Microsoft has given the press a limited preview of some of the new features that will be coming to the Xbox 360 dashboard, and while the Twitter and Last.fm functionality has yet to arrive, what is there points to a rosy future for the 360 as a media box... not to mention a more friendly platform for advertising. Let's take a look at the changes coming to the system.

Netflix is now browsable, without an extra computer

One of the nicest additions to the service is the ability to browse the content available via Netflix. Streaming Netflix content on your 360 used to require a computer or laptop to fill your queue, but will soon be able browse movies directly from the system—a much-needed update.

You can also share content with your friends in a virtual movie theater, where your Avatars watch the same film or TV show, as long as everyone has Netflix. I'm not sure how many people want to see movies together with your virtual friends, but hey, it's there. Netflix is now also more adaptable to "changing network conditions." You also have the ability to see what your friends are watching, or you can choose to hide that information.

Netflix is much easier to use on the Xbox 360, and content is likewise simple to find and watch. If you liked the Netflix feature before, be prepared to fall in love.

Rate games, spiff up your avatar

Combing through arcade games and content used to be something of a pain, but now you can rate every game, every add-on, every arcade release, and likewise arrange games by rating. Right now Geometry Wars Evolved has 78 ratings, showing four and a half stars. That's a game worth checking out! Bankshot Billiards 2, on the other hand, shows 22 ratings with an average of two and a half stars... you may be safe skipping that one.

While putting too much stock in user-controlled ratings may not be wise, they certainly give you another data point when browsing titles, and could help to separate the good stuff from the junk. With so much content on Xbox Live, every little bit helps. The system is also granular, meaning that a game is rated, as well as its add-on content. That way users can send the message that a certain game is great, but a $5 update that adds bigger breasts to the NPCs is rather lame.

One annoying issue? When you select "top rated" under Game Add-Ons, it gives you the top rated games, not the content. I would have loved to have seen what content was top rated, but the system apparently isn't set up to share that sort of information. For instance, I know that Mass Effect is a highly rated game, but that shouldn't make it jump to the top of the charts in Game Add-ons when the Bring Down the Sky content has zero ratings. Disappointing.

You can also now check out the expanded store for clothing and accessories for your Avatar, although there isn't much there to see yet. You can browse through branded clothing from Halo 3 or Fable 2, or simply pick up some Steampunk duds. How does 80 Microsoft points for Black Boots sound? Or 160 points for a Halo Hoodie? The concept of real money for fake goods is nothing new, and with Microsoft using Avatars for more and more content, this sort of for-pay add-ons may catch on faster than many expect.

Indie games, Games on Demand, and other updates

Community Games have now been rebranded as Independent Games, and with the aforementioned ratings, are now much easier to browse to find good games. The new name, matched with user ratings, should do much to make this area of Xbox Live much more popular.

There is a slot for Games on Demand, but we've been told the 360 games won't be available until a later preview closer to August.

The rest of the updates may sound unremarkable when taken individually, but as a group they add much usability to the system. Party invites are now one-click affairs, and if you become disconnected you're automatically reinstated into the party. This now a badge showing how long you've been an Xbox Live subscriber, and you can get a feel for how many achievements you've earned with new graphical information. Console settings have also be re-organized to be easier to use.

The only issue is that, at least in the preview build given to the press, the responsiveness of the dashboard has been severely compromised. The 360 runs slllloooowww at the moment, with frequent pauses and stutters between windows. I'm sure that's an issue with what may be unfinished code, but at the moment the system can be frustratingly unresponsive.

Buying full games with real cash, not points, as well as Twitter, Last.fm, and Facebook functionality will be coming in future updates, but so far we like what we see. If you'd like to take the update for a test drive yourself, sign up for the testing program; Microsoft is allowing a good amount of gamers to explore the new options.