What is the latest word on Xbox LIVE??

Up until recently, I've been able to resist subscribing to xbox live. I mean, I know there are features about online play that make gaming that much more fun. However, I usually have enough people and boxes at the house to enjoy some multiplayer mayhem.
But with November 9th quickly approaching, I am seriously considering going Live. Before doing so, I wanted to find out what the latest securities were on the Live networks. Are they detecting HDD size now? Are they checking file structures? Anything else I should know about?
I have a v1.4, Evox Dash, 120GB, X2.3b Lite+, xecutor bios 4983(?). Etc., etc.. I renamed my dash files, but can't remember what the default should be; original dash should be xboxdash, correct?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I tried xbconnect, but I have the smaller bandwidth package that can get as slow as 384kbps, so sometimes (actually, most of the time) its too laggy to play.

[Neipas02]

As far as I know the only precaution you need to take on XBL is booting without the mod turned on to the original MSDash. You can't run games off the hard drive period (requires the use of your mod chip).
In short you need to take your Chippy out of the mix.

I've been a subscriber to XBL for a few months and it seems to go off without a hitch as long as you're using your orginal disc from the dvd drive to play.

If there were any new developments on microsoft's end for anti-modification
I think the boards would've been flooded by it at this point. I believe so anyway.. I personally haven't been on XBL in awhile (there are enough unpleasant people to make it less enjoyable sometimes, although a lot of good folks are thrown in the mix)

I was thinking about the Nov9th issue myself.. Now seeing as how everyone and their mother will be making a 50 + dollar purchase on the holy 9th, wouldn't that be a perfect time for microsoft to unvail some sort of new angle on anti modification.. A new check or something.. Maybe that wouldn't hinder XBL play with your original.. But they might make that bad boy a little harder to backup than other titles. But whatever may be done by man can be undone by man.

Anyway good times.

[Quall999]

like said above, a chip check is all there is. They probably will not do any other checks, since anti piracy and cheating is the only thing MS really wants by doing the xbl check to use their online service. Any checks for any other reasion would likely have them lose money for no reason, especially when an $8 eeprom is all that it will take to go back online and fix whatever caused the ban.