Everything Starts And Ends At The Xbox Dashboard

If you’ve just purchased an Xbox 360 and find it hard to navigate yourself to and fro and perform a particular function, the first thing you should understand about your new gaming unit is the Xbox Dashboard. The Xbox Dashboard is what a nucleus is to an atom: it’s the brain or control center of the whole unit.

The Xbox Dashboard has four integral parts, all of which will be explained to you one by one.

Part One: Xbox Live

At this section of the Xbox Dashboard, you can view and modify your gamer profile to ensure that the performance and features of the Xbox 360 will be to your own specifications. This feature is nonetheless also accessible in the other parts of the Xbox Dashboard.

The Xbox Live is the point of interaction of your Xbox 360 as this is where you can send and receive messages from friends who have a Xbox 360 as well. Similar to the messenger list of Yahoo and other online networks, you can check, add, and delete people to your friends list. If you are playing a multiplayer game, use Xbox Live to invite other players to play with you.

Lastly, this segment is also where you can gain access to the Xbox Live Marketplace and purchase add-ons to increase the entertainment value of your Xbox 360.

Part Two: Games

The Xbox Live Marketplace can also be accessed through this section of the Xbox Dashboard but only so you can try the demos provided for the various games and add-ons being sold. You can also watch game videos from the Marketplace and through this section as well.

The Xbox Games section also allows you to check out the various games available for downloading from the Xbox Live Arcade. Lastly, the Xbox Games section will provide you with the list of games that you have already played – a great feature if you’re fond of comparing notes with other players.

Part Three: Media

The media section of your Xbox Dashboard is, as its name already suggests, the media control unit of your gaming unit. This is where you should go in order to listen to your favorite music and view photos or videos in various formats. This can be connected to a desktop’s Window Media to obtain access to other online services.


Part Four: System

Lastly, the system section of your Xbox dashboard will allow you to change, add, remove, and modify settings and controls that affect your gaming experience.