NXE, Updates, and RRoD

I was disappointed to hear the friend I'm visiting has an RRoD console after installing the NXE. Well, he mustn't be alone. His Core system has an HDMI port, so I was a bit surprised...weren't those supposed to be the "good ones"?

Both my RRoD experiences were with big updates. Shortly after the Fall update of 2006, my launch console and a room mate's 6-month-old console both showed us the red-eye. Mind you that was before *all* 360's had the 3-year RRoD warranty, so mine was covered and his was not (until they changed it and he got it fixed). Both replacement boxes have worked fine since, but it left me leary.

Well, there's also that RRoD I console bought on Ebay that I almost fixed (don't have the DVD drive key, making it strictly a media center after soldering work). But that was a user-induced RRoD caused by inexperienced DIY mod-attempts.

This is unacceptable. No 360 after those first few waves should have this problem. It's pretty bad when end-users have to come up with seemingly-effective but warranty-voiding fixes.

This just reminds me of PS2 DRE yet again. How many revisions is this going to take? I certainly hope not 13 like with the PS2. Microsoft is already half-way there.