Two 360s down and X to go... So as of this weekend I have a week between my law clerk job and going back to school; a seemingly perfect time to enjoy, among other things, some worry-free late night gaming. But as an opportunity of the same magnitude was rendered naught by my first 360 going the way of a bloatware laden e-machines PC after the humidity level reaches anything above a normal reading, so has this opportunity been spoiled as a result of my replacement xbox 360 (that was manufactured in NOVEMBER 2006 and sent to me less than 2 months ago) going "all blue screen" on me -- despite having the 360 enshrined between two fans in a well-air-conditioned room beyond the reach of anything that might remotely be considered a heat source. If the 360 was under the curse of the PS3 right now (i.e., by having a dearth of quality games available), then I probably wouldn't be this angry. Thus, my opinion of Microsoft's "next-gen" console can be summarized in three words: piece of crap...a piece of crap that happens to provide a fun gaming experience when the stars align every 13th fortnight so as to color the moon azure blue when a grain of sand in the middle east is ionized by the force of a thousand suns; that is to say, whenever I get the opportunity to game on the 360 for any decent length of time.

Contrast this product with my Powerbook G4 laptop which still works like a dream after nearly 4 years despite: (1) having coffee spilled on it (twice); (2) having orange juice spilled on it (once); (3) being toted around in a backpack (everyday); (4) being dropped (on several occasions)...or with any other console I have ever owned for many years ... you get the picture.