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.

Comments

The heart of the debate?

[mao che minh]

I find it amusing that the open source crowd shows such great interest in a closed piece of hardware, hardware that is defended by DMCA-supported lawyer jargon and manufactured by "The Great Satan" of digital freedom. It goes to show you how strong and creative this community is, and highlights upon some of the beneficial fundamental values that the open source crowd holds: freedom and expression in computing. Sappy huh. =)

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).

Re:The heart of the debate?

[Anonymous Coward]

Dear mao che minh,

This message serves to notify you of your violation of a Microsoft(r)(c)(TM) trademark ("I.E.") in the previous post. We take infringements on our intellectual property very seriously.

You may settle this case out of court by agreeing to pay us an unspecified sum of our choosing and signing a non-disclosure, indentured servitude agreement. If you refuse, I remind you that our legal staff is large enough to fill a football stadium but smart enough to know better than to go out in public together.

We eagerly await your reply.

Sincerely,
Microsoft Legal Team

Re:The heart of the debate?

[El Cubano]

I find it amusing that the open source crowd shows such great interest in a closed piece of hardware, hardware that is defended by DMCA-supported lawyer jargon and manufactured by "The Great Satan" of digital freedom.

I find it even more amusing that after 5 years under the DMCA, someone still has the cojones to basically thumb his nose at "The Great Satan" of digital freedom.

I think that this only helps further the idea that if the various media/software companies do not provide what the user wants, the user will figure it out for themselves. When the bottom line of company Y starts to really shrink, they will provide the customer with what they want to maintain the revenue stream on related products (think IBM and SUN selling and supporting Linux so that they can keep selling servers).

Re:The heart of the debate?

[ibsteveog]

The old "all consoles sold at a loss" myth... The best truth is told here: acts of gord, proclamation 2!

talk about political corruption and errosion

[Anonymous Coward]

of consumer rights. If i want to buy an XBox and void the warranty, it's my right to do so. On the other hand, if I was being unreasonable, like modding an XBox and then demanding Microsoft provide support for it, the manufacturer would be right.

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%.

Auto Makers

[kUnGf00m45t3r]

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".

uh

[autopr0n]

None of it violates the DMCA. Books are not devices. They do not violate the DMCA. Ever.

Re:uh

[zurab]

None of it violates the DMCA. Books are not devices. They do not violate the DMCA. Ever.

It's easy - DMCA - Sec. 1201:

(2) No person shall manufacture, import, offer to the public, provide or otherwise traffic in any technology, product, service, device, component, or part thereof that--

`(A) is primarily designed or produced for the purpose of circumventing a technological protection measure that effectively controls access to a work protected under this title;

Emphasis mine. Books qualify as products, don't they? I think free speech violates DMCA - that's the problem.

Dead Tree Publishing Get Mo Bettah Rights

[cmholm]

Mr. Huong will do just fine with his book. That the publishers he's contacted won't publish is a roll. I think they just don't want to deal with such a limited printing, and the fear of lawsuit is a good excuse.

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.

Why I won't purchase an X-BOX

[diabolus_in_america]

I've seriously considered buying an X-BOX, and I almost did on a couple of occasions, but I've decided against it for now. Here's my reasoning.

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.