


In scrolling from left to right, each section would have a different-colored background signifying its own unique area but users also had the option to change all sections to one background color as well. Originally there were five tabs or sections known as the "blades" for the Xbox 360 menu, namely the Marketplace, Xbox live, Games, Media and System. There were premium themes available for purchase on the Xbox Live Marketplace apart from the default styles. In system, the Xbox 360 Dashboard had the ability to have multiple profiles with password on the same console with each user being able to customize the dashboard to exactly fit their own unique style. The ability to customize the way the console looked with various themes to fit the front and sides of it was something very different for home console users. Having the advantage of the lead, Microsoft was able to experiment with various customization options for the consumer's individual consoles. Microsoft released the Xbox 360 console on November 22, 2005, a whole year earlier than both the Sony PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii. Following the success of Xbox One preview program launched in 2014, in March 2015, Microsoft announced the Xbox 360 preview program to the public. With the exception of a few early apps, Microsoft has added partners to develop apps for the Xbox 360 system since the New Xbox Experience (NXE) Dashboard update in 2008. But as of the 6.0 update, most apps do not require an Xbox Live Gold Subscription to access them, although the app may have its own subscription to be able to use it. Most apps required the user to be signed into a valid Xbox Live Gold account in order to use the features advertised for the given app. The Xbox 360 game system allows users to download applications that add to the functionality of the dashboard. Microsoft has also provided the ability to download system software updates from their respective official Xbox website to their PCs and then storage media, from which the update can be installed to the system. The updates can be downloaded from the Xbox Live service directly to the Xbox 360 and subsequently installed. The system software has access to a maximum of 32 MB of the system's Random Access Memory. However, starting with the NXE Update, more storage became a requirement, rectified by either having a Hard Drive installed, or one of the later revisions of the console with adequate flash storage embedded within the console. It formerly resided in a 16 MB file system. The Xbox 360 system software or the Xbox 360 Dashboard is the updateable software and operating system for the Xbox 360.
