Heads up, Xbox 360 fans. A new mandatory system update for your Microsoft console has just gone live. It's not the new Xbox experience Microsoft's been harping about just yet, but it does pave the way for the much-awaited Fall dashboard update. More in the full article.

The TVersity dev team has announced that their media server application is now running at version 1.0 RC2. Among other updates, this new build carries support for album art and support for individual Youtube videos. The rest of the changelog is available in the full article.

Download: TVersity 1.0 RC2

If you are one of the budding developers that are targetting to release their product on Xbox Live Arcade service, know that Garage Games has just released version 1.5 of the engine Torque for the Xbox 360. Know all the worth mentioning improvements after the jump!

Just when we thought that Microsoft probably forgot all about the Xbox 360 gamers clamoring for DivX support in their systems, we hear a very promising statement from Kevin Hell himself, the Acting Chief Executive Officer for DivX. While his delivery of the statement made it sound as if it wasn't something that should be mentioned, just reading those words already gives us that warm, fuzzy feeling of hope that someday, we will get to play our favorite videos in the Xbox 360.

Trying to find a good way to keep track of your kid's play time? Microsoft has sent out an official announcement for their upcoming Family Timer feature for the Xbox 360.

The tool will enable parents to set their 360 to automatically shut down after a pre-programmed amount of time, ensuring that their little tykes get plenty of proper sleep for their next play session. More details for this downloadable offering from Microsoft can be found in the full article.

Those wacky developers at Microsoft XNA have created a new 2D physics engine that shows a lot of promise for new applications on both the PC and the Xbox 360.

Dubbed the Farseer Physics Engine, this new physics engine seems quite fluid considering it's all in 2D. It renders features such as collision tracking and angled joints quite accurately. It can probably be used for a lot of small applications or even games on both platforms in addition to it being compatible with Microsoft's Silverlight browser-based multimedia platform.

What's more is that this is all open source and available through the via link below. It sports an easy to use debug mode with detailed graphical and numerical output so budding developers can try their hand out at a little freelance game designing if they think they're up to it.

You can check out the Farseer Physics Engine in action in this video we have about the basic functions the physics engine sports.

 

Connect360">NullRiver Software released a new version of Connect360, tagged as Connect360 v3.0. Before we discuss the changelog for this new version, let's first take a look at what Connect360 is about.

Connect360 is an application that bridges the Mac to the Xbox 360 by allowing music playbacks and photo viewing on Microsoft's next-gen console. In previous versions, Connect360 has worked on the internet radio broadcast capabilities, as well as iPod libraries access on the Xbox 360. Apart from that, they also made the application compatible with Xbox's Spring dashboard update, and required Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later.

On to what's in store for us in this new version:

• Choose where your videos are stored
• Support for H.264 and MPEG4 videos in MOV and MP4 containers
• Support for iTunes Podcasts in the above formats
• Bug fixes

If you're interested to get Connect360 v3.0, we suggest you follow our Read link below. As for the registration of your own Connect360 copy, you better prepare US$ 20 for it.

 

QJ reader Ryvis informs us that the latest update to the TVersity Media Server is now available at the official site. Since it's been several months since we last posted about this, here's a little refresher: TVersity features on the fly transcoding to WMV for the Xbox 360, and allows for management of various media files. It can be used to create a personalized sequence of channels. It also serves the said media to networked devices in your home.

Version 0.9.10.1 was released on April 19, 2007, and as of this writing, folks from the official site, say that release notes for the new version are "coming soon." However, we do know that, in this version, video support for the PlayStation 3, the Wii, the Nokia N800, and video for the Sony PSP is featured.

Oh, and for you Wii owners out there eager to try this out, please be aware that the developers note that due to their inability to get a Nintendo Wii, support for the Wii is experimental and was only tested via a desktop version of the Opera browser.

For more information on the application, feel free to head to the official site via our "read" link below. If in case the download link that they've got isn't working that well, we have one for you folks to use below. Enjoy folks!

Download: TVersity 0.9.10.1

Most people are unaware of this but while the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2007 is wrapping up in San Francisco, Microsoft Corporation is planning its next big move in its corporate headquarters in Redmond, Washington. Anyone heard of Microsoft Research TechFest before?

Well, it is actually a strategic forum among Microsoft researchers hailing from  labs in China, England, India, and the U.S. The TechFest focuses on emerging hardware and software technologies. Concerning the forum's UI, Graphics, and Media gathering, Microsoft Research Senior Vice President Rick Rashid showcased Xbox 360-compatible application Boku.

Boku: Lightweight Programming for Kids was designed, as explained by Rashid, to give children an early exposure to the principles of software creative programming. Instead of textual language or wiring diagrams, Boku utilizes simple behavior cards that enable a virtual robot to navigate a 3D gaming world and accomplish specific tasks.

"It's very much like playing a game. But it's a serious endeavor that we believe will begin to interest kids in programming and eventually make them more comfortable tackling the really big challenges in computer science," remarked Rashid during TechFest. Even the image from gaming site Team Xbox (see above image) shows how newbie-friendly Boku is.

Anyway, aside from the above mentioned feature, Boku also gives users exposure to behavior arbitration, generality, representation of an abstract state, real-time experimentation and feedback, simulation, sensors, physics, and message passing. Everything within Boku can be controlled via an Xbox 360 controller.

Only a little more than a month ago, we told you about a Media Center Communicator from One Voice Technologies Inc. This communicator basically allows Xbox 360 users to control their units, as well as other gadgets, with a simple word of command.

Now, One Voice is excited to announce the launch of their new Media Center Communicator version 3 for Windows Vista. This product allows users to simply speak to play music, view photos and videos, watch TV, place Skype calls and control their Xbox 360. The 30-day trial download version is available for US$ 79.95. Says Dean Weber, president and CEO at One Voice,

We have added tremendous features to this product and a seamless integration with Windows Vista along with voice commands to control up to five Xbox 360 game consoles. Media Center Communicator is a must have product for Windows Vista to create the ultimate Digital Home experience!

The features of the Media Center Communicator Version 3 are the following.

•     Simple to use voice commands. No voice training required
•     High accuracy with wide range of accents
•     Play MP3 or Apple iTunes music using voice commands
•     PC-to-Phone calling using Skype to anywhere worldwide
•     Control up to five Xbox 360 game consoles using voice commands
•     Home automation for setting thermostats, lighting, security cameras and much more
•     Read and send email
•     View photos and photo slideshows
•     Create your own custom voice macros to launch websites and applications
•     Works with Microsoft Windows Media Center DVD players (Sony and Niveus)

The recommended system specs are: Windows Vista Home Premium or Windows Vista Ultimate, Intel Pentium 4 3.0 GHz or higher with HT, 1 GB RAM, 350 MB free disk space, and a Quality microphone (not included).