During their press briefing at E3, Microsoft announced that they have entered a partnership with Netflix, according to MSNBC. The (unholy) union means that starting this fall, Xbox users will be able to view streaming videos from Netflix’s collection, however, they may only select from the 10,000 movies and shows which are available online and not the complete DVD library which includes some 100,000 titles. Microsoft has been touting this new service as free, however, that’s not completely true. Details, inside…
xbox
By 6.24.08
../../../..//2008/06/24/lifehacker-has-instructions-on-how/
You will need:
- An Xbox 360
- Windows Vista with Vista Media Center (it’s included by default in Vista Home Premium and Ultimate)
- A Netflix subscription
- The freeware vmcNetflix plug-in
Microsoft: Replace Your XBOX 360? "Sorry, We Can't Help You. Buy All Of Your Content A Second Time"
By 5.29.08
Reader Mac’s XBOX 360 was out of warranty when it broke, so he decided to buy a new one thinking he could just transfer his old hard drive to the new XBOX. Sadly, no matter what he tries he can’t get his content to work properly on the new machine. He called Microsoft to see if they could help him out (after all they do this sort of transfer all the time for people whose boxes are replaced under warranty), but Microsoft’s only answer was “buy all your content a second time.”
XBox Live Thinks One Name is Offensive, Rock Band Says Another Isn't Classy
By 5.22.08
Meet Steph Tytus and Varun Nangia, two more readers whose names were too inappropriate for XBOX live. Varun was forced to change his gamertag, which was his first and last name, and Steph tried to create a band using her name so the world can know that she rocks. Sadly, Rock Band thinks her name isn’t “classy,” and spat our an error message.
XBOX Live Decides Your Surname Is Offensive Because It Contains The Letters "G-A-Y"
By 5.21.08
Reader Richard would like to use his full name as his gamer tag, but XBOX has decided that “Gaywood” is offensive. Here’s his letter:
Microsoft Accuses Gamer Of Tampering With Xbox, Tamper-Proof Sticker Says Otherwise
By 5.20.08
Reader Jeff writes in with yet another tale of Xbox woe: After sending in his third Xbox 360 for a third Red Ring of Death, he was surprised to receive a package from Microsoft only seven days later. “I figured Microsoft was so efficient and concerned about their loyal customers that the quickly delivered me another 360,” says Jeff. That’s not what happened.
"Gay" Player Name Banned By Xbox Live
By 5.14.08
Reader Grant says that his gamer tag “theGAYERgamer” was recently banned by Xbox Live. He hoped that a call to customer support would sort things out but all he received was a confusing explanation from an Xbox Live supervisor. According to the supervisor, it wasn’t that she found the name offensive, but it was the “greater Xbox community” that found it offensive. Screenshot above. Grant’s letter, inside…
Sony: Go Ahead And Buy An XBOX "Their Support Isn't Much Better"
By 5.13.08
Reader Adrian’s PS3 is broken and since the console was a gift that didn’t come with a receipt, Sony is denying warranty coverage. Where it gets tricky is that there’s a “manufactured on” sticker on the back of the machine indicating that it is clearly less than a year old — meaning that there’s no possible way it could be out of warranty coverage. Adrian tried explaining this concept to Sony, but they weren’t interested. No receipt. No warranty. When Adrian threatened to switch to XBOX, Sony’s only answer was that “their support wasn’t much better.”
How To: Quickly Contact Intelligent Life At XBOX Customer Service
By 5.5.08
Jason at Doombot has developed a process for reaching intelligent life at XBOX customer service. He discovered this easy 4-step procedure thanks to a XBOX 360 that enjoys not reading discs.
