XM Radio Hacked by Car Computer Hobbyists

An anonymous reader writes "There is an article over at News.com that talks about a small Florida company called Hybrid Mobile Solutions, that hacked XM Radio. They created a cable and software that makes the new XM Commander and XM Direct units work just like an XMPCR. They are in negotiations with TimeTrax to allow recording of XM Radio to MP3's. XMPCR was canned due to this late last month."

Comments

Hackers?

[Underholdning]

I wouldn't call it hacking. More like reverse engineering the old service and building a new.
Call me a nitpicker, but the term hacker is growing too wide for my taste.

Re:Hackers?

[julesh]

Actually, I think this is pretty close to the original meaning of 'hacking' -- cobbling together a piece of equipment to do what you want when there's no commercially available system to do it.

seems like a reasonable effort

[samberdoo]

It's not like they are trying to get the service for free. This is for subscribers who want to use the service differently. You can make MP3's off of broadcast radio too.

Re:almost slashdotted, hurry up and get to it

[acoustix]

Isn't it stange that the FCC says that they can't regulate satelite TV, but then they turn around and prosecute people who hack the signal?

Either you can regulate satelite transmissions or you can't. Make up your mind!

-Nick

XM Radio isn't hacked.

[artifex2004]

Someone recording sub-CD-quality music from a device they're required to have a subscription to use is a hack, yes, and may even be a good one if there are no native outputs... but it's not hacking the company.

Saying "XM Radio got hacked" brings to mind ideas like

1) someone's broken the subscription requirement,
2) someone's broken into XM servers,
3) someone's taken over XM's broadcast satellite system,

etc.

Ah... the good old days

[Anita Coney]

I remember in the good old days, not only was it legal to hack the stuff you bought, you actually OWNED the stuff you bought. Heck, I'm old enough to remember back when all electronics came with schematics! I'd love to have schematics for the stuff I buy now.

Re:XMPCR?

[PriceIke]

> You can go to bed and wake up the next morning with several hundred mp3s on your machine all labeled correctly and ready for distribution.

You just assume that everyone who uses TimeTrax does so for the purpose of distributing music.

Let me ask you .. what is the point of this? Do you really think people get a CD and go, "ooh, I can rip all of these songs and UPLOAD them to thousands and thousands of people I don't even know! W00T!" No. The point of TimeTrax was so people can listen to what they want whenever they want on whatever they want .. PC, Linux box, MP3 player, sunglasses, what the hell ever. They're paying for the music by subscribing to XM .. by using TimeTrax it gives them more control over the music than the RIAA wants them to have, so ipso facto it must be a "crime"?

The electronics industry are more and more doing their damnest to limit and restrain the freedom of their customers to use their products however they want. By assuming every customer might actually use their brain and think of a new way to apply the product, they work on the assumption therefore that each customer is a potential criminal.