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Overnight at MWC in Barcelona there was two interesting tidbits of news related to the Xbox 360.  Yes, it is still alive and well and given the game incompatibility between it and the Xbox One, you can expect they will be around for a long time to come.  The first bit of news was the announcement of a new Xbox 360 Preview program.  This, like the one for the Xbox One, will bring preview (beta) bits to the console.  Invited customers will be able to sign up directly from their Xbox 360.  Starting this month invitations will be sent out and you can sign up.  What this not however is Windows 10.  While Microsoft is saying more changes are coming later this year to the 360, there is no indication whatsoever that it will be updated to Windows 10 like the Xbox One will be once it is released.  Could that change? Of course, but frankly I don’t see it happening given the emphasis and focus on the Xbox One platform.

Xbox Live Gold – $59.99 – Microsoft Store

This weekend at MWC, HP announced the all new Spectre x360 ultra sleek notebooks powered by Windows 8.1.  Now you can order yours on the HP Online Store starting at just $899.  This new lineup has been seeing some raving comments from those in attendance in Barcelona for the sleek design and look of the Spectre x360.  When it was announced this weekend there was some question as to when it would be available.  Those questions are answered it seems as both the i5 and i7 versions of it are now available for order.

Spectre X360 Ultra Sleek Notebooks – Starting at $899 – HP Online Store

For the first time Microsoft has clearly laid out the Windows 10 Universal App development methodology.  In an event held at Mobile World Congress today and then followed up by a blog post on the Windows blog, the company outlines how developers will have access to a streamlined development process aimed at bringing Windows to virtually any device with minimal modifications to code.  Further, there is one single Windows Store for everything and development of applications will be driven off an adaptive user interface.  The information in the blog post is dense and if you are not a developer you may not understand all of the concepts.  Still, give it a read.  You will get a peak into the thought processes Redmond has around Windows 10, development for that platform and the future of everything running Windows.

With the announcements of the Lumia 640 and Lumia 640XL this morning at Mobile World Congress, one of the first questions that came up was when or if we would see these in the US market.  The answer came almost as quickly as the announcements themselves.  AT&T has issued a Press Release stating that they will carry the Lumia 640 and will be the first US carrier to have the Lumia 640XL in their lineup.  While pricing and release dates were not a part of the announcement, you can expect them to be here pretty soon given that Microsoft announced they are available this month.