Starlord1138

A Radeon HD 4870 trumps your 9800 GTX+, "d00000d!" And even outperforms Nvidia's higher-end GeForce GTX 260 and 280 on some tests. Educate yourself before spewing garbage.

Thanks and happy holidays, Engadget. :)

"Your correct, when you have a practically non-existing per capita GDP, it's not too hard to grow from nothing."

It's one thing to "grow from nothing" (which is inaccurate, btw, but I'm using your quote) -- it's another thing entirely to MAINTAIN rapid economic development for *YEARS,* which India has been doing since 1991 when the government began to relax restrictions against privatization and foreign investment.

You're correct that most of India's population in the rural areas are still struggling to enjoy the benefits of these reforms, but that's not exactly relevant to the point of *this* article and the posts some people are making. The way they make it seem, people there are still learning to harness fire and communicate with smoke signals.

There actually are quite a few gamers in India who'll be able to experience the fun and features of XBL. It doesn't require 90% of the population to have running water or broadband Internet. Ninety-percent of the people in the *U.S.* don't have broadband. All it takes is a few thousand or hundred thousand for Microsoft to start making some inroads into the fledgling online consumer arena there.

India's urban population alone is nearly the size of the ENTIRE U.S.'s populace, so bringing XBL to them is not only *possible,* it's good business sense. Anyone who ignores an emerging economic power like India is a fool.

India currently has the world's second-fastest growing economy, behind only China.

It has its share of problems but it also has an enormous population of *highly-educated,* literate, English-speaking professionals, and most of the larger cities such as Bangalore and Mumbai have all the amenities you'd find in the U.S.

The cell phone infrastructure, which is GSM-based, is widespread and cell phones are easy to afford. Visit any bazaar in the heart of a major city and you'll find models we won't see here in the States EVER.

Broadband Internet is also growing rapidly and is comparatively cheaper than what we fork out in the West. There's also this little thing called ELECTRICITY that powers the networks and computers connected to them, believe it or not. The MAJORITY of people actually have access to it (FYI - a "majority" means more than 50% and electricity is widely-available to more than 50% of India's population. Embellish much?).

Next time, champ, try VISITING the country you're blasting before spouting off like an ignorant tool.

I was born in India, have visited numerous times, and contrary to common belief, you CAN wipe your ass with something besides a leaf.

Too bad you can't wipe the shitstain of your ignorance off your own...

"Starlord, stop being so negative, if you really want a 360 just get one"

I'm entitled to my opinion, vinny. And I'll buy a 360 when I'm more confident I'll have a better than 60% chance of landing one that actually lasts, not because you think I'm "being negative."

The statement was a bit imprecise, I'll give you that. I was shooting too much for hyperbole there. ;)

But your comment that "it probably was 40% of systems dying" isn't exactly a heartwarming vote of confidence, either. A 40% -- or even 25% -- hardware failure rate on such a high-profile product is abysmal, even laughable.

It's also equally naive to think that the Falcons will solve anything when NO ONE has even had a Falcon 360 long enough to confirm if there's an improvement.

Just trying to be realistic here. Believe me, I'd love to get a 360 that ends up being as reliable as yours. Recent statistics don't support that possibility, however.

"new heatsinks, new falcon chips, problem has been fixed since summer, enjoy your 360

ps. ive had my 360 since feb 06, not 1 problem ever and i play just about every day for hours."

Good for you. You'd be one of the exceptions to the rule, unfortunately. If you spend even a little bit of time on the official Xbox forums, you'd see dozens upon dozens of topics dedicated solely to the RROD issue, which btw is CONTINUING even with people who bought the newer systems that have improved heatsinks. I can show you a few pretty pictures of new Elites with the 3 RROD emblazoned on the front.

Also, like I said earlier, the Falcon won't solve the problem. It might *help,* but the overheating issues stem from the GPU, NOT the CPU, and this has been well-documented by now. The GPU is still at least several months away from going down to 65 nm.

Plus, there's only been one supposed sighting of a Falcon 360 so far, and even that one case hasn't been confirmed. So there really hasn't been any real-world proof that the Falcons have helped with anything.

I'd be more interested in this bundle if I wasn't afraid my 360 would brick on me in the middle of playing them.

Until MS sorts out their hardware problems and REALLY fixes their console (note: the Falcon chipset won't help; the problem's with the GPU, not the CPU), I'm not confident in buying their system.

For all its lack of software, the PS3 provides a built-in Blu-Ray player, built-in Wi-Fi (even the Elites don't have Wi-Fi out of the box; you have to "unlock" it with an adapter), and built-in Bluetooth functionality. When the long-rumored $399 SKU comes out, it'll be a fantastic deal. And the games WILL come.

I love the games on the horizon for the 360 and am eager to play them, but I'm pissed-off at MS's inability to fix a CATASTROPHIC flaw in their design process.

Battlestar Galactica. Best show on TV... period.