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Designer Builds Coffin For Xbox's Suffering RROD

Posted by samzenpus on from the rust-in-peace dept.

angry tapir writes "The Xbox 360 RROD coffin was created by Aussie designer Alexis Vanamois, and it does exactly what it says on the tin. It's the ultimate final resting place for 'bricked' Xbox 360 consoles that have suffered the Red Ring of Death; it even has a cavity for your controller!"

118 comments

  1. Controller? by Karganeth · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The controller isn't broken, why would I throw it away?

    1. Re:Controller? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why would you buy a coffin for a dead Xbox?

    2. Re:Controller? by Karganeth · · Score: 3, Funny

      The same reason you'd buy a coffin for a dead person.

    3. Re:Controller? by Yo+Grark · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Because you sure as hell won't be buying another Xbox360!

      Yo Grark

      --
      Canadian Bred with American Buttering
    4. Re:Controller? by hatten · · Score: 1

      It's no use to have a controller without a console. duh.

    5. Re:Controller? by semifamous · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      If your console is dead, why would you still need the controller?

      What do you mean, you're going to buy a new one? People are really stupid enough to buy a product with a failure rate this high? And to buy it repeatedly no matter how many times it fails?

      Wow. People are dumb.

    6. Re:Controller? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      The same reason you'd buy a coffin for a dead person.

      Because I plan to return him to God for warranty service?

    7. Re:Controller? by Karganeth · · Score: 1

      If the owner doesn't want to buy another xbox, it would be wise to sell the controllers or give them to a friend.

    8. Re:Controller? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not unless he died less than one year of purchase.

    9. Re:Controller? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Agreed, considering a new controller cost 60 bucks, you could easily sell it for at least 20-40 bucks. That is of course assume they don't want a new xbox 360.

    10. Re:Controller? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Someone is a playstation fanboi...

    11. Re:Controller? by SlickUSA · · Score: 1

      Toyota seems to be doing okay, still...

    12. Re:Controller? by commodore64_love · · Score: 4, Informative

      No but I might steal one. Like so:

      (1) Clean, clean, clean the prematurely (less than 2 years) dead X360 so it looks new.
      (2) Buy new one from microsoft.com.
      (3) Put old unit in new box.
      (4) Return for refund because "it doesn't turn on". Get refund.
      (5) If MS refuses, then provide tracking to credit card. They will Force a refund per the contract MS signed with the credit company.

      Done.

      I just did this with a USB drive that went "click click click" before finally spinning up. i.e. It was almost dead before I ever used it! Even though I had just opened the drive, my receipt was a month old, so the store refused the return. Next I bought a new one, put broken drive in new box, and returned it a few days later saying, "This doesn't work." Done.

      I do this everytime a corporation tries to screw me. They almost-never succeed.

      --
      "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
    13. Re:Controller? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If it died quite young, you might have an eater. Beats dumping it in the Thames.

    14. Re:Controller? by Pojut · · Score: 2, Informative

      People are still under the impression that RRoD is a widespread problem, despite the Jasper's not even getting hot enough to cause the box to red ring? Seriously, check out a Jasper unit...a PS3 Slim puts out more heat than they do.

      I should know. My Jasper 360 is sitting on a shelf next to my PS3 Slim.

      --
      Living With a Nerd
    15. Re:Controller? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The controller isn't broken, why would I throw it away?

      Its the same thing as having your wive buried alive with you... wait do people still do that?

    16. Re:Controller? by commodore64_love · · Score: 1

      If you have a wired controller (like me) you can use it with your PC to play emulated Atari, Nintendo, Sega, and Playstation games.

      Those old games like Mario64 or Skies of Arcadia may look primitive but they are hella fun.

      And free. :-)

      --
      "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
    17. Re:Controller? by Procasinator · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I would think the Xbox 360 has serial numbers. Buying from a game store, you might be lucky and they won't check (probably only would if the process is automated).

      But surely Microsoft themselves would.

    18. Re:Controller? by bigdaddyhame · · Score: 1

      the serial # won't match the one on the receipt, will it? this sort of shenanigans might be why serial #s are always recorded on receipts (at least up in Canada they are...)

      --
      ---- You are fully entitled to my opinion.
    19. Re:Controller? by almondo · · Score: 1

      Because you would want to intern the controller in carbonite with it's mother to preserve it for the outdated lame game console resurrection.

      360, a high tech alias for 'the runaround'.

      MS EULA: You don't really own this bathroom fixture, we do, and we can drop the big and final load in it whenever we wish.

      Sorry Billy, your device has ring around the collar, and all the kings men wouldn't waste their time duct taping a bricked Xbox back together again.

    20. Re:Controller? by Monkeedude1212 · · Score: 1

      It's like saying your Blu Ray Player is useless because your TV is busted. You can plug your 360 controller into your PC to have it work like a gamepad. You can give it to a friend. You can sell it.

      In any case, buying a new console or not, the Controller still has many uses, and shouldn't be discarded.

    21. Re:Controller? by Aqualung812 · · Score: 1

      IIRC, the serial barcode is even visible outside the box, so the teller can scan it in at the time of purchase.

