Slashdot Mirror
Xbox Hacking Book Prepares to Fly Off Shelves
SecurityFocus posted an article today about a new book that covers hacking the Xbox. The book's author, Andrew "Bunnie" Huang, reports that it's selling well, even though the release date has not yet arrived. Presumably, this is because the book covers soldering techniques and adding features like blue LEDs and modchips to Xboxes, most of which violate the DMCA. If this stuff is interesting to you, you can order a copy from Huang's site. It amazes me that a book such as this could be banned, yet car service manuals can be sold in most bookstores.
At the heart of the modding debate (or very close to it), I think that Microsoft wants to prevent hacking and modding of the Xbox because it reveals to the consumers the true identity of the Xbox: a PC that is being sold far too cheaply; an entry into the console market that would be completely unsustainable if Microsoft were not a monopoly (I.E. able to sustain gross losses in many other markets in order to direct/force attention back to their OS and Office suite).
$6,000 worth of R-Type stickers, racing stripes, sparkling paint jobs, loud exhaust pipes, and annoying Chinese characters that most likely mean "Stupid Round-Eye" serve no beneficial purpose to a $5,000 Dodge Neon either, nevertheless, they adorn the vehicles of 17 year olds everywhere.
The only part that violates the DMCA is the part that describes how to circumvent copy protection schemes.
That's the reason Microsoft will want him to hang over this.
It's also the reason someone has to do it. Someone has to stand up and show how insane this all is. Too bad someone has to martyr themselves in order to get the point across. This guy will ruin his fiscal life in the united states.
Karma: Chameleon (mostly due to the fact that you come and go).
Ignoring the parent comparining the cost and the fact that I'm for free software...
The reason this is different than selling a car manual is that you are not moding your car to run equipment without paying for it or that is restricted for any reasons. If a car manual instructed people how to get military gps coordinates or pick up restricted broadcasts, you can bet it wouldn't be on store shelves.
Regardless, this would this even be news if the xbox was a Playstation?
Rob
Is the book banned, or the techniques the book describes? There's a big difference.
Clearly, the book is not banned, since it is being published directly by the author. However, from his site, the book was not picked up by a publisher for fear of lawsuits. That's somewhat alarming, but it's not equivalent to outlawing a book.
Actually, there are plenty of "survival" manuals and whatnot out there that describe all kinds of illegal activities, so I would be surprised if tort law could be used to terminate publication of a book (because if it could, it would have been done already in other contexts). However, this doesn't mean that the threat of lawsuits could not be used as a scare tactic.
Toronto-area transit rider? Rate your ride.
Microsoft has every right to void the warranty if I purposely modify the box. What they don't have is the right to demand I don't violate the EULA and void the warranty. I hate to say it, but corporations should be banned from donating money to political parties or candidates. If a company wants to push their own agendas, they shouldn't get a free write off. Instead, they should have to pay their employees, who then donate the money. This means, for every dollar a company spends to buy votes, they have to pay taxes on it. I have no problem with companies like microsoft buying influence in the white house as long as those purchases are taxes at 33%.
This crap with the DMCA has to stop!
lyrics by XTC:
(...)
Books are burning
In the still air
And you know where they burn books
People are next
I believe the printed word should be forgiven
Doesn't matter what it said
Wisdom hotline from the dead back to the living
Key to the larder for your heart and head
Books are burning
In our own town, watch us turn 'round
And cast our glances elsewhere
Books are burning
In the playground
Smell of burnt book is not unlike human hair
I believe the printed word is more than sacred
(...)
How is modding your X-Box illegal under the DCMA? I don't doubt that somehow it is (Frankly I wouldn't be suprised if having a dream with a top 100 song in it is illegal too) but is it only illegal if you actually use it for infringement purposes, or is the modification of the device itself illegal?
if the actual harware mod is illegal then WTF? I should be able to do whatever I want with my hardware (physically). I bought it, I own it. I can hit it repeatedly with a bat If I wish. I can dunk it in a bathtub full of milk, I can throw it through any window in my house I so choose (That is if I own the house, but If I have enough income to fill a tub with milk then I think I would have enough money own the house (maybe in this example I own a barn)).
Just wait, pretty soon automakers will start using the DMCA to keep you from repairing your car yourself. That way you have to take it to an "authorized repair center".
