While I'm certain that a lot of our readers have experienced the infamous hardware issues plaguing Microsoft's console, I'll note that I've seen it less rampantly among friends. And maybe the fact that I'm seeing it less and less is a product of Microsoft's recent strides towards making a more stable, cooler and smoother platform.

Some of you will disagree for sure, but Microsoft claims that most of the atrocious hardware issues are behind them. Xbox mouthpiece, Aaron Greenberg, spoke with GameSpot about the 360's improving piece of hardware...

"I can tell you the consoles we're making today have lower-heat chips and better cooling, and we're seeing fantastic quality in those consoles today...

...So I think we've made it clear we stand by the quality of our product and we will make it right by fixing the problem at no extra cost to you. But at the same time, we've been working hard to make improvements in the products we're currently making, so I really feel like most of this is well behind us." -- Aaron Greenberg via GameSpot

And I talked with Kombo's podcast team for a bit about this, but I do think Microsoft has done a fairly good job when it comes to handling hardware issues. Most will probably say that the error comes from the fact that there were hardware issues at all, but by extending warranties an making problems easy to solve, Microsoft's customer base isn't exactly evaporating.

That and the fact that I haven't heard anyone complaining about the red rings recently. You folks? Still having a tough time?