If you're one of the lucky ones and have
managed to get your hands on a 360, you've probably hooked
it up to Xbox Live and watched as notifications flood the screen every time a friend signs on. While you can
turn these off, online status isn't
all there is to the new Xbox Live friend-tracking system.
Using an original Xbox, you can view your friends list to see which game each friend is playing. If it's the same game
as you, you may be able to see more information—such as, in Halo 2, who they're playing with and what they're
playing. Now, even if you don't have a 360, you can sign in to Xbox.com and view your
online friends list to see what they're up to and when
they were last online.
However, it doesn't stop there. Not only can you see whether your friends are winning or losing from your online
friends list, you can invoke their profile using your 360 console to find out a lot more. Are they viewing pictures?
Playing music? Downloading? What's their score so far? Imagine our surprise as voice messages flood in regarding the
puny points achieved in our current game of
Hexic. Especially for those with well-publicised
gamertags, the "appear offline" functionality grows in appeal. It's nice to keep track of close friends, but do you
want the random people you played with once knowing your every move?
Engadget
TUAW