The suggestion was to have hardware that could run Xbox 360 game discs created by a party other than Microsoft--something like the , which launched in 2001 in Japan and could play both regular DVDs and GameCube games.

The rumor became quite popular on specialist blogs, even getting mentions on and , and it also surged on Digg, with over 1964 Diggs. My take: If third-party hardware could help prevent the , maybe Microsoft really should consider the option.

5. The $100 Midget PC Hoax

The concept of a small or a called a "Midget PC" sounded plausible. After all, . Perhaps it's only natural that a company would introduce a stripped-down model for around $100.

So when the rumors grew louder about a tiny Midget PC netbook, I thought it was interesting. But maybe I should have been more critical. One telltale sign that it was bogus was its name: What company would give a product such a horrible label? Turns out, no company would.