      --
      Grammer Nazis - I mod you "troll" unless you actually add something on-topic. Yes, I know I have mispellings in my sig.
    22. Re:Controller? by commodore64_love · · Score: 0, Troll

      Buying a coffin makes sense for burial, but what about cremation? Ridiculous. Watch this clip of "Bullshit" by Penn & Teller, especially the last two minutes:

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1i4JdUNimEA

      If there's no way to get a Xbox360 new (i.e. we're already on the next generation Xbox 3), then I certainly wouldn't bury it. I'd sell my broken unit on Ebay. Lots of people like to buy things for either parts or the challenge of repair. EXAMPLE: When my Compaq DVD died, I bought a broken laptop for 10 bucks and ripped out the DVD player. Now my laptop is working again. Maybe someone would want a RROD 360 for the same reason.

      --
      "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
    23. Re:Controller? by Lostlander · · Score: 2, Informative

      See http://support.xbox.com/support/en/us/xbox360/hardware/warranty/warranty/ProductWarrantyNew.aspx

      Specifically "(three years for conditions that either cause three lights on the ring of light on the front of the Console to flash red, or display an E74 error code on the video display connected to the Console)"

    24. Re:Controller? by Mister+Whirly · · Score: 1

      Yeah, and nobody at Microsoft has ever come up with that brilliant plan before you did. All it would take is 5 seconds to check the serial numbers, show that they don't match, and the jig is up. This type of scam would work for most items that are inexpensive and don't have serial numbers though.

      --
      "But this one goes to 11!"
    25. Re:Controller? by theaveng · · Score: 0, Troll

      A search turns up numbers ranging from 15% (TGdaily) to 30% (retailers' reports) to 54% (user surveys). I suspect the Retailer stat is the most accurate. If 1/3rd of Xbox 360's are failing that is FAR, far worse than the failure rate that existed with the original PS2 (and that was pretty bad). LINK - http://www.bing.com/search?q=xbox+360+failure+rate

      The lowest is the Nintendo Wii console at only 3%.

      --
      FOX NEWS.com should be BANNED from television and internet. Have the Congress take it over and give us Truespeak.
    26. Re:Controller? by Ephemeriis · · Score: 5, Informative

      No but I might steal one. Like so:

      (1) Clean, clean, clean the prematurely (less than 2 years) dead X360 so it looks new.
      (2) Buy new one from microsoft.com.
      (3) Put old unit in new box.
      (4) Return for refund because "it doesn't turn on". Get refund.
      (5) If MS refuses, then provide tracking to credit card. They will Force a refund per the contract MS signed with the credit company.

      Done.

      As you say, this is theft.

      You can argue that it's a faulty product and you're entitled to your money's worth and whatnot... But that seems more like a discussion you should be having with technical support, over their warranty. Or maybe with some lawyer.

      I just did this with a USB drive that went "click click click" before finally spinning up. i.e. It was almost dead before I ever used it!

      Not trying to tell you that you're wrong here... But it's entirely possible that the USB port you happened to be using had insufficient power.

      My USB HDD does something similar if I plug it into an under-powered USB port or if I use too long a USB cable. Sounds for all the world like a dead drive. But if I plug it in to a good port or use a shorter cable it spins up just fine.

      I bought a new one, put broken drive in new box, and returned it a few days later saying, "This doesn't work." Done.

      I've got a co-worker who does this all the time.

      We had a bad thunderstorm a while back and the power supply blew on his fancy TV. He bought a new one, put the bad one in the box, and returned it.

      Last year he bought a new artificial Christmas tree from SAM's Club... Put his old, smaller tree in the box, and returned it.

      I do this everytime a corporation tries to screw me. They almost-never succeed.

      Generally speaking, they aren't trying to screw you. It can certainly seem unfair when you're bit in the ass by their return policies... And it may not be a very fair policy in the first place... But they aren't generally actually trying to screw you.

      I used to work at Electronic's Boutique back in the day. When I started there they had a virtually "no questions asked" return policy. You could even return a game if you didn't like it.

      So we'd have customers basically using us for free rentals. They'd buy a game, play it, beat it, return it, and get something else for no charge. And then do the same thing with that.

      So then we stipulated that it was only on non-working merchandise... And folks just lied and said it didn't work on their system.

      Then we stipulated that you could only return non-working merchandise for another copy of the same thing. And folks would tell us that they bought it was a gift and had been purchased for the wrong system.

      So we stipulated that it had to be un-opened merchandise. And folks will just use somebody's shrink wrap machine to repackage the game and make it look un-opened.

      The end result of all this is that somebody who has a legitimate reason to return a game to the store is going to have one hell of a hard time accomplishing that. And they're going to feel like they're being screwed. But it isn't that the company wants to screw them... It's that so many people screwed the company over the years that there's no way for anyone to win at this point.

      --
      "Work is the curse of the drinking classes." -Oscar Wilde
    27. Re:Controller? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Why would you buy a coffin for a dead Xbox?

      According to the headline, the coffin isn't for the Xbox. The coffin is for the Xbox's suffering.

