For those of you who have been waiting for so long, we have a pretty solid confirmation that this is the look of the next XBox, dubbed the XBox360! The latest word on specs that we can find are that it will have the following:

- CPU will use two 3.0GHz PowerPC cores, each with 32KB L1 cache, 32KB instruction cache, and the two share 1MB of L2 cache.
- The graphics will be handled by a "next-gen" 500MHz ATI post-X800 adapter
- There will be 256MB RAM - no word on what type; memory cards will range from 64MB to 1GB
- There will be no "next-gen" (i.e. Blu-ray or HD-DVD) drive, but instead a dual-layer DVD
- There will be an optional hard drive (as we heard before) - no word on final size
- There will be a USB 2.0 camera for 1.2-megapixel shots and VGA-quality video
- 5.1-channel audio is handled in software - X3DAudio to be exact (no word on in/outs)

As the big MTV reveal of the new XBox360 is coming up, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates spoke of how the new console will server as a complete entertainment hub capable of displaying music, video and pictures. Although he wouldn't discuss specifics at the Society of American Business Editors and Writers on Monday, Gates said that the console would feature a menu-driven interface similar to Windows XP Media Center Edition.

"If you're used to that menu, when you use this Xenon you'll see a menu a lot like that that lets you get photos, TV, music and all those different things," the Microsoft chairman told reporters.

Gates boasted that the new Xbox could vault Microsoft to the top of the gaming market above Sony, which has remained the dominant gaming force for years. "Our goal in the last generation was to be in the game," Gates said, "We came out of this round a strong number two."

In his speech, Gates also took the time to poke fun at Apple's new Mac OS X "Tiger" release, which hit store shelves last week and has been greeted by rave reviews. It's easy to tell if you're using a PC or Mac, Gates joked, "Just take your applications and stick them in there and see if they run."

With all of the reports of the huge XBox360 power supply overheating and a drive which is becoming known for scratched discs, we weren't necessarily expecting a kit that cooled the *inside*, but this is really cool nonetheless.

CoolIT's liquid cooling system is just a prototype for the time being, but they are hype'ing the system up for CES this week, so we'll see what happens.

From CoolIT's website:
To meet the ever-increasing demand on computers, liquid cooling is required because it is much better at dissipating heat as compared to air.

Unlike water-cooling products, CoolIT does not use a radiator. Rather we use a proprietary 'Chiller' which incorporates MTEC Technology - multiple TECs or peltiers to chill the liquid coolant. This increases thermal capacity and provides for faster heat absorption at the source.

The Freezone CPU Cooler removes the heat limit to raise the speed limit. It is the only liquid chilling solution that provides unsurpassed performance and uncompromising reliability. It is quiet, compact, easy to install, and affordable.

Using the same core technology, CoolIT is introducing another
family of exciting products with the USB Beverage Chiller.

Be sure to visit us in Vegas at the CES 2006! We'll be at booth 70556 in the Sands Expo Center from Jan 4 - 8th. Hope to see you there!

With all of the estimated release dates for Halo 3 floating around, at least we can preorder it now. Best Buy is offering it up for $59.99, and is listing an estimated release date of 3/1/2007. We're still banking on the end of November, as Microsoft has to have a game of this stature coming out near the launch of the Wii and Sony's PlayStation 3.

EB/Gamestop has announced that the HD-DVD drive for the XBox 360 will be available on 11/7 for $199, and it is currently in the preorder phase. Will this quell any demand for the PS3's? Probably not, but we'll get one and bring you a quick review anyways in early November.

* Contents: HD DVD Player, Universal Media Remote,
* Superior HD quality video and 7.1 digital surround sound
* Add High-definition video to your high-definition gaming
* Enjoy blockbuster HD DVD releases from major studios
* Enjoy new interactive on-screen content with iHD
* Connect to Xbox 360 system via USB 2.0 Cable
* Plays all of your current DVD video titles
* Vertical or Horizontal Orientation to fit your space

Here's the link to it: GameStop

The much-rumored XBox 360 fall update has hit today, and included in it are goodies such as 1080p and the ability to stream WMV video files from your PC. Since I'm still out buying Halloween candy for the kids, this picture is from someone else's XBox.

From the MS website:
Expanded HD Display and Video Playback Options
- With 1080p resolution, gamers now have the ability to enjoy both game and video content in the best HD resolution currently available.
- Expanded video playback options increase the ways gamers can enjoy video content on Xbox 360. It is now possible to stream WMV video from a Windows PC running Windows Media Player 11 or Windows Media Connect.
- Gamers can now play video files from data CDs and DVDs, as well as from storage devices like USB 2.0 flash drives and Xbox 360 Memory Units.
- Xbox 360 will support 50hz HDTV display modes, providing viewers greater choice in how they watch DVD and HD DVD content.

Xbox Live Arcade Enhancements
- Keeping up to date on Xbox Live Arcade games is now even more convenient with the ability to automatically download newly released Xbox Live Arcade trial games. This eliminates the need to manually search for new downloads on Xbox Live Marketplace each time a new game trial is released.
- Fast Enumeration of Games. You'll see the games in your Xbox Live Arcade collection appear almost instantly. Get in and play right away.
- With so many games to choose from, Xbox Live Arcade added new sorting options such as "Recently Played" and "By Category." These enhancements make managing Xbox Live Arcade collections faster and easier than ever.
- A new expanded Friends Leaderboard within Xbox Live Arcade allows gamers to compare themselves directly against their friends and view leaderboard details of their top-10 friends.
- A new expanded Achievements View within Xbox Live Arcade lets gamers view their full Achievement details for their Arcade games including descriptions, icons, allotted Gamerscore and more, right from the Xbox Live Arcade dashboard interface.
- The "Play Now" launch feature has been streamlined. Selecting "Play Now" after downloading a game in Xbox Live Marketplace now bypasses Arcade and takes you directly to the game.
- Xbox Live Arcade now offers a "Tell a Friend" feature. Select this from the game info screen to send any friend on your friends list a message telling them about the Arcade game.

XNA Support
- Amateur game designers will be able to test and play the games they create using XNA Game Studio Express on their Xbox 360 systems when it launches later this year (separate download and subscription required).

Reports are coming in that an analyst from Wedbush Morgan Securities sent a note to investors that the XBox 360 will be going through similar price cuts to the PS3's $100 cut today. Odds are that the announcement of the price reduction will be made tomorrow evening at Microsoft's press conference for the E3 Media Summit.

The price cut will be across the board on all three levels of the console - the Core system will drop from $299 to $249, the Premium will drop from $399 to $349, and the new black-clad Elite system will drop from $479 to $399.

Although Microsoft representatives have declined to confirm the price cuts, at this point, with the 60GB PS3 nipping at the 360 Elite's heels in pricing, it's inevitable.

On the heels of the latest price cut, Microsoft has one more trick up their sleeve for the XBox 360. Falcon, the latest upcoming iteration of the XBox 360, promises to be cooler and more reliable by going to the 65nm processor production process. The chips will perform the same as their 90nm predecessors, but will run at a greatly reduced temperature.

I'm sure that the increased cost for R&D on the system will be offset by the large amount Microsoft won't have to spend on warranty claims for overheating and failing systems, estimated by some sources to be as high as 40-50%. There is also an additional price advantage for Microsoft due to the fact that the 65nm process uses less material and takes fewer steps to produce - we should see the upgraded systems by fall of this year!