: Well, its not totally "nothing" now is it? You can still connect it
: online to update your games and get content for them. If the updates and
: content are free (I know I know, rarely ) that's even better. You can
: have a friends list too I remember. Unless that's changed since the last
: time I had Silver in 06.

A friends list has limited value if I can't connect to and play games with those friends. I have a phone, an e-mail address, and a Skype account, all of which let me keep in contact with people I like.

: Fixed. That's like being 16 years old, having a car, and being mad you can't
: drive it because you don't have your license yet.

Really, it's more like having a car with an FM radio that will only play advertisements and the news unless you pay them, and then it unlocks the music channels.

: Because that's the model of free to play.

: Play angry birds to your hearts content- tired of those ads that pop up every
: round? Buy the premium version.

Right, except I've paid for all the games I'm playing on my Xbox. I have the highest, most premium access to those games that is possible. "Ohh we let you get updates for free" is an absolutely goofy "feature." I'm paying for the Internet and I have a device which is hooked up to it; if they restricted access to something as simple as a game patch, I'd be furious.