Did Chinese Drywall Kill Your Game System?
Did Chinese Drywall Kill Your Game System?
July 14, 2009
If the Red Ring of Death didn't kill your Xbox 360, maybe Chinese drywall did the dirty deed.
Business Report advises that a dozen class-action suits in 33 states have been filed against builders and suppliers who used drywall imported from China in recent construction. Much of the drywall suspected of contamination was installed during 2006 and 2007. Louisiana was particulary hard hit due to heavy post-Katrina reconstruction underway in that time period.
So, what are the symptoms and why is this posted on GamePolitics? Because your video game system or gaming PC might be affected by contaminated drywall, which among other nastiness, corrodes wiring. Here's what the Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends to watch out for:
- persistent rotten egg odor
- respiratory or other symptoms alleviated by leaving a building and worsened on return
- blackened and corroded metal, including copper, nickel, silver and/or stainless steel
- premature failures of central air-conditioning evaporator coils
- blinking lights or power failures
- arcing or sparking
- intermittent operation or failure of appliances such as refrigerators and dishwashers and electronic devices such as televisions, computers and video-game systems
If you suspect you have a problem with contaminated drywall, check the CPSC website for advice on how to proceed.
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Posted 11/07/09 at 04:27pm
ZippyDSMlee: man I got alot of junk and dup files too >< god I need orginization...and no not the knee capping media mafia kind :P
ZippyDSMlee: man I got alot of junk and dup files too >< god I need orginization...and no not the knee capping media mafia kind :P
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:26pm
ZippyDSMlee: replaced :P
ZippyDSMlee: replaced :P
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:23pm
ZippyDSMlee: beemoh:hey its like 60GB porn,400GB anime 100GB games and crap I have took from all my DVDs, I hate waiting on dvds to install stuff..... oh and 40GB of my porn was in the found.000 folder...mostly corrupted.... least I got names of wut needs to be repa
ZippyDSMlee: beemoh:hey its like 60GB porn,400GB anime 100GB games and crap I have took from all my DVDs, I hate waiting on dvds to install stuff..... oh and 40GB of my porn was in the found.000 folder...mostly corrupted.... least I got names of wut needs to be repa
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:18pm
beemoh: @Zip: ...and you'd have to spend all that time re-downloading that porn?
beemoh: @Zip: ...and you'd have to spend all that time re-downloading that porn?
Posted 11/07/09 at 03:34pm
ZippyDSMlee: ggrrrrr......vista lost one of my hard drives and I had a heart attack thinking I lost 1TB of data....
ZippyDSMlee: ggrrrrr......vista lost one of my hard drives and I had a heart attack thinking I lost 1TB of data....
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:58am
JDKJ: Which could be explained by both (a) and (b).
JDKJ: Which could be explained by both (a) and (b).
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:56am
Austin_Lewis: JDKJ: You forgot C) the fact that, for some reason, every time he did something that would suggest he shouldn't be in the military, let alone an officer, higher ups ignored it or let it slide.
Austin_Lewis: JDKJ: You forgot C) the fact that, for some reason, every time he did something that would suggest he shouldn't be in the military, let alone an officer, higher ups ignored it or let it slide.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:51am
JDKJ: Part of the problem is, I believe, that (a) the Army had a lot of time and money already invested in him and which they were unwilling to simply write-off and (b) an increasing need for the type of skills and services he provided.
JDKJ: Part of the problem is, I believe, that (a) the Army had a lot of time and money already invested in him and which they were unwilling to simply write-off and (b) an increasing need for the type of skills and services he provided.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:48am
JDKJ: And that even if he was begging not to get cut loose, he was apparently a real good candidate for being cut loose, anyway.
JDKJ: And that even if he was begging not to get cut loose, he was apparently a real good candidate for being cut loose, anyway.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:11am
JDKJ: @chada: And while Kennedy once noted that there's usually more than enough blame for everyone to get a slice, the possibility that the Army was unwilling to cut loose someone who was asking to get cut loose could be a factor.
