Facing Down the Red Ring of Death

When Digital Daily’s John Paczkowski (right) got word of Microsoft’s enormous repair bill for the faulty Xbox 360 (which Walt Mossberg and Katherine Boehret reviewed here), he also discovered that the defect–the so-called red ring of death–may affect as many as a third or more of the video-game consoles, a fact the tech giant says will cause frustration for “some” of its customers. Read the spin antidote John wrote about the $1.15 billion warranty headache or watch his video, which is also available below.

John also unspins the verbiage from Sony about what it calls “refinements” to the price of its Play Station 3, and he deconstructs Universal Music Group’s decision not to renew its long-term contract with Apple’s iTunes, a move that one insider considers an ill-advised ploy that could alienate Steve Jobs just when the music company needs him most.

Posted by Associate Editor John Sullivan.