      You put the suffering in the coffin.

    28. Re:Controller? by Pojut · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The Gizmodo link you referenced (the "30% retailer" number) is from mid 2007. This was prior to the Jasper units, and even prior to the Falcon units.

      Out of date numbers are relevant to Jasper units not running hot enough to Red Ring because...?

      --
      Living With a Nerd
    29. Re:Controller? by theaveng · · Score: 1, Flamebait

      >>>As you say, this is theft.

      I don't consider it theft when I'm dealing with (1) a scam artist that knowingly sells defective product (2) a dishonest corporation that sells defective products like the X360 with ~33% failure rate, or (c) a corporation like Bank of America that stole 1500 billion in bailout funds from our wallets. I don't consider taking money from Known Thieves to be stealing, just as I didn't cry when Saddam Hussein was hung dead.

      As for the serial number issue, I was not aware of that since I never bought a new Xbox.
      In that case I'd probably deal with an online retailer like amazon rather than Microsoft
      - they don't scan the numbers.
      Worst case I use Step 5 (dispute the return with the credit card). Proof of return == refund.

      --
      FOX NEWS.com should be BANNED from television and internet. Have the Congress take it over and give us Truespeak.
    30. Re:Controller? by Theoboley · · Score: 1

      So sort of an Organ Donor type thing... He could theoretically gut the xbox out, sell the innards on the Black Market (or Ebay in this case) and fill the empty console shell with sawdust and then bury it.

      --
      Stupidity only gets you so far, then you've gotta try
    31. Re:Controller? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't have one, but it looks like the serial number is just on the Hard drive bay, which is removable with clips. So you can just swap hard-drives, keeping you saved games...
      Not that I encourage theft...

    32. Re:Controller? by theaveng · · Score: 1, Flamebait

      P.S.

      I also don't consider it stealing when *THEY SCREWED ME FIRST* with a defective product which they KNOW is defective but refuse to fix. That's why I silently Cheered when Toyota's President got drug in front of Congress. He deserved to be raked across the coals for:

      - selling engines that died prematurely at 20-30,000 miles and then refusing to honor the replacement warranty
      - selling cars that drove by themselves and killed passengers, while insisted it wasn't their fault
      - selling Priuses with faulty batteries that died prematurely and cost adopter $4000 to replace, even while said battery was under warranty

      They way Toyota has acted since 2000 reminds me of Ford during the 1970s (remember the exploding Pintos?). If a corporation Screws you, I consider it acceptable to screw them right back.

      --
      FOX NEWS.com should be BANNED from television and internet. Have the Congress take it over and give us Truespeak.
    33. Re:Controller? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Most stores like Wal-Mart WILL stall you and call the police to have you arrested on attempted theft if they catch this. Especially with game consoles because you are not the first to have tried this. I've seen it hear first hand with Wal-Mart, but I do not know the outcome in court.

    34. Re:Controller? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      Disgruntled Best Buy employee here.

      We don't check serial numbers unless you get a service plan, and even then, we won't have record of it until it's first repaired.

      If the item you are returning is less than 30 days old, we generally just go ahead and give you a new one. If it's more than one month and less than one year, we'll send it off to get it fixed at a service center.

      You can also do what a coworker of mine did, if you work at another retail-esque store. He went to Target and bought a jigsaw puzzle that was shrink-wrapped. He opened it up at home and took the puzzle pieces out, and replaced them with cheerios. When nobody was looking, he used our own store's shrinkwrap to make it seem like the puzzle box had never been opened, and then he promptly went to return it with the original receipt and he got a full refund

      Best Buy checks to make sure the electronics are working if they're expensive, but some smaller things like hard drive enclosures don't get tested or opened. You could easily replace one with a small brick, for example, and we would be none the wiser.

    35. Re:Controller? by Ephemeriis · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I don't consider it theft

      You're the one who said you "might steal one"...

      And, considering the defect rate on 360s and the poor warranty, I'm not sure I'd really argue with you on the ethics/morality of it.

      a corporation like Bank of America that stole 1500 billion in bailout funds from our wallets.

      Stole? Or was it handed to them on a golden platter with no requirements or restrictions or oversight?

      I didn't cry when Saddam Hussein was hung dead.

      Granted, he seemed to be a pretty bad guy. Maybe he deserved to be hung, I don't know enough to say. But considering the violence, death, and bloodshed that has resulted from our intervention I'm not sure we actually did a good thing there.

      ...and in response to your PS below, because I don't feel like clicking "reply to this" again...

      If a corporation Screws you, I consider it acceptable to screw them right back.

      While it may feel good... And may be justifiable... The problem with this is that it doesn't actually fix the problem.

      Sure, maybe you get your money's worth in the end... But Microsoft is still selling a product with a 33% failure rate and Toyota is still selling cars with defective parts.

      Which is why I suggested originally that perhaps it was a conversation better had with someone in technical support or with a lawyer - with the intent of coercing the company into fixing the actual problem.

