Says Major Nelson, the Xbox Live community guru:

When Preview Program members start receiving the Xbox 360 system update next week, one of the changes is that unauthorized Memory Units will no longer work with the Xbox 360. If you've moved your profile or saved games onto one to "back it up," you'd better move it back onto an authorized Xbox 360 storage device prior to taking the update. If you continue to use an unauthorized Memory Unit after the update, you will not be able to access your stored profile or saved games.

One way to be sure you have an authorized storage device is to check it against this list.

Note: Unauthorized does not necessarily mean "third party." This link identifies the brands featured on third party products - including memory units - that are authorized.

Don't Use Unauthorized Xbox 360 Storage Devices [Major Nelson, via Gamers Reports]

Up to eight people could watch a streamed NetFlix flick and share photos via slideshows.

Not any more. The feature has been pulled from the launch release of the NXE, although Microsoft are hopeful that it will return at a later date.

Photo sharing is still a goer though, which is something.

Microsoft Confirms Feature Cut from New Xbox 360 Dashboard [Shacknews]

"I don't know if we are going to tie ourselves to a spring fall release schedule as much," he said. "I think one of the things that I worked with the team with when I joined. Lets do a big release. Spring and fall sounds like there is a lot of distance between the two but there is an awful lot of... it's pretty hard to make a new dashboard because you have to certify it against every revision of the hardware, and there's a bunch of different specs. It's a pretty time consuming and challenging thing to do. Which is why we only did it twice a year."

"I like staying focused on bigger and more impactful releases, so maybe it will be twice a year, maybe less frequently. You know, to be determined. I think it's going to be more about: Whats the next big launch? What are we bringing? When can we bring it? How can we do it in a big way."

Schappert also said that new updates would likely include new content for avatar customization and that the company is still looking at the possibility of adding text search to the ever expanding Marketplace line up.

"Don't worry," he said. "We already have plans well into next year about what we're delivering next."

[Pic]

New Xbox Experience [Xbox.com]

NXE - What you need to know: Avatars

Whomever is doing this isn't logged in, so no fleeting glances of avatars or anything like that. It sounds like this is running on a bona fide 360, because the familiar whine kicks in right when it starts downloading Grand Theft Auto IV.

New Xbox Experience: Game Installation Process [YouTube]

How big? Well besides the gi-normous list of rumored updates we posted about back in May we're now hearing from a number of sources that the Live dashboard is going to be getting a second interface option, one that will use the yet-to-be announced motion controller to navigate.

This new user interface, we've been told, will recreate the increasingly cluttered dashboard "blade" system in a 3D environment that will be something more akin to the Minority Report than a filing cabinet. The motion controls will allow users to sort of slide through the different levels of this floating menu system.

Sounds like a fantastic idea, if it can be implemented correctly.

Buried with the news of the Xbox 360 Family Timer was an interesting date: early December. That's when Microsoft says the timer will be available on the Xbox 360. Here's a safe bet: The timer is part of the Fall Dashboard update, which means we won't be seeing the update until early December. It sure seems like Microsoft is getting dangerously close to making this a "winter update"! No news yet on the other features we will see in the update, but my sources tell me we will be hearing more about the update in the next week or so. But let's play a game, shall we? How many more PS3 firmware updates do you think we will see before the Xbox Fall Update actually arrives?

Oddly, the tipster is running the same dashboard version as the rest of us (2.0.5787.0), so how this ended up on his system is unknown. As you can see from the photo, the features listed are: Live & recorded TV, On-demand movies and Chat while watching TV. If all this turns out to be true, it could mean a pretty spiffy update when it finally rolls around. If it's not true, feel free to head over to Xbox 360 Fanboy and register your many outraged complaints there.

Rumor: Leaked screens show IPTV and Fall update [Xbox 360 Fanboy]

But about those dashboard themes. Yes, I'll pay for them. You knew it all along, so congrats. What I want to know is: why can't I update my Marketplace blade? Because I'll be wasting time tabbing back and forth, experiencing the sybaritic joy of Earth tones combined with the dashboard's oceanic swooshing effect, and BAM! BRIGHT ORANGE!

Please fix. I'm sure that a Smackdown Vs. Raw background on Marketplace will not hinder my consumerism.
Sincerely, Love, Waiting in angst,
Mark Wilson

It looks like Microsoft rolled out the Spring Update 07 early to a few people, specifically all Xbox MVPs are helping to beta test the dashboard update.

