They already have something like that for Surface and Windows 7. However, I'd be really surprised if they release it first in Xbox.

Proceed with caution!
 

http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-998...eed&subj=Crave

Click on the story for the links.

Chris

Why screw around with this hack? The netflix streaming code is coming to the 360 very soon. I'll wait.

I feel the exact same way.

It's gotta be here soon.

...sigh... and no Mac version.

There isn't much in the Netflix streaming library that I want to see. But I *do* want to be able to stream Hulu to my 360. :thumbsup:

That's what I would want it for, TV shows. That's what I usually rent, and it seems like those would be perfect for 'play now.'

http://gizmodo.com/5021928/psa-promo...-points-expire


Chris

That's been the case since they started using points. Fortunately points you win are automatically used first, even if you already have some in your account.

I think your account should actually tell you if you have any promo points, so you know to spend them (though they will be spent first automatically)? And purchased points never expire, correct? Many promotional things expire (coupons, deals, etc), so that's not new or limited to MS.

Really simple questions:
* How do I set up a child account? My son has a tag set up on the 360, however, when we try to go Live we're told it is already taken and it wants us to set up a new one. No problem, he's not that attached to it. But then it wants his email address and his Live account etc etc....he doesn't have any of that. I have a spare email address I could use as "his", but I don't want to fool around with setting up another Live account I'll never use. Do I have to do that, or am I missing something? Even if we have to start his account over from scratch, that would be fine.
* Can I add a password requirement to the expenditure of points? I see that I can password protect certain game ratings and other features on an account or console level, but is there a way to prevent MS points from being spent without the password? I don't want him to be playing the demo of an XBLA game then drop 800 points on it by accident. This might require the child account to be set up first, I don't know.
As "robust" as Live is, the account creation system is a little cumbersome, imho.

Well I finally joined the club, not the good one mind you. I got the 3 RRoD about 2 hours ago and made sure and got my coffin ordered tonight. Been going strong since launch day, oh well. All good things must come to an
end I suppose :(

I assume you're not interested in a Gold Account for him - just silver. I've done this for all 3 of my girls (wife & 2 kids) and never had a problem. I'm sure I could take any already-used Gamer Tag with no issue since I'm not technically taking them online.

IIRC, I just did a "create new gamertag" option and made it a local account.

Aren't SILVER accounts online as well? Do you have access to XBLA, MarketPlace, etc.? If so, then you are online. Perhaps you are referring to multiplayer matches which a SILVER account cannot engage in.

I've never utilized the "account creation tool" since I just migrated my GamerTag over from the original Xbox. It was week 3 of a 2-month FREE trial and the balance of it converted to GOLD account on the 360.

Nope. My girls have accounts on my set, but they aren't actively online - meaning their selected gamer tags cannot conflict with gold members. Gold members having access to online leaderboards and multiplayer matches. I'm sure they can download whatever they want as silver members, but once they want to move to gold, they'll have to have a unique live email address and gamer tag. Locally it doesn't matter.

"Silver" is default for "unpaid", right?

There may be a difference between what my wife is (with her email address on my friends list) and what my daughters are. If there's Gold for paid and Silver for unpaid - is there a "bronze" for unpaid AND non-unique?

From my understanding, both GOLD and SILVER are online. Each has a Windows LIVE ID. Windows Live IDs are free as well. Go to Xbox.com and you can create a GamerTag and profile. It shouldn't conflict with any existing TAG once you're able to choose one.

I didn't renew my GOLD account recently and it was "demoted" to SILVER status. I wasn't paying (for play multiplayer matches) although I maintained my existing GamerTAG, friends list, stored messages, etc. I was still getting online and I could voice chat with friends, send messages, access the MarketPlace, purchase content or MS points. My gamercard graphic had even changed to a Silver background behind my Tag. That's the icon on the dashboard that shows your gamerpic, score (achievements total), rep (stars), and gamer Zone.

While SILVER, I still managed to play online for FREE when I used some 48-hour codes. Those were GOLD "trials". I probably used almost 20 in total. A friend gave me some codes, I sort of "found" a few on my own and even did the eBay route. (search: Xbox trial). I stayed SILVER for about 40 days until a friend was nice enough to give me a month "trial" code from his GTA IV game. This was actually full GOLD access and not like the 48-hour trials I had previously been using while SILVER. My gamercard graphic once again showed Gold. :)

I could still access the leaderboards to view my game ranking, score, etc. even while SILVER. You are correct on the multi-player matches. You need GOLD or a "trial" Gold access code.

When you first create an account/Gamer Tag it is a local account (non-LIVE) and can be just about any name.

