The Usual Places Modcast - Episode 3: Marco Micheletti

In this episode, we discuss Skye's new developments with hard drive unlocking, progress on the all-digital open Xbox HDMI project, "OXHD", with its author Harcroft, and we welcome our special guest, Marco Micheletti, to tell us about his time working at Microsoft as the Supply Chain Program Manager at Xbox.
Marco tells us about prototype projects he worked on, including the Orange Halo Xbox, producing the Xbox jewels, and how he arrived in his role back in the early days of his career.
In this episode, we welcome these speakers (in order of
appearance):
• Scotch
• Haguero
• Skye
• Harcroft
• Marco Micheletti
Topics:
• 00:00:05 Introduction and Welcome
• 00:01:05 Xbox One Bootrom
• 00:02:26 PrometheOS Updates
• 00:03:35 Skye News Unlocking Western Digital Drives
• 00:08:54 OXHD Progress with Harcroft
• 00:11:01 Marco Micheletti Introduction
• 00:21:34 Rockets to Plastics
• 00:25:26 Xbox's Uncertain Success
• 00:30:03 Influence on Design
• 00:38:53 A Very Expensive Coffee Table
• 00:35:14 Problematic Components
• 00:36:08 Challenging Jewel Production
• 00:38:35 Prototype Stamped Jewel
• 00:39:49 Kentucky Factory
• 00:44:36 Working with Imation
• 00:48:33 Experimental Jewels
• 00:51:28 First Batch Arrives at Microsoft
• 00:56:36 Orange Halo Edition Xbox Consoles
• 01:00:01 Dark Crystal (Japanese edition)
• 01:03:32 Glow in the Dark Variation
• 01:04:00 Pearlescent Variation
• 01:04:58 Lingering Memorabilia
• 01:05:56 Panzer Dragoon Orta Screen Print Woes
• 01:13:29 Millionth Xbox off the Line
• 01:15:58 Xbox Video Chat Camera
• 01:20:23 GPU Revisions
• 01:25:20 MSN Edition Console
• 01:28:12 S-Controller for Japanese Market
• 01:34:03 Marco's Opinion of Modern Xbox Modders
• 01:34:41 Competitor's Influences (Sega, Nintendo)
• 01:38:08 Stolen Intel CPUs
• 01:39:38 Microsoft Demo Day w/ Bill Gates
• 01:43:45 Conclusion and Goodbyes
The Usual Places is a podcast made by Original Xbox modders and enthusiasts for the Original Xbox community. Our goal is shed light on some of the history surrounding this beloved game console by hearing from the people who worked on it and share news about the exciting new projects coming out for it.
Interested in joining us as a guest speaker? Contact us via
the Xbox-Scene Discord or fill out this form:
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To listen to future episodes live and participate in chat, join us in the ⁠⁠Xbox-Scene Discord⁠⁠:
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