Microsoft Owns Up To 360 Defects 101
Next Generation reports on Microsoft's acceptance of responsibility for early 360 defects. While originally claiming that system failures were well within the norm for consumer electronics, they've now adopted a more service-friendly attitude. From the article: "Upon further investigation, it was further discovered that the bulk of the units were isolated to a group that was part of the initial manufacturing run of the console. Returns for repair are coming in for a variety reasons and it's a higher rate than we are satisfied with. We've made the decision to comp repairs for consoles manufactured before January 1, and provide refunds to the small group of customers who have already paid for repairs."
Re:made the decision to comp repairs (Score:2, Insightful)
Yep.
"Comp: Complimentary or free items and or services casinos give gamblers in gratitude for their business."
Some jokes you can't write because they just drop into your lap.
KFG
Why didn't this make the front page... (Score:5, Insightful)
Maybe because the important stories are about microsoft's fuckups while the unimportant ones are those where they acknowledge their problems and address them.
Regardless, shouldn't this info be given the frontpage considering all the apparent 360 owners who are fixing their problems with strings, etc., and who could use the free service or refund?
Re:Great! The software's next? (Score:3, Insightful)
I can install the codecs my self. And they work just fine. Thumbnails are created, so I know it can read the video files. But it won't play them.
you know ... (Score:2, Insightful)
Honestly.
The single biggest thing that turned me off of Microsoft was the refusal to admit their mistakes. When I worked as a tech support rep for business clients, I can't even begin to count the number of times that I'd research a bug to find a MS knowledgebase article claiming ``this behavior is by design'' meaning it was a defect that they never intended to fix.
If they had openly admitted their defects, strove to correct them and offerend replacement/refunds consistently, there wouldn't be so many people in the anti-MS camp.
Hey Sony, listen up.. (Score:3, Insightful)
Why can't MS and Sony take a lesson from Nintendo? They're the only company that actually spends time engineering hardware that actually works. Only bad Nintendo experience I've ever had was the horrible N64 controller. I was lucky if one of those lasted me longer than a month.
Quality is hard, MS-shilling is easy (Score:3, Insightful)
> I appreciate that MS rushed production to get it out a year earlier than the other systems, as I was jonesing for a new system. I also appreciate that this rush is what produced the defective hardware.
So, in other words, Micro$oft is at it again: they rush a product through production, get it to market before it's ready, and -- what a surprise! -- it's got nasty bugs in it. Summary: M$ fucks things up some more.
> Although the delay in compensation for repairs denotes a greedy attitude on the part of MS, I am not surprised.
At this point, I'd be amazed if *anyone* was surprised.
> Corporations do not exist to serve the public good, and if you find this objectionable, then please avail yourself of a microeconomics textbook. You can't expect good intentions from corporations (and from people in general). You should be satisfied that they do the right thing, even if for the wrong reasons.
Translation: what the corporations offer the public is all they deserve, and if they don't like it they can go fuck themselves. Wonder if this 'primeval_badger' character is a Republican or a Libertarian -- what's his view on public oversight or government regulation of business? That should be good for a cheap laugh....
> Having worked for several years, I understand how difficult it is to design products, let alone systems.
Then you understand the importance of "defensive design" and "quality control", right? Because M$ apparently doesn't, seeing that they repeatedly and consistently release products that are Not Ready For Prime Time. Hell, it's no wonder my first software engineering professor got so pissed off at fuckheads like this, for creating sloppy design and shoddy quality, that it made him "want to get a baseball bat and start bashing in heads."
> Put another way, would you rather wait an extra year for a rock-solid 360, or get one a year earlier, which will probably work fine
-- unless the power supply unit undergoes a meltdown, explodes and sets fire to the carpet, which burns down the house and potentially nearby houses as well. Think I'm being over the top? Remember that little fuss a short while ago over laptop batteries? You know
http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/22/another-thinkpa d-battery-explodes/ [engadget.com]
But hey, what's a few exploding laptops, right? I mean, the user escaped with only minor burns and a ruined LCD monitor (other than the laptop screen itself), plus the firefighters came in time, so he should count himself lucky! Hell, he's even got backups of his data, so he should be *satisfied* that things turned out the way they did!!
> MS is a decent corporation with decent products.
Ahem... You seem to have contradicted your earlier statement about the nature of corporate business. More importantly, it flies in the face of the public record:
http://www.microsuck.com/content/whatsbad.shtml [microsuck.com]
http://blogs.zdnet.com/Murphy/?p=640 [zdnet.com]
http://www.inlumineconsulting.com:8080/website/msf t.shilling.html [inlumineconsulting.com]
> Don't criticize a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes.
You forgot to add, "or unless you can outdo him."
Remember Bill Gates' infamous letter to the Homebrew Computer Club? The one in which he said to the club that "most of you steal your software"? What he neglected to mention in that letter was:
- Altair BASIC was released way behind schedule (dude, talk about foreshadowing!)
- Many Altair computer users had paid in advance for pre-ordered copies of Altair BASIC, yet had never received it
-