The Xbox Live Preview Programme

So, one of the things I’ve been up to during my blogging absence was enrolling on the Xbox Live preview programme. For anyone who doesn’t know what this is, every 6-9 months Microsoft release an update to the system software on the Xbox 360, and they allow a certain number of people early access to this update to test it out, check the new functionality, comment on what you like/don’t like, and to squash the odd bug here & there. It seems to be one of the ways that journalists get to see the update before the rest of the plebs who get the update when Microsoft are ready to push it out.

It’s all very simple to enroll. If you follow any of the tech blogs such as engadget, or video game blogs such as kotaku, joystiq, or even the xbox-only Major Nelson blog, you’ll get an idea of when Microsoft are due for an update and when they’ll start taking enrollments. Once you’re set up on the Microsoft Connect website (which they use for developers to provide feedback on other software), you’ll see details of what’s included in the update – if you’re not already aware (and if you read the blogs linked above, you’ll pretty much know everything that’s due to be in the update).

Then, when you least expect it, Microsoft will push the console update out to you as part of a wave of users receiving the update. It’s all pretty painless. And then – there you are, one step ahead of most of your other Xbox 360-owning friends.

This time around, there’s a load of social networking features being added to the 360 (which is one of the main reasons I wanted to get involved – although I did also get the last update early, and I can’t remember what was in that one!). Figuring that I spend way too much time arseing around on facebook anyway, and facebook functionality was one of the things being added, it seemed like a good idea to see how things would work.

And indeed it was a good idea, because as well as facebook functionality, the new update brought with it the last.fm music player function, twitter connectivity, the music marketplace, and 1080p online video streaming via the Zune marketplace. There’s also a thing called “Halo Waypoint“, which is a massive Halo portal. Anyone who owns any of the 5 (and counting) Halo games on the original Xbox or the 360 will be sure to find something of interest in the app – be it Halo anime, videos depicting the Halo back story, or another opportunity for achievement-whoring.

So what can I tell you? Well, I was just wondering if I clicked something that puts me under a Microsoft Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA) by taking the preview? Fuck it. Every video games blog under the sun has had a video preview of the features, so I’m guessing they’re hardly a secret.

Having had the update for a week or two now, it’s fair to say I’m pretty much enjoying all of the new features. And using them on a pretty regular basis, with the exception of the Zune Video Marketplace (which involves cold hard cash – or microsoft space-points).

The Video marketplace seems like a bit of a step backwards. I can’t comment on whether or not the prices are better or worse than before (I think I bought one standard definition film previously, and it wasn’t a recent release), but the selection seems more limited than I remember. Also, if you go to certain movie categories, you’re greeted with a message saying “no content in this list”. It looks pretty embarrassing. The big thing with the video marketplace is that now it supports immediate streaming of the film you’ve rented, in a quality up to 1080p, providing your broadband connection can cope with it. Personally, I don’t have any 1080p TVs in the house, and I have metered broadband, so that in itself isn’t a killer feature (and I can’t confirm if it works). The immediate delivery sounds like a great idea, and actually gives Microsoft a slight advantage of something like Sky Box Office, which generally has start times every 15 minutes or so at best. Previously I would have tipped the balance to Sky Box Office, since you had to wait for the whole film to download before you could watch it. Fair to say that people not on metered broadband, with a solid connection, owning a 1080p TV, and way more money to waste than I do might get some joy out of this functionality. Me – not so much.

The slightly odd thing about the video marketplace is the branding. Why rebrand the existing video marketplace as the “Zune Video Marketplace”, when no-one outside of North America has access to buy a zune device or even know what a Zune device is? Maybe it’s a precursor to a worldwide launch of Microsoft’s Zune portable media players?  It seems an odd way around – to launch the software before the hardware. In reality, I think Microsoft are well aware that they’ve pretty much missed the boat with this one again (hello iPod touch!).

Moving on to my absolute favourite bit of the update, I cannot tell you how great the last.fm functionality is on Xbox 360. If I wasn’t already a gold subscriber, I think this would actually be worth the price of admission alone.

