Xbox users who have modded firmwares may want to steer clear of Xbox Live for a little while. It seems Microsoft is once again exercising their banhammer muscles with a good old-fashioned ban wave.

More on the banning after the jump!

Several hours ago, Xbox 360 and Windows Vista owners were greeted with the news that Microsoft released the Shadowrun FPS for their respective platforms. And while we imagine players who've purchased their copy are enjoying the game's linked play capability, we've picked up another upcoming event, courtesy of FASA.

The game developers has just announced that as part of the ongoing festivities surrounding Shadowrun's release, FASA is planning to run the second part of the Play the Devs Day this Thursday, May 31.

This event will provide gamers with an opportunity to meet up (online) with Shadowrun's creative team, who in turn have several activities such as a Q&A session being planned for the appointed day. The event is scheduled for 3 p.m. (Seattle time), and will be conducted via IRC chat. Players interested in joining are advised to PM the FASA developers via their Gamertag.

Shadowrun (rated "M" by the ESRB) for the Xbox 360 is priced at US$ 59.99, with the Windows Vista port coming in at US$ 49.99. The game includes nine unique maps and three additional map variations, showcasing environments set in a futuristic Santos, Brazil, and its neighboring ancient Ziggurat. Shadowrun includes six training chapters, with four levels of difficulty provided for the game's bots. For the guys who've decided to wait and see if the game's worth buying, expect a demo to be released this June 6 via Xbox Live.

To celebrate the end of Shadowrun's (also on the PC) Beta phase, FASA Interactive is giving the cyberpunk FPS-RPG crowd some reason to whip out those guns this April 30. If you were one of the lucky gamers to have received that Xbox Live email invitation into the Beta run, listen up:

Join us on IRC chat channel #Shadowrun.FASA on the Gamesurge server from 2-6 P.M. PDT on Monday, April 30th. FASA will be giving away prizes, answering questions about the game, and chatting with everyone while playing Shadowrun.

If you've got the time (and are willing to put down that Xbox 360 controller for a few hours) might as well join the talk-fest online. Narrate your beta experience, air out your constructive criticisms, report bugs, barrage the devs with your questions - it's going to be fair play for everyone. And on top of that, you just might win a couple of prizes in the process to.

Now who said blabbermouths are just nothing but talk, ey?

Buy: [Shadowrun (Xbox 360)]
Buy: [Shadowrun (Windows Vista)]

It seems that the recent Hypervisor hack, and the subsequently released Linux Loader are so good to the point that you can already load Linux distros on your 360. This is because of the great work by Felix Domke who wrote a bunch of drivers for Xbox360 hardware so that Linux could recognize it. And, as early as now, we've been hearing murmurs from the hacking community already.

Stonersmurf, a well respected hacker from xboxhacker.net, recently posted on IRC that he got Ubuntu Linux going on his 360. When asked about hardware compatibility, he pointed out that all hardware except for 3D and sound is working. Then, we hear that Cpasjuste has also successfully booted Ubuntu on his 360. Not only that, he was kind enough to provide instructions for anyone curious and brave enough to try it.

This development means that users could be looking at full fledged Linux distros working on their 360 in the near time. The only thing currently holding back everyone is the fact that you need a 360 with an older kernel version (4532 or 4548) which is a rarity. Until someone can either find a way to downgrade to an older kernel, or find a vulnerability in the new version, you would either have to wait for the new kernel to get hacked or buy an Xbox360 with an older kernel off sites like eBay.

Apart from that though, I can't wait to see where this goes. Comparing this to PS3 Linux (which has been openly supported by Sony), the only difference you have now is that sound drivers haven't been ported yet. If you don't count that, Xbox360 Linux is actually better than PS3 Linux since it's running at a much higher privelege (Hypervisor level), meaning people could fiddle around with stuff and hope to find bugs in the Xbox kernel.

You can head on over to Cpasjuste's tutorial for Ubuntu on Xbox 360 for more info.

Days after the rumors revolving around CoD 4 and Infinity Ward spread, the latter still refuses to comment on the matter and remains tight-lipped. However, the developer's silence is not exactly without a crack as their latest action somewhat betrays their future intentions and plans.

Infinity Ward just re-launched its official site, adding community-focused features as well as updating its networking and communication capabilities. "We worked with our fans to create a web site that speaks to their interests and in order to create an environment where fans can stay informed, express themselves and connect with one another," says Community Manager Robert Bowling.

Aside from sections devoted to the history of various installments of the Call of Duty franchise, strategy guides, IRC links and fan/clan web site tool kits, here are the major developments added to their site:

• Squad-Building: Users will be empowered to create and build their own squads for Call of Duty 2. The customizable Squad mini-site profiles will include private squad chat rooms and forums, along with rosters, photos and profiles and the ability to set up events, send out challenges, recruit and more.
• Social Networking: Users can set up personalized accounts and create/update their profile, build a network of friends, upload photos, send email, post events, create/manage clubs, maintain a personal calendar and more.
• Podcasts: Download regular interviews straight from the team at Infinity Ward. They’ll address questions and comments from the community, as well as offer featured interviews.
• Developer/Modding Tutorials: Tips and tricks for modeling, scripting, mapping and modding in all forms are available here.
• FAQ/Suggestion System: Got a question or suggestion? Community members can search for the answer here; if the answer can’t be found, questions can be posted.
• Server Admin./Modding Sections: Tips and tricks, plus useful information and help for the more proactive player.
• Montage Mayhem: A forum for members to show their skills on film by posting their own tricked-out gameplay movies.

It all started with Atari 7800, successor to failed Atari 5200. Complete with digital joysticks, keyboards and expansion ports, it could very well be the grandfather of today's next-gen consoles. Xbox 360 fans old enough to remember will get sentimental and those young 'uns will revere: the Atari 7800x v1, an Atari emulator for Xbox 360.

Created by Xport, Atari7800x v1 features excellent compatibility as it was ported from Multiple Emulator Super System (MESS). With ZIP/Relax/SMB support, it also allows saving and rewinding. Unfortunately though, it was built with the official Microsoft System Development Kit (MS SDK), rendering it illegal for us to share.

We can't point to you where to download this emulator but experienced gamers know such applications breed in IRC channels. Oops, you didn't hear that from us!