American auto manufacturing started out as a small, boutique industry. Henry Ford changed all that by assuming (correctly, as it happened) that ordinary people would buy cars if he made it practical for them to own them. Part of this was inventing more efficient manufacturing techniques, so he could sell cars more cheaply. But he also specifically encouraged the aftermarket car parts industry, even going so far as to choosing his own manufacturing techniques so that they'd be easy to copy. Thus somebody with a broken Model T didn't have to send away to Michigan for parts. This relationship extends to this day.
I wondered something similar, like since when are blue LED's a violation of the DMCA?
Visit www.seriouslythough.com
Violates the DMCA, does it? Or, as I called it in my company's new EULA, the Holy Bible?
Let me tell you something: If I buy an Xbox, it BELONGS to me. It is mine. It becomes my property. It is no longer the property of Microsoft, or the store that sold it to me, or the video game makers who make programs for it, or the RIAA, or the MPAA, or some marijuana dealer who sells stolen stereos out of the back of his stolen pickup truck. The Xbox becomes MINE because I have PAID for the damn thing. If it is my property, I can do whatever the fsck I damn please with it, including:
- Smashing the thing to bits with a sledge hammer, videotaping the process, and put the video all over the Internet.
- Drilling a hole into the central processing unit and/or memory, again, videotaping the process.
- Remove the chips from it and build an experimental garage opener out of the damn thing.
- Solder blue LEDs to it.
- Put a modchip that allows me to run PalmOS on the thing so I can use it as a really big PDA at the office.
- Put it on eBay and try to charge $500,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.00 USD for it, even though nobody would bid.
- Or, anything else that I might desire.
I don't know what liberal democrats came up with this retarded DMCA but it has to get off the books faster than shit going through a tin horn, or the next set of anti freedom legislation is going to bring us yet another step closer to BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU."It amazes me that a book such as this could be banned, yet car service manuals can be sold in most bookstores."
I'd argue this is more like a book about how to defeat car alarm systems. If it was "how to repair your X-Box", I don't think we'd see this controversy.
-Erwos
Plausible conjecture should not be misrepresented as proof positive.
I own several books that give step-by-step instructions on how to commit acts that are felonies under federal law. The authors and publishers have a first amendment right to publish this information, even if acting upon it would be a crime. Why should a book on hacking the xbox be any different?
Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
that he makes his $ on the games not the box. He loses money on the box, and he's not going to lose $ so some hacker can build a Beowolf cluster of cheap Linux boxes.
BUT he's going about it the wrong way. The RIGHT way to do this is make it a physical bitch to modify the box, not to get lawyers involved.
It's Christmas everyday with BitTorrent.
God damnit people, if you're going to rail against something, you should at least learn what it actually is. The DMCA explicitly excludes speech from being outlawed. The issue with DeCSS was wether source code should be considered 'speech' or a 'device'
A book is obviously not a device, and it is protected by both the 1st amendment and the DMCA itself!
autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
If I were to buy a whole heap of xboxes and put linux on all of them without putting in a modchip, (using the raincoat hax) and then sold these as internet tv devices with keyboard and mouse, would it be considered illegal?
You refer to tort law. That's certainly a factor. But the DMCA provides for criminal prosecution of violators. If nobody is willing to publish, or even self-publish, books on hacking this or that because they don't want to go to jail -- well then, that kind of book is banned, whatever you call the process.
I am going to go buy an xbox now and hack it. Just because it's illegal and for no other reason. I WANT to violate the DMCA just because the DMCA SUCKS.
/. article..
I have no intentions of buying or using ANY m$ games on the xbox, I just want to load Linux on it and use it to store all my mp3's, movies, etc. and use it as an entertainment center, as described in a previous
When it's sitting idle I want to set up a task to spam Microsoft with hate mail detailing how much I despise them and their crappy products but how grateful I am for them selling me such a cheap entertainment console.
I'll do it and I dare them to do anything about it.
They would be ill advised to attempt to stop me from modifying a peice of hardware that I buy and that belongs to *ME*... Possesion is 9/10's of the law. When it's in my possesion and I paid cash for it from a store and I have a bill of sale on it, it's mine to do with as I please.
Do be aware that I otherwise would have had no interest in doing any such thing until I was told that it was forbidden for me to do so..
Thanks Bill, your heavy handedness has pushed me to hate you..
None of it violates the DMCA. Books are not devices. They do not violate the DMCA. Ever.
autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
Oh, wow. that would be quite the PDA. You could cut a hole in the side of the XBOX and it would be the office. It would be pretty cool to see.
