Kurt Shintaku's Blog

If you’ve been paying attention there have been 5 distinct major revisions of the Xbox 360 console hardware. (with a 6th on the way in 2009)

Below are the codenames and the stats for each from oldest to newest:  (The photo to the left is taken from Anandtech. 

• Xenon (2005-2006)
  Original design – November 2005 (Launch)
  90nm CPU, 90nm GPU, 90nm eDRAM
  Identified by:
  • 203W power supply
  • 16,5A next to the 12V line on console’s serial label
  • Photos at http://www.360drives.com/howto#xenon
• Zephyr (2006-2007)
  Original Xbox 360 Elite design – May 2007 (Released for Premium design – July 2007)
  90nm CPU, 90nm GPU, & 90nm eDRAM
  With HDMI port
  Improved GPU cooler
  Identified by:
  • 203W power supply
  • 16,5A next to the 12V line on console’s serial label
  • HDMI listed as feature on box (Available as Xbox 360 Elite)
  • Photos at http://www.360drives.com/howto#zephyr
• Opus (2007)
  Released for Xbox 360 – July 2007
  65nm CPU, 90nm GPU, & 80nm eDRAM
  Improved CPU cooler (Inherited from Falcon)
  Improved GPU cooler (Inherited from Zephyr)
  Identified by:
  • 175W power supply
  • 14,2A next to the 12V line on console’s serial label
  • Does NOT have HDMI port (Available only for Xbox 360 Premium, Core repairs; generally considered rare)
  • Photos at http://www.360drives.com/howto#opus
• Falcon (2007-2008)
  Released for Xbox 360 Premium & Elite consoles – September 2007
  65nm CPU, 80nm GPU, & 80nm eDRAM
  With HDMI port
  Improved CPU cooler (Different heat sink & cooling duct)
  Identified by:
  • 175W power supply
    (This is indicative of at LEAST owning a Falcon console.  It may be a Jasper.  The only way for the average person to know is to examine the power connector on the console.  See photo above.)
  • 14,2A next to the 12V line on console’s serial label
    (This is indicative of at LEAST owning a Falcon console.  It may be a Jasper.  The only way for the average person to know is to examine the power connector on the console.  See photo above.)
  • Console manufacture date is on or after August 24, 2007
  • Manufacturing lot # is likely to be 0734 or greater
  • Photos at http://www.360drives.com/howto#falcon
• Jasper (2008-current)
  65nm CPU, 65nm GPU, & 80nm eDRAM
  With HDMI port
  256MB On-board Flash (16MB was standard)
  Identified by:
  • 150W power supply
    (This is an absolute guarantee that the console is a Jasper)
  • 12,1A next to the 12V line on console’s serial label
    (Some Jaspers have been found mislabeled with 14,2A however.  If your console has 14,2A, the only way for the average person to know what motherboard is used is to examine the power connector on the console.  See photo above.)
  • Console manufacture date is on or after October 14, 2008
    (This is not definitive being that there have been Falcons found with a similar manufacture date.  If your console has a manufacture date on 10/14/08, the only way for the average person to know what motherboard is used is to examine the power connector on the console.  See photo above.)
  • Manufacturing lot # is likely to be 0843 or greater
    (This is not definitive as there have been Falcons shipped with the same manufacturing lot.)
  • Photos at http://www.360drives.com/howto#jasper
• Valhalla (2009? Unreleased/Rumored/etc.)
  Single die CPU & GPU in-one with an unknown trace size – either 65nm or 45nm – with an unknown eDRAM trace size, likely includes an HDMI port and who knows what else.

WHY SHOULD YOU CARE:
There’s naturally rational reasons why people have become so infatuated by the science of the Xbox’s parts, chips, drives, motherboard, etc.

1. RELIABILITY
   The newer the console, the more likely it is to run reliably without issue.  Frankly, this shouldn’t be an issue if you remember rule #1 about owning an Xbox 360.
   
   

   Rule #1:  KEEP YOUR XBOX 360 IN A EXTREMELY WELL-VENTILATED AREA If you want your console to live a long and healthy life, keep it completely cool.  Seriously.  No exceptions.  This means no confined spaces, no heated rooms, no DVRs or other consoles underneath or on top of the , no walls or blockages near the back of the unit.  Even older consoles – including the original launch Xbox 360 – can run for a very long time.  Personally:  I have, not one but TWO original 16,5A 203W power supply-based “Xenon” class Xbox 360 consoles that have run without the Red Ring of Death since the release day of the Xbox 360.  It sits on top of my projection screen 65” TV and it has never, ever, ever locked up.  I once got the “red ring of death” but it was because of a loose connection between my video cable and the console when I moved my TV.

