Don't get too excited, it's not a new console or a new motherboard.  Just a run of the mill patch update for the 360's firmware.  According to Major Nelson a new system update for the XBOX 360 last night.  There are no additional features and is meant to kill off some gremlins that are in the system.  You can read the official release information on Major Nelson's blog but members on the xbox-scene forums are reporting smoother match-making services and a generally better experience with Xbox Live play with titles such as Call of Duty: World at War.

Don't be a homer, wait if you're not running legit!

This update obviously has those with modified consoles worried; however, there has yet to be any credible reports of Xbox Live bans being dealt as a direct result of the update.  For those of you that has modified firmware on your Xbox 360's, I would, as always, advise waiting for a little while before updating your consoles if you value its ability to go onto Xbox Live.  Mircosoft has traditionally used these updates to "mark" consoles with modified firmware and then issue a wave of bans all at once.

Of course there is no other reason to modify your Xbox 360 other than to pirate games, unlike the original Xbox where you could use it as a media center.  Modifications of the firmware in the console is what Microsoft looks for, so if you took advantage of our Xbox 360 Hard Drive upgrade guide, you should be fine.  To follow the development of this update on the mod community, check out the Xbox-Scene forums.