Godfree reports that while the new friend features doesn't let you increase your 100 limit for your GamerTag Friends List, it does let you add an additional 600 MSN Contacts to your list, merging the two into one mammoth list. Brian Crecente

I Just Got the New Dashboard Update! [Gamer Tag Radio]

Someone just posted this video on YouTube, supposedly showing off what the Xbox 360's Spring 07 Dashboard update will include. Legit or not, what do you think? Brian Crecente

[Thanks Tom]

One of my friends just bought himself an Xbox 360 premium pack with PGR3 while we were in town. I wanted to see a live unboxing, so I helped him set it up. After getting whooped on PGR3 he decided to go online to find some easier meat. The box told him an update was necessary, so he told it to go ahead and update. Once the update had downloaded the box turned off, then the ring lit up again as it started to boot - normal enough, I thought. Then, as the Xbox logo whooshed past, the screen went black. Then some white multilingual text appeared, with the one english line saying that he needed to contact support. The error code E-71 was also shown, and the ring of light had a single red quadrant in the bottom right. He rang microsoft, who made him put his 360 through a string of tests (remove and reattach everything in varying orders) all to no avail - he was told to return the box to the retailer. When asked, the rep also said that he had recieved a number of phonecalls that day with the same symptoms and cause.

Good news and bad news. The bad news is that the update is bricking some consoles, the good news is that Microsoft is on the case and hopes to have the problem fixed with a dash update soon.

We're hearing from a small number of customers (less than 1%) that are having issues with the Fall Console Update. I've been told that the team should have an updated version in the next 12-24 hours. We'll let you know when the issue is resolved.

If you are having problems with the update for any reason, please call Xbox Support (1-800-4-MY-XBOX in the US and Canada). We're working with those affected to get them back up and running, and we're committed to making sure the update doesn't cause problems for anyone else.

So don't update your console just yet, unless you already have. I wonder just how much testing goes into a dashboard update, that how many different types of Xbox 360 consoles are out there. Brian Crecente

It's possible that MS wanted to push out the Fall Update actually during Fall, which despite the testicle-freezing weather we're having in the Bay Area, still goes on for the month of November. Check out all the Dashboard screens after the jump, in Japanese. Jason Chen

Japan: 'Xbox 360 System Update Herbst' am 31.10.06 [GameFront via Xboxic]

The updates are broken down into three categories: HD Display and Video Playback, Xbox Live Arcade and XNA Support.

Brian Crecente

Expanded HD Display and Video Playback Options
1080p resolution for both game and video content.
Support for streaming WMV video from a Windows PC running Windows Media Player 11 or Windows Media Connect.
Support for playing video files from data CDs and DVDs, as well as from storage devices like USB 2.0 flash drives and Xbox 360 Memory Units.
50hz HDTV display modes support

Xbox Live Arcade Enhancements

Ability to automatically download newly released Xbox Live Arcade trial games.
Fast enumeration of games: "You'll see the games in your Xbox Live Arcade collection appear almost instantly."
New recently played and Category sorting options for Live Arcade titles.
Expanded Friends Leaderboard for Live Arcade.
Expanded Arcade Achievements View.
Play it Now option now instantly launches Arcade game.
Tell a Friend feature lets you tell a friend about an Arcade title you like.

XNA Support
Adds support for XNA Game Studio Express, allowing Express subscribers to play their 360 games on the console.

Looking at the list, it seems to be mostly tweaks and of course that major enhancement to video playback and 1080p. Brian Crecente

But take the thing online and even more features open up, including the ability to notify your friends of new game purchases by posting your acquisitions on their home bulletin boards.

Nintendo told about their new feature, the 'Play History,' which records how long you spend playing each individual game, to produce interesting statistics. [...]

It also means that parents and spouses can check up on their children/partners - an alternative to the rather daunting original suggestion of allowing parents to allow the system to automatically switch off after a set amount of time.

This system may later, says Iwata, be used to collect global information about the hours spent playing any particular games, and could be used to "compile data on which game was the most played that year." Eliza Gauger

More here [Club Skill]

Wild Chicken, one of the guys working on the Xbox 360 User Interface, has posted up a call for comments on his site. He'd like to know what needs to be changes, kept the same, fixed and added to the Xbox 360 dashboard and such.

I just want them to do something about music sorting. I hate having to page through 4,000 plus songs everytime I want to find something to play. Maybe make it sortable by first letter groupings, like A-C, D-G, that sort of thing.

Also, I wish there was a way to save playlists to the 360's harddrive for songs that are not on the 360, like my iPod songs.

Do you have any requests? Hit the link or bitch here. Brian Crecente

Max Console managed to grab three screenshots showing off what looks to be some rather modest changes to the Xbox 360 dashboard come this fall.

The dashboard update, which they say hits in November, appears to include a new tab for XNA games as well as graphics for some of the marketplace tabs. Brian Crecente

EXCLUSIVE: Preview of Upcoming Xbox 360 Dashboard Update, Ready to Battle PS3! [Max Console]