From xk3y.com (http://xk3y.com/news/nandkey-announced ): [QUOTE] NANDKey: NAND and generic Xilinx CoolRunner programmer NANDKey is the first full-featured, easy-to-use tool for managing your Xbox 360 NAND contents and programming Xilinx CPLD devices. NANDKey's unique Windows application allows you to read and write the XBox's NAND flash and automatically handle bad blocks, all with the click of a mouse. Programming Xilinx devices is just as easy - simply connect the NANDKey download cable to the Xilinx board, select a programming file, and program the device. - USB2 full speed NAND and Xilinx programming - User friendly GUI software - Fully software updatable - Rock solid design and components - Ultra small form factor - High quality JST connectors for NAND and Xilinx download cables - Optional accessory pack adds quick solder boards and more! Whats in the box? - NANDKey programmer - JST connector to NAND cable. NAND side has pre-stripped, pre-tinned wires - this cable is also available separately in bulk - USB2 high speed shielded cable - Xilinx download cable Whats in the Optional Accessory Pack? - Generic Xilinx device programming cable - Quicksolder PCB for XB360 Slim - Quicksolder PCBs for XB360 Fat - Cable with connectors for quick-solder boards RRP: USD30 (USD35 including Optional Accessory Pack) [/QUOTE] Official Site: http://xk3y.com (http://xk3y.com )

The BoxZii team released a new firmware for the 'Module2' of their ODD Emulator device. What's new/fixed: * Fixed Freezings * Added extra Drivemode Official Site: http://www.boxzii.com (http://www.boxzii.com ) Download: here (http://www.boxzii.com/beta10.rar )

From the Squirt360 Team: [QUOTE] Here some nice news about the SQUIRT 360 RGH chips, we are now able to manage the CHIP SELECT and use the SYNC BUTTON to switch between NANDs. We are happy to show you the first SQUIRT DUAL NAND firmware at work (compatible with all squirt versions). Here you can view a nice video made by the squirt developers: Here (http://www.360squirt.com/support.php ) you can download the TUTORIAL for the installation. The BITSTREAM 100% compatible with the SLIM 360 consoles will be online tomorrow here (http://www.360squirt.com/support.php ). SQUIRT 360 will release a nice NAND PCB with a 16 Mbyte HYNIX NAND onboard and simple PADS for the connections soon. Right now we suggest to use the NAND PCB 16Mbyte produced by the PROGSKEET team or buy and connect a standard HYNIX TSOP nand. [/QUOTE] Official Site: http://www.360squirt.com (http://www.360squirt.com )

blaKCat released AutoGG 0.2.9b: [QUOTE] The AutogGG is a program that helps you to: - Read the Nand of the Xbox. Autodetect the model. - Generate Nand to load Xell in console to obtain Cpukey. - Once you have CpuKey.Generate Jtag / rgh (Glitch) / Retail, images - Flash generated Nand through programmer (LPT/USB) or software (Xell or Dash) But AutoGG also allows many more options (Addons) - Change temperature sensors on the console. - Change data in the console: Serial, Reader Type (Osig), Region and dvdkey. - Map / unmap Bad Blocks. - Inject / Extract specific data from the console. to repair corrupt nands - Decrypt X-Val to check marks on console by Microsoft. - UnCripple to try to clear the console marks, - Make only a partial reading of only 1Mb of Nand then read the rest through Xell and finally merge to get the full Nand much faster (Recommended for slow nands readers LPT) ... [/QUOTE] Official Site/Download: elotrolado.net (http://www.elotrolado.net/hilo_autogg-0-2-4-by-blakcat-tutorial-dash-14699_1688613#p1726865827 )

From xk3y.com (http://xk3y.com/news/xk3y-remote-now-optional ): [QUOTE] A recent customer survey has shown that many Xk3y users use either the Web interface or IsoMenu, without connecting the remote. We have therefore decided to make the Xk3y remote an optional accessory from today, which will be reflected in our updated distributor pricing. We are also close to finishing a new unique menu system which cannot be blocked... [/QUOTE] Official Site: http://xk3y.com (http://xk3y.com ) Buy xK3y : here (http://lightake.com/detail.do/sku.47345~c.O/E!PPX@102492011KG )

From wasabi360.com (http://wasabi360.com/ ): [QUOTE] We have released Wasabi 360 Ultra firmware v1.2 BETA 3 which includes the following changes: * Supports iXtreme LT v3 AP25 topology data from disc image * Fixed a bug which resulted in the auto-extracted drive key not being permanently saved in rare cases [/QUOTE] Official Site: http://wasabi360.com (http://wasabi360.com/ ) Download: here (http://wasabi360.com/download.html ) Buy Now: Wasabi360 FAT (http://lightake.com/detail.do/sku.46798~c.O/E!PPX@102492011KG ) | Wasabi360 Slim (http://lightake.com/detail.do/sku.45876~c.O/E!PPX@102492011KG )

New version of the XBox 360 ISO Hacker Utility for OSX has been released: [QUOTE] JTAG / RGH users can extract files from XBox / XBox 360 game ISOs to given destination. 1. Select game ISO 2. Select destination 3. Add to Que 4. Repeat 1-3 if you want extract more than one ISO 5. Start Extract If you want delete or edit a line in que, just click on it. The selected rows data always copy back to Source file / Destination Folder fileds. Extract / Rebuild ISO functions written by in & Aiyyo It is a free utility, but if you think It is a useful one, Please Donate us. [/QUOTE] Official Site/Download: wattks.com (http://www.wattks.com/ )

Team XLink (http://www.teamxlink.co.uk/ ) released a new version of the XLink Kai Engine, their global gaming network (that allows you to play system-link enabled games (incl. Xbox and Xbox360) online for free): What's new/fixed: * Fixes disconnect issues reported by some users when idling in Arenas. Official Site: http://www.teamxlink.co.uk (http://www.teamxlink.co.uk/ ) Download: here (http://www.teamxlink.co.uk/?go=download )

