Eagle-eyed gamers may have already noticed that the Xbox 360's dedicated Twitter and Facebook apps have gone missing after the latest Dashboard update, and now Redmond has confirmed it's put the applications out to pasture. According to a Microsoft representative that spoke to IGN, the firm is "retiring the Facebook and Twitter apps" as it works to streamline functionality. When asked if the pair of apps will ever make a comeback, Ballmer and Co. didn't comment. Still crave to update your friends on your latest gaming exploits through the console? Spreading the news on the digital grapevine is still possible, but you'll have to access the social networks through the freshly added Internet Explorer app -- an experience we hope Xbox SmartGlass will improve.
Microsoft 'retiring' Facebook and Twitter Xbox 360 Dashboard apps originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Oct 2012 08:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Your chance to shout voice commands at Engadget is coming today, as Microsoft is rolling out its Fall Dashboard update to the Xbox 360 today, headlined by the inclusion of Internet Explorer. The update also adds a version of its popular "pinning" functionality, a variety of specialized sports apps (NBA, NHL, and Monday Night Football from ESPN), the ability to recommend and rate content, and some UI tweaks across all of the 360 Dashboard's categories. Xbox Music is also in there, as is SmartGlass support, though the latter won't have any functionality until October 26, according to Microsoft's Major Nelson. The update may not come immediately, as it's being rolled out gradually across various regions. 3 million folks get in this week, while others may not see it until a week or two from now, says Microsoft. We've got a full hands-on right here for you to read in the meantime, of course.
Filed under: Gaming, Microsoft
PSA: Xbox 360 Fall Dashboard update rolling out today originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Oct 2012 00:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Microsoft has never been shy about its ambitions for Kinect's depth sensing abilities. A pair of patent applications, however, show that its hopes and dreams are taking a more Hollywood turn. One patent has the depth camera going portable: a "mobile environment sensor" determines its trajectory through a room and generates a depth map as it goes, whether it's using a Kinect-style infrared sensor or stereoscopic cameras. If the visual mapping isn't enough, the would-be camera relies on a motion sensor like an accelerometer to better judge its position as it's jostled around. Microsoft doesn't want to suggest what kind of device (if any) might use the patent for its camera, but it's not ruling out anything from smartphones through to traditional PCs.
The second patent filing uses the Kinect already in the house for that directorial debut you've always been putting off. Hand gestures control the movie editing, but the depth camera both generates a model of the environment and creates 3D props out of real objects. Motion capture, naturally, lets the humans in the scene pursue their own short-lived acting careers. We haven't seen any immediate signs that Microsoft is planning to use this or the mobile sensor patent filing in the real world, although both are closer to reality than some of the flights of fancy that pass by the USPTO -- the movie editor has all the hallmarks of a potential Dashboard update or Kinect Fun Labs project.
Filed under: Digital Cameras, Gaming
Microsoft patent applications take Kinect into mobile cameras, movie-making originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Aug 2012 18:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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It doesn't bring quite the overhaul that previous updates have, but at least some Xbox 360 users should be seeing a new software update available the next time they turn on their console. Xbox's Major Nelson confirmed on Twitter today that the spring update is rolling out to "a few" users this week, with everyone else set to receive it next week. As for details on the update, he's only gone as far as to confirm that it contains "behind the scenes improvements & prep for future enhancements." Presumably, those future enhancements include many of the new features we saw at E3 last week, but there's still no official word as to when they'll actually roll out.
Xbox 360 spring update rolling out to some now, everyone else next week originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jun 2012 15:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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