Did you even read the posts in the thread, in particular the one that highlighted how you don't actually need a gold subscription for Netflix on the 360?

Yep.

Netflix is not available here in Belgium so I coudln't care less.
I have high expectation for Zune HD (coming next month).

Screw PS3 fanboys and their neverending complain about XBL price.

You would think they had to pay so 360 users could game the way they whine.

Posts like this is exactly why you have to pay for Live on the X360 when Microsoft drop the price on the PC. PC gamers didn't think Live was a steal but the other way around. It's the same with paying over a dollar for bottled water. There is no better saleman than one which convinced people to start paying for bottle water. I know someone who is convinced that buying bottled water at Sam Club is a deal.  I'm thinking no it's not.

As long as people will pay a dollar plus for water then it crazy to stop selling it. The same with Mircosoft with Live.

That's right, people that can afford these things will always pay for it. I can afford it and then some.

Value is relative.  I would never shop at JCrew, but some do.  The margins are insane and I find no value in buying anything from there.  Once again, value is relative.

Just for you, new guy:  First, you turn on your 360 and (if you have password log in enabled) you log in with your password.  Then, your particular settings load up.  From there you go to

-Spotlight: Specially themed gaming experiences appear.  Today, it's all about Halloween.  New games that are available, or new DLC is also highlighted.  Also, scheduled events (like Ladies Night or Game With Fame -where you can play with game developers or music groups and such) are shown.  Any new Xbox information is displayed here, too.  Last, but not least is the "Deal of the Week" where Gold members can get discounts on whatever DLC is on sale that week.   Press up on the d-pad for:

-My XBOX: From here, you get the option to play your current game, install it to the hard drive, view your profile, view your Achievments in every game you've ever played, or launch one of your downloaded games.  Your downloaded video library, downloaded/saved music library (you can change the background music to any game in your library to this music), photos (you can customize your wallpaper here), and console settings are here, too.  And if you have a PC, this is where you can connect to it to share content or browse the web.  I never use that option. 

In your profile, you can create your avatar, set up your theme, write your profile, set up who can view your information (when you're online, what you're playing, who your friends are, who their friends are, etc.) and your gamer pic.  People on my friends list get a picture of my true face.  Everyone else sees Max from "Sam and Max".  Press up on the d-pad and you're taken to:

-Game Marketplace: New arrivals to the arcade or the low price/low quality (some cost a $1 but you get what you pay for) Community Games/Indie Games are shown here.  You get your top rated and most popular downloads queue here, too.  You can download retail games like Dead Space or Fable 2 here as well as any add-ons that may catch your eye.  Demos for hundreds of retail games and every single Arcade game ever are available for download.  This is also where your Themes and Gamer pics are purchased.  Some are free, though.  There's also a coming soon section but I don't use that very much.  Next up is:

-Video Marketplace: If you have Netflix, this is where you watch it.  You don't even need a computer.  Movie Rentals (no purchases, but I never buy digital movies anyway), Music videos (these can be purchased for about $2), TV shows, exclusive programs, internet videos, game related videos, and such are available here.  You can watch videos with your friends, and talk to them as if they were in the same room.  Game videos are also available in the Game Marketplace.  Up from there is:

-Friends:  An avatar/caricature of your friends are shown here.  You can view their motto, send them a message, game invite,video or party chat as well.  The profile is super detailed.  You can see when they were last online, what they're playing, where they are in the game that they're playing, who they're playing with, when they last played a game, what their achievements are, etc.  Up from there is:

-Inside Xbox:  Insider videos, tips, behind the scenes videos, and a spotlighted gamer profile are found here.  Hot new games are given special treatment here, as Major Mike tells you about some of the tips of the trade.  Other older, free videos are found here, too.

-Events:  Scheduled events are shown here.  Co-op night for certain games, so you're guaranteed to find someone with the same interests as you, gaming with celebrities (again), gaming with developers, and contests are in this area.  Up next is:

-The Welcome:  It's pretty useless and you can turn this section off.

As a side note

-You can download, even when the console is turned off.

-You can view the last 50 people who you've played with and rate them, "prefer" or "avoid"

-You can rate all contents and games (much like a youtube video)

Some of these things are free, but you get the idea.

Now that I've done all of this, I'm making a thread!  It'll feature the PS3 and the Wii, as well.

But...they're only implementng these features because the 360 doesn't have an internet browser....otherwise the applications wouldn't be necessary. I consider "with the X360, you get Last.FM, Twitter, Facebook, etc." just a talking point for the lack of said browser. If it were a PS3 announcement, they could just say "With the PS3, you get (check this)...the internet. Not just specific parts of the internet....everything. And it's free".

I wouldn't pay $50 to browse Facebook on my 360 when I can browse it on my Playstation...heaven forbid I didn't use my PC

Bull.Shit.