The economic crunch is starting to affect everyone. Publishers are closing, developers are firing, and even Bill Gates is feeling a pinch in his pocketbook. So how would Microsoft go about saving money? Here are the details of their fiscal savings plan:

1. Gate's mansion will be heated by burning only five dollar bills, because twenties are too hard to find...
   
2. The budget for Steve Balmer's deodorant will be cut in half (See right)
3. Piss off all remaining customers by making the RRoD a MORE painful process.

Word on the street is that the process of getting your Xbox 360 replaced after the dreaded Red Ring of Death has suddenly become much more tedious. Apparently, in a effort to save some precious BillyBucks, Microsoft will no longer be providing you with a coffin to mail in your console back after it kicks the bucket. Thanks for nothing jerks!

"My Xbox red-ringed for the second time this weekend. Which is almost a relief after hearing how bad my disc drive was sounding, but not so much after hearing the new policy. I was told that Xbox no longer ships out a box to you and you must find a box to ship it out in. Yeah I guess its not a big deal, but I think it gives them another thing to hold over your head; "We are sorry, Sir, but you didn't back it well enough and it appears the damage was due to shipping, we cannot help you."

This might not seem like a big problem; it's just a box, right? Yes, but the problem that Zach had, the Red Ring of Death, is such a notorious failure in the Xbox 360 that Microsoft extended its warranty three years for RROD repairs. It's enough of an inconvenience that Zach's console broke from a design flaw and will be inoperable for several weeks; now he needs to track down a box and packing supplies for it?

Perhaps more importantly, as Zach notes, by making customers use their own packing materials, Microsoft is (depending on your level of cynicism) exposing its customers to further damage on their consoles or giving itself an irrefutable reason to deny a repair. The boxes that electronics companies use for repairs are uniform, sturdy things. In our experience, we've had anti-static wrap, form-fitting foam padding, and a solid box. That would probably cost about $20 for a customer to purchase; instead, he'll probably stuff a box full of crumpled newspaper and hope that his broken Xbox doesn't break any more in transit.

As a former victim of the Red Ring of Death, this infuriates me. Microsoft has now officially waved all responsibility for a console that they knowingly designed to fail! Adding insult to injury is the fact that they are now looking for another excuse to cop out of supporting their hardware. This is a despicable action that I think should not be tolerated. Am I alone in feeling this way?