      --
      "Work is the curse of the drinking classes." -Oscar Wilde
    36. Re:Controller? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      People like you are why I'm glad some corporations (like Best Buy) are tracking customers who abuse the system and starting to refuse to do business with them. You're just raising prices for the rest of us.

    37. Re:Controller? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, but the Toyota owners didn't know the risk to their cars until recently.

      Pretty much anyone purchasing an XBox over the past 4 years KNOW that they have a 33% chance of getting a crappy box.

      If you don't want to play the odds, then don't buy the system. If you do anyway, don't try to screw other people over if it breaks. It's like stealing from a gas station because the lottery ticket you purchased didn't win.

    38. Re:Controller? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because he's a butthurt Sony Fanboy. They like to keep posting old statistics to make them feel like their peepees are big

    39. Re:Controller? by Rob+the+Bold · · Score: 1

      The controller isn't broken, why would I throw it away?

      So the console can be played in the afterlife, of course.

      --
      I am not a crackpot.
    40. Re:Controller? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Perhaps as the Egyptians did, they bury the (usually very loyal, skilled and in good health) servants and pets with the dead pharaoh.

    41. Re:Controller? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If a corporation Screws you, I consider it acceptable to screw them right back.

      You must understand that your actions don't "screw them" at all. It's just included as a cost of doing business, and just raises the price of their products for the rest of us poor schmucks who are actually honest in our dealings.

      I've never understood people who think "he's a jerk, so I get to be a jerk too!" is a valid moral code. Maybe your mommy never told you this (in which case you should go upstairs and ask her), but two wrongs don't make a right.

    42. Re:Controller? by Rob+the+Bold · · Score: 1

      While it may feel good... And may be justifiable... The problem with this is that it doesn't actually fix the problem.

      Sure, maybe you get your money's worth in the end... But Microsoft is still selling a product with a 33% failure rate and Toyota is still selling cars with defective parts.

      Which is why I suggested originally that perhaps it was a conversation better had with someone in technical support or with a lawyer - with the intent of coercing the company into fixing the actual problem.

      "Not fixing the problem" depends on what you consider the problem to be. If I've got a bricked piece of electronics, my problem is that I've got a bricked piece of electronics. Sure, it's also a problem that some entity is selling products with an excessive defect rate. It's just not my problem -- or if it is, I only own a tiny share of that problem. I used to worry a lot about trying to help do my part to get things fixed: calling tech support, calling the comment line, writing letters . . . I've never gone so far as to take legal action to try to force a change, but the thought crossed my mind (and kept going out the other side). I've since decided that unless I'm getting paid consultancy fees, it's not worth my time and effort to fix somebody else's problem. Maybe I'm selfish or apathetic, but I think I've got enough things to fix of my own without looking for more.

      --
      I am not a crackpot.
    43. Re:Controller? by Rob+the+Bold · · Score: 1

      People like you are why I'm glad some corporations (like Best Buy) are tracking customers who abuse the system and starting to refuse to do business with them. You're just raising prices for the rest of us.

      I'd say the manufacturer that's selling defective goods is the real culprit here.

      --
      I am not a crackpot.
    44. Re:Controller? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Doing anything besides getting his money back would mean his sense of justice extended at all beyond his own self interest. Clearly, it does not. He at once believes both that companies like Microsoft should sell devices with infinite warranties, and that governments shouldn't be compelled to interfere with corporate affairs that do not directly benefit him personally. As this becomes a clear case of "trying to please everyone, all the time" the only true solution is for the government to mandate that he be killed and/or expelled from the country, thus serving the desire of the entire populace and eliminating the chance that his desires be offended.

      qed?

    45. Re:Controller? by elrous0 · · Score: 1

      Not to play devil's advocate, but the serial numbers usually are on a sticker that could easily be swapped out. I doubt an sales clerk is going to bust the case open and check the internal serial.

      Myself, I can't complain. I've only had one 360 RROD on me (a launch model), and MS quickly fixed it. My PS3 never went RROD on me, but until recently there weren't any worthwhile games to play on it. So I've still gotten way more out of my 360, even with the one RROD.

      --
      SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    46. Re:Controller? by PsyciatricHelp · · Score: 1

      We will then give you a box of ashes you can pretend is your xbox.

    47. Re:Controller? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It is theft whether you want to think so or not. In the end, it's just another consumer who ends up getting screwed.

      In the example of the re-shrinkwrapped puzzle, I'm sure the item went back on the shelf and then someone else ended up buying. That person is the one who gets screwed as they now have to try and get their money back while explaining that the puzzle was really a box of Cheerios. Not to mention the additional hassle if the situation was that Grandma mailed the puzzle half way across the country to little Jimmy.

      I know about this first hand after I bought an Xbox 360 from Wal-Mart. I brought it home, opened it up and the first thing I noticed was animal hair hanging out the back. I turned it on and checked the System Information screen which showed a different serial number than the one on the case.

      I then called the Microsoft Xbox support number and spoke to a rep. He verified that the serial numbers should match and that while the serial number on the outside belonged to a new system, the serial number on the inside belonged to a banned console. He suggested that someone had swapped the stickers, but I think they probably gutted it and swapped cases since the sticker didn't look tampered with. He referred me to another department.

