I'd be inclined to agree with you if I COULD BUY ONE!

Seriously, such a great console, but the launch, especially the stock issue has put me right off.

I built my own media center by the way... the experience was good, and I used the extender with my XBox, worked really well... but the setup around the TV Tuners (it took forever to get the correct arcane install order and exact driver versions for each piece of hardware correct) sucked.

Hey Rory - Thanks for suggestion! I will definitely look into using Camtasia or something similar for the next round. I appreciate the suggestions as I am still trying to figure out the best system for light files with high quality video and audio.

anonymouse -

"I'd be inclined to agree with you if I COULD BUY ONE!"

I feel your pain.

I have one, but it was only after a lot of effort (and money). I had placed an order with GameStop several months before launch, but they weren't forthcoming with information about when the thing would come. All they were willing to tell me was that mine wouldn't be in the first shipment (this is after they swore up and down that I'd get the console on launch day).

I cancelled my order and bought a premium package on eBay. I wound up paying an extra $200 to get it, but it was worth it for me.

"Seriously, such a great console, but the launch, especially the stock issue has put me right off."

Keep in mind as well that a *huge* part of the stock problem is that these things are being purchased and then immediately posted on eBay. People who really want systems aren't getting them, while the scalpers have found a way to make a quick buck. This has been a major topic of discussion on internal mailing lists. It sucks.

We would have been able to satisfy many more customers if there had been a way to ensure that the packages weren't going to be auctioned off, but you can't really do that :|

On the bright side, stores all over the country have been getting regular shipments - it's just a matter of keeping up on what's going where.

GameStop and similar stores are probably the worst bet - those systems are spoken for.

Online retailers like Amazon and Circuit City have been getting packages for sale, but mostly bundles costing about $1,000 (they're worth it, though).

So, yeah - it's hard, but the consoles are out there.

Amanda -

"Thanks for suggestion! I will definitely look into using Camtasia or something similar for the next round."

Yeah, damn it!

Don't you *dare* deliver any more free, high quality content without first ensuring that you implement my ideas.

The *nerve* :)

You can use http://www.xbox360tracker.com/ or http://xbox.clambert.org/ to see which stores have xboxes in stock.

The first one has an RSS-feed ( http://xbox360tracker.com/xbox360-2.xml ), so if you set that up in your aggregator with a short (30 minutes or so) refresh-rate, you should get fairly instant notification of when units are available.

The second one allows you to enter your zipcode, and then shows how many 360's will be in stock at your local BestBuy tomorrow (December 18), in case you feel incline to go stand in line for one...

I agree - but the stock issue is [much] worse in the UK, as is the eBay resale issue. The technical faults stories haven't bothered me - remember the dodgy dvd drive issue when PS2 launched?

And I also had a "guaranteed" pre-order...

I will get one in the New Year - I was just looking forward to kicking your ass on Live... :-)

Will you get your original tag back?

The Dashboard is an awesome showpiece. Amanda has done a great job in showcasing it.

Remeber all that stuff about games consoles being trojan horses and stealing the market for home PC operating systems etc from Microsoft? Well, seeing it in action has begun to make me wonder about what will happen when TV's get better (from a technical point of view, I'm not sure the content will change radically :-p) in the next ten years... Your guys did an especially great job on this facet.

"It’s weird that a part of the console that isn’t used for playing games is getting so much attention"

I think it's because it is new and it's [very] good. I have some friends who were luckier (i.e. the random number generator that the e-retailer used to decide who got their "guaranteed" pre-order was kinder to them) and I got to play with it. I was impressed. Slick, usable, focused.

It's a shame the 360 sticks out so much under shirts though... I almost got out the door.

Great suggestion on using Camtasia. Great quality rendering, and even my 8-year-old could use it!