# I pit Xbox Live **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 29, 2012, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-xbox-live/645520 "2012-12-29T21:19:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2012, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-xbox-live/645520/41 "2012-12-30T21:05:26Z")
Didn’t realize the power switches cost extra, eh? ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2012, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-xbox-live/645520/42 "2012-12-30T21:12:20Z")
Yeah, we get it. You’re the power switch-designing, revenue-squeezing process-specializing, understands-this-shit-better-than-999-out-of-1000 doofus who started a pit thread to let us all know about how little this bothered you. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2012, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-xbox-live/645520/43 "2012-12-30T21:38:40Z")
> [@](#): > > I bought it to - gosh, wow, how odd - play games on, and had no idea it was even capable of all the other shit until a Roku review mentioned it. Well then why are you disappointed? You’re upset because something doesn’t do the thing you didn’t buy it to do anyway. > [@](#): > > I’m sitting in a room full of equipment you couldn’t find the fucking power switches on, half of which I designed myself. Your mastery of a mass-produced time-waster and brain-melter impresses me very, very, very little. No, no, no. Internet Tough Guy means that you tell everyone how you could KICK HIS ASS, not how you’re better at computers than him. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2012, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-xbox-live/645520/44 "2012-12-30T21:42:18Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > You didn’t bother to read any of my posts, Martin; you’re mistaking me for the idiot who thought I was crushed because I bought a ten-year-old platform box to stream Amazon. I bought it to - _gosh, wow, how odd_ - play games on, and had no idea it was even capable of all the other shit until a Roku review mentioned it. > > I don’t really give a screaming, flaming fuck about what the Xbox might do for me if I buy into Microsoft’s control pavilion like the other ten million acne’d robodroids who think they’re controlling the world with the x-pad instead of electronically jacking off. Climbing up on that high, high horse because your expertise lies in the marketing-driven details of fucking \*gaming consoles \*is just too pathetic for words. > > I’m sitting in a room full of equipment you couldn’t find the fucking power switches on, half of which I designed myself. Your mastery of a mass-produced time-waster and brain-melter impresses me very, very, very little. I’m actually in commercial real estate, electronics are not even close to my expertise. So that makes it even more embarrassing for you I would think that a guy who never even played at making transistor radios or what have you as a kid knows more about a simple consumer electronics device than the big mighty Wizard of Asshole Park who builds Edison-esque super inventions. I guess in your world: a) having a pulse b) reading [wired.com](http://wired.com) and occasionally sites like gizmodo make me a “master in the field of Xbox 360 marketing and functions.” I guess you think people who know how to put gas in their car are amateur mechanics? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2012, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-xbox-live/645520/45 "2012-12-31T04:53:31Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > you’re mistaking me for the idiot who thought I was crushed because I bought a ten-year-old platform box to stream Amazon Fine, fine. So if you’re not that idiot, which idiot \*\*\*are \*\*\*you? ---
**Author:** ![drew870mitchell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drew870mitchell/32/3946_2.png) [@drew870mitchell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drew870mitchell)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2012, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-xbox-live/645520/46 "2012-12-31T15:24:32Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Quality customer support, responsive and fast. > > I had you going for a while there, hadn’t I ? Microsoft does deserve some shit for charging $5/player/month for an ad-riddled matchmaking service, so, I will sandwich the following praise in between complaints. 1. Xbox LIVE is garbage compared to the features I have seen from the other paid console plans. E.g., Sony’s Playstation Plus actually gives you free games for subscribing. 2. Microsoft customer support is _actually pretty damn good_. Their question/answer forums are some of the most useful corporate-operated ones that I know of, and any monkey can figure out how to call any department. Try calling other tech giants like Google or Facebook. Last time I called them a person speaking fluent English actually resolved my issue (sort of my own fault - I had discs for 32 bit Windows and needed 64 bit) for free. 3. They axed the Microsoft Flight Simulator series, which makes Xbox and their other games look boring by comparison. Whichever manager made that decision can rot under my withering disdain. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2012, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-xbox-live/645520/47 "2012-12-31T17:22:46Z")
> [@drew870mitchell](#): > > 1. They axed the Microsoft Flight Simulator series, which makes Xbox and their other games look boring by comparison. Whichever manager made that decision can rot under my withering disdain. On this one, I beleive you can blame the consumer. Flight sims just aren’t selling and haven’t in years. Not sure why - I think they can be pretty fun. But every game in that genre died a long time ago. I hear occasionally about an indie trying it, but nothing much ever comes out. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-xbox-live/645520/48 "2013-01-01T21:29:55Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. Xbox LIVE is garbage compared to the features I have seen from the other paid console plans. E.g., Sony’s Playstation Plus actually gives you free games for subscribing. That’s because Playstation Plus is a game subscription service, not an online multiplayer subscription service. ---
