Microsoft being sued for releasing defective 360's

[westcott]

Just thought I would share this report from Reuters.

http://today.reuters.com/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=technologyNews&storyID=2005-12-05T183631Z_01_ARM566955_RTRUKOC_0_US-MEDIA-XBOX.xml

 

[j_garcia]

Don't these sue happy freaks have anything better to do? It's the first generation of a new product. You buy it fully expecting that there will be some issues initially. That's the risk you take.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Robert Byers, who brought the suit, said the power supply and central processing unit in the Xbox 360 overheat, affecting heat-sensitive chips and causing the console to lock up.

via Yahoo news - LOS ANGELES (Reuters)

Sounds like your typical overloaded pc, or better yet, some of those steamy HK receivers.

(I do like HK, but they need the breathing room)

 

[ducker]

yea but when stuff fries due to poor mfg, you can take it back and swap it for one working properly... no can do here...

 

[BMXTRIX]

yea but when stuff fries due to poor mfg, you can take it back and swap it for one working properly... no can do here...

Some people have already contacted MS about their defective units. MS sent them, overnight, a prepaid overnight return shipping box. There are already people that received replacement units from MS.

Yeah, a pain, but hardly a reason to sue over. Plus, defective would indicate that the issue really is a total desgin failure, not a poor product. That is, if one part is going bad from one vendor in 10% of the 360s, then that was a poor batch run, not a design error, but a build error.

Just plain silliness from sue happy fools.

 

[markw]

Geez, wotta bunch of crybabies we've got in line to run this country.

Normally, I would think ones needs to suffer some damage or loss to sue. What damage or loss could they have possibly suffered by not being able to play their effen' computer games.

They give gamers a bad name. Get over it, guys.

 

[agarwalro]

It's the first generation of a new product. You buy it fully expecting that there will be some issues initially. That's the risk you take.

I will have to disagree. Its a new product but not a beta-testing version. Would you be of the same opinion if you bought a new receiver, say the Rx-V2600, and it had some issue on the HDMI switching. Its a new product, with a new feature in its price range too.

At the same time I will have to agree that it is hardly cause to sue MS. My TV had a manufacturing defect the first time it was delivered, just went back to the store and got a replacemtent sent. I did not see it as my gateway to riches .

 

[Jedi2016]

The suit is concerned with the difference between a "manufacturing defect" and a unit that was simply rushed to market without proper quality control. That MS was in such a hurry to release their system first that they didn't properly test the design before shipping it to stores.

It's not an isolated incident.. there are a LOT of people complaining about overheating and lockups. If it was a problem in manufacturing, it's awfully coincidental that so many people are having the same problem, isn't it? It's not a defect.. it's a design flaw.

 

[markw]

It ain't a perscription drug or an automobile.

The suit is concerned with the difference between a "manufacturing defect" and a unit that was simply rushed to market without proper quality control. That MS was in such a hurry to release their system first that they didn't properly test the design before shipping it to stores.

It's not an isolated incident.. there are a LOT of people complaining about overheating and lockups. If it was a problem in manufacturing, it's awfully coincidental that so many people are having the same problem, isn't it? It's not a defect.. it's a design flaw.

Nobody got hurt or suffered any damages. I's a friggin' game ferchissake. So, they exchange it for a new one. What harm is done? Grow up and get a life. Learn what's important and what ain't.

 

[claudermilk]

"Seeks unspecified damages"

Like what?! All they can reasonably expect is a refund of the purchase price. This sounds like the all-too-common bid for free money courtesy of the court system. Obviously I agree with the rest of the posters that this is a ridiculous suit; just return the #@()* thing for a working one or refund & be done with it. There really should be some kind of penalty for filing frivolous lawsuits.

 

[philh]

Nobody got hurt or suffered any damages. I's a friggin' game ferchissake. So, they exchange it for a new one. What harm is done? Grow up and get a life. Learn what's important and what ain't.

How would you feel if one unit over heats, causes a home fire and kills one person. How about if that person killed is your neighbors child. How about if it's your child. Just because it hasn't happened, doesn't mean it won't. Inexcusable to deliver a defective product for the sake of meeting a specific delivery date. Unfortunately, courts are sometimes the only way to make manufacturers understand that unsafe and defective products can not be shipped to the customer, even if it saves money, or has to meet a deadline.

 

[markw]

It overheats when it's not being used?

