New beta testers wanted for Xbox Dashboard

Microsoft is planning another sweeping overhaul of the Xbox 360 menu interface, and it needs your help to test it.

The software giant is calling for beta testers to delve into the new platform and see if they can find any kinks or bugs, and also to provide feedback that Microsoft might use before doling it out to the rest of the Xbox community.

Last month, an open call went out for beta testers, but within hours every slot was filled.

But even for those who didn’t get their names entered in time, the announcement provided an insight into what we can expect next on the Xbox 360 Dashboard.

The 2012 Xbox Live Update Public Beta contains the following features: Internet Explorer for Xbox, “Personalized dashboard recommendations” and “Enhanced category search for discovery features.”

Beta testers are not allowed to disclose anything about the new firmware, but knowing that those three enhancements are part of the preview means they’re likely to be part of the public update, whenever that happens.

Just like last time, this is a first-come, first-served deal, so users should hurry to get their names in now.

A total of 500,000 spots are available for the new round of beta invites.