Yeah, I know a copy and paste post is kinda lame, but this is important. 
Gotta love the Xbox.com Forums

New Features

• HD 1080p video mode support over VGA and component cables.
• Xbox 360™ HD DVD Player support.
• Stream WMV video from a Windows PC running Windows Media Player 11, Zune software, or Windows Media Connect.
• Play video from storage devices such as USB flash drives, Xbox 360 Memory Units, etc.
• Play video from CD or DVD data discs.
• Xbox 360 Wireless Headset support, including battery level indicator in the Xbox Guide.
• Video support for 50 Hz HDTV modes (DVD and HD DVD only).
• Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel support.
• Set up automatic downloads of newly released Xbox Live Arcade trial games.
• Support for upcoming release of XNA Game Studio Express (separate download and subscription required.)
• Stream music, pictures and video from a Zune device.

Xbox Live Arcade

• Lightning-fast enumeration and listing of all Xbox Live® Arcade games on the console.
• Find games quickly with two new sort options: Recently Played and By Category.
• Have all new Xbox Live Arcade games at the ready with auto downloads. Auto downloads optionally adds newly released trial versions of games to active downloads when you enter Xbox Live Arcade.
• View full achievement info in Xbox Live Arcade, including icons, achievement point details, and descriptions.
• Friends leaderboard: Compare yourself with friends and view leaderboard details right from the Xbox dashboard.
• Tell a friend: Send a message to a friend about your newest favorite Xbox Live Arcade game.

DVD Player

• Optionally disable notifications from Xbox Live while watching DVD movies.
• Improved support for audio streams on incorrectly authored DVDs.
• Better handling of unreadable discs.
• Updated count-down timer.
• HD DVD player support.
• Added zoom support for non-anamorphic content.
• Added support to Family Settings to block Unrated Content

Video Player

• Improved support for extended all black scenes in WMV content.
• Added support for Windows Media Video 9 Advanced profile video.
• Screen saver now becomes active when videos are paused.
• Now shares UI and player controls with DVD player.
• Improved video playback while downloading from Xbox Live.
• Added skip controls (forward approx. 30 seconds, back approx. 7 seconds).
• Improved messaging around unplayable video content.
• Added time elapsed and time remaining displays.
• Improved playback of high bit-rate HD content on fragmented hard drives.
• Improved visual quality of video playback.
• Added selectable display modes: default and letterbox zoom.

Localization

• New locale setting for China
• Improved German translations in console settings.
• Improved German translations in memory area.
• Improved Japanese translations in Family Settings.
• Added localized text for all supported languages in pictures area
• Improved Spanish translations in camera effects.
• Improved locale-specific decimal denominators.
• Added localization support for title menu and main menu in the DVD player.
• Added localization support for “Attempting to Read Media” system message.

Memory Area

• Added support for Xbox 360 HD DVD Player content..
• Added new page for viewing content size by category.

Other System Improvements

• Updated support for new Daylight Savings changes coming in 2007.
• Improved support for games to better handle host migration in multi-player matches.
• Improved Xbox Live Vision camera support for changing room lighting while zooming.
• Background downloaded videos appear in video area
• Improved Xbox Live Vision camera support while using VGA.
• Playing photo slideshows from PC now maintains picture folder hierarchy.
• Improved user experience when playing and deleting videos from the Games or Media areas.
• Improved handling of invalid characters during Xbox Live signup.
• Better handling of watermarks in gamer cards.
• Improved text for Windows Media Connect..
• Improved UI performance in Media Center Extender
• Improved connection support for Buffalo WZR-G108 wireless router when using Xbox 360 Wireless Adapter.
• Redownload of deleted Arcade Games no longer re-enumerates all games on the Arcade page.
• Improved visual display of text in themes.
• Improved support for CD playback after signing up for Xbox Live and losing network connectivity.
• Improved support for long names of items memory area.
• Improved handling of gamer pictures downloaded from Xbox Live.
• Improved background download notifications when downloading many small items from Xbox Live.
• Improved support for custom backgrounds after returning to the Xbox Dashboard from the Account Management area.
• Improved network reliability between Windows Media Center Extender on Windows Vista and Xbox 360 consoles using Xbox 360 Wireless Adapter.
• Improved voice chat quality in Xbox Dashboard and in-game chats.
• Improved messaging when failing to connect to Windows Media Center Extender.
• Improved USB keyboard support when using a USB hub.
• Improved consistency of user experience when deleting various types of content.
• Improved handling of low storage space for background downloads.
• Improved handling of Picture streaming from attached Digital Cameras over MTP protocol
• Improved error messaging for optional iPod support download when storage devices are full.
• Improved handling of multi-key repeating for USB keyboards.
• Expanded Family Settings to include support for blocking unrated DVDs and videos.
• Added ability to clear space from storage devices in download areas.
• Added support for low-speed and full-speed USB keyboards.
• Improved CapsLock behavior for USB keyboards.
• Improved look and feel in Xbox Live Marketplace and Xbox Live Arcade areas.
• Added redeem code option to Xbox Live signup.
• Removed system message at the start of new downloads. Messages will be displayed for completed items.
• Added support for CCV credit card validation field in Xbox Live Marketplace purchase areas.
• Updated “More Information” instructions in the Xbox Dashboard for connecting an Xbox 360 console to a Windows PC to stream digital media content.
• Added auto-scroll to long text descriptions in Xbox Dashboard UI.
• Improved support for DVD insertion while playing a video file.

