xbox360 posts

Filed under: Desktops, Hardware, Software, Hacks, Cult of Mac, PowerBook, PowerMac G5, Mods, Leopard

MacMods of the Year for 2008 announced

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Jan 13th, 2009

MacMod.com has announced their honorees for the best mods on Macs that they saw last year, and you can see all of the hacks and mods over at their site right now. Most of the mods are case modifications, like the very slick iPhone custom, and the "Xbox G4," as seen above, which is a Powerbook G4 modded into the case of an Xbox 360 (with working ring of light!).

I find it interesting that despite all of the slick case designs and gadget melds, the winner ends up being a software hack (well, it's actually more than a software hack, but still, you won't find any neon tubing in this mod, just a beige case): Leopard running on a PowerMac 8500. The mod itself ends up being a fine trip over the history of Apple's current software, its past machines, and all of the gooey chips and hardware inside. Very cool. Kudos to all the modders for their work -- we can't wait to see what 2009 brings to the mod community.

Tags: beige-g3, cases, g4, hacks, hardware, leopard, Mod-of-the-year, modding, powerbook, powermac-8500, software, xbox360

Filed under: Gaming, Freeware, iPhone, iPod touch

Manage Xbox Live friends with iNXES

by Todd Ritter (RSS feed) on Dec 15th, 2008

To accompany the recent Xbox 360 dashboard update, 1337pwn.com released a new version of their Xbox Live friends-management iPhone application. iNXES lets you view your friends list in the NXE form complete with avatars, gamer scores, and online status.

In my testing (on 3G and WiFi), performance was pretty poor. Scrolling through categories or through my friends list was sluggish, and some of my friends' avatars have been updated on Xbox Live but are not showing on iNXES. I was, however, able to see profile data, achievements, and game history.

Continue reading “Manage Xbox Live friends with iNXES”

Tags: app-store, iphone, xbox, xbox360, xboxlive

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Apple, Apple TV

Apps for Apple TV: sign me up

by Scott McNulty (RSS feed) on Jul 24th, 2008

Saul Hansell, over at the New York Times Bits blog, takes Microsoft's recent announcement about Xbox LIVE Community Games as a jumping off point to some speculation about Apple TV (and who doesn't like speculation?). Hansell wonders what would happen if Apple were to open up an App Store for the Apple TV, and I have to admit that I think that's a brilliant idea.

I've always thought that the Apple TV would greatly benefit from third party plugins (official ones, I mean, not hacks), if not full blown apps. Take, for example, the YouTube functionality. Wouldn't it be cool if you could watch videos from Viddler, Vimeo, or any of the other countless video sharing sites, in addition to those on YouTube? And let's not forget Netflix. Microsoft and Netflix have teamed up to offer the 'Watch it now' library of videos to XBox Live Gold members. Being able to watch those videos from Netflix on my Apple TV would make me one happy panda.

Hansell notes that to make apps on the Apple TV viable something has to be done about that horrible onscreen keyboard. He thinks that Apple might tie the iPhone into the Apple TV as a way to control it. Luckily, Apple has already done this. As John Gruber points out, when you have Apple's Remote app on your iPhone you are able to use the iPhone to enter text into your Apple TV.

Let's hope Apple stops thinking about Apple TV as a hobby and starts making an aggressive push for the living room. I like my Apple TV, but my XBox 360 offers up more functionality (and more heat!).

Tags: apple-tv, xbox360

Filed under: Gaming, Software

Rivet media sharing for Xbox 360

by Mat Lu (RSS feed) on Apr 21st, 2008

Mac users who have wanted to share audio, video, and pictures with their Xbox 360s have had to depend on Connect360 from Nullriver Software. Now, however, there's a new option: Rivet from Cynical Peak Software. Frankly, it does about the same thing as Connect360, running in your menu bar and allowing you to share media to your Xbox 360, though it does add a few convenient features.

According to the developer, Rivet allows you to "supply multiple search paths for your media" and display your folder media folder hierarchies properly (instead of in a long, flat list). So if you've been frustrated by those limitations, Rivet is worth a look. In my brief testing it worked just about as well as Connect360.

Rivet is $18.95 and a demo is available from Cynical Peak Software.

Tags: Connect360, Rivet, xbox 360, xbox360

Filed under: Gaming, Multimedia, Software, Video

Connect360 now does DivX/Xvid

by Mat Lu (RSS feed) on Dec 5th, 2007

We've posted on Connect360 from nullriver several times before. This handy Preference Pane application allows you to stream media (music, pictures, and video) from your Mac to your Xbox 360 (by emulating a Windows machine). Well the Fall 2007 Dashboard update for Xbox 360 just dropped this week and, among other things, added DivX and Xvid codec support. So nullriver has updated Connect360 to version 3.2 with support for these video codecs.

