You can get the 250GB Xbox 360, sans Kinect, with the same deal.  $99 purchase price, $15 a month for Xbox LIVE for two years.

If you ease it in a little at a time, it's actually kinda pleasant......or so I'm told.  Microsoft doesn't just jam it in all at once.

First, the program isn't new.  It's been going on for sometime now.  It may even be a year.

Second, they don't reposes your console.  If you cancel the LIVE service, then you have to pay a prorated cancellation fee.  Regardless of how long you have it, the cancellation fee equates to roughly the same amount as the console would cost at retail.

Actually, the program works out very well for people who have limited funds.  it takes 21 months compared to 13 before your cost of investment is equal to that of someone who purchases the console outright and subscribes to two years of live.  The cost for doing it that way equates to .4% per month over 24 months or 4.75% APR.   

OT: The deal actually doesn't seem all that bad, really. Not as bad as I expected, anyway.

lol. I'm sure it might not seem like much at the time. I was just noting that over time the cost can be hefty.

Just like any other subscription service. please note that i am in no way shape or form trying to bash live. same could be said about cellphone bills for example. or netflix.