**Author:** ![Dob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Dob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dob)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-xbox-live/645520/49 "2013-01-02T15:44:35Z")
been xbox live member since it first came up (mostly so I could play Halo2!) never had much issue with it, but thats because I am the gamer type and all this extra video stuff is just bonus for me. I know it sucks to pay but the service is great and unlike the hacking that has occured on the free platforms (looking at you PS3…) its secure as well. I will say it’s nice and simple to be able to load Xbox points/money on my xbox account and just use that to buy videos etc… keeps it centralized. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-xbox-live/645520/50 "2013-01-02T16:02:17Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > I’m not a porn browsing type. 🙂 > > Mostly just want to be able to do streaming video on a screen bigger than my laptop (and be able to use the laptop for other things while watching), and will probably need to give up cable when DH gets laid off in a few months. My cheapo dell from Best Buy seamlessly sends to the TV when I plug it in via hdmi and if I choose Extended Desktop from the Graphics menu I can still use the actual laptop for web browsing and the TV for youtube, netflix, and hulu. It’s slightly messy with the cord but cheap. The much more expensive option is to plug a tower into your TV and use it as a gigantic monitor. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-xbox-live/645520/51 "2013-01-02T16:14:24Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > My cheapo dell from Best Buy seamlessly sends to the TV when I plug it in via hdmi and if I choose Extended Desktop from the Graphics menu I can still use the actual laptop for web browsing and the TV for youtube, netflix, and hulu. It’s slightly messy with the cord but cheap. The much more expensive option is to plug a tower into your TV and use it as a gigantic monitor. But can you find the power switches? ---
**Author:** ![drew870mitchell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drew870mitchell/32/3946_2.png) [@drew870mitchell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drew870mitchell)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-xbox-live/645520/52 "2013-01-02T16:46:38Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > That’s because Playstation Plus is a game subscription service, not an online multiplayer subscription service. Would you like to split hairs any more? I said “paid console plans,” not either of those. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-xbox-live/645520/53 "2013-01-15T18:45:31Z")
I fail to see how the fact that someone has the right to do something and has been telling you that they did it for years somehow makes it right. I’ve seen all of you talk about how different things are a ripoff. This guy is pointing out that Microsoft is ripping you off by making you buy online gaming in order to watch a service you’ve already paid for on a device you’ve already paid for. It’s a rather Apple-like thing for them to have done. And, sure, I knew about the deficiencies of Xbox Live, but I follow gaming sites. It’s not something Microsoft puts on their box or website nor is it something people actually talk about, since it’s one of those things “everyone knows.” And if you’ve watched any of the gaming expos, you’d know that Microsoft absolutely does not sell the Xbox 360 as only a gaming machine. They’ve been pushing it as a media center for years. Rumors are that, next year, they will be releasing both a console and a separate entertainment center that can only play casual games. I can easily see someone who hasn’t been an avid follower of videogaming not knowing that the streaming requires an paid account. It’s not like nongamers have a monopoly on buying things stupidly. There are plenty of idiots who don’t play Xbox exclusive games online, and yet pay for Xbox Live Gold rather than getting online connectivity for free on another console or PC. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-xbox-live/645520/54 "2013-01-15T19:02:33Z")
Somehow, I remain unsympathetic to the complaints of someone who didn’t bother to do the research. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-xbox-live/645520/55 "2013-01-15T19:04:33Z")
> [@drew870mitchell](#): > > Would you like to split hairs any more? I said “paid console plans,” not either of those. I used those two phrases because they’re meaningful. “Paid console plans” is not, _especially_ when attempting to compare PS+ to XBL - because they’re two entirely different services that have nothing meaningful in common. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-xbox-live/645520.md?page=2)