Here's a solution for you, don't buy an Xbox 360. Get a PS3
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Why would you say Microsoft isn't to blame? The first year they had a staggering 30ish% failure rate. And do you know why? Because Microsoft didn't do proper testing on the consoles, rushed it out to the market, and provided a sub-par performing machine.
I understand that they can get abused and Microsoft isn't to blame for those, but the bulk of the problems are due to Microsoft quality control issues. They have improved their failure rate down to around 16%, but in my opinion that is still to high.
For your shares, it also doesn't help that Microsoft lost the Blu-ray/HD war with Sony, that was a huge blow for them.