Though Palm or Sprint will likely replace a Pre with obvious wiggle, sometimes you just want to get your hands dirty and do it yourself. The problem seems to be a bit too much give in the tabs that hold the two halves of the phone to the sliding mechanism, so you can fix it by bending the tabs (risky) or even applying a layer of superglue to the rails to make them thick enough to fit the too-loose tabs (riskier). It’d take a confident tinkerer to mess with such delicate hardware, but anything to avoid dealing with wireless carrier customer service, right? [Pre Central, image from same source]

From Redmond, via Kotaku:

While the majority of Xbox 360 owners continue to have a great experience with their console, we are aware that a very small percentage of our customers have reported receiving an error that displays “E74″ on their screen. After investigating the issue, we have determined that the E74 error message can indicate the general hardware failure that is associated with three flashing red lights error on the console. As a result, we have decided to cover repairs related to the E74 error message under our three-year warranty program for certain general hardware failures that was announced in July 2007.

Apparently the program will also reimburse anyone who previously paid for E74 repairs. Having to address another hardware fiasco may further solidify the Xbox 360’s reputation as a comically goof-prone console, but at least Microsoft is doing their users right on this one. [Kotaku]

Pioneer Australia committed to honouring all plasma warranties.

Pioneer Australia pledges its commitment to honouring all existing and future plasma warranties, despite plans by the parent company to withdraw from the global flat panel display market by no later than March 2010.

Pioneer Australia will maintain its after-sales service for plasma, ensuring all consumers will be able to continue to benefit from their applicable plasma warranties.

“Naturally, Pioneer Australia continues to support consumers who purchase our plasma screens with a committed five year warranty on all KURO LX-series and monitor screens, as well as a three year warranty on the C-series model.

Pioneer Australia will uphold its after-sales support on plasma well beyond the company’s official exit from the flat panel market.

In other words, consumers and retailers can continue to count on Pioneer,” says Toshio Izumi, managing director of Pioneer Electronics Australia.

With last Thursday night’s global announcement by Pioneer Corporation sparking increased local demand for its plasma screens, Pioneer anticipates its award-winning KURO range may sell-out as early as Spring 2009.

Pioneer is already working on new strategies for the Australian market. Going forward, Pioneer Australia will return to its roots of audio, home audio and mobile electronics (car audio and navigation) as well as Pro DJ.

For more information about Pioneer’s ongoing support to its plasma warranty, please call Pioneer’s Customer Care Centre on 1800 988 268.

Consumers can also submit their enquiries via the Pioneer website: www.pioneer.com.au.

Of course, this isn’t exactly shocking—Dean Takahashi revealed just how startlingly troubled the Xbox 360 was from the get-go. Hiro Umeno, a Microsoft program manager, said in a declaration about the disc-scratching problem that “This is … information that we as a team, optical disc drive team, knew about. When we first discovered the problem in September or October (2005), when we got a first report of disc movement, we knew this is what’s causing the problem.”

The solutions considered—and rejected—were to increase the magnetic field of the disc holder (could’ve interfered with the disc opening and closing), slowing the disc speed (could’ve increased load time) and to install small bumpers (too expensive, costing between $US35 million and $US75 million). Instead, they went with a warning in the manual not to move the console with the discs still inside, a warning that Microsoft itself thought was insufficient, according to an internal email. A consultant for the plaintiff notes that Sony and Nintendo “almost always incorporate the possibility that a console could be moved while a disc is rotating inside in the designs of their products.”

Moral of the story seems to be not to buy rev. A hardware from Microsoft, perhaps the only major company to not pass muster under our maxim it’s safer than ever to do so. [Seattle Tech Report via Xbox 360 Fanboy]

Is this worth it? It depends on your luck. Most products don’t break within the first three years of their lifespan, but if you buy enough STUFF, the odds are that at least one of your things will break. Since we’re all Giz readers here, we’re likely to fall under this category. So here’s the bottom line. You’re paying US$360 over the course of three years (the extend that they cover a product) for this. If in that span of three years, something(s) breaks that will cost more than $360 to fix or replace, you’re out in front. If not, you’re out $360.

We can’t say whether they’re good with honouring repairs since they’re a new company, but they are owned by the parent corporation Experian. Does Experian ring a bell? They also own FreeCreditReport.com, which signs you up for a US$14.95 a month fee when you get a “free” credit report from their site. [Green Umbrella]

“I’ll tell you the truth,” a criminal complaint quotes an apparently inebriated Keith Walendowski. “I got pissed because my lawn mower wouldn’t start, so I got my shotgun and shot it.

“I can do that. It’s my lawn mower and my yard, so I can shoot it if I want,” Walendowski told police.

…

According to the complaint, Walendowski had been drinking all morning. Around 9:30 a.m., he attempted to start his 21-inch Lawn-Boy – unsuccessfully.

After shooting the mower, he went in his basement, where he was arrested by police, the complaint says.

Police recovered the shotgun, shells, a handgun, rounds for the handgun and a stun gun.

Dick Wagner of Wagner’s Garden Mart, 6075 N. Green Bay Ave., said shooting the mower didn’t help Walendowski’s odds of getting it repaired.

“Anything not factory recommended would void the warranty,” he said.

God bless America. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via Consumerist]

The likely reason is the mini-PCI-express slot hidden under the door, which might be the site of a future SSD upgrade, since plugging something in deactivates the built-in SSD. On the upside, according to Cliff, the warranty-voiding sticker schtick is unenforcable under the 1975 Magnuson-Moss Act. But, forcing them to not enforce that warranty clause would probably take more work than a $US400 laptop’s worth. Either way, it’s a bit shitty on their part. [Cliff Hacks Things]

We’ve also heard that Microsoft’s recommended usage is to plug your Xbox 360 into the wall, and not a power strip, because a poorly made surge protector or an overloaded strip can cause damage to your console from not supplying enough power. We’re still waiting on official word from Microsoft to see if it’s against their warranty to plug a 360 in this way (it’s probably not). [Wired]

We’re guessing that recent bad press of the Xbox 360’s 30% failure rate spurred this decision, but we’re glad either way. Kotaku has an interview with Microsoft exec Peter Moore on the topic and it’s worth a read.

[Kotaku]