In February of 2003, planning for the Xenon software platform began, and was headed by Microsoft VP J Allard.
Microsoft's retail strategy involves two different configurations of the Xbox 360: the Xbox 360 SKU, frequently referred to as the Xbox 360 Premium Package and an Xbox 360 Core System SKU.
Since Microsoft owns the intellectual property rights to the hardware used in the Xbox 360, they can easily switch to new fabrication processes or change suppliers in the future to reduce costs.
The console's graphical user interface is the Xbox 360 Dashboard; a tabbed interface that features four "Blades".
Microsoft XNA also includes other components such as the XNA Framework and XNA Build. Anyone can develop a game using XNA Game Studio Express, an IDE for homebrew developers, which was initially released in beta form on August 30, 2006.
Updated emulation profiles can be obtained through Xbox Live, by burning a CD with profiles downloaded from Xbox.com, or by ordering an update disc from Microsoft.
While the first Xbox's graphics processing unit was produced by NVIDIA, the Xbox 360 uses a chip designed by ATI called Xenos.
Xenos contains 48 unified shader units, which are capable of both vertex and pixel shading operations. This is in contrast to older graphics processor designs which utilize separate specialized units for these tasks.