   
   

2. HEAT DISSIPATION
   The newer the console, the less heat it will dissipate due to the smaller chips used.  The smaller the chip, the smaller the silicon traces used, the less electricity used to power the chip, the lower the amount of heat generated by the resistance in the metal.
   
3. POWER UTILIZATION
   The newer the console, the less power will be used by each major component of the console.  This is reflected in the smaller power supplies provided by each subsequent generation of the console from 203W to 175W to 150W.
   
4. CONSOLE NOISE
   The hotter the unit, the more likely the fan will blow.  The fan can blow loud enough to create a fair amount of noise during game play – particularly during complex, high graphics intensity titles.

   Additionally, the older the unit, the more likely you’ll be using an older Hitachi DVD drive.  The newer Samsung DVD drives are quieter that are available in some units and the BenQ VAD6038 DVD Drive purports to be the quietest drive of them all.

   A note on the different DVD Drives in Xbox 360s: Yes, it turns out that we varied the manufacturers that built the DVD drives in the Xbox 360.  The early drives were manufactured by Hitachi which were known for being ‘loud’.  Whenever the drive would speed up to read data a loud audible HUMMMM would emit from the Xbox 360. At some point later the Toshiba-Samsung drive emerged and was found to be relatively quieter in comparison.  Some people actually went so far as to buy Samsung-TS drives to upgrade their The end result was that there have been at least 3 manufacturer’s drives shipping in Xbox 360’s: Hitachi-LG – Available at launch Toshiba-Samsung – Integrated sometime after launch BenQ VAD6038 – Available as of 11/6/2006 http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=584312 Lite-On – Available in 2007, identical to BenQ except with different colored wiring. Appears to be the dominant drive in production today More information: http://www.llamma.com/xbox360/Xbox_360_DVD_Drive_Comparison.htm http://www.360drives.com/howto

Basically because each revision has either added new technology over it’s predecessor or it’s gotten cooler and run on less power, it’s preferable to get a newer revision of the console over older revisions considering you’ll be paying the same price regardless of what the technology is inside the Xbox 360 box.

MORE INFORMATION:
There’s a lot of information available on the net about this.  Here are some of the better resources that I’ve gleaned over the past year or os.

1. Anandtech’s Overview of Jasper
   http://www.anandtech.com/gadgets/showdoc.aspx?i=3472
2. Jasper Motherboard in the Wild: 256MB Internal ‘MU’, 150W PSU
   http://www.xbox-scene.com/xbox1data/sep/EkkZlFAyyZZXEKjatA.php
3. XBOX.COM:  How to see if you have a 65nm (Falcon) console
   http://forums.xbox.com/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=15804553
4. XBOX.COM:  How to find a full 65nm Jasper console
   http://forums.xbox.com/24344540/ShowPost.aspx
5. BenQ VAD6038 – New DVD Drive in Xbox360
   http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=584312
6. IVC Wiki
   http://beta.ivancover.com/wiki/index.php/Xbox_360_Revisions#Zephyr

<stolen from the Microsoft NAP blog>

NAP Clients for Linux and Macintosh are available from Avenda and UNETsystem, Inc.

Avenda
The Avenda Linux NAP Agent includes 802.1X enforcement, the Avenda System Health Agent (SHA), and the Avenda Linux NAP Agent System Health Validator (SHV), which you install on your NAP health policy server. For more information, see the Linux Agent tab of the Avenda NAP Agents Web page.

For the datasheet on the Avenda Linux NAP Agent, click here.

UNETsystem
UNETsystem, Inc. provides both a Linux and Macintosh NAP client.

• The UNETsystem Linux NAP Client includes 802.1X and DHCP enforcement, the UNET SHA, and the UNET SHV to install on your NAP health policy server. To download it, click here.
• The UNETsystem Macintosh NAP Client also includes 802.1X and DHCP enforcement, the UNET SHA, and the UNET SHV to install on your NAP health policy server. To download it, click here.

For more information, see the datasheet available here.

Download, install, play, and enjoy!

Do you own a Sharepoint Server 2007 installation?

Do you own IBM Websphere Portal, BEA AquaLogic Portal, or SAP NetWeaver Portal?

If you’re interested in taking SharePoint data and rendering it natively through your ‘other portal’s’ WSRP consumer portlets, this is the Toolkit for you.

The Web Services for Remote Portlets (WSRP) Toolkit for SharePoint provides sample code for producing WSRP conformant data from SharePoint lists and libraries.

