Xbox Live update going live on Tuesday

Xbox Live’s General Manager, Marc Whitten, confirmed that the new update would be released on Tuesday, November 17.  Among the new features, which has already been made available to Beta testers, include Facebook, Twitter, Last.FM and Zune support.

The Dashboard update includes:

• Facebook – Update your status to share what movie, game or entertainment you’re enjoying, connect with friends and view their Facebook stream, status updates and photos on the big screen – all seamlessly integrated and custom-built for Xbox 360. You can even compare your Xbox LIVE and Facebook friends lists to see which of your friends are on LIVE.

• Zune – Zune video on Xbox LIVE offers a full fidelity experience with instant on HD in 1080p and 5.1 channel surround sound. No waiting for downloads or buffering, it’s there at the press of a button. You can also share the experience with up to seven friends through voice chat and Avatar integration on the TV screen – it puts a whole new spin on “movie night.”

• Twitter – Stay in the know by discovering, posting and replying to Tweets right on your Xbox 360. You can even view friend profiles, trends and conversations, or search to see who’s tweeting about your favorite game.

• Last.fm – Discover more music and explore endless personalized radio stations with Last.fm on Xbox 360. Skip, “ban” or “love” tracks to create your perfect mix—we’ve even built in “Gamer Stations” with game-related types of music selected specifically for the gaming community.

• Xbox LIVE will also be debuting “News and More,” a new section of the “Inside Xbox” channel, transforming Xbox LIVE into a full-fledged media portal. With a regularly-updated stream of content from MSNBC, The New Yorker and Dilbert, “News and More” brings the latest in current events, arts and entertainment right to your fingertips.

Xbox Live now has over 20 million active members, with 114% growth in the number of new members joining in 2009. Equally impressive, Live users have made more than one billion downloads.

[via 360Sync.com]

Xbox Live to add Facebook & Twitter integration, among others

The Xbox 360 will be added Twitter and Facebook to its list of web services, Microsoft announced today, with some of those social networking services interact with the console's game library.

Microsoft's Facebook implementation on the Xbox 360 looks to offer much of what's available via a regular web browser: status updates, photo sharing, email and more. The interface follows the established New Xbox Experience format, with Avatars integrated into profile and news feed menus. Looks like more of the things one can do with the core Facebook service, installable apps notwithstanding, will be present in the Xbox 360 version.

What's new is the option to save screen shots from Xbox 360 games, then let players upload those game moments via Facebook Connect to show off online. The first game to support that option will be EA Sport's Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10. Xbox general manager Marc Whitten said this feature will be added to the Xbox 360 SDK, but wasn't clear on whether this option could be added to older titles via software update.

Xbox 360's version of Twitter looks very much like the Web interface, letting Xbox 360 owners update their personal status from the dashboard and favorite tweets.

Microsoft also announced the addition of Last.FM to the Xbox 360 at its press conference today.

[via Kotaku]

UPDATE:  In addition to the above, Xbox Live will be offering 1080p streaming movies and full downloadable games.