May 13 - 7:50pm EDT   Microsoft may be readying a new slimmer version of its popular Xbox 360 gaming console. According to a report, Microsoft is bringing a skinnier, faster and less-costly Xbox 360 to market by the fall of 2009. In its quest to make the console quieter, cooler and faster, Microsoft has already begun updating its components, with an interim update due by this August. If true, the thorough redesign would likely involve an "all-in-one" Valhalla chip and manufacturing of the necessary components would begin early next year, the report said. The updated machine would not only be slimmer, but may be also re-branded with a newer, unique name. [full story]

May 8 - 12:50pm EDT   An improved Xbox 360 platform should arrive late this year, according to a Taiwanese publication. Industry news source CENS says that Microsoft has already begun contracting out the production of 65nm chips, which should form a part of the console's Jasper revision, said to be due in August. The timing is also said to be related to the depletion of chips for the current 360 design, dubbed Falcon. The Falcon's main processor uses 65nm technology, but most other components -- notably the graphics processor -- are built using 90nm manufacturing. A still superior design called the Valhalla is expected in fall of 2009. [full story]

February 15 - 4:05pm EST   Microsoft is prepping a major internal redesign of the Xbox 360 that will be both cooler and less expensive, according to a report from a historically accurate source. Nicknamed "Valhalla," the processor design will not only move both the IBM-built three-core processor and the ATI graphics to a more efficient 65 nanometer process (down from 90 nanometers) but will merge them into a single chip. The change will not only reduce the heat issues that have affected the console but also reduce the cost and noise of the Xbox: only one smaller, primary cooling system will be necessary, says the claim. [full story]