Connect360 remains $20 and a demo is available.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

Tags: Connect360, DviX, Xbox-360, Xbox360, Xvid

Filed under: Gaming, Multimedia, iTunes

Guitar Hero tracks on iTunes

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Oct 24th, 2007

Looking to get caught up on your favorite Guitar Hero music before the game finally comes to the Mac in a week? You're in luck, our sister site Xbox 360 Fanboy reports that Activision, who now owns the GH franchise, has released the master tracks of Guitar Hero 1, 2 and 3 as "Guitar Hero Essentials," available right now on iTunes.

Very awesome. Of course, listening to "More Than a Feeling," "Killing in the Name," or "Heart Shaped Box" isn't nearly as fun as actually playing it with the guitar, but until they release Guitar Hero for the iPhone you'll have to settle for listening to the downloaded tracks. Each game has its own playlist, and there's even extra playlists from Slash and Steve Jones to get you in the mood.

Rock on! Of course, we'll probably be a little too busy with Leopard at release to really get the thrash on right away, but after we get our Stacks and Spaces set up, it's time to shred!

Tags: activision, guitar-hero, xbox360

Filed under: Multimedia, How-tos, Odds and ends

Stream audio, video, and pictures from your Mac to a PS3

by Mat Lu (RSS feed) on Aug 1st, 2007

As the resident Xbox 360 fanboy I had reservations about touching this one, but my Mac love triumphs over all and so I bring you news of a cool tutorial on streaming media from your Mac to a PS3. This method is basically built around the MediaTomb open-source UPnP media server. The tricky part is installing MediaTomb on your Mac with fink and setting it up for the PS3 from the command-line. But once you do, you should be able to stream audio, video, and pictures from your Mac over the network. Needless to say, I haven't tried this myself, but I am intrigued by this note: "Currently MediaTomb does not fully support the XBOX360 as it acts differently from the PS3, but the code is already there to make it work in future versions." I guess we 360 users will just have to make due with Connect360 for now.

[via Digg]

Tags: media server, MediaServer, PS3, streaming, UPnP, xbox 360, Xbox360

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Multimedia, iTunes, Steve Jobs

Disney HD on Xbox Live... but not iTunes

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on Jul 11th, 2007

I'm not sure how closely you're all following E3 (the big gaming convention going on this week in LA), but one of the tidbits of news dropped by some little company named Microsoft last night is Disney movies are now available for download on Xbox 360's Live Marketplace. Finally, just like all of us iTunes users have been doing for months, Xbox owners can enjoy Disney flicks via digital distribution.

But wait-- the Xbox flicks are available, right now... in HD. Wha? Is Microsoft's CEO the largest Disney shareholder and on their Board of Directors? Did someone from Microsoft run the animation company that turned Disney animation around? Why are Xbox 360 owners watching these movies in HD when we can't do the same on iTunes?

We've speculated before that HD movies would be coming to iTunes, but right now, Xbox 360 owners can see every single hair on Ariel's head, and iTunes purchasers cannot. What's wrong with this picture?

Thanks, James H.

Tags: disney, hd, itunes, marketplace, movies, xbox, xbox360, xboxlive

Filed under: Multimedia, Software, Video

Connect360 updated with H.264 support

by Mat Lu (RSS feed) on May 14th, 2007

A while back in our TUAW Guide to Xbox 360 and Mac we mentioned the forthcoming Spring Dashboard update on the 360 was to bring updated video codec support. Well that update dropped last week and Nullriver has correspondingly updated their Connect360 software (which we've mentioned before) that allows streaming video (and audio) files from a Mac straight to a Xbox 360. The newly supported codecs include full HD (1920x1080) H.264 in both the MPEG-4 and QuickTime containers (in addition to the previous WMV). This, of course, is substantially higher than Apple TV's support for 720p video, making the Xbox 360 likely the best full HD video extender available (though the Xbox is disappointingly loud compared to the Apple TV).

Connect360 remains $20 and a demo is available.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

Tags: Connect360, H.264, MPEG-4, QuickTime, Xbox 360, Xbox360

Filed under: Video, Features, Productivity, Tips and tricks, Troubleshooting, Ask TUAW

Ask TUAW: Printing Finder window contents, CornerClick, a Finder hotkey, editing AVIs and more

by Mat Lu (RSS feed) on May 2nd, 2007

This week's Ask TUAW takes us into questions about printing Finder window contents, assigning programs to the corner of your screen, bringing up the Finder with a HotKey, integrating Apple productivity programs, recording TV on your Mac and editing AVIs . Remember new Mac users and Switchers who are enjoying our Mac 101 series should feel very welcome to post questions for Ask TUAW; we're happy to take questions from all levels. As always, please submit your questions by commenting to this post or using our tip form.