The WSRP Toolkit for SharePoint consists of the following assets:

1. Visual Studio sample projects that demonstrate two different approaches to producing WSRP conformant output from SharePoint lists and libraries
2. A whitepaper that provides details on the different architectural approaches of the two WSRP producer samples
3. Screen casts showing the two WSRP producer samples in action

DOWNLOAD:
http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/WSRPToolkit

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
http://blogs.msdn.com/sharepoint/archive/2008/12/15/announcing-the-wsrp-toolkit-for-sharepoint.aspx

<taken from the Sharepoint team blog>
We are happy to announce that December Cumulative Update for Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 is available now. Beyond the fixes and improvements, this new update package is also an effort to create a more convenient way for SharePoint administrators to keep all files in their SharePoint installations up-to-date. In this post, we will guide you on how and when to update, and the background of this new update model improvement.

December Cumulative Update Steps & Suggestions

[IMPORTANT UPDATE 12/21: Please read the highlighted instructions below before starting your installation.]

Customers do not need to install these updates unless they are affected by the specific problems described in the KB articles. These cumulative updates will be rolled in to Service Pack 2.

To keep all the files in a SharePoint installation up-to-date, we recommend that customers install updates in the following sequence:

1. Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Service Pack 1
2. The 2007 Microsoft Office Servers Service Pack 1
3. December Cumulative Update for Windows SharePoint Services 3.0
4. December Cumulative Update for Microsoft Office Servers

After applying the preceding updates, run the SharePoint Products and Technologies Configuration Wizard or “psconfig –cmd upgrade –inplace b2b -wait” in command line. This needs to be done on every server in the farm with SharePoint installed.  The version of content databases should be 12.0.0.6335 after successfully applying these updates.

For more in-depth guidance for the update process, we recommend that customers refer to the following articles. These articles provide a correct way to deploy updates, identify known issues (and resolutions), and provide information about creating slipstream builds.

• Deploy software updates for Windows SharePoint Services 3.0
  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc288269.aspx
• Deploy software updates for Office SharePoint Server 2007
  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc263467.aspx

The detail of December Cumulative Update (CU) for Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 can be found here:

• Description of the Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 cumulative update package: December 16, 2008 (The link will be active soon)
• Description of the SharePoint Server 2007 cumulative update package: December 16, 2008 (The link will be active soon)

MORE INFORMATION:
http://blogs.msdn.com/sharepoint/archive/2008/12/17/announcing-december-cumulative-update-for-office-sharepoint-server-2007-and-windows-sharepoint-services-3-0.aspx

<as taken from the Microsoft Clustering blog>

In Windows Server 2008 R2 (“R2”) we are introducing PowerShell as the new scripting language for clustering technologies. PowerShell with Failover Clustering will replace Cluster.exe and the Windows Server 2008 R2 release will be the deprecation release for Cluster.exe. This means it will still available for use so it doesn’t break legacy scripts, but no improvements have been made and Cluster.exe will be completely removed in the next release of Windows Server. This allows ample time for you to learn (and love) PowerShell.

PowerShell provides numerous benefits over standard command line interfaces, including easily customizable scripts and the dynamic use of variables. In Windows Server 2008 R2, PowerShell can also be run on Server Core machines. Using PowerShell on a Core cluster, you can directly run cluster Validation and generate dependency reports, without needing to manage the Core node through a UI-based remote machine.

This blog post will provide an overview of PowerShell with Failover Clustering. In the next few weeks, a post about PowerShell with Network Load Balancing (NLB) will be added to the site.

How do I get R2 Beta?

There are numerous ways to get the Windows Server 2008 R2 Beta build which includes Failover Clustering (on Enterprise and Datacenter editions). If you work for an organization which partners with Microsoft, try contacting your Technology Account Manager (TAM) to see if they can provide you with access. If your organization is enrolled in the Technology Adoption Program (TAP) you may also have access through this channel. Others may enroll in the Microsoft Connect program (http://connect.microsoft.com/) to receive access to major builds. The Beta build will be available very shortly for deployment and testing.

We want your feedback!

PowerShell is going to be the cluster scripting language for the future – and you have the opportunity to influence its design and use for the next decade during the Beta feedback period. Some high-level areas of feedback for the PowerShell commands (cmdlets) which we are looking for include the following:

• Was it easy to find the cmdlet you wanted?
• Are the parameters consistent between cmdlets?
• Is the in-box help and example useful?
• Has the PowerShell utility met your scripting needs?
• Was there a cmdlet which did something different than you expected from its name or description?
• Anything else?

We encourage you to provide feedback through the appropriate channels on the Microsoft Connect site, through your TAM, or TAP Program Manager.

———————

MORE INFORMATION:
http://blogs.msdn.com/clustering/archive/2008/12/20/9243367.aspx

Are you a developer?  Are you interested in tools that root out security vulnerabilities in your software?

We have two tools that we use within Microsoft to help ensure that our applications are secure:  CAT.NET and Anti-XSS.  One scans managed code by installing itself as a Visual Studio plug-in.  The other focuses on protecting ASP.NET from cross-site scripting issues.