Just don't try to put it in your pocket.
If I have nothing to hide, don't search me
Oh come on, he didn't write a book about how to hack a PRC-90 to pick up secure broadcasts. He wrote a book about how to mod a PC thinly disguised as a game platform in order to run software other than that supplied by the platform vendor.
That said, Wiley & Sons has every right to refuse to publish anything it doesn't want to (that's part of "free speech" too), and Huang seems to have done OK publishing it himself. No blood, no foul.
Still, the fact that you were so willing to compare a mod that can allow you to put Linux (or pirated games) on an XBox to a mod that can allow you to actually threaten national security says a lot about how the public conceives of corporate vs. personal interests.
All's true that is mistrusted
Flying off shelves? How can it fly off shelves if it's being sold direct by the author? Wouldn't it need to be sold in bookstores to be capable of flying off of shelves?
Slashdot: Playing Favorites Since 1997
No, you mean the SLASHDOT crowd. It's pretty much only Slashdot that cares about rubbish like this.
Don't pin this nonsense on the rest of us. I could care less about Microsoft, their glorified PC-in-a-box, nor hacking it.
Every X-box sale gives money to the monopoly. I don't give a damn that I can put Linux or anything else on it. I'll build my own PC thanks.
> the issue is distributing information about how to bypass copyprotection which is very illigal just ask the poor guy who made decss.
No. 2600 got in trouble for distributing the source code for DeCSS because the source code (while information, at some level) is a "circumvention device" (according to the judge). The functional aspect of the code (once run through a compiler) was key to this. It would be difficult to argue that a book is an actual "device," and the DMCA does not ban anything (relevant) other than the act of circumvention and circumvention devices.
So how long before it appears on freenet? Not only would it be pirated, but it's content might not even be illegal (sorry, no time to read article). This would be a perfect opportunity to use freenet. Free speech! Free Books!
Robert Bindler
A Computer Science student's views on technology.
should we borrow the lyrics from Lynard SKynard and do a proper Theme song?
Don't Tread on OpenSource
At the heart of the modding debate (or very close to it), I think that Microsoft wants to prevent hacking and modding of the Xbox because it reveals to the consumers the true identity of the Xbox: a PC that is being sold far too cheaply; an entry into the console market that would be completely unsustainable if Microsoft were not a monopoly (I.E. able to sustain gross losses in many other markets in order to direct/force attention back to their OS and Office suite).
Don't be ridiculous. First, consumers don't care. Only a small number of geeks are interested in modding the xbox anyway, and those already know what it is, how it works, and that MS is a monopoly. Second, I checked prices TODAY at the store, and Nintendo's and Sony's consoles are the exact same price as MS's. If you're going to accuse MS of selling to cheaply, you have to accuse them all. It's a war out there.
What's "at the heart of the modding debate" is quite obvious to anyone with half a brain, and there's absolutely no need to get into lame conspiracy theories. I'll leave as an exercise to the intelligent reader to figure that out, as explaining would be pointless. Those of you who don't get it are far too deep down in the swamp of MS hate to ever get it anyway.
Banning this book in america is in violation of the 1st amendment. Just like they can sell books on hacking and making those cable tv descramblers. Its legal to publish the how-to's, its illegal to use the information in those books.
While the DMCA makes it easy to shut down a web site, the US Judiciary is VERY leary about restraint of dead tree writing and publishing. IMO, Mr. Huong getting a pro-bono defence would be easy, since any attorney should/would know that a form letter with a law office header is about all that's needed to fend off anything short of a libel suit or national security issues.
For instance, printing and selling a magazine with DeCSS source code is no big deal, but if the same people put links to the electronic version on their web site, it is. As long as the "Anarchist's Cookbook" is still on the shelves, "Hacking the Xbox: an Introduction to Reverse Engineering" hasn't got a problem.
Luke, help me take this mask off
I know lots of young people that do not know anything about computing. And yet, many of them would love to see a modded Xbox, and hate the restrictive measures that Microsoft places upon it. Get outside once in a while and make friends, then talk to them about it. Don't just be a fucking bitch and flame this mao guy for making a good and interesting post.
What the...no! No! I was only adjusting the carburetors! Nooooo!!!!!
"It amazes me that a book such as this could be banned, yet car service manuals can be sold in most bookstores."
Not really. The Haynes manual for my Chevy Malibu does not even admit there's a harness for the seatbelt alarm (and other alarms), so I can't disable it without trial and error.
