I was more so saying that I don't really know much about Steams interface because I don't use it. The fact that anyone can say the shitshow PS3 interface is better than the 360 dash is on some killer drugs, and isn't sharing with me.

@believer258 said:

Yeah, the layout is awful and ugly and a major turn-off, but it's still usable. The real issue here - and one that is completely undeniable - is the multitude of people, myself included, complaining about the long fucking load times. Thirty second long boot time? Sure. All right. Thirty seconds for every fucking menu to load? No, no, that's not good. That indicates a massive flaw in your system, and this is no small issue. And some people have reported menu loading issues of more than thirty seconds, sometimes up to two minutes or more just for quickplay to load. Quickplay, people!

Also, obligatory "old thread" comment.

"Quick"play.

Yeah, the layout is awful and ugly and a major turn-off, but it's still usable. The real issue here - and one that is completely undeniable - is the multitude of people, myself included, complaining about the long fucking load times. Thirty second long boot time? Sure. All right. Thirty seconds for every fucking menu to load? No, no, that's not good. That indicates a massive flaw in your system, and this is no small issue. And some people have reported menu loading issues of more than thirty seconds, sometimes up to two minutes or more just for quickplay to load. Quickplay, people!

Also, obligatory "old thread" comment.

RISE FROM YOUR GRAVE!

Anyhow, the "new" dashboard is still awful.

The real issue is that every time Microsoft does anything to update it, everything gets slower and slightly less stable. Booting up my system is starting to take longer and longer, loading netflix or HBO Go is intolerable, and I have had way more crashes since the updates than I used to.

Great stuff.

@Pitta said:

OP - I disagree entirely. I don't personally care about Steam comparisons because I don't pc game anymore for the most part. And ANY version of the Xbox Dash is better than the trash on competing consoles.

Sony's current system is leaps and bounds above the 360's garbage menus, and disavowing Steam's interface because you don't care doesn't support your point. It just makes you look ignorant.

I personally loved the previous version. This new one is meh. I can deal with it till a (hopefully better) new version is out. But, my God, they broke Netflix. Unforgivable.

The new dash is garbage. It caters to the millions of people who went out a bought a the 360+Kinect bundle so that they could go home and see all the wonderful things MS can offer on the 360. Like the Zune marketplace. And Netflix. And the... Today Show?

Anyways, it just feels like the dashboard has evolved into a bunch of stuff thats... nice to have, but doesnt work nearly as well as it should. MS has made it pretty clear that the 360 now does, "this, this and that and oh yeah, you can play some games". Its great that this system can do a million other things than what it did at launch. But why not let us pick what we want on our home screen? I could go on forever about this so i'll just stop now.

The only thing I dislike is the layout of the game marketplace itself. It needs some more TLC. and the new Netflix looks like it was made by a stoned intern.

All the of system level functions on the dash are ALWAYS in the same place. Arguing with OP is exaushting. New dash is great, and best in class. OP is probably just a tech sperg that crows anytime something changes. I encourage anyone with half a brain to use the thing objectively, and process where things are and how the new design language is read.

@BlazeHedgehog said:

@Andorski said:

Not sure if it means much, but I think the newest UI makes a lot more sense than the previous two. In each panel, the most pertinent options (which are usually your content and the marketplace) are on the left side of the screen. That is where the cursor starts at also, so you don't have to move over all the ads in order to select the appropriate option you want. The new layout also displays much more information on the screen compared to the last two NXEs while also feeling less cluttered.

The mini-guide still stands as the best interface on the 360. It has the functionality of the old Blades but with a minimalist design that is more aesthetically pleasing.

But none of the icons look consistent. None of them are in consistent locations. Sometimes they're stylized to look like system functions, sometimes they're stylized to look like ads, sometimes the sorting option you want is on the left side of the screen, sometimes the exact same sorting icon has been moved to the right side of the screen for absolutely no reason. That is the complete opposite of "making sense".

Think of it this way: part of the "fun" (if you can call it that) of learning an interface is memorizing where everything is so that you can get to what you need strictly by muscle memory alone. Forget about keyboard shortcuts for a minute and consider the difference between watching somebody who knows computers copy/paste a file and watching an old person using the computer for the first time copy/paste that same file. Consistency in interface means that the "copy" and "paste" features are in the same place on all menus, allowing you to quickly and easily identify those options and use them with as little effort as possible.

But imagine you're using Windows and every time you open a menu, all of the features were in a completely different order. Instead of "Undo", "Cut", "Copy", "Paste, "Delete", and "Select All" in that order, the next time you open that menu, it's "Delete", "Paste", "Select All", "Copy", "Undo", "Cut", and for some reason, some (but not all!) of the options are now represented by photographs of scissors, glue, and some random girl doing parkour.

That's what's going on here and it's patently ridiculous.

