Mark over at Law of the Game has posted that his 2nd Xbox 360 died. When he called Microsoft support, they told him to not use a surge protector. Surge protectors are almost givens these days, especially with expensive electronics. This is the explanation the MS rep gave:

“The Xbox 360 is highly sensitive to reductions in power, and even the slightest cut in power can cause things like the fans and even the DVD laser to malfunction. Surge protectors can cause this, and probably 90% of the consoles they see have all failed in 6-12 months of being plugged into a surge protector.”

Mark also mentioned a Microsoft Knowledgebase article that says to plug the 360 directly into the wall. So it looks like our choices are, fry the 360 when a surge hits your old and ailing power lines, or fry it trying to protect it from them.