I’m planning a much bigger blog post about last.fm and why I think it’s so great in the next week or so;  suffice to say that the Xbox 360 version of last.fm trims some of the fat from the website, and pares everything down to the real meat of the site – playing music you like, or music it thinks you’ll like. It seems to be missing one or two features that popped up in the preview screenshots, such as party listening, but that is probably just a bit of icing on the cake. It’s that good that I’ve been inspired to pay for a last.fm subscription to ensure ad-free delivery, and non-interrupted streams (you’re interrupted every hour if you haven’t touched a button). What I would say is that it certainly works well for me, having been a last.fm website user for a couple of years, and having built up a sizeable library of tracks I like/don’t like. For users brand new to last.fm it may not work quite so well, but it will obviously improve over time as you build up your library and the database crunching behind the scenes can establish listening tastes. To get you to that point, there’s a load of pre-set radio stations, you can play you’re own library (if it’s big enough), and you can select tagged radio stations (like “80′s electronica” for instance) and you’ll hear lots of music you know, or don’t know, but all based off your selections. Again – there’s plenty of work to be done here to integrate the social aspect of last.fm (such as friends’ music tastes, what they’re listening to, finding friends on xbox live with similar music tastes, etc.), but with this update it definitely appears that the focus has been on the core music delivery function. The more social functions can come later.

Twitter. What can I say about the twitter functionality? Well, knowing that there was going to be a twitter function in this new Xbox update was probably the final straw in making me jump on the twitter bandwagon. I’m still not entirely sure what twitter is meant to be used for, and why anyone would care less what I’ve got to say that’s 140 words or less, but the functionality works reasonably well. It’s pretty basic stuff. Where it falls down is that twitter has now evolved to the point where most tweets include a shortened URL or link to a picture, neither of which are accessible via the 360, since there’s no web browser available.  Let’s say that what’s there now is a start – but with a lot left to improve (including the logon process which seems to pointlessly require an extra click to get in). Note that the screenshot you see of the Twitter function is an early version – things have been made a little more organised since this shot was taken. Also – look out for a post about why I jumped on the twitter bandwagon in the near future.

And finally, we come to the facebook functionality. Quite frankly, it’s a real mixed bag, and whether you’ll find it of any use will depend entirely on what you use facebook for. If you’re like me, and you use facebook to check other people’s status updates, post comments, post your own updates and check out photos, I’d say you’ll be fairly happy with what’s been delivered. The interface is a bit clunky, and doesn’t deal very well with posts that go beyond a limited number of characters, but it’s serviceable. If on the other hand, you use facebook for playing games, taking quizzes, chatting to your friends and emailing people, you’re really not going to like this very much at all. Realistically, Microsoft was never going to allow the use of facebook games, since it would undercut their own arcade and indie game titles. Real-time chat and email was equally unlikely to be included as these features are already included in xbox live – and let’s be honest, this is a gaming console after all. Add the lack of gaming, and the lack of chat and email to an inability to view flash videos (again, due to a lack of browser), and this feels almost as neutered as twitter.

So, those are my impressions so far. From rumours floating around the internet, there’s about another two weeks of the preview left before the updates are rolled out across the board to all online Xbox 360 owners. There could be updates to the applications in that time, as they are treated like games saved to your hard drive. I’ll be sure to update if there’s anything worthwhile added before the major update.

Probably the last thing to mention is the purpose of the preview programme is to try to squash bugs and identify questions that can be included in FAQs and the like. However, Microsoft aren’t helping much in this regard. Each weekend of the preview Microsoft has held a ‘movie night’ in an attempt to load test the boxes that are serving up the 1080p streaming video content. They have asked all users to start watching a film (of your own choice, admittedly) at 8pm on saturday night so they have as many people as possible logged in. It’s a great idea in theory. But in practice, MS are asking me to pay £5 to watch a film on a service that’s in beta and is probably expecting to have a few problems. If they really want to load test, allow every person on the preview the ability to watch a film on saturday night for free, as long as it’s started between 8pm and 9pm. Then you’ll get lots of people on to test the servers. Sorry, I won’t be tuning in. And it’s impossible to test in the UK unless you pay, since there’s no free content available. Come on MS – must do better!

