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Aussie Company Releases Xbox Mod-Chip Designs
An anonymous reader submits: "According to an article in the Australian Financial Review, An Australian computer chip designer will this weekend risk the wrath of Microsoft by making its sophisticated Xbox mod-chip designs freely available over the internet.
This release is the second and most advanced design to date that has been released by this company, the earlier release of a much simpler design was covered by a previous article on slashdot.
Go get'em while they're hot everyone. When you consider what has been happening to companies who irritate console makers, these files might not be around for long!" The AFR article requires subscription, but the AussieChip site has more information, including a link to the terms under which the designs may be downloaded -- looks like they're looking for some dedicated amateurs ;)
Whoever controls the language of the debate controls the debate. (see "sharing" vs. "stealing")
Can we start calling these "linux-enabling" chips or something equally positive, something that shows that they are NOT primarily designed to circumvent copyright?
But Sony lost a case in Australia where they were seeking to make mod-chipping illegal. I would guess it's probably perfectly legal to sell them here.
:wq
Anyways, I am writing you today to inform you that your wonderful copyright protection and region protection schemes have been broken. I request that you save the entire community some time next model and just forget the entire copyright idea all together. We want to play with our X-Box's the same as we want to play with our toasters, but you don't see GE breathing down our necks when we do it.
Sort of a word to the wise if we buy it, and we're bored, we're going to screw around with it. Anyways I hope you have a wonderful day monopolizing the Operating System industry and ignoring the supreme court.
Lots of love,
Everyone.
Ignore the "p2p is theft" trolls, they're just uninformed
Two points:
Of the criminals who were sent to Australia, you should remember exactly two facts, at least:
One, until the American revolution, those criminals were being sent to America as indentured servants; When the revolution occured, there was no means of removing those criminals from the overcrowded British system, meaning that instead they inhabited numerous overpacked ships for weeks and months off the shore of the UK.
Two, of the criminals that were sent to Australia, something on the order of 70% (the numbers vary) were non-violent, and under the age of 20. The majority of these criminals were orphans who stole bread, prostitutes and the ilk. These weren't, without many exceptions, murders and real theives. Moreover, a significant portion of the colonists were Black Sheep of wealthy European families, sent to Australia with the combination of hopes that they might not embarass the family further, and that they might redeem themselves.
Now, as to their rights...hey I love the country, and hope to move back there, but its a country that has a list of books/movies/games/music that the government deeps innappropriate, and can, if it wishes, refuse to permit their import. This occured recently, with GTA: Vice City, which forced Rockstar games to censor the game slightly for release there. Its a dangerous rule...of course the US (my current home) is getting precariously close.
"Stumble before you crawl"
"When you consider what has been happening to companies who irritate console makers, these files might not be around for long!"
Not true. Thanks to one of the benefits of the Internet, now that this information has been released and has been covered by the major geek media, there will be enough people who will download it so that the information will live on for a long, long time.
It's hard to mess up generating a public key. I doubt the software used to do it was even coded by them. While Xbox security is of course quite loose, there's no reason to expect the key isn't strong. What they're doing is like trying to get into a house by breaking down an armoured bolted door as opposed to jumping in the open window right next to the door.
It's hard to be religious when certain people are never incinerated by bolts of lightning.
To the guy who wants to see them on Linux ... good luck. Do you know any decent (ie usable) Linux PCB editing software? If so please post details!
Dmitry Sklyarov was charged with breaking US laws *in* the US -- selling his company's software while physically the US.
May we never see th