      The guy in the other department took down all the information and said they'd investigate it and take action if appropriate. He gave me a reference number and suggested I return the console for a refund. He gave me a phone number to give Wal-Mart if I had any problem returning the console.

      Probably no surprise, but Wal-Mart didn't believe my story and refused to refund my money. In fact, they accused me of being the one who did it. I gave them the reference and phone number to Microsoft, but they refused to call them. After a lot of arguing and two managers later, they finally agreed to refund my money, but told me I am now on their blacklist and cannot return anything to that store again in the future.

      So there you go. In the end, you're just screwing someone else. Best case scenario you're going to give someone a lot of grief.

    48. Re:Controller? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have several friends that have purchased at least 5 brand new Xbox 360's apiece after a RROD. One of them is on his 9th one, although he also bought an Elite when it came out and gave his dad his old 360 (shortly before it RROD'ed). Microsoft simply couldn't exist without dumb people continuously pumping money into them.

    49. Re:Controller? by dimeglio · · Score: 0, Troll

      Nothing is wrong with Toyota automobiles. It's the people driving them. Otherwise, they should ban all automobiles from roads for safety reasons. For the other problem, I wouldn't point only at Toyota. If they do it, most likely, all manufactures have hidden known problems. My old Nissan 300SX Turbo was a great example of a fine car onto which they stuck a turbo which essentially screwed-up the entire exhaust system. Today, there are practically no more cars with turbos (except for a few exceptions). I paid to fix the problems, not Nissan.

      --
      Views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the author.
    50. Re:Controller? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your shoes are also not broken when you die (assuming that you're not Al Bundy), but they go to the grave with you.

    51. Re:Controller? by FatdogHaiku · · Score: 1

      I'm pretty certain I can put the dead X-Box on a shelf and until I need the space it will be no annoyance...
      Grandma will stink up the garage at the very least.

      I can open up the X-Box and remove parts for other uses...
      Grandma, not so much. (Oh sure, you COULD try the teeth out I guess)

      --
      You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
    52. Re:Controller? by Logical+Zebra · · Score: 1

      ...Today, there are practically no more cars with turbos (except for a few exceptions). I paid to fix the problems, not Nissan.

      Are you kidding me? Let me try to list a few of the many cars that now come with turbos: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, Subaru WRX, Dodge Caliber SRT4, Chevrolet Cobalt SS, Mini Cooper S, BMW 135i (and all other -35i cars), Mercedes Kompressor models, Hyundai Genesis Coupe, Nissan GT-R, Ford Taurus SHO, Mazdaspeed 3, Volkswagen/Audi GTI and TDI models, Bugatti Veyron, and pretty much any diesel vehicle out there.

      Turbochargers have become very popular since they allow a smaller engine to achieve higher power ratings under heavy load but still get good fuel economy under lighter loads.

      --
      I have a bad feeling about this...
    53. Re:Controller? by rworne · · Score: 1

      Yes, policies like this are why Linksys is selling routers that are actually bags of dirt with "puto" written on it.

      --
      I tried every decent and legal way I could think of to resolve the issue w/the business before I rented the chicken suit
    54. Re:Controller? by denton420 · · Score: 1

      You HAVE to think this way in America.

      No one is looking out for you. Those days are OVER. Corporations have the same rights as people, except they are better than you in every way in the eyes of the law. Not only that but they have almost limitless resources relative to the consumer and can get what they want. I don't need to go into detail over how corporations run America these days, old news.

      I couldn't agree more with you aveng. You need to get yours. Use YOUR moral compass while also consulting ethics of today's society. Weigh them and act as you see fit. In the end you only have to answer to yourself.

      Some companies know when they are doing something wrong. Read a little bit about Toyota over the last 10 years and you will see that they abandoned their old practices and got fixated on over taking GM as the worlds largest carmaker. They still claimed to put quality over everything else but this was a lie. There are so many signs that Toyota could give a shit less about the quality of your car if you just do a little research. I totally believe they used to but they abandoned that ideal.Toyota will fall for its mistakes. I assure you that the cookie has only started to crumble for Toyota and in the coming months investigators will uncover a shitload of dirt on their practices. Almost all companies are guilty of some type of malfeasance it just is not uncovered until the spot light is on said company.

      Remember, ethics are for everyone, and morals are for you =)

    55. Re:Controller? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I would think the Xbox 360 has serial numbers. Buying from a game store, you might be lucky and they won't check (probably only would if the process is automated).

      But surely Microsoft themselves would.

      Or you could swap the internals.
      I used to do this for a fee so people could bring back their "dead" console, hassle free.

    56. Re:Controller? by denton420 · · Score: 1

      You do realize that this claim is completely ludicrous. I think any type of legal personality would laugh in your face if you said this to them.

      Ill remember to avoid the blue box of kellogs cereal and get the red one, EVERYONE knows the blue one is laced with cyanide... if you buy it then its your own fault.