Andrew (bunnie) Huang (http://www.bunniestudios.com/blog/?p=2164 ) (to people who were around during the Xbox1 days, I don't have to tell who he is ...) and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (https://www.eff.org/press/releases/help-protect-gadget-jailbreakers-and-video-artists-legal-threats ) posted an open letter you can sign (https://www.jailbreakingisnotacrime.org/ ) to the (US) Copyright Office to renew the DMCA jailbreak-exemption for smartphones (which will expire soon) and extend it to all electronic 'gadgets' (like tablets, and ... videogame consoles): [QUOTE] You bought it. You own it. Tell the Copyright Office: let me install whatever software I want on my phone, tablet, or video game system. Dear Ms. Pallante, Whether it's patching a security vulnerability or homebrewing video games and apps, people who own smart phones, tablets, and video game systems are finding inventive ways to use and improve their devices. Often users need to gain full administrative access, through a process known as "jailbreaking," to innovate and take advantage of the device's full potential. But right now, jailbreaking a device can lead to legal threats. That's a vulnerability in the law: we need you to create a "patch" so users who jailbreak devices won't be at legal risk. Three years ago, the Copyright Office agreed to create an exemption to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act so that folks could jailbreak their smartphones. But that exemption is about to expire. We need you to renew that exemption and expand it to cover jailbreaking gadgets with similar computation potential. These are all siblings to the PC, yet unlocking their potential as versatile and powerful computers is burdened with legal murkiness. We need these exemptions to conduct security research on devices to help safeguard everyday users from security threats. Furthermore, users of these products benefit from the flexibility to choose their own operating systems and run independently developed software. We need the law to catch up with how people are using technology. Jailbreaking is helping to make technology better, more secure, and more flexible. Please defend the rights of users. Thanks for enabling us to keep technology innovative, secure, and focused on the users. [/QUOTE] If you agree, sign the letter over at: jailbreakingisnotacrime.org (https://www.jailbreakingisnotacrime.org/ )

The Rebug team, know from the ps3 scene, officially unveiled their all-in-one (Flasher, RGH, JTAG) Xbox360 chip on xaio360.com (http://xaio360.com/ ): [QUOTE] Features: • Opensource Firmware • JTAG Programming of onboard Xilinx via USB (No external programmer needed) • SPI Progamming of Xbox360 NAND via USB (No external programmer needed) • Fast swap between SPI and JTAG modes with a press of a button • External Oscillator (Wiring to HANA is no longer required) • Firmware upgradable for future XAIO 360 updates (No external programmer needed) • 100% Compatible with NAND Pro v2.x (3.0 is NOT supported!) • Compatible with all Xbox360 models (Except Xenon and Corona boards) • Booting of unsigned code on Xbox360 • Compatible with all Xbox360 kernel versions • Glitching of all compatible Xbox360 models is usually within 3-25sec • Easy 7 wire SPI installation for both PHAT and SLIM • Easy 5 wire RGH installation for PHAT, 6 wires for SLIM • Works as 6 wire JTAG-Interface using UrJTAG software (4 signals + power (TDI, TMS, TCK, TDO, VCC, GND) *Required patched version of UrJTAG will be downloadable from our website. • Compact size of 47mm x 32mm (1.84″ x 1.28″) [/QUOTE] Official Site: http://xaio360.com (http://xaio360.com )

Xamphear released a new version of 360 Content Manager for JTAG & RGH 360s: [QUOTE] What This App Does: * Browse 360 files on your PC by their real info, like game name and package title. * Unlock XBLA, DLC and Avatar files downloaded from Xbox Live. * Upload files (XBLA, DLC, GOD, Avatar, Title Update) to your console over FTP with a single click. Files are automatically uploaded to the right folders. * Drag and drop files to other applications, if you'd prefer to use your own FTP client. * Organize a messy folder of downloaded content into 1 of many different directory styles. Restore the original filenames for XBLA and DLC files. * View the MediaID of Title Updates and GODs so you can match them, and search JQE and XBUC for matching TUs. * View the MediaID of ISO files. (Requires abgx360) * View the MediaID of default.xex files. * Browse your 360's hard drive directly, using FSD. This allows you to delete, unlock, edit and copy the contents of the 360's internal drive over the network. What's new/fixed: Bug fixed in Content Organizer, GODs are properly moved between drives now. Managing content on the 360 itself has been streamlined, drive mapping is preformed automatically. FSD version 2.2 or higher is HIGHLY recommended when using this feature. Preview added to the Content Organizer so you can see the new folder each file will be placed in. All of the options in the Content Organizer are saved between uses now. The Library Scan feature has been removed. Date Modified column added. Fixed bug in uploading when using xFTPdll. Uploading game saves is now supported, saves are sent over FTP to the proper profile folder location. Fixed crashing in XP when "File Exists" dialog is displayed. Added wizard to walk new users through common uses of the program. Disable it and you will not see it again. [/QUOTE] Official Site: n/a, by Xamphear Download/More Info: here (http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=732047 )

The BoxZii Team released 'Module 2' of their ODD Emulator: [QUOTE] Module 2 : External Full Colour 2'2" TFT Touchscreen panel for USB HDD/Pendrive (No PC required) * Full Colour 2'2" TFT Touchscreen * Full Colour touchscreen coverflow iso/config selection system * 3Ports HUB included for USB HDD/Pendrive (No EXTRA Hub cost) * NTFS Filesystem supported * USB / SD upgrades for Actel and Microcontroller system * External SD socket (No needed disassembly if SD card replacement required) * Full clean installation / Place the module 2 whereever you want * Easy Installation/Just need plug USB cable from Boxzii Module 1 [/QUOTE] Official Site: http://www.boxzii.com (http://www.boxzii.com )