As far as the front end of the UI goes, all the icons look like system functions (as in they are green and contain a symbol rather than a picture of something). In all panels that have a sorting feature, the sorting option is always on the top left (unless there is an app that has the sorting option on the top right; all the apps I have put it top left just like the rest of the UI). In the marketplace is where options to open up sub menus and advertisements can be confused with each other since some options have pictures on them while others are the plain green icon with symbol. It can be befuddling at first, but since they always stay in the same place, then muscle memory will compensate for any visual confusion. Not to mention that all icons, whether it is just a green button with a symbol or a picture that looks like an advertisement, has it's function written at the bottom (e.g. The New Releases icon that is a picture of the 360's power button has "New Releases" written on it; The A to Z icon that is just a green button with A-Z as it's symbol has "A to Z" written on it).

This is where your "Right Click on Windows OS" metaphor is flawed. All options in the marketplace to open up sub-menus stay in the same place. The "Most Popular" sub-menu option for the Add-Ons panel in the Games Marketplace will always be in the top, second-to-the-left position. It's not going to one day move to the bottom left corner. Now, the "A to Z" option in the Movie panel of the Video Marketplace is not in the same position as the "A to Z" option in the Demos panel of the Games Marketplace. That isn't different from how right clicking in Windows works though. Right clicking in this textbox has "Copy" as its fourth option. If I open a .pdf in this browser, then "Copy" is listed as its first option. If I open Microsoft Word and right click, then "Copy" is listed as its second option and has a symbol to the left of it.

Not sure if it means much, but I think the newest UI makes a lot more sense than the previous two. In each panel, the most pertinent options (which are usually your content and the marketplace) are on the left side of the screen. That is where the cursor starts at also, so you don't have to move over all the ads in order to select the appropriate option you want. The new layout also displays much more information on the screen compared to the last two NXEs while also feeling less cluttered.

The mini-guide still stands as the best interface on the 360. It has the functionality of the old Blades but with a minimalist design that is more aesthetically pleasing.

OP - I disagree entirely. I don't personally care about Steam comparisons because I don't pc game anymore for the most part. And ANY version of the Xbox Dash is better than the trash on competing consoles.

OP - I disagree entirely. I don't personally care about Steam comparisons because I don't pc game anymore for the most part. And ANY version of the Xbox Dash is better than the trash on competing consoles.

Not sure if it means much, but I think the newest UI makes a lot more sense than the previous two. In each panel, the most pertinent options (which are usually your content and the marketplace) are on the left side of the screen. That is where the cursor starts at also, so you don't have to move over all the ads in order to select the appropriate option you want. The new layout also displays much more information on the screen compared to the last two NXEs while also feeling less cluttered.

The mini-guide still stands as the best interface on the 360. It has the functionality of the old Blades but with a minimalist design that is more aesthetically pleasing.

While I agree that the square panels can look a bit cluttered, I don't think, on it's own, that the design is bad. 
What's bad is when you compare it to Steam and the XMB; both free, both ad-free, and both with features that the 360 dashboard needs. 

I have no issues with the "ads"... the majority of them are all stuff which is on the marketplace or new features. They are things I want the dashboard to be telling me thats available. Should the bottom right ad really be there? Probably no, but its always muted and honestly doesn't bother me either.

I still "enjoy" using the Xbox's marketplace though more then I ever do PSN's

@BlazeHedgehog: Nah, never, I have had DLC come on discs before, but I just hit the xbox button and go that way to type in the code.

Fuck. It's been a long time since I turned on my 360.

I don't notice it, I boot up my Xbox and click A to start my game up, done.

These complaints are weak. The ad space is used for related content to the tab you ate on for all spaces except the bottom corner labeled 'advertisement'. Home mixes them all, games shows new releases and sales, etc. I love having all that stuff surfaced. It's no different than the previous dash. But it wouldn't be a MS release without someone crying over spilt milk... *sigh*

The blades do not work in 2011. Everyone goes back to them as the pinnacle of great UI layout but considering where the xbox was and not realizing that 'marketplace' would be a huge deal the iterative changes they've made to the blades to compensate to people buying from the marketplace just made it bad.

I don't notice it, I boot up my Xbox and click A to start my game up, done.

These complaints are weak. The ad space is used for related content to the tab you ate on for all spaces except the bottom corner labeled 'advertisement'. Home mixes them all, games shows new releases and sales, etc. I love having all that stuff surfaced. It's no different than the previous dash. But it wouldn't be a MS release without someone crying over spilt milk... *sigh*

@WickedCobra03: The XMB is brilliant.

Its nice that you can start the game without going through a bar of ads, but I am also happy that I own a playstation 3. The cross media bar was and is way better than the xbox 360's dashboard. Way too many ads, too cluttered, and now there is just more of both of them.

I would like to read your ideas comparing the new Xbox dash and the PS3's

The blades sucked. They also never left, so i don't understand why people keep saying they want them back. Hit the guide button and go about your business.

The more I use the new dash, the more I like it.

I'll never be happy until the blades make their triumphant return!

No, seriously, I'm one of like four people on earth that loved the blades.