Wow, it took forever to type that title, more like it took me forever to realize how far off the homekeys I was.

So in case you haven't noticed, I never comment on Sony.  I don't want to kick them when they're down, but something they announced recently really pissed me off.  No, it's not that list of pricing for next gen consoles, Sony lies, I already knew that.  It's the debacle that is the SIXAXIS.  First of all they lost rumble, which was just crazy.  Actually the company I work for did a lot of printing for those trials, I was just talking around and saw diagrams and pics of disected dualshocks.  The thing that gets me is the battery. 

You pretty much have to make a wireless and rechargeable controller at this point.  Xbox 360 did it first, at least as a standard, but they were smart enough to offer a detachable rechargeable battery pack or offer the option to just use, get this, batteries.  Sony has made their battery internal, this is just stupid.  We all know that rechargeable batteries don't last forever, which means eventually your controller is useless.  Now you could just buy a new one, but no, here's the really ingenius part, you can get a replacement from Sony for free.  I seriously can't wait until controller start to die and people realize that they can't play until Sony ships them another.  This basically ensures a good accessory attach rate as even the lonliest of hermits will buy a second controller.  I seriously don't even know what to say to this.

So thanks to the folks at 360Monster.com I'm happy to report that a demo for Tony Hawk Project 8 will appear on Marketplace tomorrow 10/20.  Normally I wouldn't be too excited about a Tony Hawk game but apparently the series was redone from the ground up.  I remember loving the first 3 Tony Hawk games but after that it just didn't feel like there was anywhere left to go with the franchise.  I'm anxious to see if this franchise and be revitalised through some new ideas.  I guess we'll have ot wait til tomorrow to see.

Source 360Monster.com  (Don't you just love the little blip on that site?)

PS-As you can tell I'm getting back into blogging up a storm.  I know I mentioned a side project recently, and that's still in the works and coming along nicely.  I've already got one person interested in helping me out with it, but sadly once I get off my lazy arse and get this going it could be much than a side project and this blog might be abandoned.  I'll let you know.

MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE, thanks, Xbox.com is now fully operational.  You can visit the forums and view the My Xbox section of the site now.  I'm going to see what I can find out about the newly added features, but I might just wait til Major or Gamerscore blog runs off a neat list of new features.  So far I've notice some new features in the My Xbox section of the site.  You can get marketplace point on the web as well as privacy settings.  I'm sure there's some other small changes, or maybe most of the "cool" stuff is actually on the console.  I guess I'll have to check it out tonight, it's about time I downloaded Lumines Live anyways.  People just rave about this game, but sorry, I'm never buying a PSP.  Give me some feedback if you know of any other changes.

Lately there hasn't been much news in the world of Xbox.  Okay, MS admitted they've been slow with first party titles, but is that even news worthy?  Unless you've been living under a rock you already knew that, does some guy at MS game studios admitting it make a difference?  Not really.

I haven't been on live in a while, and by a while I mean a few days, I'm actually somewhat having a life.  So when Xbox Live went down the other day it didn't bother me too much.  What's bothering me is that the Xbox.com forums and My Xbox section of the site are still down.  It looks like they've made some progress, at least gamercards are now linked.  I don't really know what else to say, I guess the only thing going on is Splinter Cell Double Agent's out or coming out, Erin still hasn't called me.

YES!!!  The Unofficial Xbox Live Community Whore has returned.  (Seriously, can anyone at MS work on making this official?  I dare you find someone who posts on more forums ,visits more sites and reads more blogs than I do, because there isn't anyone)  I've been away, I know you've missed me.  I wasn't actually away just very busy at work for a while there and working on some side projects, yes they're gaming related.  I seriously need a better avenue for releasing all my thoughts on gaming but every website that I've applied to write for or been asked to write for ends up going sour before things even get started.  No, I don't want to submit a topic to you for approval or only write about topics of your choice, so I'm still blogging.  The only good part is I can say whatever I want and not worry about my writing style.

I'm only going to comment on two recent things in Xboxland, then you can expect more of what you're used to.  First of all let's talk about Xbox Live Pipeline.  All I have to say is that it's about friggin time.  I'm sure this has been in the works for a while, so kudos on that.  Now you can basically see all the marketplace content in one clearly defined manor on the internet.  If you haven't checked it out please do because this sure simplifies things.

Now here comes a rant of sorts.  Dig Dug is the most recent title to make it to Xbox Live Arcade.  Now I love arcade as much as the next guy, I actually loved the Arcade on the original Xbox for that matter, but these retro titles need to stop.  I'm not against all retro games, SF2's the perfect example of one that I love.  I just think we need some better quality control here folks.  I think the Arcade team should have a rule that people must meet before even submitting the idea for a game, if the game has been relegated to flash based bastardization then it can't be on Xbox Live Arcade.  Of course there would have to be exceptions, a game like Pac Man that I can still find in some bars should of course be on Live Arcade.  There's only about 5 games that would be ok, otherwise in terms of retro games, let's try and keep it late 80's and early 90's games.  That's all, look for more blogging fun soon.