You haven't played Lollipop Chainsaw yet, have you?

At that point, every game would be developed for the 361, and it would "technically" still run on the 360. Horrible framerates, unplayable multiplayer, the whole nine yards... but it technically works!

This is why I switched from PC to console gaming years ago. If I'm playing against you on a console, it comes down to skill: we both have the same console, so it's a level playing field. On a PC, we could be equally matched in whatever game... but since you spent that extra $100 on your video card, you're going to slay me.

Charles XXX invited you to join him on Google+

The Google+ project is currently working out all the kinks with a small group of testers. If you're not able to access Google+, please check back again soon.

...which links me to a page that says:

We've temporarily exceeded our capacity. Please try again soon.

Ahhh well... thanks anyway!

Me too, please please please?

musicmademe atat gmail

High fives!

Even better question. And what is this "Google" they are speaking of?

It sets a cookie on your computer, so even if you don't buy that book (and why wouldn't you?!), you'll send them a few nickels next week when you buy a DVD... unless you click someone else's referral link in the meantime.

I have no idea if it's different in your country, but over here in the US, we have minimum wages as well... only, employers can pay you less if you are allowed to accept tips. Example, the pizza guy who makes the pizza and doesn't take tips? Minimum wage, $7.50 / hour or whatever MW is these days. The delivery guy who actually takes it to your house? $2.00 / hour + tips (maybe slightly more or less than $2, I don't deliver pizza, but you get the idea).

That sounded a little too specific to be merely a random example. Interesting friends.

"Players have three options: 400 points ($5) grants a dual-platform license (playable on Xbox 360 and PC), 240 points ($3) gets you the virtual arcade cabinet on one platform (Xbox 360 or PC), and, for the old-fashioned types, 40 points ($0.50) is exactly "two quarters" worth of playtime -- for an authentic arcade experience, minus the sticky floors."

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/01/07/xbox-game-room-pricing-partners-detailed/

If you have to send it in for warranty repair/work then you get a refurbished unit

Not entirely true. I know that they send a refurb if your console is beyond repair or in other special circumstances, but myself and a couple of friends have all had to send in the console for RRoD repair - we've all got our original, repaired consoles back (verified by the serial number, and in one guy's case, the stickers).

Personally, I dislike the Silverlight version.... but that's only because I'm using a computer that I built on a budget three or four years ago. The older version worked fine on it, but this new version is just too much for my pitiful rig (1.34 GHz, 768 megs of RAM). Note that this is a personal complaint - it sucks, but I don't expect companies to cater to old hardware forever.

With that said, it works like a dream on my wife's computer (which isn't bleeding edge hardware, but it's very powerful), and I can't say anything negative about the quality or the overall performance on it.

I wonder how many of the protesters are in my boat (low-end hardware, maybe better than mine, but still not up to snuff) and just don't put two and two together.

You do need to pay for the gold membership for that account if you want that extra set of features (can't speak for your household, but my ol' lady doesn't need it). You do get a free month when you make the account, though.

For arcade games, I didn't notice a problem... I just tested again with Doom (which I bought on my account), and I could play the full version from her account with no problems. I've heard of that getting screwy if you buy the game on one hard drive, replace said drive, and redownload the game, but I've never had to replace the drive so I don't know how it works.

Here's some food for thought. I've had my Xbox for a couple of years now, and in that time, both the woman of the house and my daughter have had no interest in it. Sure, they watch me play every now and then, but that was really the extent of it.

Yesterday, they saw me playing around with the avatar. My wife then wanted to make her own avatar, which led to her getting her own account on my box, which further led to her checking out the arcade and buying a couple of games ("I didn't know they had Pac-Man! Frogger! Whoa!"). My kid, not content with her own account on my box, now wants one for herself for Christmas.

Funny how that silly little system brings in the casual crowd, eh?