      Thats about the same level of stupidity I find in your statement that everyone should know they have a 33 % chance of getting a crappy xbox. You think my grandma knows what a RROD is? Or the bros playing madden? Really? You ask way too much... lol

    57. Re:Controller? by Xest · · Score: 1

      Yes they are, and there's a small hole in the 360 boxes through which you can see the serial number so the retailer and Microsoft could easily tell

      Oh, and what he suggested is also more commonly known as fraud.

      Not the smartest move, and well, certainly not recommended.

    58. Re:Controller? by antdude · · Score: 1

      Can I return myself to Him? I am totally defected. Maybe it's too late after 30 years? :(

      --
      Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
    59. Re:Controller? by IKnwThePiecesFt · · Score: 1

      The serial is printed directly on the casing, not on a sticker. And the packaging actually has a hole so the serial can be scanned directly from the xbox at the time of sale.

    60. Re:Controller? by IKnwThePiecesFt · · Score: 1

      Incorrect, the POS at Best Buy requires the serial number to be scanned on an xbox at both time of sale and time of return, so it's next to impossible to pull off a switch like this at Best Buy.

    61. Re:Controller? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This why I will only shop at Frys they open everything even if it's still shrink wrapped and "unopened".

    62. Re:Controller? by eyrieowl · · Score: 1

      Perhaps Grandma left some lovely azaleas that are just crying out for fresh fertilizer...? :)

    63. Re:Controller? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, but He will make you new if you will trust in His Son

    64. Re:Controller? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe because a new 360 is only $199 and one has more than a few games? If one sank in $400+ in games, accessories, and a Live subscription what is another $200 to replace an out of warranty 360? It is either that or trade in everything at Gamestop and get a cool $50!

    65. Re:Controller? by Endo13 · · Score: 1

      The problem is, at this point it's no longer really fair to consider XBox 360s "defective" goods. Everyone knows their inherent problems and potential lifespans. The term we're looking for here is "disposable". And no, I'm not trying to be funny, facetious, or sarcastic. Simply making an observation.

      --
      There is no -1 Disagree mod. Slashdot.org/faq defines mod options. USE IT.
    66. Re:Controller? by Renraku · · Score: 1

      I condone this.

      If a corporation is willing to screw their consumers to save a buck, the consumers should be allowed to screw the corporation to save a buck. If my cheap electronics lived a long and fulfilling life, I'd just buy another. If my cheap electronics die after 30 days and no one will touch it with a 6ft pole, then I'll do whatever I can to recoup my losses. Including pulling this kind of stunt.

      No one would have a problem with it if they knew how much waste there is in the technology sector. I'll give you a hint in that most companies throw away their returns after a cursory five second test to make sure they don't work. If the unit powers on and looks undamaged, they repackage it for sale again. So your 'new' item could have fallen out of some teenager's car and has loose bits rattling around inside. Your 'new' item could have gone through the wash and had some of its circuits fried. Basically, your 'new' item could be damaged and it not be immediately obvious upon purchase. 30 days or 14 days or 7 days or 3 days later or whatever the return policy is where you buy, you no longer have the option of returning it. So what then? Eat the cost? What if you saved up a few hundred for an Xbox 360, to have something nice for once in your life, and it breaks after a month and no one wants to step up to the plate?

      --
      Job? I don't have time to get a job! Who will sit around and bitch about being broke and unemployed then?
    67. Re:Controller? by gmhowell · · Score: 1

      I'm too lazy to verify, but I believe a few of those cars actualy have superchargers, not turbochargers.

      --
      Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
    68. Re:Controller? by crafty.munchkin · · Score: 1

      your post lost any credibility it had when you linked a Bing search.

      --
      ... wait, what?
    69. Re:Controller? by brkello · · Score: 1

      I think the phrase: two wrongs don't make a right applies here. The people you screw aren't the same people benefiting from the business and I imagine your arguments won't fly in court if you steal fram BoA.

      --
      Support a great indie game: http://www.abaddon360.com
    70. Re:Controller? by brkello · · Score: 1

      Which isn't surprising since it isn't cutting edge technology.

      Your numbers for the 360 are old. No doubt, the original units had an outrageous failure rate, but for people like me who waited...I play my 360 all the time since I bought it and have no issues with it. It's probably the most used tech in my house since I use it for gaming, DVDs, and Netflix.

      --
      Support a great indie game: http://www.abaddon360.com
    71. Re:Controller? by polyp2000 · · Score: 1

      Unless you open the consoles case and switch the innards

      N.

      --
      Electronic Music Made Using Linux http://soundcloud.com/polyp
    72. Re:Controller? by dimeglio · · Score: 1

      By now, I hope they figured out all the quirks when mass producing automobiles with turbos.

      --
      Views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the author.
    73. Re:Controller? by Logical+Zebra · · Score: 1

      You're thinking of the Cobalt and Mini. They were both converted to turbochargers several years ago.

      --
      I have a bad feeling about this...
    74. Re:Controller? by theaveng · · Score: 1

      >>>Which is why I suggested originally that perhaps it was a conversation better had with someone in technical support or with a lawyer - with the intent of coercing the company into fixing the actual problem.
      >>>

      Don't you think that's already been tried? A woman sat on the floor of Congress and testified that her car accelerated to 90 miles an hour, she could not get it to stop (even when shifting to neutral), and when she called Toyota she wasted several hours & received no resolution. Toyota denied the problem existed for YEARS.