Continue reading “Ask TUAW: Printing Finder window contents, CornerClick, a Finder hotkey, editing AVIs and more”

Tags: connect360, CornerClick, Crm4Mac, elgato, eyetv hybrid, EyetvHybrid, Finder, Print Window, PrintFinder, PrintWindow, SimpleMovieX, xbox 360, Xbox360

Filed under: Gaming, Freeware

Use Xbox 360 Guitar Hero Controller with Frets on Fire

by Mat Lu (RSS feed) on Apr 22nd, 2007

A while back we posted on the cool open source Guitar Hero clone, Frets on Fire. Well I'm a pretty big Xbox 360 fan, and one of my favorite games on the 360 is the recently released Guitar Hero II, which ships with a USB X-plorer guitar-shaped controller. So of course the first thing I did when I got it was plug it into my Mac to see if it would work with the Pref360 controller driver, but alas it did not. Disappointed, I contacted the author of that driver, Colin Munro, to see if he could help me get it working. And sure enough, with a little bit of editing of the driver plist, we got it going (that is to say, I followed his directions exactly and it worked).

I asked Colin if he would go ahead and add native support for the X-plorer for the next release of Pref360, and he has now done exactly that in the just released version 0.05. Furthermore, it works great with Frets on Fire (look here for the Mac version); just install Pref360 and then go into the Frets on Fire button setup and you should be able to assign the fret and strum buttons (the whammy bar is not yet supported in Frets on Fire). Now you have access access to all the fan created songs for Frets on Fire on your Mac.

Coincidentally, MacRecon recently reported that you could use the X-plorer with USB Overdrive ($20). However, Pref360 is donationware, and it works with Frets on Fire. So unless you have some other need for USB Overdrive I'd suggest going with Pref360, which is a free download from Tattiebogle.

Thanks gortman (mac recon)!

Update: fixed preposition. For those of you having trouble getting Frets on Fire to run, I would suggest trying out one of the older builds. Version 1.1.324 from back in November is running fine for me on an Intel Mac. Look here and scroll down.

Tags: frets of fire, FretsOfFire, guitar hero, GuitarHero, xbox 360, Xbox360

Filed under: Gaming, Hardware, iPod Family, Multimedia, Peripherals, Features, Apple TV

TUAW Guide: Xbox 360 and Mac

by Mat Lu (RSS feed) on Apr 16th, 2007

In many of the recent reviews of the Apple TV, the Xbox 360 was often mentioned as a competing Media Extender product. Having recently bought a 360, I thought it would be good to discover the ways in which my two pretty white boxes can work together. In this TUAW Guide to Xbox 360 and the Mac, I'm going to discuss some of both the hardware and software compatibilities between the machines. If you've ever been curious about the Xbox 360 read on, and if you're an old hand my Gamertag is matonmacs, send a friend request my way; maybe we can get a TUAW clan going!

Continue reading “TUAW Guide: Xbox 360 and Mac”

Tags: Connect360, Friendz, LiveKardz, Mac Live, MacLive, tuaw guide, tuawguide, VisualHub, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Friends, Xbox360, XboxLiveFriends, xCard360

Filed under: Airport

Xbox incompatible with 802.11n Airport Extreme

by Erica Sadun (RSS feed) on Feb 7th, 2007

TUAW reader Bryan Hughes writes in to tell us that after many unsuccessful attempts, he was unable to connect wirelessly to his Xbox 360 via the new 802.11n Airport Extreme. Over at a discussion at Apple Tech Support, other users report no problem connecting their Wiis and Playstation 3s to the Airport Extreme network but that the Xbox is another matter.

~~The Xbox 360 apparently will not recognize any network with security, whether WEP or WPA and~~ Microsoft's tech support apparently is telling customers that Apple routers are not recommended. So would you be willing to entirely disable security on your wireless network to connect to your Xbox? That's apparently one way of making the connection work. Some readers report that turning off security and closing their network (not advertising the SSID) and using MAC address filtering work. You can join the Xbox/Airport Extreme discussion here.

Tags: Airport, Airport Extreme, AirportExtreme, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox360

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Video

HD TV shows and movies on your XBox

by Scott McNulty (RSS feed) on Nov 7th, 2006

The other day Microsoft announced that you will be able to buy and rent TV shows and movies directly from your XBox 360. The twist is that they are offering the videos in standard def and HD (720p will be the max resolution).

Now, I know you're wondering why I am blogging about this on TUAW. What I'm hoping this will do is force Apple to offer higher res movies and shows on iTunes. I have all this broadband just waiting to transfer HD content!

Tags: itunes store, ItunesStore, xbox 360, Xbox360

Filed under: Gaming, Hardware, Software

Use your XBox 360 controller with your Mac

by Scott McNulty (RSS feed) on May 19th, 2006

I don't own an XBox 360, but I hear that it is the best thing to come out of Redmond for a long, long time. Now, if you are a Mac user and an Xbox 360 owner you might be keen to hook up your XBox's controller to your Mac for some Mac gaming fun. Sadly, you have been out of luck in that regard, that is until Colin Munro whipped up some OS X drivers for it. Now you can gleefully kill things on your Mac and not have to get used to another control (it even supports force feed back).

Thanks, Harrison.

Tags: controller, xbox 360, xbox360

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