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The Hacker Behind "Hacking the Xbox"

Posted by michael on from the fear-the-bunny dept.

chromatic writes "ONLamp has just published an interview with Andrew "Bunnie" Huang, author of Hacking the Xbox. Bunnie discusses the effect of the DMCA on his work and the state of Xbox hacking as he sees it."

3 of 178 comments (clear)

  1. Windows CE by Aliencow · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "You think it has anything to do with the fact that it's a Microsoft product (the Dreamcast itself booted off a version of Windows CE, for example)?"

    It did have a Windows CE logo, almost none of the game used it cause it's crap, and the reason the Dreamcast was such a cool platform was the SH-4 CPU and the fact that it required no modchip to boot games.
    No it's not a conspiracy against Microsoft. Of course some people pirate games, but they always will, modchip or not.
    There are actually people who enjoy fooling around with hardware.

  2. Re:Here is my problem wiht this: by TClevenger · · Score: 5, Insightful
    And even then WHAT IS THE POINT? It seems like people just do this because THEY CAN and are not asking whether they SHOULD be doing this?

    And I still don;t see the use for it. What are you possibly going to do with Linux on an Xbox that you couldn't do with Linux on your computer?

    Because while your NES, Sega Master System and Atari 2600 went out with the trash when you were finally tired with them, an XBox can be modded and reused. Maybe by the time you're ready to junk it, you'll find you could really use a firewall, network storage appliance, Linux PVR, etc., and it'll get a second chance at life.

  3. Re:Why preclude a modified razor blade strategy? by udecker · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Instead, many insist on the right to unilaterally modify the terms and conditions of sale -- after the fact

    And the after the fact part is substantial. You payed money for a substantial physical peice of property - and by that element, you "own" that particular physical peice of property. There is no license, you are not reproducing it or taking from the manufacturer's IP and redistributing it, you are "tweaking" it to suit your own needs.

    The prevalent attitude on /. is a matter of consumer rights versus manufacturer's rights - if a product substantially similar in the marketplace were available that did not have these hinderances, do you think that it would not be applauded by the slashdot crowd? Basically you're getting a device that Microsoft chose to sell at less than production cost. Under their contract, am I required to purchase additional games from them? No? Then what reason do they have to force me?

    The DMCA is the problem here, not the product that is being shipped, because without the law, they still would be producing and selling XBOX's, presumably exactly as they currently are. The legal implication that what I own outright is under someone else's terms and condtions is the prevalent problem frequently disussed here on /.