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____/ High Plains Thumper on Sunday 22 Nov 2009 11:05 : \____
> Roy Schestowitz wrote:
>> Lawyers pursue banned Xbox Live gamers
>>
>> ,----[ Quote ]
>>> Are you an Xbox 360 owner recently banned from Xbox Live? Has the
>>> ban left you feeling short changed? Perhaps youâve experienced
>>> other console problems as a result of the ban? If you can answer
>>> 'yes' to any of these questions, then US law firm Abington IP wants
>>> to hear from you.
>> `----
>>
>> http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/11/20/xbox_live_lawsuit/
>
> Wow, over 600,000 banned. That is quite a few, even if only considered
> as 3%.
>
> [quote]
> The âintellectual property law and consumer class actionsâ specialist
> has taken an interest in Microsoftâs well-publicised ban of at least
> 600,000 gamers from Xbox Live for alleged console modification, with a
> view to launching a class action lawsuit against the software giant.
>
> To get the ball rolling, Abington has posted a page on its website
> calling for anyone remotely connected to the Xbox Live ban to come forward.
>
> âModification of Xbox consoles is arguably against the terms of use for
> Xbox/Xbox Liveâ, Abington states (our emphasis). The firm describes it
> as âconvenientâ that Microsoft timed the ban to coincide with the
> release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 âless than two monthsâ after
> the Halo 3: ODST launch.
>
> The implication seems to be that Microsoft wouldnât have dreamed of
> cutting Xbox Live gamers off prior to the launch of such high-profile
> titles.
>
> To be fair, Microsoft has never said over what period the circa 600,000
> Xbox Live gamers were disconnected. Xbox Live has been available since
> 2002, letâs not forget.
>
> Abington also wants to hear from gamers who have, for example,
> experienced problems with their Xbox 360 that are unrelated to Xbox Live
> or piracy. âObtaining information from Xbox consoles with permission of
> the owner,â also features on Abingtonâs list of things to do.
> [/quote]
>
> It would have been a different story, if MS had refunded the remaining
> subscriptions to Xbox Live. It goes to show that they are a for profit
> only, without consideration for the customer.
>
> This reminds me of a problem my former supervisor had with purchasing
> Microsoft software back in the 90's. It was floppy based, had a lock
> out after successful installation, that rendered the floppies useless.
> It has been a while, I can't remember the specific software, think it
> was Works. Anyway, he was not successful in installing it on his own
> laptop. He paid a lesser sum for it, but it was either $40 or $60,
> somewhere abouts. Calls to tech support got him nowhere.
>
> So much for copy protection.
There is no effective system as such which does not inconvenience or
cancel the promise/rights of genuine users/buyers, which in turn makes the
illegal copies even more valuable than the originals. That's DRM.
>> Recent:
>>
>> CNET UK's games console reliability survey: 60 per cent of Xbox 360s
>> have broken
>>
>> ,----[ Quote ]
>>> Sixty per cent of Xbox 360s have kicked the red-ringed bucket,
>>> compared to 16 per cent of PS3s and just 6 per cent of Wiis,
>>> according to our survey on the reliability of games consoles in the
>>> UK.
>> `----
>>
>> http://crave.cnet.co.uk/gamesgear/0,39029441,49304288,00.htm
>
> I found this bit of interest:
>
> [quote]
> Only 25 per cent of disappointed 360 owners had owned the console for
> more than 18 months before it broke, with 47 per cent reporting a
> failure inside a year. Seventy two per cent returned their Xbox to
> Microsoft, who extended the 360's warranty to three years after the
> console's problems became widely known. Fifteen per cent sought their
> own solution, such as repairing it themselves or giving up and throwing
> it under a bed. One miserable gamer reported, "I can't afford to get
> (the Xbox 360) fixed as it is out of warranty, so it sits in the spare
> room all lonely."
>
> Many 360 owners report the console breaking more than once. Of those
> whose console has broken at least once, 32 per cent say it has broken
> twice, and 19 per cent say it has broken three times or more. One person
> said their 360 "was repaired six times before (being) refunded by
> Microsoft".
>
> Of those who have bought a 360 in the last two years, only for it to
> break, 29 per cent say it has broken more than once.
> [/quote]
>
> Rather sad indictment on Microsoft quality assurance. In any given
> electronics, statistically it can be expected that a very small
> percentage of units will show up defective.
>
> Sounds like there were compromises made in components or possibly a poor
> design.
>
> OTOH, I bought my daughter a Wii. So far it has experienced no
> problems, similar to the previous Nintendo Game Cube.
>
> I've had failures with generic hardware. My Amptron PM-9900 motherboard
> went out after about 5 years usage. I had a Memorex CD-RW unit go out
> on me shortly after the 1 year warranty expired, to the extent I will
> never by Memorex or other generic CD drives again. (It would destroy
> CD's by spinning them up excessive. Their tech support stated that I
> had defective CD's. Never had that happen before or after with any of
> my CD media.)
>
> Perhaps Microsoft's QA problems are the best motivator for other
> hardware systems. Period.
The Zune too had design defects. Unless Microsoft rebadges something that's
physical, it's always bad. The same tends to be true for software.
- --
~~ Best of wishes
Readers' discretion is advised when reading articles inspired by Microsoft press releases.
http://Schestowitz.com | RHAT Linux | PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E
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