MONOPOLY
There are no "good" multinational corporations.
Its about the money and if Ford, or GM had a monopoly they'd do it. Lucky for us they make horrible cars compared to Toyota and Honda.
Henry Ford primed the economic pump by paying his workers more than they deserved so that they would be able to afford his product. It was economic genius.
But these are the days of the Microsoft monopoly.
After being slashdotted, are any of the 1000 first copies going to be left over?
Public knowledge? How so? Is it printed squarely on the box or loudly advertised? No. Then it isn't exactly public knowledge. If you want to get mega-technical, then yes, if a person chooses to research the matter then they will find that it is just a closed and obcscured PC. But how many non-techies would even bother with such an investigation? How many non-techies have the knowedge to even began such an investigation? Wait, I'll tell you, about 1%.
And the reason that more people buy Xbox's to hack them then buy the PS2 kit is obvious: the curious would rather break a closed solution that they OWN for free then work with a Redhat driven open system for a price. Cmon man, it's pretty obvious dude.
Liberal Democrats??? How about the entire Senate. Link
Im guessing the only reason MS would want this book off the shelves, if it contained anything relevent to removing copyprotection.
Its common knowledge that they sold the xbox as a loss, and intended to make there money off the games etc. well guess what. if you mod yor xbox to run linux, you have screwed MS out of a lot of $$$. A LOT of people depend on the money made from the XBOX and its products. Game developers, shop staff. hardware companies etc etc.
lots of people need that money. money some people here like to not really care about at all.
I find the link's description of the book hilarious. The blurb sounds like the book targeted at middle/high school students so they can go around calling themselves "Master Hackers". Get the book before Microsoft does! Come on now. Who wants to bet this book contains nothing but buzzwords and a simple instruction set found on the internet on how to install the Enigmah.
Do you have links to valid information confirming that Nintendo takes losses on GC sells, or Sony on PS2 sells? I have looked, but never found any. Can you let us take a glimpse into your crystal ball?
In case the site goes down, here's a mirror of hackingthexbox.com.
-mz
It amazes me that a book such as this could be banned,
I guess you're too green to remember Abbie Hoffman's "Steal This Book"......and a bit too charming to know that this kind of 'publicity' helps to sell such books.
"Laugh while you're faking it and smile while you're taking it."
"It amazes me that a book such as this could be banned, yet car service manuals can be sold in most bookstores."
:)
Well you see, car manuals don't deal with the black arts of technology that need be kept secreted away to protect the sanctity of Licensing Agreements.
In order to insure this sanctity, you must command total control. Which of course requires that you exclusively own that property so that you may unleash a horde of briefcase toting henchman to act as enforcers across the land.
So, when you purchase an "Xbox" or other such item you actually only purchase a license to use it but not actual ownership of that physical unit. And of course, not being a property owner, you have no rights other than the right to use as the License states.
And you thought the dark ages were over
They recently required auto manufacturers to allow small shops access to the super secret diagnostic codes that they use check up on your car. It's True!
I'm pretty sure there's some difference between car codes and microsoft signing XBOX hardware and game discs... but i couldn't explain it to you
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
Actually, many people buy the manuals to their cars to do things not intended. One such limitation built in to most vehicles is the speed and RPM limiters. Granted, the factory service manual won't tell you what you need to know but it's helpful. How about places like Superchips that sell handheld programmers and come with instructions on how to remove your limiters? Or the 'piggyback' chips that plug an extra EPROM in to a service port of your car's ECU. Are these not the mod chips of the auto world? Why don't car makers or the Feds bother them? How about the exhaust or intake parts that are illegal acording to CARB or federal emissions standards?
I can agree that going after software that assists in pirating is legit, I mean c'mon how can you complain when you aren't allowed to have tools that let you do illegal things. But how about mod chips that people buy to run linux, or to load a classic video game emulator? Or even audio and video players? These things aren't wrong in the least! What the fuck?
I guess I better go pull my headers and custom exhaust off my ride before I get some Federal time in the pen...
The car service manual analogy is interesting. I wonder how the public would react if Ford sued Chilton, using the DMCA? There are plenty of aftermarket carbs, cam shafts, mod chips etc for cars. What would prevent Ford or GM from applying the DMCA on aftermarket parts manufacturers?