I'll never be happy until the blades make their triumphant return!

No, seriously, I'm one of like four people on earth that loved the blades.

I'm not a heavy enough 360 user to dissect all your criticisms, but I do agree that the emphasis on selling me stuff instead of showing me the contents of my system is pretty annoying. That said, I kinda of like the layout and feel of the new dash, even if it's not the most efficient.

I would have to agree every new design makes it harder and harder to just get to what matters as far as games go. I don't like that the game section is three to fours taps over and that finding your games is a bit of a chore but it so easy to run into ads and social apps. There are too many options and categories that look the same or have a similar function.

Also why is launching a game and recent games played among the smallest boxes in the ad space. It just seems weird to have these ads boxes mixed in with the systems functions boxes. I like your mock up and layout where a have a one stop place to access all my gaming needs. I just like more defined sections of games, music, video and social i just want to pop into area and feel like all my option related to that area is there.

Anyway i will say its workable but just a little messy for me, i wish that at the very least they should allow gold members to arrange their categories a little to their liking.

The solution to most of this dickery in the old dash was to disable auto-sign in. No ads, no bullshit, disc game highlighted on boot. Then when the game starts it says "hey sign in" and you press A.

Haven't tried the new dash yet, but they put the focus on the game in the drive on startup even when you auto sign-in, and that's good enough for me.

Good write up! But dude seriously, Steam games need to ordered my genre! It's the only way!

I agree wholeheartedly. Each interface revision has had the net effect of being a worse user experience than what came before. More ads, more menus you have to dig through (each of them serving you more ads), far less comfort.

@charlie_victor_bravo said:

You could fit everything one needs to one or two pages if they used the whole screen and not just half of it.

Now this would be a trainwreck. No offense; your heart is in the right place, but this is not good design.

I dunno. People will always find something to hate about something new. It's inevitable. But personally, I feel like the update is net positive. It's not perfect. I'm not going to say it's the best thing ever. But there are more steps forward than steps back.

You could fit everything one needs to one or two pages if they used the whole screen and not just half of it.

This thread should be locked.

For me it's faster to navigate. Every tab loads up faster (especially the system section), and having it started on "play game" is great. That's enough for me to say that this is an improvement over the last one.

You can't have a "slight" trainwreck. That's like saying "a minor holocaust."

I press (A).

I press (A) again.

I play my game.

@Sooty said:

@Claude said:

I like it. My Xbox 360 seems to boot up a lot faster and then I just click and play. My Xbox 360 also seems to boot up the game if I place the disk in the drive before the dashboard loads up. The last dashboard would always send my to an advert first.

The old dashboard did that too, but you had to turn the console on, eject the tray, wait a few seconds and then close, then it would load the game skipping the dash.

Oh heck, I didn't know that.

The Adverts need to go, I do not care if they want to have one on the games tab to shows whats on special this week, that's fine. I do not need to know about new cars and or anything else on any other screen on the dash!.

@Claude said:

I like it. My Xbox 360 seems to boot up a lot faster and then I just click and play. My Xbox 360 also seems to boot up the game if I place the disk in the drive before the dashboard loads up. The last dashboard would always send my to an advert first.

The old dashboard did that too, but you had to turn the console on, eject the tray, wait a few seconds and then close, then it would load the game skipping the dash.

I like it. My Xbox 360 seems to boot up a lot faster and then I just click and play. My Xbox 360 also seems to boot up the game if I place the disk in the drive before the dashboard loads up. The last dashboard would always send my to an advert first.

The new dash is inferior in like every single way. It definitely sucks.

Beacon is a neat feature, but kind of pointless.

Edit: Ultimately I don't really care, but it does seem a step back. I don't understand why they bothered putting Bing there.

Its a business, obnoxious advertising is a part of it.

It's my favorite one, that middle panel is used to show off the new shit that's for sale like new games, movies, and music. I see no problem with seeing the highlights in the marketplace. People always have to be overly-dramatic like the people who flood your Facebook news feed with bitching and whining every time Facebook changes the layout.

@Strud said:

I've been using the new dashboard for about a month. I don't have a problem with the new design - it is much better in many ways. It is quite easy to ignore the adverts but I like to know what is new on the XBLive service so reading them is useful. Surprisingly, I find Kinect voice commands the easiest way to navigate, especially when you learn the options.

Im thinking about getting a Kinect just to play around with the voice stuff and go all minority report with my menus. Im with you, I really like the new dash and I don't even pay attention to the ads. My eyes are drawn to the mostly solid colored blocks that represent all my content, so I go right past the ads.

I've been using the new dashboard for about a month. I don't have a problem with the new design - it is much better in many ways. It is quite easy to ignore the adverts but I like to know what is new on the XBLive service so reading them is useful. Surprisingly, I find Kinect voice commands the easiest way to navigate, especially when you learn the options.

Nice Shelley reference.

When have you heard about two trains that have only slighty hit each other