I didn't buy an Xbox until a long time after it came out, chiefly because there had been a number of problems with the device on release, (red ring of death anyone) recently however i took the plunge and bought one, all in all its a fantastic machine now, i haven't had any particular problems with the hardware, although i do take issue with windows live, which at times can seem very complicated, and syncing it up with your pc can cause some problems that not even the tech guys at windows live could solve! my real issue with that is the fact that the price of subscription for Xbox Live hardly justifies the issues you can potentially have with windows live.
However aside from those little niggling issues the Xbox is a great machine, its one thats certainly built for gamers, it doesn't seem to me to be a family oriented home entertainment systems which most consoles are becoming, i don't think microsoft has suffered because of this because the fanbase has been huge since Microsoft started releasing its absolutely superb exclusive titles like Halo and gears of war. Also the 360 is HD ready but incredibly irritatingly does not come with the required cable just standard scart, this is typical of many products at the moment and hopefully it will come to an end soon lol!