Ford has a copyright on the engine design and wants to control access to the design. By taking an engine apart you can thwart their control and get the engine design. They bolt the engine togther pretty tight, so that is their copyright protection.
http://www.windmeadow.com/
(4) Nothing in this section shall enlarge or diminish any rights of free speech or the press for activities using consumer electronics, telecommunications, or computing products.
In other words, if you could print it before the DMCA was passed, you can print it after the DMCA is passed
autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
I am not an open source zealot, but I do have serious concerns about many of the projects that Microsoft has on the horizon, such as Palladium, the whole Trustyworthy Computing scheme, and Microsoft's push toward their proprietary Windows Media format. I see the purchase of an X-BOX as a $200 endorsement of Microsoft. And that's not something I am comfortable doing.
The whole DCMA debate leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I follow most of the discussions pertaining to the DCMA on Slashdot. In fact, it seems like the X-BOX is the focal point of much of the DCMA debate on this site. And while I agree that the DCMA is a terrible piece of legislation, I don't see the logic of buying and modding an X-BOX to protest the DCMA. It seems like the easiest thing to do is to avoid the DCMA entirely, or at least, to avoid the corporations that use the DCMA to prosecute consumers. I can render Microsoft's enforcement of the DCMA moot by not purchasing an X-BOX. If I want to hack around on a console, I think the best choice is a Dreamcast. I can run NetBSD on it, and since it is no longer a revenue stream for Sega, they are not going to go to legal expense of throwing the DCMA at enthusiasts who hack around on it.
Microsoft is making it difficult to buy an X-BOX without also making additional purchases, namely X-BOX Live! Some of the newer games, and especially many games on the horizon and in development, will simply not be playable without an X-BOX Live subscription. There is also at least one game out now for the X-BOX that virutally requires the purchase of an additional controller which costs nearly $100.00. It seems that this is a trend that Microsoft will continue. And it's a trend I have no desire to endorse.
Simply, I can write all of the vehement arguments I want against Microsoft and the DCMA. But if I were to open my wallet and plunk down the cash to buy one, I'd feel very hypocritical because the best way for me to protest the DCMA is to avoid the X-BOX altogether.
Correct spelling is Noam Chomsky.
Jay Bibby reviews Flash and casual Web games at... http://jayisgames.com
What a completely ridiculous comparison. Servicing your car has nothing to do with theft, and the book isn't banned anyway. Before people start saying "MODHCIPS AREn"T FOR THEFT OMG OMG IP LAY VUDEOS IN MY LINVING ROOM n00B!'", please recall that although modchips can be used for valid reasons, their primary purpose is piracy.
Still many of the valid reasons for chipping an XBox will be disappearing with MS's impending XBox Live upgrade, which allows you to play mp3s and videos on your XBox. That way the only people that need modchips *will* be pirates... (oh and those XBox Linux folks)
is what this means:
I PQEsv5 4cHBUTviUtFYTkD H02Sh4u9NAzmlLbU BEB64wQD+pgwcU/ eMGuHVvZM/oxjBLA qo96skUPY1EvUJ
Hurry and get "Hacking the Xbox" before Microsoft does!
HOrry0anOZg2t aHackqngnzheFXboU2 6eforI0MicrI8oftK1oesyrv QSS Ko
HwYyv8indADzC AcckszgEu8THXbvL/LZRorVDhNcr7Fiwt8z6est5dXRbG GcfV
2e7CaU0TTeVljD17Kae7MHxPuZn0B/90oeWMD7Guqvp
Ows/F2OX15M9V0dvd9NEWTdaHSsGrR8Pi
tnUzRzEWgHFZ/Fef+yXV8DT/b7U5yDFM9
(from the bottom of the page).
This is obviously some type of encryption, where the first line might be the key.. (he gives you both the encrypted string and the non encrypted/obfuscated. Anyone with necessary background around to work on this ?
Copyright Violation:"theft, piracy"::Anti-Trust Violation:"thermonuclear price terrorism"<-Overly dramatic language.
Okay, so the guy is publishing his own book and he got it posted on Slashdot. A lot of people here claim to be interested in these topics, but how many are willing to put their money where their mouth is and order a copy of the book? And how many are just going to take advantage of the Creative Commons license and download it in a couple of months?
Note: I just preordered one via Paypal. Even if I don't use it to help me hack my Xbox, I think this guy deserves support.
Lack of eloquence does not denote lack of intelligence, though they often coincide.
