Xbox 360 … Trouble in Paradise

I was having such a good time picking up Gears of War for the first time. I got to the part just after I annihilated these car-sized aliens with an awesome satellite weapon, and there was a cut scene and then BAM. Disc is unreadable, please wipe it and reinsert.

Well, I wiped and reinserted the disc, but nothing. Open Tray -> Close Tray -> Reading for a split second -> Open Tray. I tried it with multiple games, DVDs, and CDs, and nada. It’s as if the laser in the drive is stuck on something and can’t read the disk.

So, I called up Xbox Technical support, gave them the low-down. The CSR had me do a couple of random troubleshooting steps like remove the hard drive and set the system clock (that last I don’t quite get…how could the system clock affect whether or not a disc is readable? ). Nothing worked.

Bottom-line, I will be awaiting a pre-paid shipping box from Microsoft, into which I will be putting my THIRD Xbox360. I’m so glad I bought the extended warranty for it…otherwise I’d be out some serious cash at this point!

Also, as a nice gesture, I will be getting a free month of Xbox Live Gold membership…worth a whopping $4.16…oh well, it’s better than nothing I suppose.

Pay Dell to remove Windows Components

I like to browse to Dell’s website and configure a top-of-the-line/state-of-the-art/bleeding-edge computer just to see what someone with gobs of disposable cash (aka NOT ME) can buy.

I ran into these configuration options:

Microsoft Component Configuration
[ ] Hide Microsoft Outlook Express [ Add $1.66 ]
[ ] Remove Microsoft Games [ Add $1.66 ]
[ ] Hide Microsoft Legacy Communications [ Add $1.66 ]
[ ] Sets (sic) wallpaper to blank [ Add $0.00 ]

I’m not sure which is worse, that they’ll charge you to remove features from their already bloated operating system build *or* that there’s an option to remove the wallpaper.

Are end-users really that lame that they can’t figure out how to do this on their own? Considering this was for a Dell Latitude laptop (arguably targeted as Enterprise users), are IT orgs responsible for deploying these laptops incapable of creating a build that already does one or all of these things?

This is why everyone hates PCs.

I wonder what a Jester’s salary is

An April Fool’s joke from The Motley Fool, but still quite an entertaining read.

Office Jester job at The Motley Fool

My favorite:

Core Competencies:
* Current on all reality TV

I actually know a few people who would be a perfect fit!

HD Laminate Countertops???

I was watching Discovery channel today, because I’m home sick and could do little more than sit on the couch and flip to the last channel that was on the night before, and some do-it-yourself program was on.

It was sponsored by Wilsonart HD™ High Definition™ Laminate.

WTF? I won’t even dignify the label of “HD” by linking to their site. All you marketeers and brand managers out there listen up. “HD” is reserved for video, things that you see on a TV.

There’s no such thing as HD Radio (first of all it isn’t even CD quality). And there certainly isn’t such a thing as “HD Laminate Countertops”!

Oh…and how come Google isn’t the evil empire when they are just now releasing a version of the Google Desktop for the Mac? Pfffttt to you, Mac Lovers!