Ok. Here are some things to know about the 360:
Laying it flat is better than vertical becuase theres less of a chance in scratching the disc when its flat and the system runs cooler flat. I just did a easy cooling mod to mine that im about to post today.
Its cheaper to get a yearly membership card than paying every month. I paid $38.75 for a 12 month (+1 extra month free) live membership on buy.com. That comes to about $3.30 a month instead of paying 7.99 a month when paying monthly. Heres the link to the deal.
Theres a ton of demos and downloadable games on live to check out. Alot of the xbox live exclusives are really good. Ikaruga, omega five, puzzlefighter, N+ etc..