If I'm not mistaken, the DeCSS t-shirt also got lumped in to the court injuction during the trial. I don't think a T-shirt qualifies as a "device", yet got slapped as infringing by a judge. Not a threatening cease-and-desist notice (which is only one lawyer's opinion on paper), but a real judge's ruling!
Look at the tomato! Isn't it sad? He can't dance! Poor tomato!
You never know, you might do some time for that kind of blatent disregard for the public welfare if you get the wrong judge. Hell, I've gotten pulled because I had a Roots-style blower coming through the hood. And no, there are no emission controls where I live... and if there were, I still wouldn't have been busted. It's just that there are a hell of a lot of 15 year old Chrysler minivans with bad valve guides leaving a trail of blue smoke out there, and I'ME the bad guy? Come on, I WANT that fuel burned before it leaves the tailpipe, and rebuild the engine when wear shows. Oh well... life ain't fair, is it?
If the DMCA does in fact prohibit speech like this, there's no way the DMCA is constitutional.
In 1993, Lawrence Horn hired James Edward Perry to kill his son, so that he could collect the $1.7 million medical malpractice settlement. Perry not only killed the son, but he killed the boy's mother and a nurse as well. Perry was sentenced to death, and Horn to life in prison. In Perry's apartment, police found a copy of Hit Man: A Technical Manual for Independent Contractors published by Paladin Press. The manual, marketed as a work of fact, describes methods of committing murders in detail. Relatives of the victims sue Paladin for "aiding and abetting" the murders.
The District Court ruled that the First Amendment protected the manual and barred the lawsuit. The Circuit Court overturned the decision saying that the speech is not protected by the First Amendment.
The Supreme Court upholds the Circuit Court's decision in a split decision.
The Hit Man ManualSomeone please reassure me that the system works...
Don't tell you how to rig your car so it can take gas out of a pump without the pump charging you, or how to drive through a toll both unprotected.
What suprises me is that books on how to rape people are out there, but you fear this book will get banned.
Xbox hacking is funny, but it just shows microsoft how to make the secure PC truly secure - the Xbox hackers are gradually teaching them about all the glitches, so they can produces something uncrackable in the future.
The only way to really protect free speech is to disable others from taking it away from us.
-The Freenet Project
He was going to publish a paper on the weaknesses of the SDMI schemes. The SDMI people threatened to prosecute under the DMCA and only backed down when Felten went to the Supreme Court about the whole deal.
Whether or not part 4 applies, you have to go through the courts to exonerate yourself- and you might not be able to easily do it, having to go through the entire judicial system to do it.
I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
If you unsoldered the bios chip that contains the boot code and mailed it back to MS. Does that mean you have the legal right to do anything you want with it at that point? Since there is no licensed software in it?
slammin'!
Do you think for one instant this spirit survives? Detroit, at great costs, changes their body styles yearly and supports a far greater than needed diversity of models. They do this to make it impossilbe to keep a car running beyond it's "planned obsolescent" date. To get body pannels and parts, you go to a junk yard. Sure, some parts are interchangable and third parties can sell them, but your old car is going to be ugly fall appart around you.
As for the DMCA, Detroit is slow but it won't be long before they follow the printing industry's lead on banning 3rd party sales on anything with a chip in it. It's already difficult, if not impossible, to get information on your car's computer. Ever seen a service manual that would help you make a real mod there? It makes me sick.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
So, how about a web page pointing to DeCSS? Can that violate the DMCA or is it "protected" by it? You blew that one out of your ass.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
Because then they'd realize they could use it for things and in ways that don't make Microsoft money. As long as Microsoft maintains the illusion that the X-Box is only good for playing Microsoft approved games, it can make up the initial loss off the games, and the X-Box doesnt compete against regular computers, another Microsoft revenue stream.
http://www.redhat.com/solutions/info/casestudies/e ngineering/sonyps2.html
There is the link. It runs on Redhat. Troll.
So we're looking at a booK that is capable of both hacking an Xbox and flying. I knew those dudes from Toshiba were up to something more important than 3D Displays!
I got nothin'.
It amazes me that a book such as this could be banned, yet car service manuals can be sold in most bookstores.
no wonder everyone loves cowboyneal! thats the best anology ive heard yet. im sure its from somewhere else. but ive been looking for a reason to look at CN as more than a stupid poll option.
Question
http://www.ironfroggy.com/
I hear ya. I live in Ohio where the only requirements on a motor vehicle are headlights and taillights it seems. Frame buggies home-brewed from old VW bugs are perfectly legal. It still makes no sense why car enthusiasts get taxed for having nice looking or performing vehicles while poorly kept Dodge Omnis run around consuming more oil than fuel.
