This is too funny!

The Seattle Times: Earnings: PC demand helps Microsoft beat forecast

...Xbox 360 shortages frustrated gamers during the holiday season, but they apparently had little effect on Microsoft's bottom line.

Well, let's see, it's been widely reported that each Xbox sold incurs a net loss of about $100 for Microsoft.

So, um, why would anyone expect shortages of Xbox 360s to do anything other than *help* Microsoft's bottom line, compared to what would have happened if they had sold 10x as many?

If I were running Microsoft, I'd have created a shortage of Xboxen if I wanted to show an increase in profits. Dr. Evil would be proud.