Lastly, having personally been involved in software testing in recent years, I must ask everyone reading to spare a thought for the Microsoft employees having to plough through some of the comments on the Connect site. Some of the feedback is good, intelligible, useful feedback which I’m sure will be taken on board and used in further updates. But finding those pearls of wisdom is nigh-on impossible due to the colossal amount of bollocks that has been submitted. Endlessly repeated comments raised by different people, demonstrating they can’t even work a search button let alone design a decent user interface, txt spk that’s almost unintelligible, people requesting that the functions be “made better” without specifying exactly what they think is “less better” at the moment, etc. Very rarely do I wish testers good luck, but this is one of those occasions!

That’s it for the preview update. All indications are that the social networking update will hit UK Xbox 360′s on or around 17th November.

Normal service will resume shortly

Well, it’s been a while hasn’t it…. no posts in September or October. Poor form, I admit.

Normal service will, however, resume shortly. I have a week off in the very near future which will give me plenty of time to dust off the cobwebs on the site, give it a bit of a sprucing-up, and “Post the shit out of it”.

Soon, people

A positive post about advertisers

I’ve been critical of advertisers in the past. But to try and redress the balance somewhat, I do like to point out when they do something good. In this case, the good thing they’ve done is to employ Paul Whitehouse, for this fine piece of football-related car insurance selling. You must have seen it by now – but in case you haven’t:

And there’s a new one floating around, which I haven’t seen on TV yet…

Now why do I like these and not previous adverts that I’ve highlighted on this ‘ere blog? Well, the simple answer is that they are actually creative. They’re a parody. The second one is obviously a piss-take of people like Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen, and their cash-in-the-attic style of shit TV programmes.

And they have been done by someone who is absolutely one of the most funny and creative people on the telly.

I won’t be buying anything from Aviva – they pissed me off way too much with all those adverts about changing their name from Norwich Union. But good to see they’ve at least had the sense to use someone funny in their adverts from now on, rather than Bruce Willis.

Gissa Job (my job, please!)

So, in two or three months time I might not have a job. My current employer is going through a “restructure”, which also involves reducing the number of people employed, and merging with another group of people who currently do the same thing.

I’ve been with the same company for more than 10 years now, which is almost unheard of in modern employment times. During that time, the company have gone through takeovers, mergers, sell-offs, and had countless internal restructures. None of these have really affected me before, so I’m sure I should think myself lucky. To have lasted as long as I have without my job being directly threatened or having to re-apply for my own job is a pretty good streak of luck.

But it’s hard to feel grateful for the good times I’ve had when my job has been threatened this time not by my own actions, or even the actions of the people around me. Instead, as is always the way in big companies, the word comes down from on high that things have to change. That another department has managed to spunk tens of billions up the wall on terrible property deals, so the rest of us have to pay with our jobs.

Quite frankly, it sucks.

Despite my moans, and my “God I’m Bored” facebook updates, I do really like my job. I like the people I work with. Most of them anyway. Some people I like probably more than they know. People listen to me. A reasonable number even pay attention to what I say. And not because they’re paid to listen – but because I know what I’m talking about. Shockingly, when I put the effort in, I’m actually very good at what I do. And honestly – this is the only job I really know how to do.

So the last few weeks have been spent condensing the last ten years of my career into a single document, including a 50 word description of myself  and my ambitions. Just think about that for a second. Up to this point, I’ve already written over 300 words. More than 6 times over the limit. Try condensing the last 10 years of your working life (and your ambitions – other than actually being re-appointed to the job you’ve been doing) into 50 words. 3 Sentences. Let’s just say those are probably the most re-written 50 words I’ve ever come up with.

Then I had to fill in detail under a number of different headings, depending on the job(s) I was applying for.  And that’s when the panic kicks in as to how much I’ve written. Too much? Not Enough? Too long winded? Not enough buzzwords? Do they care about this? Who’s actually going to look at these? What are they looking for? Have I put the right thing under the right heading? What has everyone else written? Should I fill all of these things in, or only the most important bits?

And after 3 weeks – do I actually give a fuck any more?

I’ve written, re-written, edited and replaced a whole heap of stuff from the document, until I’ve reached a point where I don’t want to even think about it again. The form went on it’s merry electronic way last monday. And I haven’t even opened it or given it another thought until tonight. And I won’t be giving it another thought until I either get called for an interview, or I get told I have or haven’t got a job, sometime in September or October. It’s out of my hands. I’d like to say a big thanks to those people who sit near me, for putting up with my shit for the last few weeks, and for the help and support of people who were going through the same shit and yet still found time to pass on their advice, even when they didn’t really have any responsibility for me (Mr C and Mr O). You’ve been real fucking stars.

