OMG what u said bout my intelnigence level n00b?

Seriously, that review is gold.

the 4 360s I went through say things look grim for the early 360 models, like the early PS2 models.

As a Nintendo fanboy, my opinion of the PS1/PS2/XBOX360 hardware is negative.  I remember my friend saying that if he touches the top of his PS1 the game would freeze (indicating this represents all PS1s).  He also said that he could play football with his N64 and it would be fine.  Speaking of which, he dropped his N64 down the stairs at least twice.  Later, during the late GC/PS2/XBox era, a futon beam dropped from 15 ft and landed on the N64, taking out a chunk of the case.  It still works to this day.  I jumped off the ladder of my loft bed (prolly 3 feet from the floor) and one foot landed on my PS2 (original style).  That PS2 never worked again.  All of my friends I know that own an XBOX360 have had an RROD happen and on at least their second console.

What I am trying to say is that Nintendo/Sega reliability in their consoles puts Sony/Microsoft to shame.  The original Xbox wasn't bad, however.  It at least had some easily replaceable parts.

Various reasons, for example the Gamecube port of Skies of Arcadia has worse audio fidelity, the PS2 port of Dead or Alive 2 has inferior graphics, etc.

Haven't played the GC Ikaruga, but they slowed down Sonic Adventure on the Gamecube. Sonic without the speed is lacking and less spirited than the DC version.