Of course I live right next to West Virginia, and I think they are following the path of the Feds/Microsoft since they have some pretty strict motor vehicle laws for being 'the hillbilly state.' When the Jeep liberty first came out apparently the option for roof mounted off-road lights was standard and not an option. Well, they were higher than the state law provided so all Jeeps sold had to be titled elsewhere since they would not pass inspections. I guess that's why everyone has cars up on blocks in WV, nobody can afford to keep them up to pass inspection.
Anyways, getting back on topic there is no reason why a piece of hardware a person buys should be subject to anti-modification laws. It's happened for decades with automobiles and now that it's happening with electronics and computers it's no different. It's mine, i'll do what I please with it. DMCA be damned.
don't play many games
don't do much modding, just a little bit of tinkering.
but i am going to order a copy of this book, because the heart of the issue to me is free speech, the right of inquiry and the drive to play with toys you've bought and paid for
i believe in it, so i'm going to support it.
None of which changes the fact that Ford did accomplish a thing or two. So fuck off, asshole.
Please note that Copyleft is currently sued over
their t-shirts with DeCSS source code on them.
I think the code in this case does not have that
"functional aspect".
Modding your x-box is not illegal, not even under the DMCA. Installing a mod-chip is not illegal. Posession of a mod-chip is not illegal.
However, DISTRIBUTING a mod-chip may or may not be illegal under the DMCA. The DMCA is aimed squarely at those DISTRIBUTING DEVICES (and products, etc) used primarily to circumvent copy protection. Taking it apart, figuring out how it works, modifying it, etc, is all protected by the DMCA under the blanket of reverse-engineering.
Sheesh people. Quit complaining about the DMCA and go read it. Then come back and complain intelligently.
This looks like a trap to get MS to sue him under the DMCA, or even get him arrested. I think that he is hoping he gets sued or arrested under the DMCA so that information can be ruled not a circumvention device. He probably has a secret arrangement with the EFF,, as if MS knew he had EFF backing, MS would never sue him.
As did Islamic folk, Peoples Republics, and Tinpot states, plus now the semi sanctioned bulldozing of reporters. The fact that bookpublishers and ISP's fall in line probably indicate one constitutional eddict has been barstardised. what next - you are not allowed to lend your neighbour anything?
you insensitive clod.
I'm smarter than the average bear.
Why aren't there any +2 informative comments about this?
"It amazes me that a book such as this could be banned, yet car service manuals can be sold in most bookstores." Pffff, car service manuals are necessary for maintenance in order to assure the safety of the passengers and fellow human beings. Car service manuals don't tell you how to turn your car into a dragster. In the same spirit of distorsion, what about the right of modding a semi-automatic gun into full automatic mode? But, ok let ppl mod their own XBox as much as they want, but I'm all for banning these from XBox Live!. Online playing needs rule just like any other "competition" (no doping at the Olympics, precise car specs in racing, ...).
Heck, you'd think that Microsoft would be the first group to stand up for this guy's right to innovate!
For Crying out loud how much longer are we going to put up with this kind of crap. I bought the thing it is mine, I can do what ever I want with it. If I own a game and I don't want to have to put the disc in every time to play it I should be able to mod my xbox to so.
Last time I read that, it basically said that in certain cases, newer consoles were briefly sold at a loss, but this situation was highly undesirable and never occurred for more than 2-3 months for any given company. (Except MS, the Xbox always has been a loss leader and always will be, since cost-cutting options available to Nintendo and Sony are not available to them. MS can't integrate the CPU and GPU into one chip because they're made by two different manufacturers - Sony can and HAS - Over the PS1's life, the console went from many chips to a single chip that did everything at much lower cost. That's why new PS1s are $50 now and Sony is probably making a (tiny) profit, and why the PS2's compatibility with PS1 games is so good - The PS2 doesn't do emulation, it *includes PS1 electronics* because they were so cheap.
The only times consoles were sold at a loss by anyone was usually after a price slash was forced on the company. (Usually by a competitor slashing prices. I believe one instance was that Nintendo was planning to slash either the N64 or GC in 2-3 months, but Sony was ready to slash one of their systems immediately. Sony slashed prices, and Nintendo was forced to slash even though they wouldn't be ready to slash and remain profitable on the box for another 2-3 months.)