And the reason I’m angry about it doesn’t come down to the fucking appalling way that the company management blundered their way into it – constantly changing job descriptions, constantly fiddling with vacancy numbers, including people in the process who really shouldn’t be involved yet, the fact that I might be expected to work away from my current office 2 or 3 days a week, or be officially based on London, or letting us read about the actual number of people going as a result of the changes in a Union newsletter, rather than directly. No, I’m angry because I like what I do. And these motherfuckers might be about to rip that away from me, just so that the city and the government hit a fucking target.

I’ve learnt a lot of lessons in my current job. To be honest, this is the job where I actually started growing up and being responsible (and some people I work with may well read this and laugh – but it’s true). I was never really irresponsible, but I was kind of naiive, and really, still a boy.  And this job taught me any number of things that will serve me well in the future. Who to trust. How to deal with people openly and honestly.  How you should always help people out, in case you need their help some time in the future. How to piss managers off in such a polite way that they really can’t help but admit they’re wrong. How to create a great work atmosphere. How to spot other people’s agendas and how you can try to align them with yours. Loyalty. How to encourage other people to see what they’re really capable of. How to win other people’s respect. And how to pull a few stunts that can really put your managers in a tough spot, but have them back you up because they still respect your point of view (Thanks Mr T and Mrs Y!).

And this job has given me a load of new friends that I either still work with, or still keep in touch with. Friendships borne out of working together, getting into scrapes together, pulling some unorthodox development or maintenance without those above finding out. Friendships that’ll last because they’re based on more than what we got up to at work. To all those people who might be reading that I’ve worked with over the years, and who I’ve shared a beer with – it’s been a fucking blast, and I wouldn’t have swapped it for anything.

Hopefully, in September/October I can look back on this post and think “what was I worried about”?

Let’s hope so.

I Love Danny Dyer

When he’s getting punched in the face, and when he announces he’s quitting the TV presenter business.

Good riddance to the Cockney Twat.

Astronauts, Astronauts, bloody Astronauts!

The western world’s gone a bit mental this week, because apparently, 40 years ago, we spumed billions of dollars up the wall so that we could land on the moon. I say we – technically it was the Americans who blew through all of that money. Presumably so they could claim territorial rights in case they found oil there.

For the last couple of weeks, it’s been Neil Armstrong this, Buzz Aldrin that. No-one remembers the 3rd bloke who stepped on the moon do they? And you know what, I can’t be bothered to even look it up on wikipedia. What I will tell you is that I’ll scream the next time I hear Neil Armstrong’s “One small step” routine. You know what Neil? It’s getting a bit tedious now. Personally, if I’d been the first human being ever to lay foot on the moon, I wouldn’t be trotting out some scripted line about giant leaps. The first words out of my mouth would have been something along the lines of “Jesus fucking christ – I’m the first person to ever step on the moon! How do you like them apples?”. Which obviously might have been a bit problematic for live broadcasts. But it wasn’t live – if it genuinely came from the moon, there’d have been a bit more than a 7 second delay in which to bleep out any foul-mouthed antics from Armstrong.

Which segues nicely into why they had to script Neil Armstrong’s broadcast (or dub it on later) in  the first place. Every rational person knows that the “Moon Landings” were in fact a hoax. Don’t believe me? Fox TV has all the answers…

Not enough proof? Try this one…

OK, here’s the final truth:

Now can you quit it with all these moon documentaries?

A few new things…

Just a few things I’ve stumbled across in the last few days, and have found funny (or just plain exciting!).

First of all, a few Welsh/Wales-related things:

The Uncyclopedia entries for Newport and Cardiff.

Then, a top-quality Onion story, seemingly based on the life & times of Tom Jones.

And finally, the exciting bit – a trailer for the forthcoming Battlestar Galactica TV Movie “The Plan”… No sign of when it’s coming, but I’m looking forward to it already. Now I just have to decide if it’s worth buying the BSG Blu-ray box set