Microsoft CSR Changes Your Identity, Preventing You From Getting Your Xbox
By 4.28.08
Bryan Carroll can’t pick up his repaired Xbox because Microsoft printed his name on the address label as “Brian Dyranerool.” After he scheduled a repair with a CSR in India, Bryan was assured that he would receive a shipping box within 3-5 days. After 6 days had passed, he contacted an apologetic supervisor who said she would simply email him a shipping label and send out a free wireless controller for his wasted time and trouble. However, the name on his shipping label read, “Brian Dryanerool.” He contacted Microsoft about the error and was told that the problem was corrected. The good news is that Bryan’s Xbox was repaired and shipped swiftly to a UPS customer center. The bad news is that his box was addressed to “Brian Dryanerool,” and he was not allowed to pick up the repaired Xbox. Bryan describes his saga inside:
Let Best Buy 'Professionally Install' Your XBox Games
By 4.20.08
Tipster Michael writes:
Apparently the local Best Buy has an unbeatable service option for you. Looks like they will come to your house and insert your game to your 360 for you. Wonder how much they would charge to turn it on and put the controller in my hand?
Fie on anyone who says these signs are misplaced. This is a revolutionary new service that will do for game installation what Game Genie did for gameplay. Just you wait and see…
Microsoft Keeps Your Repaired XBox For 4 Months, Calls You A Thief For Wanting It Back
By 4.19.08 — Updated: 3.10.13
[protected-iframe id="b8f18f624db3162ddc3edeca28b1ece8-40783744-40309798" info="http://digg.com/api/diggthis.php?u=http://digg.com/xbox/Help_Microsoft_Thinks_I_m_A_Thief_For_Wanting_My_XBox_Back" width="55" height="82" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"]Microsoft hasn’t returned Tiffany’s XBox 360 for four months because they think she is a thief, even though she has her original receipt and a credit card statement proving that she is the console’s rightful owner. Microsoft repaired the XBox back in January and tried to return it via FedEx, but a shipping snafu landed the box back at Microsoft’s service center. Tiffany has called repeatedly. She even sent a letter to Microsoft’s legal department, after sending her receipt and statement, asking how else she could prove ownership. That was 22 days ago. She has yet to receive a response.
By 4.9.08
../../../..//2008/04/09/man-and-comcast-employee-gets/
Man (and Comcast employee) gets laptop and XBOX back after unleashing mobs of vigilante internetters on the thieves. [Philly Daily News] (Thanks, Markus!)
It's Been 3 Months And 12 Days Since My XBOX Broke And Microsoft Still Won't Send Me A Box
By 4.8.08
Reader Dustin lives on a military base and Microsoft keeps telling him that they can’t fulfill his warranty because UPS doesn’t ship XBOXs back and forth from military bases. According to UPS, this isn’t true. Dustin tried escalating his complaint and got some apologies, but months went by and still no box arrived for his broken XBOX 360.
"Red Light Of Death" Xbox Owner Wants Same Extended Warranty As "Red Ring Of Death" Sufferers
By 4.8.08
Though Microsoft bowed to a gamer backlash and gave 3-year warranty protection for the widespread Xbox hardware failure known as “The Red Ring of Death,” it seems another debilitating malfunction, “The Red Light of Death,” hasn’t become enough of a PR fiasco to merit the same treatment. Let’s help it along with reader Steve’s story…
You Call To Cancel Your Zune Account, Microsoft Deactivates XBOX Live
By 4.4.08
After he called Microsoft to cancel his Zune account, reader Will noticed that his XBOX Live account was suddenly silver instead of gold.
Dear Microsoft, Please Send This Man A Shipping Box
By 4.2.08 — Updated: 10.25.12
He just wants to send his Xbox in for repair, and you keep losing his request. He swears he’s not a “crazy blogger,” but despite that, we still want to help him. So please? You’ve got all his phone numbers and contact info now. Can you send a box?
Comcast Tech Abuses Power To Rack Vegeneance On Xbox Hackers
By 4.2.08
DSL Reports has the story of an outsourced Comcast tech was fired after bragging online about using internal Comcast systems to get vengeance on hackers disrupting his Xbox. After annoying little twerps intentionally overloaded his Xbox with data (known as packet flooding), Mark Ribeiro, who describes himself as a “Comcast tier 2.5 support agent, which essentially means im one of the top 1% elitest agents,” went to work. First he identified one of the perps and found out he was a Comcast customer. Then he looked up the kid’s info in the Comcast support system and called the kid’s father…
