A new job posting has emerged on Microsoft’s website looking for a Motherboard Design Engineer. The position calls for someone who would help create new motherboard designs for the Xbox 360 console in an effort to reduce the production cost of the console as well as “expanding the  market for the console in derivative products". While this could just mean smaller iterations in the existing console design to cut down costs (which they’ve been doing for several years now) it still provides a little hope for us to see a slimmer Xbox 360.

This job posting comes just a few days after Steve Balmer mentioned potential new “form factors” for the Xbox 360 in a Q&A seminar, which was published on Microsoft’s site. Balmer was caught saying “You get exactly the Xboxes that we build for you. We may have more form factors in the future that are designed for various price points and options, but we think it's going to important.”

Motherboard Design Engineer – Xbox Console [Microsoft]

In the past month, an incredible amount of work has been put into the Xbox 360 JTAG exploit. This homebrew enabling hack requires soldering and a vulnerable kernel. I have put together a FAQs section that goes into detail about the modification process.

Performing this hack enables you to run XeLL (a Linux/Homebrew loader) or an unsigned dashboard with patches to run full games off an external hard drives, along with homebrew compiled from the official Xbox Development Kit.

This has been a controversial issue among the scene, which some claim that homebrew should be legal and easy to distribute, which is the case in XeLL as it's compiled legally through libxenon. Although in XBReboot, homebrew is compiled and distributed illegally though the official XDK. A legal alternative might be available in the future if history repeats itself, like the original Xbox.

Since these files are illegal to distribute, as they contain copyrighted Microsoft code, you need to download auto-xbins; a program to automatically connect a file distribution server. Check out this video of me demonstrating the uses of XBReboot. If you have any questions regarding Xbox 360 hacking, don't hesitate to post in the comments.

More information: The NEW Xbox360 Homebrew Scene and YOU

While most people remain sceptical about how Natal will be suitable for gaming, Microsoft have gone a step further, claiming that it could even replace our need for television remotes.

Earlier this week during the Streaming Media West show, Xbox Live general manager Marc Whitten said that even TVs could take advantage of the sensor control device, using hand motions to change the channel for example.

“I believe that this will be the largest leap of TV experience since the remote control. With the flick of my wrist I can change a channel. With the power of my voice I can start a movie”. However when start to think about this, you begin to wonder how practical it could be. Do you really need to wave your hand, when a simple button press would be just as simple, if not more? Or what if you accidentally say a command word during conversation? It seems as though he has offered a solution to a problem which only brings about more problems.

But this isn’t all. Apparently a lot more could be achieved, giving Natal the ability to provide an even more interactive experience for television viewers. “Laughter is an input. Yelling at the TV when I know an answer on 'Jeopardy' is an input. Attention is an input. The number of people in the room at one time is an input”. So in a way, Natal could be used as a way to collect consumer information, potentially giving television network information on their viewers and feedback on their shows. This is purely speculation on my part, but it’s an interesting concept for what’s possible with this system.

So, what are your thoughts on this matter? Do you believe that hands-free control is the future of gaming, and possibly in other forms of entertainment? Drop us a comment and let us know.

If a job listing recently issued by Microsoft is any indication, the company is considering to develop a massive online title for Xbox 360. Just how massive? The aim is create a title with an infrastructure that allows for 300,000 players online simultaneously over a global network.

The description brief specifically calls for “an experienced server developer to help develop our server architecture. We are building an extremely high performance system to extend console games to the server in new ways; creating a completely new set of web services to support dynamic programming information of games and scheduling data.”

Responsibilities for the chosen applicant include “building a backend capable of hosting a 300,000 player game in real-time with real money on the line (anti-cheating, etc).”

Sounds like a daunting task. If we had to wager a guess, this could very well be an indicator of Microsoft’s plans for the next Halo. If so, we’ll be in for one hell of a robust online experience.

Microsoft trying to develop 300,000 player online game [Develop]

Speaking at today’s BMO Capital Markets Interactive Entertainment Conference in New York City, CFO Mindy Mount said that, despite the challenging economic state, Microsoft expects Xbox 360 sales to pass clear of the 25 million mark later this month, surpassing that of the original Xbox install base.

It’s a great milestone for us, but it’s still only a start, when you consider that history shows that more than three-fourths of a console’s sales come at a price of $199 or lower.

She further noted that with the help of the recent Xbox 360 price cut, Microsoft expects to maintain a steady 2:1 lead over PS3. “NPD is going to release October sales… and we expect these numbers will show that we continue to outsell [PS3] by a ratio of two to one,” said Mount.

Microsoft ‘Pretty Comfortable’ With Economy, Expects 2:1 Dominance Over PS3 [Gamasutra]