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Microsoft foils Xbox hackers with new Config
randomizer9 writes was among several readers who noted that Microsoft has changed the configs on the XBox and really messed up the hackers who have been trying to coax the box into being divx players, linux boxes, microwave ovens, white noise generators and so on. Kinda doubt the conspiracy angle, but it certainly is annoying.
The "hacks" encourage adoption of a console, so in the long run, the best thing to do is to make it difficult, but not impossible to chip and mod.
Is the PS1 wasn't able to be chipped, do you think it would've become the dominant console? I don't think so.
Did you even stop to think for one second that maybe they went with a larger, passive cooling solution?
"Disabled the fan", my ass.. the article says they removed it. So they must have found a way to passively cool the chip sufficiently, or maybe they have a more efficient rev of the chip..but there's no way they would slow the chip down, as that could cause compatibility problems with the existing games, which were coded for a box that offers uniform performance across the board.
The thread the article mentions can be found here for those that are interested. There's links to pictures of the new Xbox motherboard too. Sounds like all that's needed is a few tweaks to the hacked BIOS image and everyone will be back in business. My bet is that any new protection will be defeated before the new units even appear in stores in North America. Sometimes I wonder why Microsoft even bothers.
I think I can find one reason.
Most set top boxes today are sold near or even, at times, below cost. Face it: you can buy an XBox for the price of a cheap DVD player.
How they can get off with this is by charging a license fee to developers based on the number of units (games) those developer sell. This is common in this industry.
Now, if MS (or any other set top box manufacturer) lets anyone hack their machine so they run software for which they DO NOT receive royalties, then it makes THEM lose considerable amount of money and impairs them to sell the boxes at these low prices when a significant number of end users buy XBoxes just to run it as a cheap terminal or computer.
Well, it does these days, anyway. At current prices, and with chips getting cheaper, MS is probably making back the cost of the hardware on this run- but that doesn't cover R&D and marketing.
They make *that* back (and then some) selling licenses to developers, who go out and sell a lot of games. Sony ate piracy to get mindshare away from Sega and Nintendo; MS really just wants your buck in the end, and maybe a li'l street cred for "innovation."
So... Pirated games = less license revenue rolling into the console designer. The console designer spends millions on locking-down the console to prevent pirated games, which leads to higher R&D costs to recoup, which leads to a greater need to avoid piracy...
It's the Netpliance business model. Unfortunately, Netpliance had a niche- it was the perfect product for my grandmother- whereas Nintendo, Sony, and until recently Sega, still do a better job at providing 'fun' than MS. In fact, if MS hadn't "stolen" NVidia, there's little doubt that some 'real' console maker would've forged an alliance.
If memory serves, Sony made iterative changes to the PS1 over the course of its run, which negated mod chips that worked in earlier 'generations'. I believe the same is true with the PS2, but someone can confirm or deny that for me. Anyway, hey it's within their rights as the developers of the hardware to discourage what they perceive is hacking. It's also within our rights as consumers to be able to work around anything they do. :)
"I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar."
-Hoban Washburn
OUTRIGHT LIE!
Either that or you are horribly misinformed about the console market.
Sony NEVER EVER sells their consoles at a loss. they made a profit on every single PS2 sold, and even now at reduced cost they are still making a profit and will continue to do so. Rumor has it that they were even making a profit selling the PS1 at 70+. MSFT might be dumb enough to believe the myth that taking a loss on the hardware is worth it for the market share, but Sony will disabuse them of that notion quickly enough.
Nintendo also makes a profit of their consoles. Though I don't know the details.
Kintanon
Disclaimer: I sold my Soul to Sony, when they become the first MegaCorp and begin their bid for total world domination I'll be first in line to join the shocktroops.
Check out JoshJitsu.info for Brazilian Ji
there are no GameCube modchips that work
On the contrary, that's because you don't need a mod chip for a Gamecube. Whether the system thinks it's Japanese or English is controlled by a single jumper; all you have to do is remove the jumper and solder a switch in its place, and flip the switch every time you want to change inbetween Japanese or English. The only thing that'd be easier is if you didn't need to mod the thing at all.
Karma: Terrifying (mostly affected by atrocities you've committed)
NTSC-Gamecubes (USA, Japan) have "both BIOSes" on them - and you switch between them with a jumper. PAL-Gamecubes (Australia, Europe) have only the PAL-Bios, and there's no way to switch to another. Thus there's a big incentive to create an import mod - but so far no one has managed to. It's also not possible to run "backups" on the cube, no one has managed to solve that either.
Please mod parent down for being uninformed.
(The grandparent is however correct, the cube is VERY VERY tough to hack. Don't expect a modchip, expect a very expensive extra unit holding games on harddrive or DVD).
it's in my head
Sony NEVER EVER sells their consoles at a loss. they made a profit on every single PS2 sold
No... Sony didn't break even on the hardware sales until late last year. Initially they were taking a loss-- but like any piece of hardware, the manufacturing costs go down over time as yields improve, etc.
When you say "over 40 different revs" then you are probably referring to the same models in different areas of the world. There were the following models: 1001, 5501, 7001, 7501, 9001, and the PSOne 101 and 102 models. There might have been a few more, but there were hardly 40 different revisions. I'm willing to bet that there were less than 8-10, actually- excluding Yaroze and development units and the likes. The PSX came out in the mid-'90s. If you think about that, then it really doesn't seem like there were that many models.
Most of these were made to fix physical problems and cut costs. early models had problems with disk skipping. Some models had power supply problems. The new firmware code that broke modchips happened to just be included. It wasn't until late in the PSX's life that they tried any sort of software solution "Dino Crisis comes to mind". They intentionally included mod-chip detection into some late games, but even that is quite different than something similar to Palladium.
Its normal to release different revisions of hardware every year or so. The idea that this was done to foil X-Box hackers is kinda obsurd, if you ask me. Firmware changes are normal. They fix problems, and cut costs by streamlining hardware more and more. Give it time though, and someone will hack the new models.