i own, and install, spiderboxes, and the receiver itself is a tidy bit of kit. does what it says on the box, simple to use, and pretty idiot proof, could do with a few tweaks for some things, but hardware wise, you cant fault it
when the spiderbox was first announced, along with its 'gift' the first thing i said was that itd be good for a while, then start to break down as more people owned one and connected to the gift servers, untill it came to a tipping point, where it would become unuseable, due to overloading, and any complaints would be met with 'we only sell the boxes, the manufacturers supply the gift access' and theres the get out clause for the retailers
if buying for the 'gift' its a waste of money, if buying for the hardware, to use alongside server access, for a simple to use HD box, you probably wont be let down, as it does what it says on the box
but ive had a feeling for over a year, that by winter 2011 there will be an all new 'whateverbox' to replace the spiderbox, and the circle starts again
but
in saying all that, its still a good bit of kit, and the best remote ive ever seen