JDKJ: @chada: And while Kennedy once noted that there's usually more than enough blame for everyone to get a slice, the possibility that the Army was unwilling to cut loose someone who was asking to get cut loose could be a factor.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:07am
ZippyDSMlee: *noms on his feet*..nomnomnomnom*droooll* ...wuuutttttt uuu looking at?
ZippyDSMlee: *noms on his feet*..nomnomnomnom*droooll* ...wuuutttttt uuu looking at?
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:05am
JDKJ: I'm no psychologist, but I'm told that crazy people have a tendency to do crazy things.
JDKJ: I'm no psychologist, but I'm told that crazy people have a tendency to do crazy things.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:03am
chadachada321: Whoops, was out of the convo for awhile. I do wonder what type of ammo he used etc, but the real issue is WHY he did it, not HOW
chadachada321: Whoops, was out of the convo for awhile. I do wonder what type of ammo he used etc, but the real issue is WHY he did it, not HOW
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:56am
JDKJ: But if it turns out that they actually did, they'll have Hell to pay.
JDKJ: But if it turns out that they actually did, they'll have Hell to pay.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:45am
JDKJ: And I'd tend to rule out the possibilty of FN Herstal supplying restricted ammunition to someone merely because they're ordering it from a military base.
JDKJ: And I'd tend to rule out the possibilty of FN Herstal supplying restricted ammunition to someone merely because they're ordering it from a military base.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:37am
JDKJ: I know you don't leave your gated community and get around much in dark alleys, so you may be surprised to learn that there's this thing called "the black market" where, if you've got enough money, ain't too much of anything which can't be bought.
JDKJ: I know you don't leave your gated community and get around much in dark alleys, so you may be surprised to learn that there's this thing called "the black market" where, if you've got enough money, ain't too much of anything which can't be bought.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:36am
Austin_Lewis: Or, maybe he or someone else at the base ordered the SS190 from FN Herstal.
Austin_Lewis: Or, maybe he or someone else at the base ordered the SS190 from FN Herstal.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:32am
Austin_Lewis: the hands of private owners. They run about 300 dollars minimum for a box of 50, and boxes of AP 5.7 are extremely scarce, mainly residing in the hands of Class III stores or individuals who for one reason or another got a demo box of it.
Austin_Lewis: the hands of private owners. They run about 300 dollars minimum for a box of 50, and boxes of AP 5.7 are extremely scarce, mainly residing in the hands of Class III stores or individuals who for one reason or another got a demo box of it.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:30am
Austin_Lewis: There are other firearms that fire the 5.7. However, I too would like to know where he got the ammo and what kind was used. Maybe Hasan, planning not to live through this, went out and bought one the boxes of SS190 that are floating around in
Austin_Lewis: There are other firearms that fire the 5.7. However, I too would like to know where he got the ammo and what kind was used. Maybe Hasan, planning not to live through this, went out and bought one the boxes of SS190 that are floating around in
Posted 11/07/09 at 08:44am
JDKJ: And it isn't yet clear what type of ammunition Hasan used. It's strange that he purchased a gun but didn't purchase ammunition for it at the same place and time. Especially because the calibre required is peculiar to the actual gun.
JDKJ: And it isn't yet clear what type of ammunition Hasan used. It's strange that he purchased a gun but didn't purchase ammunition for it at the same place and time. Especially because the calibre required is peculiar to the actual gun.
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Comments
China involved in a dangerous sub-standard materials scandal? Whoulda thunk it.
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I LIKE the fence. I get 2 groups to laugh at then.
Every country has quality control problems, but China's is particularly serious due to the bizarre (and frankly, unethical) way in which Capitalism was introduced into the workforce of the country. I know they call themselves Communist, but in truth their society is very much Capitalist, and incredibly cutthroat at that, with corporate takeovers and general stomping on the citizens by giant businesses being commonplace.
If you've ever read The Grapes of Wrath, with the shady car dealers that trick honest people into buying shitty cars that can barely run, you have about the kind of environment that China's in right now. I find it kind of sad, really... in an effort to catch up as a world power the citizens suffer.
No I can safely say the 360 was just poorly built, even to this day.
And before the fanboys start in,poorly built for heat dispensation and maybe how the HDMI/upscaling chipset was shoehorned into the unit.
