Making Failure as Painless as Possible

Well, I have to hand it to Microsoft's XBox division. Having been plagued by the Red Ring of Death, they've tried to make it as easy as possible to repair people's machines.

First of all, you register your 'box (if you haven't already done so), and they know from the serial number that it's still in warranty. Then, you fill out a quick Hardware Failure sheet. Then they inform you that they will send a flatpacked box for you to put the Xbox into, and a link to UPS's site to print out a special label that you put onto the box. Once that's done, you either go to your local UPS Drop Off Point, or phone them to get them to pick it up from you. Simple!

The only problem is time - there's a couple of days that go by while you're waiting for the box, then apparently it takes 2 to 3 weeks to repair/replace and return the 'box to you. That's a little inconvenient, but at least they've tried to make it as trouble-free as possible.

I've been out of sorts for the past couple days too. I don't know what it is exactly, but I think I may have a bug of some sort. I was knackered on Saturday and I put it down to the night of pool I had with Slaygon. But it didn't clear; Sunday and yesterday was like walking through treacle. I actually went to bed at 8pm last night, albeit to just relax and read. When the lights went off, I immediately fell asleep. I feel a lot better this morning, so hopefully the worst of it is over.

The internet connection seems to be stable enough now, so I'll atempt to transmit a show after two weeks' break. It's been a strange couple of weeks, relaxing on a Wednesday rather than talking into a microphone, but I'm looking forward to it!