From x360glitchip.com (http://www.x360glitchip.com/en/news ): [QUOTE] Today a new version of our great software for glitchip flash is available. Indeed, this one is now at version 1.3 and brings you an alternative timing for Trinity motherboard. This alternative timing will allow hard to glitch xbox's owners to get better boots. This one is compatible with all x360Glitchips revisions, but works better with v1.4 and the next v2.0. [/QUOTE] Official Site: http://www.x360glitchip.com (http://www.x360glitchip.com ) Download: here (http://www.x360glitchip.com/en/downloads )

From x360glitchip.com (http://www.x360glitchip.com/en/news ): [QUOTE] When other teams just copy others and/or make only business with their chip without bringing something new and/or make news with nothing new... x360Glitchip brings you the FIRST WORLD Corona Ready chip. As you know Corona (New motherboard revision after Trinity) were not Glitch compatible because the HANA chip had been removed which were needed for Timing through the CLK_STBY Wire. The x360Glitchip v2 is the first world chip which doesn't need this point, and so become Corona Ready. Of course, the build.py of the Glitch Hack has to be updated to handle the new CB 13121. Others functionnalities will be announced soon, cause the x360Glitchip Team doesn't stop here. :-) Here a video showing a Trinity Motherboard booting without the CLK_STBY Wire on a modified x360Glitchip v1.4 in order to be Corona Ready. You will note : - The missing B point (Not needed now) - The great booting time : (10s, 16s, 7s, 12s) [/QUOTE] Official Site: http://www.x360glitchip.com (http://www.x360glitchip.com )

Team RGLoader released a new version of RESET GLITCH LOADER-dev which allows you to create a DevKit NAND for retail consoles with the Reset Glitch Hack, and give you most of the DevKit functionality on your retail 360: [QUOTE] *THIS IS A BETA RELEASE, NOT EVEN THE NFO IS FINISHED YET* Xell dual boot has been added. Power on the xbox using the eject button to boot into xell. Yay libxenon ;) Bad blocks are now automatically taken care of and there is no need to run the output image through nandpro. Font files have been added to the nand image to fix the issues with FSD. New filesystem package must be used. (thanks cOz!) Jtag support will come soon, I should be getting a jtag xbox any day now to test on. Retail profiles must be resigned to work for dev. Things to come in final release--- * Big block support. * INI files will replace the bat files. * GUI Builder. * hvxbootOS * much more... What's new/fixed: * Added KV editing to the GUI * Xell dual boot (xell-gggggg.bin) * Bad block support * Added font files to nand image to fix fsd (thanks cOz) * No need to run image through nandpro anymore * More error handling, builder doesn't say successful build every time [/QUOTE] Official Site: #RGLoader @ EFnet | tortuga-cove.com (http://www.tortuga-cove.com/hacking/30-x360/2616-rgloader-0v170-beta-released?hitcount=0 ) Download: n/a (might be illegal under DMCA/EUCD) News-Source/Full NFO: xbins.org (http://xbins.org/nfo.php?file=xboxnfo2199.nfo )

From 360lizard.com (http://www.360lizard.com/website/news.php ): [QUOTE] Thanks to C4E for releasing LT3.0 for Slim Liteon Drives. We have updated the whole range of Lizard software tools to work with this new Relese. We recommend follow the next guidelines to get your update working without issues: a) Update your Lizard to Gecko 1.28. If you have doubts check the Tutorial (http://www.360lizard.com/website/downloads/Updating%20the%20Lizard.pdf ) b) Open Lizard Toolbox, Press "Get Device Details" to read Lizard Serial c) Go to Settings Tab then press button "Get Lizard Updates", this will first update your Lizard Toolbox Version to 1.51. d) After the first update succed, repeat steps "b" and "c" to download an update the new Fileset (LTPLUS 3.00 b) d) If you use the Standalone feature on Lizard you need also download the new SD File Pack LT 3.00b and extract on your Micro SD Card, you can grab it from the blog (http://cfwfileset.blogspot.com/ ). * Note: if you dont see the button "Check Lizard Update" on Lizard Toolbox, then it means your Lizard Toolbox version is too old, if thats the case then grab the latest Toolbox from the Downloads (http://www.360lizard.com/website/downloads.php ) page) Alternatively if you prefer do updates manually then grab the Toolbox 1.51 from our Downloads (http://www.360lizard.com/website/downloads.php ) Page and the Fileset and the SD File Pack from the blog (http://cfwfileset.blogspot.com/ ) [/QUOTE] Official Site: http://www.360lizard.com (http://www.360lizard.com )

As always with a new C4E iXtreme release (LT+ v3.0 SLIM Lite-On) (http://www.xbox-scene.com/xbox1data/sep/EFkyyyAZuFDVJKeWkB.php ), Team Jungle comes with a new version of JungleFlasher to add full support for the new firmwares. What's new/fixed: * Support for LT Plus 3.0 -Lite-on Slim 0272, 0225, 0401, 1071 Official Site: http://www.jungleflasher.net (http://www.jungleflasher.net ) Download: here (http://www.jungleflasher.net/downloads.html )

