Microsoft today announced at their E3 press conference that the Xbox 360 software, also called dashboard, will get updated in fall. One of the new features will be an improved Gamercard which, as of now, only includes your photo and some stats about you and your games. This feature will get overhauled in fall by an avatar system which also will make it more prominent in the user interface.

From Engadget/Joystiq coverage:

The new look and feel is more fun, more social, and simpler to use. You’ll have a Gamercard, but there’s also something new… it’ll be more personal with avatars. Express your personality and style, share it with your community and friends. … pants, shirts, hats… everything you need, it’s all here.
[..]
Create, share, and have fun with all of your friends… but avatars are just the beginning. The new Xbox is tailored for the living room. Here we are at the community channel — instead of a list of friends, you actually see them. You can chat with or send messages to your friends, but there’s something new: create a Live party, private groups of up to 8 people, always connected and chatting as a party.

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(First off, I saw this coming but didn’t think it’d actually get me.)

So, today we showed the new Xbox Video Store on our show. I decided to take my harddisk with me as we were showing more than just the store. I took just the disk, because I didn’t want to carry the whole system - why would I. I guess you already know what’s about to happen.

To show the video quality I bought rented “300″ in HD. I knew I was just renting it rather than really owning it. So we played the video on the show for about 20 seconds. The DRM on it lets you finish watching it in 24 hours after playing the file for the first time. So I thought, buy rent and play it after 3pm so I can watch the file tomorrow morning before work.

Well I got home, put the disk on my own Xbox and - well - the license “expired”. I guess you’re not supposed to take your own harddisk around. Why’s that? I’m not copying or - god forbid - sharing it online in any shape or form, I’m just putting it on another Xbox - my Xbox for that matter. I hate this DRM scheme. iTunes’ DRM at least lets me copy my videos and songs on different iPods and/or PCs/Macs at a time. Unnecessary to say that iPods are much more shareable than my Xbox drive. This was the first and probably last time I spent money on the Xbox Video Store. I really should have known better. Shame on you if you fool me once, shame on me if you fool me twice…