Microsoft pushed it's Xbox 360 product line out the door faster than it should have in order to get a jump on the competition. The Xbox has a failure rate of over 30 percent because of this haste. Because of poor design and manufacture this device has many 'bugs'.
It's cooling system has no extra capacity to speak of because of it's marginal design. Heat interacts with it's design flaws which brings about the red ring of death when the Xbox gets too hot. To prolong it's life, not allowing your Xbox to overheat is imperative.