C4E released the iXtreme LT+ v3.0 CFW for the SLIM 0272/0225/0401/1071 Lite-On (Philips-LiteOn DG-16D4S) drives: [QUOTE] C4E's iXtreme LT+ in association with Team Jungle & Team Xecuter Official release of the iXtreme LT+ v3.0 for 0272/0225/0401/1071 slim Liteons - Support for topology data on AP25 enabled titles. Will correctly answer any ap25 challenge eliminating need for dae.bin to create a backup. - No need to make new backups everytime dae.bin is updated on console - Extra support for rare firmwares Topology Data When ap25 was first introduced I devised a way of calculating any challenge which I called the silver bullet which I made reference to along time ago. This was withheld until it was absolutely necessary. It was easier to replay the fixed challenges. With unique per console ap25 challenges it has become necessary to use the silver bullet. A series of measurements are taken across the disk. This topology data is then used to calculate a response to any ap25 challenge. It is very important that the drive used to create the topology data is reliable at reading discs as bad topology data equals bad ap25 responses. Liteon drives using 0800 v3 seem to be more accurate for this purpose. Only ap25 enabled titles require topology data. Activation of ap25 on older non-ap25 games although technically possible is highly unlikely. Currently topology data for xgd3 titles are similar and topology data from one xgd3 title will pass on another xgd3 title although this is not advisable. Per title title topology data is best as there are slight differences between titles and newer titles could have different topology than existing ones. One liteon to go and four Hitachis. Have a great year everyone. Thanks go to Team Jungle and all testers for their hard work and efforts in the development process. Thanks also go to Team Xecuter for their support to this project. [/QUOTE] Official Site: C4Eva, jungleflasher.net (http://www.jungleflasher.net/ ), team-xecuter.com (http://team-xecuter.com/ ) Download: n/a (might be illegal under DMCA/EUCD)

From redsquirrel87.com (http://www.redsquirrel87.com/ ): [QUOTE] What's it? It's a simple Linux/Windows tool to search for and download updates for your XBOX360 games directly from your PC (no need of XBOX Live!)) You have simply to select one or more XBOX360 ISOs and the program automatically will get the Media-ID (using ABGX) and will search for the latest available update on the online database of xbuc.net. Then you'll can download it directly using this program, so without the need to open any internet browser or external programs. What's new/fixed (v3.0 - Linux ONLY): * Completely rewritten the layout of the GUI (again) * Now the program's window is resizable so it can fit any screen resolution * Moved all controls from buttons into menus * Added keyboard shortcuts to the most important commands * Now the program saves the settings (input/output folder and modes) and automatically reload them at next startup * New dependency for the program: gambas2-gb-settings What's new/fixed (v2.0 - both Windows and Linux): * Completely rewritten the layout of the GUI * Now the program will not close automatically * Batch support: you can now work with more than just one ISO * Two new options available: -Silent Mode that performs all operations without asking for user confirmations -Rename all Mode that prevents overwriting files which are named in the same way [/QUOTE] Official Site: http://www.redsquirrel87.com (http://www.redsquirrel87.com ) Download Linux v3.0: here (http://redsquirrel87.com/XGEU.html ) Download Windows v2.0: here (http://redsquirrel87.com/XGEUw.html )

Team RGLoader released RESET GLITCH LOADER-dev 0v100 which will allow to create a DevKit NAND for retail consoles with the Reset Glitch Hack, and give you most of the DevKit functionality on your retail 360: [QUOTE] *THIS IS A BETA RELEASE, NOT EVEN THE NFO IS FINISHED YET* Rgloader-dev 0v98 got leaked a few weeks back and contains a few bugs like slims showing up as test kits etc. This build contains the latest patches for all the xbox files but does not support big block or bad block. If you manage the bad blocks yourself you might be able to get around the bad block issue. Things to come in final release: * Big block support. * INI files will replace the bat files. * GUI Builder. * Xell dual boot & hvxbootOS ;) What's new/fixed in 0v100: * Added 14699 patches * Moved files location on hdd * Slims show up as dev kit on 14699 without xbdm.ini or modded xbdm.xex * Retail disc support on slims * Added neededfiles.txt to the folders [/QUOTE] Official Site: #RGLoader @ EFnet Download: n/a (might be illegal under DMCA/EUCD) News-Source/Full NFO: xbins.org (http://www.xbins.org/nfo.php?file=xboxnfo2198.nfo )

From redsquirrel87.com (http://www.redsquirrel87.com/ ): [QUOTE] What's it? It's a simple Linux tool to search for and download updates for your XBOX360 games directly from your PC (no need of XBOX Live!)) You have simply to select a XBOX360 ISO and the program automatically will get the Media-ID (using ABGX) and will search for the latest available update on the online database of xbuc.net. Then you'll can download it directly using this program, so without the need to open any internet browser or external programs. What's new/fixed: * Fixed a bug that could bring the program to crash during the download of the files. * Added a function that checks if the file ABGX360 got correctly the execute permissions * Added a timeout check to curl (30 sec) [/QUOTE] Official Site: http://www.redsquirrel87.com (http://www.redsquirrel87.com ) Download Linux v1.1: here (http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5562654/XGEU_v1_1.zip ) Download Windows (still at v1.0): here (http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5562654/XGEUw_v1.rar )

From wasabi360.com (http://wasabi360.com/ ): [QUOTE] From the team that brought you the intuitive and immensely popular "virtual ISO" on-screen menu system for Xbox 360 optical disc drive emulators comes yet another world first - fully integrated, automatic drive key extraction. With Wasabi 360 Ultra there is no need for expensive third party drive key extraction hardware: with a single press of a button on the Wasabi 360 control panel, the drive key is automatically extracted from your original ODD and saved to Wasabi 360 Ultra's onboard storage for future use. And that's all you need to do - the previously saved drive key is retrieved and used automatically on each subsequent Xbox 360 boot. Simply plug and play - easy, fast, safe and convenient. The automatic drive key extraction feature currently supports all Xbox Slim Liteon 16D4S drives, and support for the various Xbox Phat drives is currently under development. Automatic drive key extraction for Xbox Slim's will be included in the upcoming v1.2 BETA 2 firmware release. More details will follow on the Wasabi 360 Ultra website in the coming days, stay tuned. [/QUOTE] Official Site: http://wasabi360.com (http://wasabi360.com/ )