How would you feel if one unit over heats, causes a home fire and kills one person. How about if that person killed is your neighbors child. How about if it's your child. Just because it hasn't happened, doesn't mean it won't. Inexcusable to deliver a defective product for the sake of meeting a specific delivery date. Unfortunately, courts are sometimes the only way to make manufacturers understand that unsafe and defective products can not be shipped to the customer, even if it saves money, or has to meet a deadline.

Well, gee, if one is so engrossed playing their stoopid game that they don't notice the raging fire surrounding them then I'd say that's Darwin's theory in action.

 

[HookedOnSound]

LOL, is anybody forgetting who is selling this product?

It's a Micro$oft product. They are doing the same thing to customers with their software programs. Give them a product that is flawed and let the customer feedback help you fix the problem

IMHO, in the U.S. if you wan't anything fixed, ppl have to run to the legal courts to solve their problems, the society is bred that way!

It's a not just MS who is guilty, alot of companies have really bad products and the amount of ppl who get ripped off is atrocious.

I don't think this gentleman who is suing should be awarded a large sum of money but I for one think the principle of the matter is important.

How else do you stop the Enrons of the world?

 

[markw]

The best way to express displeasure with microsoft, or any company...

is to vote with your wallet. Simply return the product, get your money back, and purchase a competitors product.

If someone isn't willing to do that then they deserve all they get.

After all, nobody forced anybody to be the first kid on the block with the "new, improved Xbox". If people choose to be on the "bleeding edge" of technology, certain risks are implied.

 

[Cygnus]

Wait!

This is exactly why people should wait a while before buying a REALLY new product that hits the market:


Problems.

It always happens, and always will. People should wait for a while to buy thse things , for 2 reasons:

1: bugs get sorted out
2: price drops (depends on how long such said people wait for)

 

[claudermilk]

Being on the bleeding edge certainly implies the risk of being the guinea pig for the rest of the market. The more complex the products get the more likely you are to run into early run problems. I hate to even look like I'm defending M$, but I'm sure they put their development units through plenty of testing; but however much testing you do there's always going to be something missed you don't find out about until it hits the market--again the more complex the product gets the more likely this is. It's up to the customer to decide what is more important: being the very first kid on the block with the new toy or getting a more reliable, thoughrouly tested product at a reasonable price.

I think the lawsuit is ridiculous, the first thing is to try and get a replacement or refund. IF that is refused, then he has a leg to stand on in court. It sounds like the first knee-jerk reaction was "gee it doesn't work, SUE THEM! cha-ching!"

I'm not on the XBox bandwagon, but once the PS3 comes out, I'm waiting for the initial rush to die down & let prices drop to a reasonable level while allowing the gotta-have-it-now people do my final testing for me.

 

[Tsunamii]

ive got one and never had an overheting issue. I do have wood floors and its pretty well vented. So far so good. Only down side is that th box is loud but with surround sound its no problem

 

[Rock&Roll Ninja]

Maybe he bought the $50,000 Xbox360 on Ebay and has a good reason to be super-pissed.

 

[MAX661]

I have had an X360 since day one and also never had a single problem, I put the power brick in another room with the cables going through the wall so the system isn't loud at all anymore.

Personally I love this machine and I am having alot of fun with it.

 

[Hi Ho]

Being on the bleeding edge certainly implies the risk of being the guinea pig for the rest of the market. The more complex the products get the more likely you are to run into early run problems. I hate to even look like I'm defending M$, but I'm sure they put their development units through plenty of testing; but however much testing you do there's always going to be something missed you don't find out about until it hits the market--again the more complex the product gets the more likely this is. It's up to the customer to decide what is more important: being the very first kid on the block with the new toy or getting a more reliable, thoughrouly tested product at a reasonable price.

I think the lawsuit is ridiculous, the first thing is to try and get a replacement or refund. IF that is refused, then he has a leg to stand on in court. It sounds like the first knee-jerk reaction was "gee it doesn't work, SUE THEM! cha-ching!"

I agree. The lawsuit is rediculous. There are problems with every first run product. Think about cars. The first year or so of production of a new model generally produces cars that are less reliable than the previous model. If you look at the reliability ratings in Consumer Reports there is a definite pattern. When a new model is released reliability drops below average but goes up within a couple of years (except for certain brands ).

This country is full of sue-happy freeloaders.