I am a criminal because I purchase media,I am a criminal because I use media, I am a criminal because I chose to own media..We shall remain criminals until Corporate stay's outside our bedrooms..
http://zippydsmlee.wordpress.com
I find the upscalling on the 360 to be pretty good, though I do agree with you on poor heat dispensation.
http://www.magicinkgaming.com/
He didn't say it was bad, just that it was shoehorned in. That doesn't help with the heat dissipation, it just throws more in the tight space.
sqlrob
I have also heard that bandwidth and such for the HD features could have been implemented much better, but like the other guy said it dose work, and for the most part it works well enough. Its just the more I read about the 360...the more laughable its tech/build is...... I mean bad heat dispensation design, poor drive design(the unit was not first built to be ran as a upright), waiting for the new chips to fix the heating issues, skipping out on 10$ worth of heatsink and fan to make it not bake itself into a comma,ect,ect
Don't get me wrong I can share the love, I can pick on sony for making the PS3 accessible only to the rich at frist...but sheesh past that all I can scrounge up are BR drive unit issues that seem more frequent than they should be....well I take that back building such a introvertedly complex unit then making it so costly devs could not afford to make software for it untill tis price fell...ya...that too.... I mean sheesh people you put billions into R and D and this is the best you can do?
I am looking at the WII I am looking at rumors and facts and the most I can come up with is a imprecise motion control system based on line of sight lazes.....er infra red.... why was it so hard to put10$ more tech in it so it knows front and back on the controller itself(which I am still not clear on how much locational data the control has if you remove the lazer dongle from the equation) and be wifi/blue tooth based?.... why? you'd still make a huge profit and the WII would not get so many giggles when people say anyhting that have real games and the WII in the same sentence....
I am a criminal because I purchase media,I am a criminal because I use media, I am a criminal because I chose to own media..We shall remain criminals until Corporate stay's outside our bedrooms..
http://zippydsmlee.wordpress.com
WII FANBOY ALERT!!! (I'm talking about me).
A lot of the problems with imprecise motion controls have more to do with lazy developing than the controller itself, even though the controller does have problems. If a light is shining on the front end of the remote, it will get totally screwed up. It is Bluetooth enabled, but only for sending the signal, not for any motion capability. Also, I, like you, feel that the Motion+ peripheral that recently came out should have been included at launch. However, I don't believe they were even working on such an idea at the time, so of course it wouldn't have been there. Motion+ will fix all of the motion capture problems they've had, but only in games programmed to use it, as there is no backwards compatibility.
Doesn't change the fact that, graphics aside, the Wii is the undisputed winner of this console generation. Best control scheme, a lot of good games, best pricing for what you get and the highest quality build.
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Freedom of speech means the freedom to say ANYTHING, so long as it is the truth. This does not exclude anything that might hurt someone's feelings.
Lazy Developing....... Are you serious?!
Not even nintendo could make the damn thing to work at launch. Heck not even to this day you can make the motion sensor work properly. You want proof? Look at the new Punch Out. Controls are lethargic and as you progress and go up on divisions the sensor can barely keep up.
Yes I believe that the Wii's motion controllers have sparked good things (and several broken TVs, people, animals, furniture, walls etc) But at the same time it has brought bad things like a insane proliferation of craptacular games and shameless ripioffs of first party titles. I own one and I like it (go virtual console!!!) but it is hard to love a console that little by little is losing it's soul and it's turning into a piece of furniture or exersise equipment (wii fit).
Lou
You have to admit lazy development is rampant in the industry nin and MS making sloppy hardware choices and sony making ridiculous hardware choices and software devs are even more lethargic and cheap....
And frankly the WII did not spurn on craptacualr titles it merely allowed the industry to focus on them more, I am sorry if I sound like a fany boy but gaming has become such a casual thing to the point multi million dollar projects are nothing but inept products meant as fodder for zomibes(fodder like consumers). Most flagship and high end titles I see are nothing but under development and unpolished titles that would be laughed out of gaming 10+ years ago but due to market conditions they can spam them out without worry.