The profit margins may be razor thin (I'm positive they are on a device like the PS1) and the REAL money may be in the games, but they're not loss leaders.
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
I did your mom last night. YOU FAIL IT with your mere RESPONSE to a REAL FP.
"and annoying Chinese characters"
Probably you put characters on that are JAPANESE, since china has no car industry worth considering.
And they probably put a character on that is pronounced "gansaki nage" or something stupid.
Yes, if you want to talk custom controllers, you really can't beat the mighty Dreamcast. A fanboy's shopping list might read something like this:
3 more pads to play most 4 player games
Keyboard for PSO, Chu Chu etc.
Mouse for Quake 3 (you'll need that keyboard as well)
4 Steering wheels for 4 player driving games
2 pairs of Maracas (last seen going for well north of £100 each on eBay) for Samba De Amigo.
Microphone for Seaman
Digital Camera (I forget what for, sorry)
2 Dance Mats for DDR
2 fishing rods for Bass Fishing 2
2 light guns for House of the Dead 2
2 Arcade Sticks for Soul Calibur
2 more for Powerstone 2
2 Twinsticks ($100 each), a link lead and a second Dreamcast for Virtua On.
And I'm sure I've missed a few things,like the weird-ass flight stick/trackball thing one guy I know has. Microsoft have a fair old way to go yet on the daft controller front.
"I Know You Are But What Am I?"
"Sega paid someone to make the Dreamcast. And the software is Windows."
Well, technically, Microsoft pays someone to make X-Box.
But to your point about Windows, while Dreamcast was able to use WindowsCE, many (if not most) games did not use WindowsCE. It was certainly not a key portion of the core Dreamcast product, but certain games would include portions of Windows CE. I suspect this was to make it easier to port games to and from the Windows PC platform.
You were mistaken. Which is odd, since memory shouldn't be a problem for you
I see from another reply that this might be "Type-R", as in the Honda Civic etc.
But please, oh pretty please, tell me that 17 year olds everywhere are actually fans of bastard-hard 16 year old horizontally scrolling shooters.
Love that game.
"I Know You Are But What Am I?"
It amazes me that a book such as this could be banned, yet car service manuals can be sold in most bookstores. Of course they'll sell you service manuals. They want you to work on your own car, so when you fuck it up, they can charge you mo' money to fix it!
I! Tego Arcana Dei.
If I were to buy this book, I would make sure to use paper money rather than a CC. The government is nuts!
"You tried to order 1, when we have -2 available."
Sad, but true, it seems to have been a case of "..we don't fully understand what this MEANS but all of our large lobbies tell is its the right thing to do ,so......"
Is the US just getting sadder by the month?
Sehr geehrter Toilettenbenutzer!
Isn't it great to see that Mussolini's ideas have been awakened? I'll go and erect my GWB statue soon I think. Who's gonna be our Hitler? I'm sorry but if this keeps up the future of the US is bleak, and Russia will laugh at the Irony. Communism, here we come!
It seems to me like the right thing for Microsoft to do in regards to the Xbox is offer two Xboxes, one without the security and one with.
I think Microsoft has a legitimate economic model, selling the platform at a loss on the hope that people will buy the games. (Think razors and razor blades). Because this is the only economic model they have adopted, they are forced to try as hard as they can, through legal means, to ensure that people who buy the Xbox actually do buy games.
However, if they sold a "open" Xbox at above cost, they would not have as strong an incentive. People who wanted to run Linux, etc..., could simply buy the open version, save themselves the convenience of circumventing security, and not have to worry about the law. Microsoft could still make money, and those people might still buy games, and MS would avoid the negative publicity and legal expense of pursuing Xbox modders.
All in all, this two-tiered approach to platform sales is, I think, the most economically viable one. I would predict that, when secure PCs become a reality, we will see a similar approach, where service providers offer secure PCs to consumers at a loss, and the consumers agree to use their service, ala cell phones. At the same time, the best way to disincentivize modding and hacking is to offer an open version, at or above cost.
I actually think this guy has hit the nail on the head. If you consider it, he's right, the economic incentive to attack mod chippers drops; since they can get everything they want at a reasonable expense beyond the current, limited version.
Hell, I never considered buying an Xbox before reading this post; if Microsoft released such a product (hopefully with a nifty "secure/open" switch on the top) I'd totally want an Xbox to play around with.
Granted, there are some costs associated with releasing another version of the box; but I wonder if demand for such a box wouldn't justify them and then some?