Kickass released a Mac app based on exiso: [QUOTE] iXiso is a nifty little OSX frontend for in's extract-xiso tool. Its actually pure applescript (+ a lil bash hacking). I started to mess with Xcode, but soon found it to be cumbersome. What it does: This little fella will extract a given Xbox 360 xiso file to a given folder. It was initially designed to function as a droplet: ▪ just drop an .iso file on the app and it will ask you for a folder to extract to. If no file is dropped on the app, it will ask you for an .iso file. Why for god's sake? I wanted to get xiso extraction done on my mac with as few clicks as possible. I wrote this because i thought it might come in handy. If you dont like it - dont use it. [/QUOTE] Official Site: n/a, by Kickass Download: here (http://ul.to/pulv6tdb ) News-Source: xboxhacker.org (http://www.xboxhacker.org/index.php?topic=17617.0 )

From blogs.msdn.com/b/xna (http://blogs.msdn.com/b/xna/archive/2012/01/04/happy-new-year-xbox-live-indie-games.aspx ): [QUOTE] Welcome to 2012! We’re eager to see what our developers have in store for Xbox LIVE Indie Games in the coming year and to kick things off we have an exciting announcement regarding some changes to App Hub that make it a good time to be an Xbox LIVE Indie Games developer. * Higher maximum CCGAME size Since the start of Xbox LIVE Indie Games, CCGAME bundles submitted for Xbox LIVE Indie Games were limited to a maximum size of 150MB. We’ve heard all the great feedback on this subject and today we are pleased to inform you that developers are now able to submit CCGAME bundles up to 500MB through App Hub for publishing on Xbox LIVE Indie Games. * New limit for 80 point games Another area we’re adjusting today is the requirement that titles larger than 50MB be priced at either 240 or 400 points. After raising our maximum size we’ve decided to also raise this limit. Starting today you can apply the 80 point price to any game with a CCGAME size under 150MB, which is three times the current limit of 50MB. * More titles per developer The last change affects a fewer number of developers, but we still believe it’s an important update. Originally developers were limited to just eight titles on Xbox LIVE Indie Games. When Creators Club became App Hub, we raised the limit up to ten. We’re happy today to let you know that we’re again raising this limit up to twenty titles per developer. We’re continuing to watch our developer base and adapt the system to the needs of our creators. We hope you’re all as excited as we are to kick off 2012 with these great updates to the App Hub to enable our developers to make even better content for Xbox LIVE Indie Games. If you have any questions or want to discuss these changes, feel free to post in our forum thread (http://forums.create.msdn.com/forums/t/97843.aspx ). [/QUOTE] News-Source: blogs.msdn.com/b/xna (http://blogs.msdn.com/b/xna/archive/2012/01/04/happy-new-year-xbox-live-indie-games.aspx )

From xk3y.com (http://xk3y.com/news/firmware-update---remote-v11 ): [QUOTE] Firmware update for the remote to solve the "always on" when receiving power in standby mode. V1.1 R7 users: -The remote display will turn on when initially connected (or remain on when the console turns off) for 30 seconds and then turn off. -When the console is off pressing a button on the remote will cause the display to turn on again for 30 seconds R6&R7 users: When the console is turned on the remote display will turn on shortly afterwards. The remote display will turn off 30 seconds after 30 seconds of inactivity, it will turn back on when a button is pressed. [/QUOTE] Official Site: http://xk3y.com (http://xk3y.com ) Download: here (http://www.xk3y.com/downloads )

A new version of abgx360 has been released. What's new/fixed (all platforms): - XGD3 support. - Replaced AP25 replay sector support with support for topology data (for consoles which do AP25 checks -- make sure you have LT+ v3.0 or later). - Added "Min Kernel Required" (to boot the game) when checking an XEX. - Added improvements to AutoUpload (used by uploaders) including extended C/R for SS (using the original disc) to make sure files uploaded to the database have very accurate angle measurements. - Added optional command line argument "--speed" for setting drive speed when checking a burned DVD. Example: "--speed 12" will attempt to set the drive speed to 12x. You can try to set any speed you like, but setting a speed higher than what your media supports may cause read errors if the drive's firmware doesn't govern it. "--speed 0" will set the drive's default speed. - Added optional command line argument "--showsstable" for when you want to see the SS C/R data but you still prefer medium or low verbosity. The SS C/R table has also been updated with "Mod?" being split into "Tol" (response tolerance) for the CCRT entry and "Mod" (response modifier) for the drive entry, also "Pad?" has been renamed to "Typ" (type). Thanks Redline99! - Added vendor specific additional info and bus type when displaying optical drive names (bus type displayed on Windows only). - Updated the list of optical drive sense code errors. - Updated the game ratings definitions. - Fixed a bug which negated the ability to recover from a write error when rebuilding an ISO using the low disk space method. It's unlikely that a write error would be recovered on subsequent retries, but at least now it will write the data in the correct place if it does recover. - Fixed a bug which caused "Unknown Media: 0x00000000" to be displayed if the "Secure Virtual Optical Device" media flag was set and the "XGD2 Media Only" image flag was not set (The "XGD2 Media Only" flag has also been renamed to "Original Media Only" in abgx360 since they are using the same flag for XGD3). - The archaic caution message about angle 359 was removed, but you are still able to "fix" it if you still have iXtreme < v1.4 (really old and not suitable for XBL anyway). - Ability to "extract entire video partition (253 MB)" was removed; this doesn't make sense for XGD3 and isn't even very useful for XGD2 since it was just including a bunch of padding data that isn't even part of the real video partition... it was only needed for very old methods of concatenating with stealth files and a game partition to make a working backup. Note: The way video is checked/fixed is now a little different for both XGD2 and XGD3. The previous way was to check/fix both L0 video and L1 video off of L0, and then to check/fix "SplitVid" (L1 video on L1) afterwards by comparing it to L1 video on L0. Since XGD3 has no room for L1 video on L0, and to keep things consistent, video will now always be checked/fixed according to L0 on L0 and L1 on L1, and the "SplitVid" check is now gone (nominally). The only effective difference is that L1 video on L0 is no longer checked, but this is not a problem... it's not even supposed to be there and it's not visible to the host console when using a "safe" custom firmware. You can rest assured that only old and unsafe custom firmwares will read L1 video from L0; newer ones will read it properly from L1 (this is necessary in order to replicate the read/seek performance of an original disc). There is also a big annoying yellow message if you have "Check/Fix Video padding" enabled and you check an XGD2 game with L1 video on L0 (or any data in that area). To make the message go away you will need to either add command line option "--pL0" to confirm that you want to blank it out (XGD2 ISOs without L1 video on L0 will appear to have bad video data when checked with older versions of abgx360), or you can simply disable "Check/Fix Video padding", as it still makes no difference in terms of stealth... this option only exists as a way to make sure ISOs are "clean", with no extra data in areas that aren't CRC checked. Note that this version of abgx360 doesn't care about L1 video on L0... it will pad L0 video with zeroes whenever video is autofixed or manually patched. Sorry if the command line options are annoying (you can add them under the "Misc" tab of the GUI), but you can be sure that an improved v1.1.0 GUI is in the works... Note: The GUI has not been changed and will still display version 1.0.2, don't worry about it as long as the CLI app displays v1.0.6 Official Site: http://abgx360.net (http://abgx360.net/ ) Download: here (http://abgx360.net/download.html )

