Users on forums everywhere are reporting that downloaded files on the Xbox 360 while using the new dashboard come at smaller sizes. For example, Call of Duty 4 comes in at around 200MB smaller, and Battlefield: Bad Company comes in at a whopping 1.6GB smaller. The reason behind this may be due to new file compression formats.

In case you have the new dashboard and want to make room for your HDD, you need to reinstall the games in order to take advantage of the compression. Here’s a small list of games, via GamersReports, that are smaller in size:

• Call of Duty 4 0.2GB smaller
• Call of Duty: WAW 0.1GB smaller
  
• Gears of War 2 0.4GB smaller
  
• Halo 3 0.6GB smaller
  
• Battlefield: BC 1.6GB smaller
• SFIV 0.4GB smaller
  
• Left 4 Dead 1.3GB smaller

via GamersReports

“It will be before Christmas,” Halton said. “A lot of the background work’s been done for a lot of applications that are coming.”

The recent preview of the Xbox Live dashboard was missing these upcoming social networking tools, so we don’t know exactly how they’ll work with the user interface just yet. As previously mentioned, these tools will not be included in the August 11th update.

Read (Eurogamer)

A notice offering you none other than the update’s beta version. Now, the full update’s not expected to go live until next month, so the offerings are subject to change, but below is a list, courtesy of Engadget, detailing some of the new features:

• Netflix now has way, way more options. You can actually browse content via the app, which is great. As a commenter points out, HD content is now denoted with a tag.
• There isn’t any avatar prop content available just yet — hopefully we’ll get to pick out an awesome gun to carry around soon though.
• No Games on Demand content from the current gen console is available, but apparently the games will start rolling out in early August (sigh).
• As we noted in previous posts, the preview doesn’t boast any of the Last.fm, Facebook, or Twitter additions yet.
• We know they’re still working the kinks out, but there seems to be noticeable slowdown when shifting between pages, something we’ve never noticed before in the NXE.

So far they seem to be satisfied with the update although we will all have to hold judgement on the New-New Xbox Experience until it’s actually released to the masses.

Included with the update comes Xbox Live Games on Demand, the game distribution service announced during this year’s E3. On Demand allows players to download full retail games at the convenience of their own couches. Titles such as Mass Effect, BioShock, Assassin’s Creed, and Lego Star Wars will all be featured in launch. More titles will be added on a weekly basis.

Co-operative Netflix watching will also be available, allowing players to stream movies simultaneously among friends on Xbox Live.

Facebook, Twitter, and Last.fm integration will have to wait until the fall update.

If you can’t wait until August, you can sign up for Major Nelson’s Xbox LIVE Update Preview Program by completing a survey for a chance to take a sneak peek at the update.

Read (Co-Optimus)

If you aren’t so happy with this, you can just chose not to watch them since no one is forcing you to. But one can’t help question why these ads are fair if players are already paying for their subscription to Xbox Live. I can understand the need for them if it was a free service, but clearly it isn’t.. Anyways, the ads claim to be non-intrusive, so we can only hope for the best.

via Kotaku

It seems that Microsoft isn’t happy with just including the New Xbox Experience on upcoming game discs and decided to add another approach.

The NXE dashboard update will be on a CD included with the next issue of Official Xbox Magazine. 

So, for those of you unconnected old-dashboard-lovin’ Xbox owners, don’t insert that shiny lookin’ disc included with OXM, no matter how pretty it looks.

Read (Destructoid)

Yes, it’s true, some Xbox 360 owners out there are still playing with the old Xbox dashboard. Crazy, I know.

Well it looks like developers are giving them a push in the right direction. It was recently announced that the update for the dashboard will be included in upcoming titles.

Two games confirmed to have included the update are Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X and MLB NK9, now lets just hope those sorry souls buy them.

Read (Xbox Insider.net)

If you want to get your hands on the much-hyped complete Xbox 360 dashboard overhaul, then you better get on the phone with your local BestBuy to see if they have the software up for preview.

It seems one lucky gamer who just so happen to be browsing through BestBuy happened upon the Xbox 360 display unit which had none other than the NXE. The above picture was taken at a BestBuy near St. Louis so there is no telling if other BestBuys are doing the same.

Read(PlatformNation)

Remember those rumors about a huge Dashboard update for the Xbox 360? During Microsoft’s press conference, it was proven to be true, all of it. Everything from avatars, to the “minority report” interface, etc; were all demoed at the conference. Even the old Netflix partnership rumor was proven factual at the event. Each of the features will be described in detail after the jump.

#1 Avatars

Out of all the rumors and speculation, the avatars seemed the most likely to be true. Sure enough, they were. The avatars are more customizable Miis. They are not like more customizable Miis, they are more customizable Miis. Microsoft and Rare didn’t even bother to make them more realistic. They avatars look, move, and serve the same purpose, as the Miis do. They will act as your visual representation in Xbox Live. Unlike Miis, however, Microsoft has apparently designed the avatars so that they can be implemented into any game a developer may want. Microsoft also announced that clothing and accessories for the avatars will be made available as content. Seeing as how they did not specifically state that the extra content would be available for free, I believe it is safe to assume that they will be accessible for a fee. The avatars also serve an important role in other features that will be explained later on in the article.

#2 Dashboard Renovation

Somehow the term update just doesn’t define the change that will be made to the Xbox 360 come fall. The new version of the Dashboard is completely different from the current one. The blades have been replaced with cover-flow pages which act similar to the iPhone interface. The new Dashboard definitely looks much more intuitive, and while it is more effective than the blades, I’m not sure it’s the most practical interface. The problem was not with the blades, but how they were organized. The new interface is definitely organized better, but whether it’s the best design remains to be seen. All in all, it does seem to have a good balance in ease of use and eye-candy.

#3 Party

In addition to the avatars and the Dashboard, Microsoft took the liberty of beating Home at it’s own game. Of all the updates, this one is, in my opinion, the smartest. The party system allows Xbox 360 owners to see the Miis- the avatars of the friends who are online. From what was shown, it seems that a chat bubble will display the name of the friend. Once a friend is highlight, the chat bubble displays what they are doing. Users can invite up to eight friends into a “party”. Here is where it gets interesting. The interaction that users have through the party system is simplistic, yet very, very effective. The example shown was the party leader displaying pictures, which were streamed to the other members. Netflix videos can be shared in a similar way. The party leader can decide other activities to do, such as play an Xbox Live Arcade game, or a retail game. There was is also a trivia game feature being added which allows “parties” to participate in popular game shows from their dashboard. Simple, no “homes” no virtual living rooms etc;

We will provide more information as it becomes available. For now, the Dashboard update will be released in the fall, no specific date has been released as of yet.