One of my biggest gripes with Xbox Live is an inability to remotely add someone to your friends list.
Though Microsoft has seemingly ditched "Live Anywhere," users have made their own XBL applications. But Microsoft hasn't allowed them to manipulate friends lists -- until now.
1337pwn is one of several XBL applications; we've featured it before. It's available natively for iPhones, through the web, and for Blackberries. 1337pwn operator Det Ansinn tells me there's hope in sight. Microsoft recently made a change to their website that makes adding friends remotely possible.
"It's not elegant, but I think that we can get it working," said Ansinn. "If I can't get it solid, it won't make the cut. It's being worked on."
Not a guarantee, but it's something. I'll let you know if Ansinn's team succeeds.
Related Posts
Testing An iPhone Answer To Xbox ‘Live Anywhere’
Xbox Live On-The-Go Remains At Microsoft’s Whim, Says App Developer
I already told you why I didn't have much use for 1337pwn's otherwise impressive Xbox Live application for iPhone: no friend requests.
That's not because 1337pwn doesn't want to include the feature, though. The application's creator, Det Ansinn, told Multiplayer over e-mail that Microsoft won't let them.
As it stands, members of Microsoft's Xbox Live Community Developer Program can pull information from gamertags, but can't access an individual's Windows Live account. No Windows Live access, no way to actually make changes (i.e. add a friend) to an XBL account.
"You would think that Microsoft would be pushing towards more social networking features," said Ansinn, "but they appear to be on a conservative feature track at the moment. I was optimistic when they released the 'friend of a friend' and bio functionality [in the last XBL update]. However, not much has happened since then."
For now, Ansinn and his team of 15 at BrickSimple have to work within Microsoft's boundaries. While limiting, he points out some crucial reasons it may be some time before Microsoft allows third-parties to access Windows Live.
Read more...
Xbox 360 Live Anywhere may be off Microsoft's radar, but gamers haven't forgotten.
I was recently tipped off to a web and mobile application that realizes one of Live Anywhere's greatest promises: monitoring a friend's Xbox Live activity on the go.
The application is found on 1337pwn.com and can reside on your Mac dashboard, iPhone and iPod Touch, Blackberry, Palm-powered phone or directly through the browser.
I've been looking for a mobile application like this, so I booted the iPhone version. Here's how it went...
Read more...
At the Microsoft's press briefing at E3 2006, Bill Gates came on stage to introduce Live Anywhere, an ambitious company initiative to integrate the Xbox 360 experience into everyday life via mobile phones.
Nearly two years later, Live Anywhere has yet to materialize.
Is Live Anywhere dead? Here's what Xbox Live exec. John Schappert (who took the stage for Microsoft's keynote at GDC this year) told Multiplayer in an e-mailed statement:
"We continue to make progress against the vision laid out for LIVE Anywhere and remain committed to building out the network that connects you to your games, your friends and your entertainment in a variety of ways. The work we have done furthering the Xbox LIVE experience, including the launch of Games for Window – LIVE as well as integration with XNA and Zune, are examples of the many ways this original vision can come to life. We look forward to sharing more details on this in the future."
With iPhone's SDK on the horizon and the continued proliferation of Facebook applications -- including one to tag profiles with Xbox 360 gamertags -- we wondered what happened to the once-promising Live Anywhere. The impressive demonstrations from years back have seemingly remained nothing more than that: demos.
Read more...