I am a criminal because I purchase media,I am a criminal because I use media, I am a criminal because I chose to own media..We shall remain criminals until Corporate stay's outside our bedrooms..
http://zippydsmlee.wordpress.com
jedidethfreak
Sorry for taking so long to reply, I think they simply did not build the WII for precision of any kind just enough to fill the need of a new control shceme and that IMO hurt them more than anything else. Its a sloppy device that devs poorly use, sloppy because that is how nin built it.
the plus is shore horned in as an after thought of a after thought and nin really should be ashamed of it, firmware fix to update the system should be able to apply the plus to all games but they again made a sloppy system that can not really be updated and on top of it can easily be hacked so despite it being a solid build grphics wise its more of a joke than it should be..
As for the WII being the undisputed winner I disagree, at least in terms of what the WII is to gaming, its like if Disney films made 10 times as much money as normal films would you call the the winner of films? not so much... the WII is truly in a world apart, it dose bring in the most money but I can say without reservation that it dose not bring in the best product nor the best talent of the industry............ that would be split between the 360 and PS3 leaning to the 360.
I am a criminal because I purchase media,I am a criminal because I use media, I am a criminal because I chose to own media..We shall remain criminals until Corporate stay's outside our bedrooms..
http://zippydsmlee.wordpress.com
I totally agree to your first to points. I hope that Nintendo releases a firmware update to make WM+ backwards-compatible. As for the third, sales numbers are all that matter. The wii has consistently outsold the PS3 and 360, a lot of times combined. This, even though for the first year they couldn't produce them fast enough. Regardless of the library of games, this is all that matters.
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Freedom of speech means the freedom to say ANYTHING, so long as it is the truth. This does not exclude anything that might hurt someone's feelings.
jedidethfreak
The WII can not have such firmware updates, it was not designed for it. From my understanding the WII is very limited on what hardware can be updated via frimware. They basically made it set it stone.
PS3/360 have better individual software sales and that is more important to the industry than what profit can be made off hardware sales for one company.
This is why I say the WII is in its own world above the more traditional consoles of the PS3 and 360 that tend to or have greater potinail to make more money for the developers/publishers.
I am a criminal because I purchase media,I am a criminal because I use media, I am a criminal because I chose to own media..We shall remain criminals until Corporate stay's outside our bedrooms..
http://zippydsmlee.wordpress.com
Considering that they are more than willing to say that a reason for a system failure is because it's plugged into a surge protector, it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if they started denying warranties because "the drywall in your house is substandard". Particularly if you don't have any drywall in your house.
Good god, contaminated with what? From those symptons of the drywall it sounds like some sort of airborne acid from the depths of hell.
Given all the health symptoms they list it's definitely one horrible chemical. Probably a mixture of things really. On the bright side at least it's only been identified as an extreme irritant and highly corrosive. It could eventually be shown to be a carcinogen/mutagen/etc. =/
It would take a few more years to come up with that, so don't count that out. It took decades to realize how bad asbestos was.
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Freedom of speech means the freedom to say ANYTHING, so long as it is the truth. This does not exclude anything that might hurt someone's feelings.
The good part of being Brazillian is that we don't use that chemical crap in our walls... Only the really good old sand, clay, stone...
criadordejogos.wordpress.com
So you have no inteior walls, how comferting...then again...you don;t really need insilation....
:P
I am a criminal because I purchase media,I am a criminal because I use media, I am a criminal because I chose to own media..We shall remain criminals until Corporate stay's outside our bedrooms..
http://zippydsmlee.wordpress.com
At the risk of sounding like one of the tinfoil hat brigade, I've somtimes wondered if China has been trying to covertly attack and sabotage us over the last few years. First there was software viruses in digital picture frames, then lead paint in the toys, then poisoned milk and dogfood, and now this. If I didn't know any better, I would think China was secretly probing or vulnerabilities to find the weakest points in our infrastructure so they know where it hit us if they ever decide to attack.
Like I said, I didn't want to come off like a tinfoil hat conspiracy theorist, but still one has to wonder.
Next thing you know, they'll be invading Alaska...
Why blame drywall? Why not just say that 360s die because they are MADE in china?