resolution I could be viewing my games in. It's nice to know I have a switch to make the jump to HDTV built right into the connection cord for the console, when I finally bring an HDTV home.

I don't really consider myself to be in the market for HD at this time, however I'm always looking. Maybe it will be on my Christmas list next year, but for now, I'll continue gaming the "old fashioned way".

Anyhow, I figured I'd detail one of the Hi-Def's that have been receiving better than average reviews. If you're on a budget, Samsung has a solution that's right for you....click HERE to get more info.

MLG follow up

Amongst all my other DVR recordings (holiday specials for the kids, my wife's "Desperate Housewives"...), the highlight of my morning was taking in the "recorded" finals of Major League Gaming's HALO2 tourney in NYC. Now for those of you that know me, you know HALO2 is by far my favorite game, bar none. It was exciting watching two excellent teams (Team "Carbon" and Team "Final Boss") duke it out for the $30,000 purse, and while I wasn't physically there, I could feel the intensity in the room. I picked up some great game play tips as well, and I hope to be able to incorporate those into my next HALO2 fragfest, if I can drag myself away from GoW long enough to throw a different game into the console. I must say though that I would like to have seen more "30 somethings" taking part in the tournaments. I'm left to wonder though, as I was watching the finals, perhaps all the 30 somethings that had shown up had been beaten by all the teenagers and early 20 year olds. Discouraging to say the least if that is the case, but Ill keep playing regardless.....

I look forward to Christmas Day, and all the new XBOX360 goodies I'll be getting. I put virtually all of the items Microsoft has to offer for the 360 on my Christmas list, so its inevitable that I'll get something I can actually use as a present.

'07 should be a great year for gaming, not just for myself but for members of our team as well. After watching the MLG event this morning, I am even more inspired to make our next LAN gaming event a huge success. Stay tuned for more info, and be sure to send your ideas across if you want to see something specific at our next event.

See ya online....

IcemanXBTR

Exclusive "YouTube" interview w/XBTR player DaneroTGAC

Click here for GhostRiderTGAC's latest "Behind the Gamercard" live interview.....this is a "YouTube" video presentation

Up to date game rankings now available....

Ever wondered where your favorite game ranked amongst the masses. Check out GameRankings.com to find out.....frequently updated, and lots of solid content

Major League Gaming (MLG), Saturday mornings 10AM EST on USA Network

Caught a preview for this last evening and set my DVR to record it for me (since I'll be out when it's on). Has anyone ever seen this on TV? Click HERE to go to the site...

Allow conventional XBOX or not?

There has been some discussion as to whether we should allow the original XBOX platform to participate in the next LAN gaming event. While those of us at XBTR have looked at the pro's and con's of allowing and not allowing older console owners to participate, we wanted to ask you, our XBTR members, your thoughts with respect to this question.

Our planning continues for the next event, and your input will be important in our decision. Please comment on the blog directly, or if you prefer, drop us an e-mail and let us know. If you send us an e-mail, your comments will not be published. E-mail us or click on the "comments" line below this posting.

XBTR

Halo3 BETA Signup online....

Did anyone "successfully" complete, submit, and receive a confirmation on the beta enrollment for Halo3? Please let us know, thanks.....XBTR
Click HERE to go to the Halo3 beta enrollment site.