If you are one of the million or so Xbox Live users who were banned from the service, things aren’t as bad as we thought. Some modders are working on a solution that will revert the firmware to a state that is nearly the same as the stock firmware. Hopefully the end result means that you’ll be able to use your console again and not have to buy a new one.

Right now two fixes are being worked on: the iXtremeLT and one from Xbox-Scene. The first isn’t ready yet, and the latter works, but you should be aware, it is very complex.

Xbox 360 owners who have been banned from Microsoft’s Xbox Live service are out of luck. Completely out of luck. Those of you who have been banned will need to purchase a whole new console if you ever want to get back into the online action.

Microsoft says that banned machines will be permanently barred and “unable to connect to Xbox Live” as affected consoles do not have any recourse for terms of use violations. Like it or not, that’s the word. Those banned add up to about a million gamers missing from Xbox Live.

Rumors have been swirling for the past couple of days, and it looks like the rumors were real. This weekend, Walmart is kicking off their pre-Black Friday deals, including a $199 Xbox 360 Arcade that comes with a free $100 gift card. That basically drops the price to $100.

And that isn’t the only good deal they have either. The sale starts at 8 a.m. Nov. 7 and lasts through Nov. 13. Probably these deals will be finished on the first day. I know where I’ll be

Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer may have inadvertently tipped off some plans for an external Blu-ray drive for the Xbox 360. He’s doubtful that it will ever be built-in but he tells Gizmodo that an external Blu-ray drive will be an option. He doesn’t go into detail but is unexpectedly confident that the hardware is enroute.

Company spokespeople asked about it wouldn’t confirm or deny, but do say that immediate plans focus on 1080p streaming video through the upcoming Zune Video Marketplace on the Xbox.

Good news and bad news. The good news is that the Xbox 360 Wireless N Adapter will be available on November 3rd. The bad news is that it will cost you $100 to get your Xbox 360 online using it.

Yep, looks like that $100 rumored price we heard about awhile back is right on target, according to GameStop. I don’t think they are going to sell very many at that price. Is this Microsoft trying to offset the recent price drop of the console itself?

You don’t see a blue Xbox 360 controller everyday, now do ya? And surprisingly, it looks pretty sweet in that color. For just $30 you can get this Blue Blood Xbox 360 controller kit from XCM, which includes a blue shell and D-pad with some glowing LED buttons.

It’s a beautiful thing in electric blue. If nothing else, it should impress your friends, who don’t have one. The only problem is that now it won’t match your Xbox 360’s color. Oh well, I think I could live with that.

Arstechnica has a mole. No, it’s not as bad as it sounds. It doesn’t chew up the house or dig in the yard or anything, or hang off Cindy Crawford’s face. It just hands them info now and again. According to that mole, the updated 802.11n wireless adapter will be $100.

The older G adapter will drop down to $80. Still pretty expensive when you compare it to regular Wi-Fi adapters, but whatever. The new adapter has the ability to stream 1080p video and is tied to Microsoft’s upcoming Zune video store update to Xbox Live later this year.

Microsoft has confirmed the 802.11n adapter for the Xbox 360. Which is great and all, but that’s about it. No mention of price or a launch date. The big M did say that the adapter will offer “another choice to consumers,” which probably means that the original adapter will be around for a while, probably for a cheaper price.

So it’s confirmed, but that’s about all we’ve got. We pretty much knew that already. We’ll let you know more when we know more.

This black and red X-Box 360 Controller reminds us of Thrustmaster’s Ferrari controllers, without all of the logos. If your X-Box 360 could use a little flair, why not get this bold controller.

It’s an official release from Microsoft and will be available on October 15th. This would go well with the all black X-Box Elite or even the Resident Evil console. The X-Box 360 Controller & Charger retails for $69.99 at GameStop. Looks kinda spider-like.

We’ve been waiting for this one for some time now. An 802.11n adapter for our Xbox 360. It cleared the FCC and has now appeared on a flyer inside a Gears of War 2 Game of the Year edition box in Italy.

The guys at Joystiq think that this might indicate that both the original 802.11a/b/g and 802.11n adapter might co-existence in the same market, and who knows, maybe a price cut for the expensive original. All we can do is wait and see.

Modern Warfare 2 fans have something else to smile about. Infinity Ward has confirmed Microsoft’s plans for a 250GB Xbox 360 Elite with details of a special bundle for the game. The Modern Warfare 2 Limited Edition bundle includes the mentioned added capacity along with a custom paint job on the console. There’s also two wireless gamepads and of course the game itself.

The bundle should already be available for pre-order for $399, which is a great buy when you price each of the items separately. No word on when the console will hit stores. Microsoft also isn’t saying whether it will have any other 250GB versions.

Oh Special Edition Beatles Rock Band Xbox 360, I want to hold your hand. Uh, controller. This Xbox 360 console is a beauty. I don’t care if the walrus was Paul or John, I just want this. Even though it would cost small fortune.

Proceeds from the auction will go to Doctors Without Borders. This rare Xbox 360 was custom made to honor the Fab Four and will go on sale this holiday season on eBay. Each console will be numbered and come with illustrations straight from the intro for “The Beatles: Rock Band.”

As expected, the rumors were true. This Friday, the Xbox 360 Elite will drop $100 to $300 with no HDMI cable included. While the mid-range 360 Pro will drop down to $250 from $300. The Pro will also be phased-out at this price.

Then there’s the $300 120GB Elite and the $200 Arcade, which comes with five games and 256MB memory. Let the war begin. Sony’s new PS3 Slim is the same price as the Xbox Elite. And the 80GB and 160GB PS3s are now cut to $300 and $400.

Turtle Beach has introduced a new gaming headset for the Xbox 360. The third-generation Ear Force X41 features digital RF wireless CD-quality sound, 3-D positional audio and an advanced chat booster. This good looking headset is also compatible with other gaming consoles and can even be used as a home-theater accessory. The adjustable boom microphone is removable, keeping it out of the way when you’re not using XBOX LIVE chat.

This headset also features Dolby Pro Logic IIx and digital 2.4 GHz RF wireless technology for low-latency, uncompressed, CD-quality sound without background hiss and other interference.

Sorry PS3 and Wii, no Netflix streaming for you. Today we learn that Netflix streaming won’t land on Sony’s PlayStation 3 or Nintendo’s Wii (Not counting PlayOn). Ever. How do we know? Because at the bottom of Microsoft’s details on today’s Xbox LIVE update, it now states that Netflix Watch Instantly integration is now an “exclusive partnership,” with Microsoft.

It even says that the “Xbox 360 will be the only game console to offer this movie-watching experience, available to Xbox LIVE Gold members who are also Netflix unlimited plan subscribers.” Who knew that the Microsoft guys had the foresight to lock things down so quickly? Netflix could still find it’s way to other consoles in some form, but this sounds pretty definitive to us.