      I have better things to do than waste my time when I already KNOW the result from Microsoft's Xbox lawyers/staff will be "no".

      --
      FOX NEWS.com should be BANNED from television and internet. Have the Congress take it over and give us Truespeak.
    75. Re:Controller? by theaveng · · Score: 1

      >>>two wrongs don't make a right applies here.

      And yet we do exactly that when we imprison people. The criminal commited a WRONG of stealing or killing, and we commit a *second* wrong of depriving that person of his liberty. So YES two wrongs DO often make a right.

      And we call it "revenge" or "justice".

      --
      FOX NEWS.com should be BANNED from television and internet. Have the Congress take it over and give us Truespeak.
    76. Re:Controller? by zeet · · Score: 1

      For sure the Mercedes Kompressors and the Mini Cooper S. However there were also some missed out.

    77. Re:Controller? by Ephemeriis · · Score: 1

      Don't you think that's already been tried? A woman sat on the floor of Congress and testified that her car accelerated to 90 miles an hour, she could not get it to stop (even when shifting to neutral), and when she called Toyota she wasted several hours & received no resolution. Toyota denied the problem existed for YEARS.

      So, obviously, the solution is to steal a new car from Toyota - right? You get a working vehicle, the original problem still remains, but you feel morally justified because the company tried to screw you first - right?

      Or do you prefer the current hearings with lawyers involved who are trying to make Toyota bear responsibility for their defective products and actually fix the problem?

      --
      "Work is the curse of the drinking classes." -Oscar Wilde
    78. Re:Controller? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So swap out the casing?

    79. Re:Controller? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The problem here is that the store has a limited time with their supplier to get Brand new versions of a product when its defective. That's how stores do returns at ALL in the first place.

      1. Manufacturer sells 1000 units to big supplier (ASI, TechData, Ma-Labs, etc..)
      2. Big supplier sells 10, 50, or 100 units to retail chain. To facilitate RMA for defectives, these guys set a time period they will give new replacements to retail chains, sometimes 30 days, but it varies. After that its the responsibility of the Manufacturer and they only give back Refurbished ones.
      3. Retailer uses this to set their return policies so they get brand new replacements and not a REFURBISHED product.

      There is only a set period the supplier will give the retailer a brand new replacement. Once that is up, the retailer either eats the cost or has to get it refurbished from the manufacturer and sell it at a loss (often without a box or manual, sometimes missing parts). The store is not screwing you, you're just too lazy to test something within the time period set by the nature of business. It costs money to deal with returns, stores make a tiny bit each sale and have to make up with volume.

      This kind of abuse is WHY some stores are so strict, they lose a lot of money from this kind of theft, and it IS theft. Its one of the reasons there is so much cost involved in retail, and why we have these policies in the first place.

      If you don't like these policies, don't contribute to them getting worse. YOU are the problem.

  2. Why by 0racle · · Score: 1

    Why would I buy a coffin for something I'm going to either send for repairs or throw out?

    --
    "I use a Mac because I'm just better than you are."
    1. Re:Why by Captain+Spam · · Score: 1

      To send for repairs, you wouldn't. Not unless you wanted to slap a shipping label on it and send it back in the coffin to be a smartass and really stick it to the poor warehouse worker they hired solely to stuff replacement XBox360s in return mailing boxes! Er... "The Man". Yeah. That'll show "The Man"!

      If you're going to throw it out and not do anything else with it, well, why NOT exercise your creativity a bit and have some fun? Might take some of the edge off of having an $X00 paperweight, and you'd get a conversation piece to go with it.

      --
      Demanding constant attention will only lead to attention.
    2. Re:Why by Anonymous+Struct · · Score: 1

      Agreed. Instead, why not plug it in and leave it on for a while so that it can self-cremate?

  3. But it's repairable? by Eggbloke · · Score: 1

    My friend got his repaired for free when it died.

    --
    I care not for your karma and your mod points.
    1. Re:But it's repairable? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      3 years 1 month after I bought it... Not free. 80+ s&h. So about 100 to 'fix' a 100 dollar console that is defective in its design. I give up on it. Not worth my time or money to even bother to fix.

  4. A sign... by thijsh · · Score: 2, Funny

    Yesterday night my second xbox showed the dreaded RROD while watching a movie. Maybe this is a sign... and a proper burial will please the gaming gods and allow my next xbox to live a long and ever-green life.

    The gods will have to pry the controller out of my dead cold hands though.

  5. Why is this here? by slimjim8094 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    What is this crap? Chuck it in Idle. Please.

    Oh wait, it's samzenpus. Carry on, I guess.

    --
    I have developed a truly marvelous proof of this comment, which this signature is too narrow to contain.
    1. Re:Why is this here? by eln · · Score: 1

      All of samzenpus's articles are Idle material, he just occasionally posts them in other sections so he can get views from the 80% of Slashdot readers who have blocked idle.

