Yes. The XNA Framework runtime environment for Xbox 360 requires that a physical hard drive be present on your Xbox 360 retail console.

Debugging on the console is supported through a remote debugging connection from a Windows desktop running XNA Game Studio Express.

The hard drive for the Xbox 360 is removable so can be used on another person's Xbox 360 however it is not as small or as portable as a memory card which can be kept on a key chain. The Memory card slots into one of the two Memory Card slots on the front of the console.

Yes, but the Xbox harddrive is only 8GB, and you can only save about 4GB worth of data to the harddrive, so it's not THAT useful. Some people do a mod to the Xbox to swap in a larger harddrive, up to 320GBs.

Just like in the previous generation, utilisation of things like Xbox Live and the Hard Drive will be up to the game designers, game developers have also been informed that some scenarios will include a disconnected hard drive.

Yes, but only video downloaded from the Xbox Live Marketplace or preloaded on the Xbox, not your own videos.

In a special chat held after the Xbox 360 price announcement, J Allard said: We think game designers have all kinds of innovative ideas that the hard drive will be used for. Use of the hard drive is not limited to game scenarios. Like Xbox 1 you will be able to do things like rip and store music and don't forget about live scenarios and all the downloadable content.

We want to expand the Xbox experience to different audiences. By offering choice to consumers we allow consumers the flexibility to enter the immersive, high definition world of Xbox 360 gaming and build toward the complete Xbox 360 entertainment experience.

Yes. Game designers will have all kinds of innovative ideas that the hard drive will be used for. Use of the hard drive is not just limited to game scenarios. Like the original Xbox you will be able to do things like rip and store music, plus Xbox Live scenarios and downloadable content.

On Windows, you'll be able to develop, test and distribute software created with XNA Game Studio Express for free. When you sign up for the nominally priced annual subscription to XNA Game Studio Express for Xbox 360, you'll be able to write a game on Windows, then send it to your Xbox 360 to test and enjoy. Eventually, you'll be able to distribute that code to other Xbox 360s, opening up a unique publishing avenue which will democratize game development on consoles.

Xbox is the next generation in video games systems. It is equipped with the newest and most powerful in graphic and audio hardware, has a hard drive for saving game data, and is designed from its inception to be ready for broadband online gaming. This way Xbox empowers game artists by giving them the technology to fulfill their creative visions as never before, creating games that blur the lines between fantasy and reality.

The install guide suggests that if I still want to play games, I should install linux with dual boot functionality. My understanding of this is that I would then be booting linux from an xbox dash (Avalaunch in my case). If this is the case would I be still be able to play backed-up games through avalaunch? I would have though this to be an obvious yes, but the FAQ says the following:

The Xbox 360 hard drive is a 2.5" hard drive, similar to those found in notebooks. The hard drive that you buy for your PC are 3.5". Considering that notebook parts are always more expensive than desktop PC components, it is reasonable that the Xbox 360 hard drive costs more than a desktop PC hard drive of the same size.

No, you need no external hardware to enjoy Xbox 360 games in high definition. The only “extra” thing you’ll need is either the Xbox 360 Component HD AV Cable or the Xbox 360 VGA HD AV Cable.

Microsoft Game Studios is bringing Perfect Dark Zero, Kameo, and Project Gotham Racing 3 to Xbox 360 this holiday. Also exclusive to Xbox 360 is Call of Duty 2 from Activision, Inc., and QUAKE 4, which they developed with id Software. You'll also see Dead or Alive 4 from Tecmo and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion from Bethesda Softworks/2K Games, among many others.

The Xbox 360 will use DVD-9, the standard dual-layer DVD used in the Xbox. This is the currently announced format for games, HD-DVD is supported via the HD-DVD Add-on drive (sold seperatly) but this is for High Definition Movies only and not games.

No. The Xbox 360 is at least slightly easier to develop for. The whole PS3 architecture is quite different from anything of the past, so programmers will need some time to get a grasp of the hardware fully. That's not to say that it's too hard to develop games for the PS3, but the Xbox 360 is easier to develop for initially.

To upgrade your hard drive you will need a xbox mod chip installed and a copy of the EvoX cd or dvd. It has an hard drive rebuild option for upgraded large hard drives. When its has finished installing reboot and that all you need to do.