Tag: 360

Twee60: Automatic Xbox Live To Twitter

Twee60 is a web based application that tweets your status on Xbox Live to your Twitter account. The nice thing about Twee60 is there’s no software to install, unlike the Xbox Live to Twitter application I wrote about previously.
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Don’t get me wrong, Martin’s Xbox Live to Twitter app does a very nice job and offers many more customization options than Twee60. Twee60 is ideal for me though because it doesn’t require any software to be installed.

Twee60 is especially nice for Linux or Mac users who don’t even have a software package they could install to tweet their Xbox Live status. I installed a Windows box at home just so I could run Martin’s Xbox Live to Twitter app. Now that I have Twee60, I can take that box down.
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There’s only a few options you need to set in Twee60 before it’s ready to tweet your Xbox Live status. All you’ll need is your gamertag, twitter e-mail, twitter password, and zip code. Xbox Live members who are also Twitter users should check it out and register an account.

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Xbox Live To Twitter

Duncan Mackenzie released an application in May of 2007 that checks your Xbox Live status and sends your status to Twitter so all your followers on Twitter can see what you’re playing on your Xbox 360.

A short while after the initial release, Microsoft made some changes to Xbox Live that broke Duncan’s software, so he came out with an update. Then, a short while later, both Xbox Live and Twitter made some changes which totally broke Duncan’s software. It hasn’t worked since those updates were made.

Since then, I’ve been looking for something similar every few weeks or so. The other day, I set out to find a replacement for Duncan’s software and I came across Martin Hinshelwood’s blog.

Martin has picked up where Duncan left off with his Xbox Live to Twitter application. Martin was having trouble getting Duncan’s software to work, so he just wrote his own. I’ve been using Martin’s Xbox Live to Twitter app for a few days now and haven’t had any problems with it. It’s been posting my Xbox Live status to Twitter like mad.

If you use Twitter and have Xbox Live, you should give Xbox Live to Twitter a try. You can download the Windows installer or the source code at the CodePlex.

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Xbox 360: Returning Your Xbox 360 For Repair

Lots of people have been coming here searching for information about sending their Xbox 360 in to Microsoft for repair. My Xbox 360 is on it’s way back to me from being repaired, so I figured I’d post my experience with the repair process.

On March 24th, 2007 I contacted Microsoft Xbox customer support and was able to get the repair process started. My Xbox 360 was still suffering from the dreaded 3 red lights on the Ring Of Light at that time.

Upon initiatiating the repair process, I received an email from Microsoft confirming the repair process had begun. The email stated that I would receive another email once the next step in the repair process begins:

Dear Xbox Customer:

Thank you for contacting Xbox Customer Care. We have received your request for service. Please prepare your console and follow the instructions provided by our customer service department. You will receive an e-mail as soon as the next step in the process has begun.

Thank you,
Xbox Customer Care


The support agent I spoke with gave detailed instructions on what information to include in the box I returned my Xbox 360 in. I typed all the information out, printed it, and put it right on top of my Xbox 360 inside the box I shipped it in. Include this information when returning your Xbox 360 for repair:

  1. Support Reference # (provided by Xbox support agent).
  2. Xbox 360 serial number (from the back of your console).
  3. Your name.
  4. Your return shipping address.

It’s important that you DO NOT SEND YOUR HARD DRIVE, CONTROLLERS, OR MEMORY CARDS! If you send them in with your console you will probably never see them again. Make sure there’s not a game in the DVD drive. Take your hard drive off and make sure all memory cards are out before packing your Xbox 360 up. All you want to send in is your bare Xbox 360 console.

Once you have your Xbox 360 all packaged up along with the necessary information, you’re ready to ship. There seems to be quite a bit of confusion exactly where to send your Xbox 360 for repair. There’s lots of confusion because many of the Xbox support agents don’t speak english as their native language. It’s hard to understand a mailing address from someone with a thick Spanish accent. Now, I’m sure Microsoft has more than one repair center, so make sure to pay close attention when the agent gives you the address to send your Xbox 360 to. I was told to send my Xbox 360 to the following address, your support agent may provide you with a different address:

Repair Center
5700 South International Parkway
Door #18
McAllen, TX 78503

I just took my box to my local post office to ship. I shipped it using the Priority Mail service and purchased $200 worth of insurance coverage for $3.35. Total came to be about $18. Only took 4 days to get there, and that’s counting the weekend. Once they received the package at the repair center I got the following email:

Dear Customer,

We have received your Xbox at our service center. It is our priority to process your Xbox in a timely manner and to get it back to you as good as new. We will contact you as soon as we are finished so you can get ready to get back into the game!

Thanks,
Xbox Customer Care

Exactly two hours later, I got another email stating that my Xbox 360 had been fixed and was on it’s way home. The email said my Xbox 360 should be here in 2 to 5 days, it’d be great to have it before this weekend. They even gave me a UPS tracking number, but there’s nothing there other than a confirmation that the return shipping has been paid for. Hopefully some real tracking data will show up on it tomorrow.

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Xbox 360 Elite Has Arrived

Xbox 360 EliteAfter months of speculation, Microsoft has finally announced the Xbox 360 Elite. Everything included with the Xbox 360 Elite is black instead of white, like the initial Xbox 360. One of the major additions to the Xbox 360 Elite is full HDMI support. There’s also a 120GB hard drive, much larger than the 20GB that came with my Xbox 360 Premium package.

I won’t be purchasing an Xbox 360 Elite. I would like to have a 120GB hard drive, but I can buy one for my premium system later on. I can’t justify paying $479.99 for a 120GB drive, I couldn’t even use the HDMI support. I do like the black though, very sleek looking.

The Xbox Domain has some more specs on the Xbox 360 Elite. They also have some prices for the new accessories.

  • 120GB hard drive (black)
  • HDMI (high-definition multimedia interface) port
  • Wireless controller (black)
  • Xbox LIVE headset (black)
  • HDMI cable
  • Component/SD cable
  • One month subscription to Xbox Live Gold

Xbox Live’s Major Nelson has an interview with Albert on the new Xbox 360 Elite. He’s also got a Flickr photoset containing a bunch of pictures of the new Xbox 360 Elite and the new accessories. Pretty neat.

Xbox 360 Fanboy has a large post highlighting all the new features and accessories for the Xbox 360 Elite. Joystiq has pretty much the same info, but with more pictures.

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Xbox 360: Some Fixes For Freezing and 3 Red Lights

I’ve made quite a few posts about the problems I’ve had with my Xbox 360. You can take a look at the Xbox 360 tag archive for the entire list of posts. I’d like to highlight a few comments in those posts from readers. There’s been some great comments by readers, some go into pretty good detail.

All of the comments on all those posts in the Xbox 360 tag archive add up to a very valuable resource for gamers experiencing problems with their Xbox 360. You may have to do a little reading, but there’s some great comments there. Now, here’s some of my favorites.
Continue reading “Xbox 360: Some Fixes For Freezing and 3 Red Lights” →

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