I like NXE, but I will have to agree with bokvamme. NXE is slower. It sometimes crashes when I bring up the Dash in game. Netflix through NXE is "temperarily" down at least 3 times out of every 4 I try to boot it up. NXE still has a lot to be ironed out, but I think it is a step in the right direction, esp the choice to install games to the HDD.

I wonder if these issues are isolated by regions?  In the midwest (Indiana, so actually more Central US), neither myself nor any of my friends on Live (which are mostly from Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, and Kentucky) have experienced these Netflix issues or slowness.  I experienced slowness and occasional 20 second freezes during the first week after the NXE was released, but after that I have not had any issues.

Same here, NXE froze twice during the first day and that was it. now everything works perfectly. 

I think that people have these problems because of either really slow internet, or they don't live in the U.S

Well I have no problem with my internet here in California. I can easily watch Netflix from my computer. I also have no problem watching Hulu on my 360 using PlayOn either. And I don't see why Live would have anything to do with the Dash in game, though it could. Maybe it could be a bottle neck somewhere, there might be a possiblity that M$ routs different parts of the country through differen servers.

That would be my guess.  Although, if the servers for the west coast are having issues, you'd think they would be working harder to improve it.  Or it could just be your Xbox for some reason.  I know my first Xbox was really odd where every now and then my NAT would be Strict for no reason, or I would not be able to connect to LIVE.. Then I would just run the "Test Xbox Live Connection" and it would fix everything.  Random, right?

i don't think its declined, but its never been as good as people claim. I find more lag on live than PSN when playing online.

I never use MSN and I don't have a windows computer :.)

        I was just wondering why they put up a 4 month old demo as a new one.  It could be because they're trying to give the game more promotion in an era when its freer of the critical bias that kept it down during its August release period.  On the other hand, I think there are several games that have come out since August that don't have demos that a lot of people would like a chance to try out  instead.

       I have an excellent education.  Why I am unemployed, etc, is a long unrelated story.  Suffice it to say, I had a few bad days that turned into a few bad years as Tom Waits says in his concert film Big Time, and it has a bit to do with having a criminal record, no credit, no well-placed living connections, and no references.

May be they feel they just got a bunch of new blood and want to promote old games. Or could be someone just flip the wrong switch.

Certainly US Xbox owners get a better service!

If you login at xbox.com (US not international) you will get access to more content, Netflix for starters and better presentation.

Typically there are frequent competitions only open to US residents, don't think there have ever been any real competitions (with comparable prizes) in the UK.

The Top Stories section is better presented and will usually include more items.

On the 360 the NXE is fairly similar apart from Netflix. The different layout and structure can be a bit odd to find everything but its all there.

Generally I like it much more, it looks great and the new features work well. I have occasional hickups with service quality, sometimes the dashboard takes ages to load and then is prone to freezes or display problems!

Lag in games is typically down to the various servers running then rather than xbox live.

I'm not surprised that there is not much going on this time of year but I would like to see more things happening with the service that I AM PAYING FOR!