      If he was hired to provide these sorts of stories, then great, let him do it...His bosses just need to prohibit him from posting in sections outside of Idle.

  6. Great, more artistic landfill by ITShaman · · Score: 1

    All we need, more totally useless shit passed off as art going to fill up already overburdened landfills.

    What a legacy to leave our kids :-(

    --
    I can no longer read Dilbert. It's too depressing, because it is too real. -- Hyperhaplo
    1. Re:Great, more artistic landfill by pandrijeczko · · Score: 1

      I really don't want to be a middle-aged killjoy but the first thing I thought of when I saw this article was that there's probably more than a few kids that have starved to death over the years whose bodies just got thrown into a hole and filled in when they died - and here someone is making a coffin for a toy...

      Yep, strange times...

      --
      Gentoo Linux - another day, another USE flag.
  7. Re:wow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    You obviously weren't here for OMG PONIES!!!

  8. Re:wow by pak9rabid · · Score: 1

    I'll consider myself lucky.

  9. What is the plural form of box? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Here's a hint: it's not box's.........

    1. Re:What is the plural form of box? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are right. Xbox's would mean something completely different.

      Like when you write a quote before the "s" like this: Anonymous Coward's suffering from lack of grammatical skills.

    2. Re:What is the plural form of box? by AndrewNeo · · Score: 1

      I got box's for my Xbox's!

    3. Re:What is the plural form of box? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Boxes, perhaps?

  10. Animal House by oakwine · · Score: 1

    For some reason when I read this I immediately thought of Animal House and the dead horse in the Dean's office.

  11. it even has a cavity for your controller! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Cue goatse ascii...

  12. I would never bury my xbox by Logibeara · · Score: 3, Funny

    Instead I'm going to cryogenically freeze it untill microsoft can find a fix for it in the future.

    --
    I'd rather search for the answers than just ask the questions.
    1. Re:I would never bury my xbox by MartinSchou · · Score: 1

      nstead I'm going to cryogenically freeze it until Microsoft can find a fix for it in the future.

      I think that IS the fix, but you have to pay for it yourself

    2. Re:I would never bury my xbox by B4D+BE4T · · Score: 1

      You can thaw it out now.

      I followed this guide about a year ago when my Xbox 360 died. This brought it back to life and it's still going strong today.

  13. Re:wow by ClosedEyesSeeing · · Score: 1

    No offense, but this is probably the gayest article I've seen on /.

    Should probably check out idle some time...

  14. So? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And I built a coffin for my cock when I got married... News at 11?

  15. Wow... stupid... by revlayle · · Score: 1

    If my XBOX was bricked and no warranty coverage was left, the LAST thing I'd want to do was to pump *more* money into an even MORE useless "accessory". Also, as mentioned before, the controller is probably still good....

    1. Re:Wow... stupid... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's a fracking art piece.

    2. Re:Wow... stupid... by revlayle · · Score: 1

      some art is pretty stupid then

  16. sign me up by sskinnider · · Score: 1

    I am going to need four!

  17. Required reading, you morons. by opus7600 · · Score: 1

    http://www.angryflower.com/aposter.html

  18. Why bury it? by HTRednek · · Score: 1

    Fix it. http://www.llamma.com/xbox360/repair/ring_of_light_x-clamp_fix.htm This kit is supposed to correct the RROD.

    1. Re:Why bury it? by B4D+BE4T · · Score: 1

      I second this. About a year ago my Xbox 360 died. I followed this guide and brought it back to life. It's still running today.

  19. Apostrophe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Xbox's" means "belonging to Xbox". Apostrophes are NOT used to pluralize words. Where did you learn this? Apparently they don't teach English in schools these days.

  20. I apologise by angry+tapir · · Score: 1

    I'm so sorry about that horrible, horrible errant apostrophe I put in the submission headline :-(

  21. Repair by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Repairing the RROD is actually fairly easy. I was a bit nervous at first, but if you go slow, its pretty easy.

    In any event, if you're thinking about throwing it out, why not open it up and have a go.

  22. VISA automatically extends warranty one year by SethJohnson · · Score: 1

    People should know that anything purchased with a VISA card automatically is covered with an extended one year warranty from the expiration of the manufacturer's warranty. Here is the info on the VISA warranty extension.

    If that link doesn't work, just do a google search for "VISA extend Warranty".

    They also have a purchase protection program that covers anything you buy with a VISA card for 90 days replacement if you lose, break or the product is stolen. I broke the glass on my iPhone within 2 months of purchase and they bought me a new iPhone with little paperwork troubles at all.

    Seth

    --
    $5 / month hosted VPS on linux = awesome!
  23. Death by Firing Squad by atomic-penguin · · Score: 1

    A buddy of mine, arranged a death by firing squad for his busted Xbox.

    --
    /^([Ss]ame [Bb]at (time, |channel.)){2}$/
  24. mine hasnt suffered yet but i thought by shnull · · Score: 1

    this was something you could easily repair yourself with a few metal bars , a screwdriver and two hands

    --
    beware he who denies you access to information for in his mind, he already deems himself to be your master (SMAC-ish)