Team XLink (http://www.teamxlink.co.uk/ ) released a new version of the XLink Kai Engine, their global gaming network (that allows you to play system-link enabled games (incl. Xbox and Xbox360) online for free): What's new/fixed: * Added support for new Xbox 360 System Link game protocols. Static IP Tutorial: here (http://tinyurl.com/7orpxen ) Official Site: http://www.teamxlink.co.uk (http://www.teamxlink.co.uk/ ) Download: here (http://www.teamxlink.co.uk/?go=download )

From team-xecuter.com (http://team-xecuter.com/fake-xecuter-coolrunners-xecuter-unlocked-dg-16d4s-pcb-warning/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=fake-xecuter-coolrunners-xecuter-unlocked-dg-16d4s-pcb-warning ): [QUOTE] It has come to our attention that a small factory in China is making cheap, low quality copies of the hugely successful Xecuter CoolRunner & Xecuter Unlocked Replacement DG-16D4S PCB. They do say that imitation is the highest form of flattery, however these came through our retail channels due to a high number of faulty returns and there were attempts at having them replaced on the official Xecuter Warranty. Not only are they poor quality, but they are wholesaling them for the same cost at what we are wholesaling the genuine products to our wholesale network, so it’s pointless buying them in the first place. If you are looking to buy genuine Xecuter products through wholesale channels then simply contact Supreme Factory or China Distribution and they will take care of you. If you are looking for genuine Xecuter retailers then they are listed on our Official Resellers Page. If you suspect that an official reseller has sold you a fake Xecuter product please get in touch with us immediately. Remember that when you buy fake copies, even though you are paying the same price as the genuine product you will get no support, and no warranty. Here are some comparison photographs to see if you have a fake or genuine CoolRunner / Unlocked Replacement PCB. With the CoolRunner you can see that half the components used are not the same brand as the original and the print quality is shoddy at best. They have also shaved off the corner dot on the main IC. (http://pictures.xbox-scene.com/xbox360/xecuter-coolrunner/CR_Clone_Photo-1.jpg ) With the Unlocked Replacement DG-16D4S PCB there are far too many mistakes and errors to even know where to begin. Luckily its super easy to spot the fake. (http://pictures.xbox-scene.com/xbox360/xecuter-coolrunner/Clone_Photo-2.jpg )[/QUOTE] Official Site: http://team-xecuter.com (http://team-xecuter.com )

cOz released a new version of Dash Launch build for XDK-homebrew RGH/JTAG 360s. What's new/fixed: * expanded temp broadcaster to include PE Name and path of current title * added titleid and mediaid output to temp logger * fixed a bug in unhandled-exception handler (could cause freeze/multiple consecutive exceptions) * add title module PE name and path to exception log * contpatch completely rewritten, now takes over checking license bits entirely for xam when enabled (may break... things, or allow some to work that shouldn't/crash) Official Site: n/a, by cOz Download: n/a (built with XDK (http://www.xbox-scene.com/xdk.php )) Full Readme/NFO: xbins.org (http://www.xbins.org/nfo.php?file=xboxnfo2197.nfo )

The team behind the BoxZii ODD Emulator released a new firmware update. What's new/fixed: * Added support for 14699 DASH and SILENT UPDATE XGD2/XGD3 titles * Added PROFILES AP25/26 TOPOLOGY standards by c4eva,please use XBOXBACKUP CREATOR to patch them ... Open XBC --> Image tools --> Inject ---> Ap25 sector --> Select iso --> Select XGD2/XGD3 profile * Added Autoreboot in DRIVE MOVE option and software closing Official Site: http://www.boxzii.com (http://www.boxzii.com ) Download: here (http://www.boxzii.com/boxziiv108.rar )

