when you begin to notice lag just go do a speedtest to see if your transfer rates are coming down to an unreasonable level. If you notice that your transfers are stable then you know that it is probably something else. If not, then talk to your ISP

www.speedtest.net

www.speakeasy.net

are a couple of good sites to check transfer rates

I had a similar problem--liked the feel of the wired headset but shared the same issues with reliability. I bought the wireless one but found it brutally uncomfortable. What I did (although I wouldn't necessarily recommend this) is basically mated the two headsets to make some kind of hybrid super-headset.

I took off the boom from the broken wired one and glued the wireless one to the base of the headband (after ripping off the terrible ear-mangling black rubber thing). This took a whole bunch of glue-gun glue but after it dried it worked really well. It helps too if you use the foam padding from the wired one to make it extra comfy.

Not sure if this is the solution for you but it worked pretty well for me

Okay, so if you don't like the content offered by Microsoft don't buy it. As others have pointed out a HDD is used for lots of other applications on Live--not just selling you stuff. While I do agree that there is a growing trend toward over-commercialization on Live, the fact remains that you have ultimate control over what you do or do not purchase. It's that simple.

**Also to all of you HDD price complainers--The MS drive is SOLID STATE. They are a lot more expensive than regular drives due to their heighted durability (no moving parts) and performance. If you could pit the MS drive against an HDD in, say, a laptop or the PS3 you would see that they are very much superior and thus more expensive.

When Gears runs well (which is about half the time in my opinion) it is quite fun. Shoot people, they die. The problem starts with the invincible host/unplayable lag issues. Other games lag as well but one can usually make due while getting a few kills. In Gears, though, your shots simply don't count...and then you get one-shotted from twenty feet. Under optimal conditions, Gears is definitely a solid game but if you can only get that optimal performance around half the time, it just gets old really quickly.

My hands down favorite of all time is "Cookies and Milf"

My friends and I laughed a lot about that one.