I have my 360 on the way back from Texas. It doesn’t say online what was done to it. I assume it had the MoBo replaced or something. I am seriously rethinking where I currently place this overheating monstrosity to possibly forestall a similar occurrence in the future. (As if that would do anything.)

Well, it looks like my Xbox 360 Elite has bitten the dust. I got the Red Ring of Death on Saturday morning and had to send it in for service. If you don’t want to read the link, it basically means that the 360 had a “General Hardware Failure”. Some sources speculate that the goop they use to connect stuff to other stuff inside was the wrong kind of lead-free goop that cracks and won’t conduct heat properly. Other sources say, Nay, it is the space that was reserved for the heat sink that was usurped by the DVD player that is to blame. A cursory search for RRoD brings up shocking statistics, like a possible 33% failure rate. These are the facts, dear readers. My warranty will be extended three years because I have experienced this specific type of error on my 360. As well, when I took it to the UPS store, the man behind the counter said that he does a brisk business with the Xbox 360. He sends at least four a week to the Texas repair location. In fact, he had a white 360 sitting in the back that I clearly saw before he took mine.  If even half the rumors are true, Microsoft has a billion dollar fund to cover all the failing consoles, but I wonder why, when I called for support, Jeff the representative sounded so calm and collected.  As if he had spent his entire weekend answering the same type of call.
Supposedly, I will receive my 360 back in three weeks, which is hellish to Katie and I since WE do a brisk business with the local library’s DVD collection, so I was forced to buy a new DVD player from Costco using my cash-back check. I feel very fortunate to have these resources and told Katie as much during our lunch at Senior Antonios in Delaware today.
So, we are minus an Xbox and plus a new DVD player with a remote. Katie tested it out with Dangerous Minds, which she is writing a paper on, so I forgive her choice.
Speaking of remotes, Katie and I, since we moved two years ago, have not found the remotes to the TV, VHS or receiver, so this new remote for the DVD is quite exciting. Hopefully, its presence will soothe my wounded gaming soul for these next three bleak weeks as I am sans Assassin’s Creed, Stranglehold, Gears of War 2, and Braid (newly purchased last week).