From team-xecuter.com (http://team-xecuter.com/ripping-your-own-discs-with-xbc-and-topology-clarification/ ): [QUOTE] As there is confusing and conflicting information in the wild we would like to clarify a few points with regards to ripping your own discs and what to do with topology data. 1. Making Your Own Rips When ripping your own discs with the latest Xbox Backup Creator v2.9 Build 350 you should have “processing AP2.5″ unchecked. This adds an extra hour to each game rip and is not required. This option is only used when topology data is being collected for development purposes. Remember that angle measurements need to be as accurate as possible. If you rip your own you are using just 1 set of measurements. Your laser may be weak or you may have just one measurement out of hundreds that is out of bounds of the accepted values and your disc will error and you will be flagged for an AP2.5 Failure (See point #3) FYI the accepted values are -/+ 22 (even though originals rarely go above -/+ 2 with a perfect quality laser – the extra is allowed for those that have a poor quality laser) The median files that are created are the work of HUNDREDS of dumps per game over many different consoles and many different drives. Then using a complex algorithm millions of individual results are then calculated to give the absolute best timing scenario possible. The median files that are provided give a deviation of -/+ 8 (The original target was 9 – so anything below this is considered awesome). To give you an idea of what we are talking about here is the deviation data when using the median file on an XGD3 title: http://pastebin.com/VSNkwF3m (http://pastebin.com/VSNkwF3m ) As you can see the results are superb and rarely go above -/+ 4 with a maximum of 8 in just one instance. However if you rip your own you may find that some angles will go up to -/+ 100 which is WAY over the -/2 22 threshold and will give you a bad image. So when ripping your own images, uncheck Process AP2.5, patch with the given median file and then burn. There may be a simple app coded for you to check the deviation values of your own rips in the near future. Note: The XGD3 Median Topology file covers ALL (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/all ) current XGD3 games. This includes other languages too. There is no need for you to check the profile of your game at this moment in time. if you are 100% certain that the median file does not work with your XGD3 title then you need to rip the original game using the new XBC and test it again. If it then DOES work then you need to report it with the Profile ID of the game and the AP25 topology file (after checking process AP2.5 of course). If you can’t do this then dont bother posting about it. 2. Bogus Median Files We have noticed that some people have been uploaded bogus median files which are blank. These have been causing errors and making invalid images. Thanks to these assholes, many people have lost time and money. The official and original download link for the median files is this: http://bit.ly/u6ZaKY (http://bit.ly/u6ZaKY ) 3. AP2.5 Flags & You If you are flagged for an AP2.5 failure do not panic. This does NOT mean that you are going to get banned. Originals fail all the time due to a poor laser so this should largely be ignored. It’s fair to say that those who have countless failures will probably draw attention more than those with just a few. Take from that what you will. The point to be made is, if you are flagged, it doesn’t really mean shit. 4. Burning XGD3 Titles When burning XGD3 titles use a Liteon iHAS Burner with the Burnermax firmware and verbatim MKM-001 or MKM-003 discs. There will be no other support or advice given on any other burner or any other media especially truncated versions. If you are too cheap to invest in an $18 burner and media that costs less than $1 then you deserve all the problems that you encounter. [/QUOTE] News-Source: team-xecuter.com (http://team-xecuter.com/ripping-your-own-discs-with-xbc-and-topology-clarification/ )

SoulHeaven released a new version of 360gcProg, a tool that allows you to easily program CPLD or RGH chips. It is compatible with all chips based on a xilinx XC2C64A CPLD (like SoulHeaven's x360glitchip) and with both the LPT cable and USB cable based on the open-source FTDI. What's new/fixed: * fixed minor bugs * added timing for Opus consoles Official Site: http://www.x360glitchip.com (http://www.x360glitchip.com/ ) News-Source/Download: logic-sunrise.com (http://xbox-360.logic-sunrise.com/news-424603-360gcprog-v12-et-x360glitchip-v14.html )

Swizzy released Dashlaunch Temp Monitor v1.0: [QUOTE] Overview - What it does - It'll read the temperature data that dashlaunch broadcasts and convert it to something you can read (in Celcius) - It'll show you the temperatures in real-time as well as log them for you (you'll need to manually save the log, it doesn't do that on it's own) - It'll Color code the temperatures that are displayed as current/last read ** the temperatures are configurable with; green beeing below good temps which are labeld as "low", orange beeing in between low/high and red if the temperature is higher then the specified value ** - It'll save your settings in %appdata%/Swizzy/dashlaunchtempmon.ini if you want to manually edit something, or just simply delete them to use defaults :) *update* v1.1 - what's new/fixed: - Removed: Option to display raw data in the log, it's not really needed for end-users, if you are a dev and want to see the raw data, go right ahead and download the source, uncomment the blob of code that handles this and you'll have all of it right there infront of you in a flash! ;) - Added: Support for reading Path/PEname data from dashlaunch 2.29 output NOTE: it'll still support the data output of 2.28 just the same, difference is that it now also reads the extra data that is within version 2.29 - Fixed: Optimized the app ALOT, it no longer use a shitload of your cpu it now use around 1-3% of your CPU ;) - Added: Translation for all devices that are currently available, so it's easier for you to see/understand where the game/app is run from in the log later on and also what is actually running :) (NOTE: this is not a flawless identification so it may still be a bit cryptic to know what was running...) - Added: Counter for how many readings are in the log - Added: Option to automaticly flush the log to temps.log every time the counter reaches the set value you've specified, this makes the log window cleaner and lets you keep logging for a very long time and then check back to see how the temperatures changed without your computer going berserk on you because your memory is packed with a shitload of data from my app - Fixed: when opening the prog without the log then enabling it, the window would keep the log hidden, now it resize the window properly, otherwise it saves the window size when you hide the log and put's it back into that size when you want to show it again - Added: Last minute change adding Title/Media ID output aswell, along with an option to enable/disable this output in the log (it's on a seperate line to make it easier to find ;)) [/QUOTE] Official Site: n/a, by Swizzy News-Source/Download: logic-sunrise.com (http://xbox-360.logic-sunrise.com/news-427523-dashlaunchtempmonitor-v11.html )

As always with a new C4E iXtreme release (LT+ v3.0 for BenQ and FAT Lite-On) (http://www.xbox-scene.com/xbox1data/sep/EFkuZlkkyuuHhBqrIU.php ), Team Jungle comes with a new version of JungleFlasher to add full support for the new firmwares. What's new/fixed: * Support for LT Plus 3.0 -Lite-on Phat 02510C -Benq 04421C Official Site: http://www.jungleflasher.net (http://www.jungleflasher.net ) Download: here (http://www.jungleflasher.net/downloads.html )

