My home has been purged.  I got rid of my PC (running Windows) a long time ago in favor of a Mac.  Best computer choice I ever made.  No I have finally eliminated my Xbox360 from my entertainment arsenal.  The bloody thing died back in November, but I never got around to getting rid of it.  I have previously posted about my issues with the dreaded Red Ring of Death.  This is my 2nd, supposedly repaired unit.  Sure enough, it died too.  Having had enough of instability I made the switch to the PS3.  I couldn’t be happier.  My bank account is also happy for not having to spend another $70 to renew my Xbox Live subscription.  When I had my first RRoDissue Microsoft was nice enough to send me a box with the shipping label and packing materials.  It made for a quick and safe transport of the device.  This time I was told that I had to find my own box to ship the thing in.  I was even lectured on the phone about making sure to secure it well with quality packing material as any shipping damage would not be their fault.  Being someone who is a fan of passive aggressive retribution, I thanked the agent for the advice and said nothing more.  I decided I would make my statement via their new shipping procedure.  My Xbox360 will arrive at their depot in a very clean and well packed Sony PS3 box!  Ghandi would be pleased with me.

I did it.  I made the switch.  You may recall that I posted about getting the dreaded red ring on death on my XBOX 360 back in April.  The well known issue is covered by Microsoft so the repair was done under warranty.  I was fairly pleased with how quickly the process was handled, but I was still without my game system for a while.  My huge problem with this is that I also use the XBOX as my DVD player.  My current BluRay player does not handle upscaling DVD’s very well.  So, everything was going well until I ran into yet another red ring issue!  This was supposed to be the repaired model!  So, I found myself having to order in another warranty service on my device.  That was it for me.  I need stability.  I bought a PS3.  My first impressions - I could not be more happy with the choice.  Here are some key points that are huge for me.

• Price - I picked up a 120 gig PS3 for $299.  That’s cheap!  Since the price drop put it right down in the same range as the XBOX you can no longer claim price is the reason that you won’t go to PS3.  And, as I am about to explain, it comes with sooo many goodies that make it such a value.

• No Batteries Needed For Controllers - the controller that comes with the unit has a built in battery.  No need to keep using your own AA batteries.  And, you recharge them just by using a supplied USB cable.  Now, you can get a similar setup for your XBOX, but that costs extra!

• Small Size - Size matters.  Smaller is better.  The unit itself is slim and looks sharp with my other equipment.  The best part about it is that it doesn’t have the massive power supply brick that the XBOX 360 has.  It is just a simple power cord.  The power supply unit is built into the system.

• Simplicity - I am a geek and can handle configuring pretty much anything.  I really do appreciate when things are simple though.  Setting this thing up, creating your profile and getting signed into the Playstation Network is easy to do!  Everything is laid out for you in simple steps.  No need to hunt around to figure things out.

• WiFi - WIRELESS!  It has a built in wireless network card.  I refused to pay money for an external card on my XBOX so I ran some CAT5 over to it.  I no longer need that run of cable as this thing comes loaded with it’s own WiFi card.  Not just that, it works well.  I know a few people that could never get their wireless working well on the 360.  They would have huge lag and drops when online gaming, regardless of signal strength.  No such issues on this thing!

• Free Online Gaming - The timing for this worked out very well for me.  My XBOX Live subscription was due for renewal this month.  I have no desire to pay $70 a year for game updates and the right to play online.  With the PS3 all of that is free.

• BluRay - I originally thought that I didn’t need this feature, as I have a separate BluRay player.  I was wrong.  My old Samsung is no longer needed.  This BluRay player is amazing.  The load times are very quick and the controls are sharp.  No lag when trying to get menu items and all that jazz.  The picture quality is great too.  I see no drop off in quality.  My old BluRay player is now redundant.  I plan on picking up the DVD remote control for the PS3.  The best part about that thing is that it uses Bluetooth.  No need to point the remote towards the PS3, it doesn’t need line of sight to work!

• It’s Quiet - This is something that I didn’t really expect.  The PS3 is amazingly quiet.  I am used to the loud chugging noise of my XBOX when I am playing games or watching a movie.  It never really bothered me because I was just used to it.  Now that I have the PS3, I am certain that noise would drive me crazy.  You can hardly tell that this thing is running!

When it rains it pours!  Life has been very interesting for my girlfriend and myself lately.  First she gets her car stolen and then her neighbors turn into cock-suckers.  Now, I will admit her problems are a little bigger than mine.  My HP laptop kicked the can and tried to make me late on a large assignment I had due.  Lucky for me you can buy an Apple MacBook in about 5 different places that are close to me.  I picked one up, recovered the data and now I am good to go!  Just when I thought technology was done fucking with me I got the dreaded RROD.  Yes, the famous Microsoft red ring of death on my Xbox 360!  I have a pic of the RROD below.  The funny thing was I wasn’t even trying to play a game, I was watching a movie that I needed to get through for an elective course the next morning.  I think school work is taking it’s toll on all my toys!  I will call up Microsoft and get my baby repaired under their extended warranty.  The only thing I will have to make sure is that they ship me MY repaired version with the HDMI port.  I have heard from many friends that Microsoft can really fuck around with you during this process.  It might be in my best interest to just buy a new one.  I have no desire to do that, having just finished paying for a new Mac.  I am going to do some research and look into doing this repair myself.  Luckily I am so busy with school that I don’t have time to play video games anyways.  I am also lucky that I have a Blu-ray player that allows me to still watch my dvd’s.  In other news:  tomorrow is fitness testing day for me.  I have to do a CPAT test in the morning and clinical tests in the afternoon.  The CPAT is a timed obstacle course that is pass/fail.  You have to do the entire thing wearing a 50 lbs weighted vest.  They add an extra 25 lbs for the first 3:20 while you are on a step mill.  I have practiced this and believe me when I tell you that your legs get tired!  After the CPAT I go in to get my body fat measured, I have to do a million sit-ups and then they measure my VO2 max score by killing me on a treadmill with some tubes hooked up to my mouth.  All in all it should be an interesting morning.  I think this one might be a little more relaxed than the fire ground so I will try to get a buddy to take some pics of me doing this.  If that isn’t possible I will still take some pics of us hanging around in between the two events.  Wish me luck!

My baby!  My poor, poor baby!!