You have to sign up for LIVE (this is where it checks to see if the Gamer Tag is available) to be a Silver or Gold LIVE account. (When you first sign up for LIVE with the account you get a free 30 day Gold trial, after that it reverts to Silver).

You can tell which accounts are local (non-LIVE) accounts and which are LIVE accounts as the LIVE accounts will show Xbox LIVE under the Gamer Tag in the sign in profile listing.

I understand now. Thanks for the clarification. I recall a minor issue I had when I first got my 360. I "created" my gamer profile using my active GamerTag that I had just made (original Xbox) weeks earlier. I didn't JOIN LIVE because I already had that Tag on LIVE. It wasn't 'til later when I noticed the Recover GamerTag link on the dashboard and after going thru that short process I saw the 2 profiles listed. I eventually deleted the local account.

OK....to summarize: Gold is online and full function (gameplay, etc.) (and of course costs money). Silver is "online" (scores post to leaderboards) but no online multiplayer capability, but is free. Those names must be unique. Offline is just a named profile for that player on a single machine, and thus doesn't have to be unique. Offline does allow for achievements and gamerscore. Correct?
Right, at present I don't need gold. I don't even really need silver for him. The main thing at this point is I want to make use of the family settings, so if he's playing a game, say one of the XBLA games, he can't go to one of the mature games or buy an arcade game without my entering the passcode. When I went to family settings, it said no child account exists. Is there something I need to do upon setting up the tag/profile to 'flag' it as a child account and thus having limited access?

edit: It looks like I can't use family settings unless the child gamertag is online. http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/fa...vecontrols.htm

ah. OK. This is one of the things I wanted to do:
To configure your child's settings for downloadable content:

1. Start from the System area of the Xbox Dashboard or—if you're using the Xbox 360 system for the first time—from the Initial Setup Complete screen. Select Family Settings, Xbox LIVE Controls and sign in using your Windows Live ID.
2. Select Content, Downloadable Content.
3. Select one of the following settings:
* Select Allowed to allow your child to download premium member content from Xbox LIVE Marketplace.
* Select Blocked to block your child from downloading premium content. Your child will still be able to get free downloadable content, determined by the game ratings settings on your console.
I'll try that next time I boot up.

I set this up last weekend and watched a Netflix movie on my plasma through the 360. It worked great.

So if I buy an larger hard drive for my Xbox 360, what happens to everything on my hard drive now (game saves, XBLA stuff, Rock Band DLC)? Is there an easy way to import that?

The new HDD will come with transfer cables.

http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2008/07...60gb-sku-more/

Chris

$150 for 120gb is still too much.

$100 for 60gb with a bunch of crap is still too much.

http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-998...eed&subj=Crave

Chris

I'm having some problems with my Live account and wondered if any of the more knowledgeable people here might tell me my best course of action.

I signed up for a Live Gold membership a year plus ago, but I really stopped playing any games online. So I got some email notices that my credit card was expiring. I just ignored them, because frankly I didn't care if my Gold membership ran out as I never used it, and not worth paying $50/year for something I didn't use. Note, I'm not a die-hard gamer, so I wasn't up-to-date on the intricacies of how gold memberships and credit card auto-billing worked.
I assumed if my credit card expired, they would be unable to charge me for my next year, and thus my gold membership would run out and I'd just go back to having the non-paid membership.

I have now discovered my assumption was completely inaccurate. Apparently by signing up to Gold through a credit card, you sell part of your soul to them. So when the credit card failed to be charged, I actually got turned over to collections to attempt to collect the $50 for the upcoming year. Though I never got any official collections notices. Apparently you get a few months to fix the payment issue and pay off the arrears and get re-instated. But I went past that cutoff date I guess.

So as of now, I can't log into Live, I can't use account management at all. I go on the website and there are no options to re-activate my account. I fixed my credit card to a valid one, but there is no option to pay anything with it. The $50 past-due amount shows that it was written off and my subscription canceled. Calling up a support person, apparently I'm completely deleted due to non-payment. Now, thats just stupid if you ask me - why not just downgrade me back to Silver or whatever?

Anyways, now I'm not sure what to do. I do have downloaded/marketplace content on my 360, which I think I can still use as long as I use the same console and don't get a new one. My gamertag is still tied to my canceled Live account, so I can't do anything to even get in and re-activate it. I think I have to create a whole new account, but I don't want to lose my achievements/saves/etc if I can help it.

Is there a way to disconnect my current gamertag from Live. Rename it to something else. Create a new live account. Then associate my renamed gamertag to the new live account? I don't know if its possible, or if I lose anything in the process.
The other alternative is just to create a whole new profile/live account, but I'm guessing I lose all my saves/achievements/etc if I do that.

Any advice? I don't want to do the wrong thing and screw it all up!