From xk3y.com (http://xk3y.com/news/seasons-greetings-from-the-xk3y-team-firmware-v112-without-language-restrictions ): [QUOTE] When xk3y was first launched we produced an OEM version for one of our Chinese partners. This version was locked down to a few Asian language to promote sales in Asia and discourage resellers to export the OEM version to other regions. Sadly, some unscrupulous resellers still sold the OEM version to other regions, leaving end users with xk3y devices that would only display Asian languages on the remote. We have always stressed that this is an OEM version and not something we support, as we do not offer it for sale. When these issues first surfaced, we discontinued the OEM deal and has since only supplied the standard version. However, in the interest of consumers who have received the OEM version we have decided to remove all language restrictions in the firmware, starting with version 1.12. - Fixed "Network Fail" Message - Latest Mr_Waffles Web app - Asian Language lock removed - Improved French language strings - Added more languages (TUR Turkish) [/QUOTE] Official Site: http://xk3y.com (http://xk3y.com ) Download: here (http://www.xk3y.com/downloads )

From 360lizard.com (http://www.360lizard.com/website/news.php ): [QUOTE] First of all we want to say Merry Christmas and thanks for all the support we got this year for this Lizard project. We placed many more units in the market than we originally expected and the number of users is growing every day. We uploaded today our Fileset for LT 3.0a that includes the c4e Release of LTPlus 3.0 for phat Liteon and benqs. You can update this fileset downloading from our blog (http://cfwfileset.blogspot.com/ ) or with the online update feature inside (Settings-[>]Check Updates) Lizard Toolbox. All the credit on LT 3.0 is to c4e. This week we will start receiving fresh stocks from Lizard accesories and main units, it have been hard days after the fire but we are on ways of full recovery, thanks for your patience. [/QUOTE] Official Site: http://www.360lizard.com (http://www.360lizard.com )

With the new release of C4eva's iXtreme LT+ v3.0 for BenQ and FAT Lite-On (http://www.xbox-scene.com/xbox1data/sep/EFEZVAEyFFQkGODtdm.php ), Redline99 has now released a new version of Xbox Backup Creator. What's new/fixed: * Changed - Minor tweaks to Image Browser dialog * Changed - AP25 iXtreme LT+ v3.0 method to "Profiling" * Changed - Image Browser to better match stand alone app * Removed - Convert to SplitVid tool * Removed - ISO Tagging feature * Fixed - Ripping xgd1 titles * Fixed - xgd3 drive response SS details * Fixed - Assortment of minor issues * Added - Windows 7 Taskbar Progress Official Site: (n/a By Redline99) Download: here (http://dwl.xbox-scene.com/xbox360pc/dvd/Xbox_Backup_Creator-v2.9.0.350.zip ) News-Source: xbins.org (http://xbins.org/nfo.php?file=xboxnfo2195.nfo )

C4E released the iXtreme LT+ v3.0 CFW for the BenQ (Philips-BENQ/LiteOn VAD6038/1650V) and FAT Lite-On (Philips-LiteOn VAD6039/DG-16D2S) drives: [QUOTE] C4E's iXtreme LT+ in association with Team Jungle & Team Xecuter Official release of the iXtreme LT+ v3.0 for Benq and phat Liteons - Support for topology data on AP25 enabled titles. Will correctly answer any ap25 challenge eliminating need for dae.bin to create a backup. - No need to make new backups everytime dae.bin is updated on console Topology Data When ap25 was first introduced I devised a way of calculating any challenge which I called the silver bullet which I made reference to a long time ago. This was withheld until it was absolutely necessary. It was easier to replay the fixed challenges. With unique per console ap25 challenges it has become necessary to use the silver bullet. A series of measurements are taken across the disk. This topology data is then used to calculate a response to any ap25 challenge. It is very important that the drive used to create the topology data is reliable at reading discs as bad topology data equals bad ap25 responses. Liteon drives using 0800 v3 seem to be more accurate for this purpose. Only ap25 enabled titles require topology data. Activation of ap25 on older non-ap25 games although technically possible is highly unlikely. Currently topology data for xgd3 titles are similar and topology data from one xgd3 title will pass on another xgd3 title although this is not advisable. Per title title topology data is best as there are slight differences between titles and newer titles could have different topology than existing ones. I would like to wish everyone a merry xmas and a happy new year. I look forward to the challenges ahead. Thanks go to Team Jungle for their hard work and efforts in the development process. Thanks also go to Team Xecuter for their support to this project. [/QUOTE] Official Site: C4Eva, jungleflasher.net (http://www.jungleflasher.net/ ), team-xecuter.com (http://team-xecuter.com/ ) Download: n/a (might be illegal under DMCA/EUCD)

cOz released a new version of Dash Launch build for XDK-homebrew RGH/JTAG 360s. What's new/fixed: - added rad.msn.com to weak blocklist - added *bing.net, *msn.com to strong blocklist - added glitch machine detection for xellLaunch to launch on flash xell-1f - added xhttp auth patch for 14699 (thanks Anthony!) - added signin notice dismiss (optionally disabled, only affects 'ok' type dialogs) - added intMu: to installer ini updater - added autoselect shutdown and auto off option for the "hold guide to shutdown" NOTE: that both these options can affect other things that use this type of dialog! - added optional temp broadcaster - added quick python script to cap temp broadcasts to a .csv file He also released a new version of the FTP server plugin for Dash Launch. What's new/fixed: - change load address, no longer overlaps anything else - changed mount names slightly, easier to tell when using FTP or FTPdll - fixed EXEC command (xex only) Official Site: n/a, by cOz Download: n/a (built with XDK (http://www.xbox-scene.com/xdk.php )) Full Readme/NFO: xbins.org (http://www.xbins.org/nfo.php?file=xboxnfo2185.nfo )

Ced2911 released a new Genesis/Megadrive emulator for libXenon-homebrew 360s: [QUOTE] first public verion merry xmas release :D [/QUOTE] Official Site: https://github.com/Ced2911/genesis-plus-gx-xenon (https://github.com/Ced2911/genesis-plus-gx-xenon ) News-Source/Download: libxenon.org (http://libxenon.org/index.php?topic=251.0;nowap )