DOWNLOAD:

Download Anti-XSS 3.0 Beta (here and source code here)

 

MORE INFORMATION:

• http://blogs.msdn.com/cisg/archive/2008/12/15/anti-xss-3-0-beta-and-cat-net-community-technology-preview-now-live.aspx
• http://blogs.msdn.com/ace_team/archive/2008/12/15/new-versions-of-anti-xss-cat-net-available-today-and-some-background-and-history-about-the-ace-team.aspx

"FastForward is the best ‘user-conference’ I have ever experienced. Given the quality of the speakers and content and the thought-leadership of your executives and clients, the event amounts to a meeting of the best minds in search and content technologies."
– Krista Thomas, VP Marketing and Communications, Thomson Reuters

Join the discussion at FASTforward’09, February 9 – 11 in Las Vegas, to see how businesses are responding — and evolving — in the face of rapid technological change and the growing demands for user control. As The User Revolution continues, we examine search’s critical role in helping companies engage their users.

The rising tide of user empowerment has become a revolution that continues to fuel fundamental change in the way business are conducted. At FASTforward’09 — the industry’s largest business and technology conference dedicated to search-driven innovation — you’ll see how search can engage your users in unique experiences to help them find and assimilate vast amount of information to deliver new value to your organization.

Microsoft is proud to present new and information-packed keynotes, business and technology sessions, breakout sessions, and workshops — led by search and industry experts — to advance your knowledge and give you valuable insight into how others are using search to create unique and engaging experiences that drive revenues externally, and empowerment internally. Check out the following breakout session tracks:

• Search-driven Monetization
• User-driven Innovation Powered by Search
• FAST Technology
• SharePoint Technology
• Partner Solutions

Whether you are a business or technical professional who is using search today or seriously considering the technology, don’t miss this opportunity to hear from the experts and join your peers in a forum that will expand your knowledge and show you how to apply the search strategies and innovations that are fueling the next stage of the User Revolution.

Register for FASTforward’09 by January 9th and save $400 off the regular conference price of $1,695. Visit www.fastforward09.com

Do you want to lower IT operation costs for your business?

Introducing the “Simple to Save” cost saving analysis calculator – a tool written by Alinean which provides a personalized analysis of your IT infrastructure and platform to identify cost savings opportunities for your organization.

The tool generates a report with specific project recommendations that can be implemented to generate high-impact costs savings with minimal investment.

VIDEO TRAINING:
http://www.microsoftio.com/content/simpletosave/ama0310.wmv

WHITEPAPER:
http://www.alinean.com/articles/CostCutHero.asp

WEB SITE: 
http://www.microsoft.com/optimization/tools/overview.mspx

BEGIN:
http://roianalyst.alinean.com/msft/AutoLogin.do?d=823813431289153339
https://roianalyst.alinean.com/microsoft/simpletosave/

Have you ever had Outlook 2007 lockup on you? 
Did you believe that it had something to do with the inability to connect to Exchange?

It turns out that you can force a reconnection to the Exchange Servers in your company when it locks up. The feature is buried in the bowels of Outlook however:

1) Press simultaneously Ctrl  + Right Click on the Outlook icon on the Windows system tray multiple times until you get the Outlook “special” menu.

2) On the special menu, click on “Connection status …”.
You get a modeless dialog box that shows the connection status, plus a “Reconnect” button that can be used to unlock Outlook whenever it gets completely unresponsive.

A coworker tells me that you should review the numbers in the Requests/Failures column.  Notice the high number of “Fail”. On average, the percentage of failures is > 50% when the system is working

This hidden tool is fantastic in understanding why Outlook has gone unresponsive on you.  At least now you can tell if it’s a directory issue, something having to do with public folders or simply your mail store.

(Thanks to Eugene Siu for the original post)

Interesting… “Brandon” updated his Windows Search Indexer Gadget in October.  Since there’s no “check for new versions” capability in his gadget, I didn’t know that he’d revised in a couple months ago on 10/5/2008 to version 1.2.

This is one of the most useful gadgets I’ve had in a while because it provides visibility into what the Windows Search indexing engine is doing, and equally important, it provides the ability to CONTROL or THROTTLE the CPU resource usage of the indexing engine.

You can STOP the engine from the Vista Sidebar, START the engine up again at it’s normal speed, or you can throw it into overdrive by setting the priority of the service to high, disabling the ‘back off’ functionality of the indexer to complete indexing quicker, and restarting the service.  Great for… say if you have to reindex your whole Outlook mail store again and you have 6GB of mail to do.

Don’t ask.

DOWNLOAD:
http://brandontools.com/files/folders/sidebar_gadgets/entry511.aspx