I can understand that brick happens, and fixing bricked consoles is not profitable in the short run. The consumer can no longer consume Sony product; That's the situation ultimately.

The PS3 firmware updates are approved and sometimes critical to the system as it is net-bound and privy to attacks as any other online system is. Somebody creates a bluetooth hack or some modded piece of spam breaches the some part of the XMB. Or lets just say Skype decides to change their setup. Sony has to be on top of this aside from their anti-piracy chase, which Sony is entitled to.

If the consumer/end-user was just following the order of operations for the system and, had the end-user not received the new data that Sony approved/released, kept the system in working order then it is the Sony software that broke the system.

Another PS3 of the same model, new or used, could be put into a controlled environment, updated with the 3.0 update and be rendered non-functional.The result is faulty software design that does not operate on all hardware revisions. But, since the end-user only has the choice of "Network Update", it's balls to the walls for Sony.

Herman Miller chairs are my recommendation. The designs of their support arms underneath the seat is amazing. I only have an entry level chair thats from the mid 90's but the design standard of HM chairs are superior to any other brand office chair ranging back to the 70s. Check it out www.hermanmiller.com. They are not cheap. But it's worth at least knowing what your spine is missing out on.