Spring Forward! Exploring the Spring Update

In case you haven't noticed, there's been a rather significant update to the Xbox 360™console for spring. Tons of individual changes have gone into the Spring Update, and you'll see evidence of it everywhere, from changes in the Xbox 360 Dashboard and Xbox Guide, to behind the scenes improvement that will affect your Xbox Live® experience. Lets take a look at some of the most visible changes you'll notice.

Remember, to get the update, just sign in to Xbox Live on your Xbox 360 console. The update will apply itself automatically.

Xbox Live Marketplace
With the Spring Update, Xbox Live Marketplace has been enhanced to make your shopping experience an utter joy.

Navigation: When you first enter Xbox Live Marketplace, you'll see that some of the options have been rearranged. We've added a new category, Media and Entertainment, and moved download history and memberships under Account Management. There's also a new option to manage your active downloads. Games, Demos and Game Videos, Themes and Gamer Pictures, Redeem Code, and Featured Downloads remain the same.

You should find the screens under each of the main content categories easier to navigate as well. We've also made it easier to identify newly released material. Just for the record, "newly released" applies to content that's been added to Xbox Live Marketplace in the last two weeks.

Behold the new Xbox Live Marketplace.

Background downloads: We know you've been waiting for this one. At last, you can queue up a list of active downloads, which can run in the background while you play games, movies, or music. No longer do you have to park yourself at the downloading screen waiting for your favorite demo. Among the new perks:

• Queue up to six items to download.Your console will automatically download the each item in order as long as you're signed in to Xbox Live.
• Prioritize your list. If you've already started downloading something, and you find some other item you'd like to get right away, promote it to the top of the list. Just select the item and then select Download Now.
• Download pauses while playing online.To conserve bandwidth, background downloading stops if you play an online game. It'll automatically resume when you're done.
• Get alerts. New notifications alert you when your downloads start, stop, and finish.

Gamer Profiles
You'll find some nice new gems on your gamer profile, too.

Personal pictures: A new flavor of gamer picture has been added to your gamer profile—the personal picture. A personal picture is an alternate gamer picture that only your friends can see. For example, you can be Master Chief to the world, while secretly appearing as Ayane to your friends. If you don't choose a personal picture, your friends will simply see your regular gamer picture.

Achievement sorting: When you view your achievements (which you can do by selecting your gamer card, going to View Games, and then selecting a game), you can now opt to sort by Gamerscore or by date. Unlocked achievements are always listed first.

Media
The Media area of Xbox Live just got a big shot in the arm. Check out these improvements.

Music: If you recall, your music used to stop when you switched between a game and the Xbox Dashboard, and sometimes, in the middle of a game. Well no more. If you play music from the Xbox Dashboard or Xbox Guide, it keeps playing, even when you switch between a game and the Xbox Dashboard.

Shuffle got a little update, too. The icon's changed in the music player, and it remembers whether you've chosen shuffle or ordered playback. Plus, you can now see which song is currently playing in your playlist, and the music player shows elapsed time.

Pictures: The pictures area now provides improved navigation and slideshow enhancements to make browsing easier and more enjoyable.

Videos: Previously, the Video button in Media was just for watching videos that came with the Xbox 360 Hard Drive. Now it does what you probably thought it should do, show you all of your videos, including the ones you've downloaded from Xbox Live Marketplace. Plus, the Game Videos button, formerly trailers, in the Games area will now show you the game video subset of all your videos.

Not only that, but now video playback has pause, fast forward, reverse, and stop controls! Just hit the left stick during playback and have at it.

Check out the video playback controls.

Performance: Various performance improvements have been made to DVD playback. The DVD player now remembers where you left off when you stop playback. Performance was also improved in the Media area for scrolling through music lists and for playback from a computer using Windows Media Connect.

Console Settings
But wait, there's more! Access these additional features under Console Settings.

Boot to the Xbox Dashboard:Wouldn't it be nice to launch the Xbox Dashboard on startup when there's a disc in the tray? We thought so, and now you can. Look for the option called Startup, and simply choose between Disc and Xbox Dashboard. No need to thank us, really; we're just doing our job.

Themes: Technically, you could always change your Xbox Dashboard theme in the Personal Settings area of the Xbox Guide, but it could be a little hard to find. There's now an entry point under Themes. Also, you can apply a theme from Xbox Live Marketplace right when you download it.

Sound effects: Sometimes you don't want the beeps and swooshes from the Xbox Dashboard and Xbox Guide, like when you're grooving to music. Turn these sounds off under Audio, Sound Effects.

New locales: We've added some more locales as Xbox 360 becomes available in more regions. Family Settings game ratings were also updated for some regions.

Other Improvements
So many enhancements, so little space. Here are a few more:

• Performance improvements have been made to the Xbox Live Arcade game listing.
• The initial setup has a new facelift.
• The USB keyboard input is accepted in more areas of the Xbox Dashboard and Xbox Guide.
• Your online status switches to away when your screen saver kicks in.

In addition, the Memory area in System was streamlined. Navigation of the various item types was improved, and it should be easier to identify and view information about items on your hard drive and memory units.

The Network area was updated, too. You can now see things like duplicate network names when you're connecting to a wireless network, which can come in handy when your whole neighborhood uses the default names on their routers. The network tests were improved as well.

A Word about Updates
One of the great things about an updateable system is that we keep improving the console and your gaming experience throughout the console's life. Some updates may be entirely behind the scenes, while others, like this one, may be chock-full of visual goodness. We're sure you'll find it worth the wait.

Oh, and while you're checking out the updates, you may notice some camera-related options that weren't there before. Keep an eye out for the Xbox Live Vision camera, available later this year, for an even more involved Xbox experience.

For more info on the Spring Update, check out our news features.

Article by Elle