Red Ring of Death and Other Digital Disasters

Yesterday was not a good digital day at the Sun household. First our DSL modem finally kicked the bucket after 7+ years of faithful service.

With no Internet access, the family had to resort to going outdoors, Christmas shopping at brick & mortar stores and watching TV for information. Scary. I'm heading to Best Buy today to pick up a new DSL modem so we can get back on the information highway.

The second issue was my son's XBOX 360 succumbed to the infamous "Red Ring of Death." It lasted almost 1.5 years so I guess we were luckier than most. I called it into Microsoft support and now need to wait for them to ship me a box so I can send the console in to their repair center.

I'm guessing we won't have a new/refurbished/repaired 360 at home until January 2008. Good thing I bought my son a couple of 360 games for Christmas. The Bourne Ultimatum on HD DVD will also gather dust as well unless I get a standalone player, which given the state of the Blu-Ray / HD DVD stalemate is not a great move unless I can find one really cheap.

At least it won't be a video game free holiday season as I picked up a Wii for my soon-to-be 10 year old daughter for her combined Xmas/Birthday gift.....