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Man Convicted For Hacking Xbox
PipianJ writes "Remember the ruling in Britain which outlawed mod chips last year? BBC News is reporting that a man has been convicted of modding an Xbox and sentenced to 140 hours of community service, a fine of 750 pounds (about $1300), and the confiscation of his PCs and Xboxes." From the article: "The man had been selling modified Xbox consoles which he fitted with a big hard drive containing 80 games. 'This case sets a major precedent which marks a milestone in the fight against piracy,' said games industry spokesman Michael Rawlinson." Update: 07/04 22:12 GMT by Z : Updated to more accurately discuss the story.
Kinda relevant, but somehow missed from the main slashdot post:
There are legitimate reasons to chip consoles, e.g. to run your own OS on them. I wonder how the case would have gone had the guy just been selling modded console sans illegal software. Anyone want to turn themselves in and find out?
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just dont sell modded xboxes. i don't understand why every slashdot post has to make a mountain out of a molehill.
Look, there's a lot of activities you're allowed to do legally as long as it is for personal use. If you try to make a profit off of it, you're hurting the bottom line of some company and you are going to get slammed for it. How simple is that?
I know this gonna be an unpopular opinion on Slashdot, but why are these fringe type of actions seen to be a premonition of things to come? It's not.
Mod your x-box, put Linux or what-have-you on it: OK. Mod your x-box, put 80 pirated x-box games on it, and sell it: Not OK. Seriously, what did he *think* would happen? Even the most liberal interpretations of copyright prohibit making a bunch of copies of something and selling them at a profit ...
"Because Science" is one step from "Because old book". Try "Because of my experiment testing my falsifiable assertion".
Modifying hardware that you bought is not illegal, nor is selling it. Including a harddrive full of ROMs however, is...
"A truly wise man realizes he knows nothing."
The headline / summary of this article needs to be rewritten to mention something about selling pirated games.
I caught the Mountain Wumpus! He gave me his treasure chest ($100) to let him go free again.
That they would label this article as, "Man busted for chipping box." When in fact it had nothing to do with the chip itself, but the PIRATED SOFTWARE the hard drive contained. It should be properly labeled as "Man busted for selling pirated Xbox software." if he had been selling Linux running xbox's with homebrew apps, it would have been a nonissue. As the slashdot commmunity, we do ourselves a disservice by labeling stories this way and spreading F.U.D. that would lead us to believe that chipping your box is illegal.
Next time excercise some editorial control and highlight the fact the man was selling Pirated Xbox software and that this was all part of a greater nonissue. You pirate software and sell it(Whether in Hard Drive or Disc Format) you are going to get the hammer. Guy got off amazingly light in the face of what he was doing.
John Walsh once found me while looking for some other kid. He was not amused.
...this isn't Xbox modding, this is Xbox infringement.
I'm against laws prohibiting modification OF MY OWN DAMN POSESSIONS. That's like saying I can't put a heavier recoil spring in my handgun, or improve the fuel mileage in my car with a better carb.
HOW LONG BEFORE I NEED TO HAVE A FEDERALLY APPROVED "SOLDERING IRON" OR "OSCILLOSCOPE" LICENSE?!
Now this guy got nailed for piracy but the quote about "chipping consoles is an illegal act" towards the end makes me uneasy. Real uneasy. It's only a matter of time before people get nailed like this under the US DMCA.
They aren't using this guy as a posterboy for generic anti-piracy, they are using him as an example for mod-chipping.
I guess when I go to a store and pickup a box with hardware in it, its still regarded as software: you don't "own" anything, just the right to "use" it.
Its an interesting conundrum which is only showing up in the computer age. If I bought a car tire, turned tied it to a tree and used it as a swing, I could do so. If I resold it as a swing, the manufacturers wouldn't care. It would still be an increase in their sales.
What gives with computer hardware/software anyways? Why does it have to be so different? I think the only problem here (which I agree to) is that some mods can be used to play games which were copied without first buying them. I think to make this go away: 1) cheaper replacements for broken discs past warranty should be allowed (some companies charge $20 or $30! - the cost of the game), 2) allow for some way to mod it without circumventing the copy protection on the games while still allowing functionality.
For example, with #2, if you want to mod your X-BOX as a weather station, to stream media in your house, to make the next Terminator robot, you should be allowed to - and even resell the design. In this way, you're using the hardware as you want to, MS makes the hardware sale (their prob if they sell at a loss) and you don't get to copy games.
But if I want an X-Box to be able to play games from another country that I've actually bought and had shipped over, and modding it is the only way to do it, shouldn't I, as the owner of this licensed box, be able to modify how it operates to work with software I own? Am I violating a copyright or am I violating the DMCA in any way? (I don't ethically think I am, since I legally purchased the items in question, and while I'm no lawyer, I believe it's my right to be able to make something made for the same platform, but from a different country, able to work with my system.)
I personally think (mod me up/down/whatever) that this kind of ruling is stupid. I do not like this one bit, this seems to screw over everyone who wishes to make sure their system works with any software they buy that's "designed" for such a system. (This also makes me wonder, why develop PAL and NTSC? I mean, if you're going to make the system, (from now on replace system with XBox) and distribute it worldwide, should this XBox not have the same hardware, same BIOS, etc? Why the hell would I need to buy the same XBox, TWICE, from different countries just so I can play a game from a differnt land?
Just to clear it up, I don't own an XBox (The whole statement above is a theoretical/POV one) and this is one of the reasons I'll *NEVER* buy a console, and instead wait for emulation.
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
As long as you can't buy sex on the internet, they'll always have a revenue stream.
Irritable, left-wing and possibly humorous bumper stickers and t-shirts
Your not breaking the law by modding your own machine to play software you own. However, the person who sells you the mod chip is breaking the law.
By the twisted logic of the DMCA therefore, you've got a chip you can only get illegally, and if (horror of horrors) you're not in the country they meant the game you bought to be played in, then you're a thief. A thief who's money the companies they represent have got, since you paid for their products, but still a thief because you've violated their precious licence.
The sheer mind-numbing stupidly of being classed as a criminal after actually paying for the thing you're meant to be stealing beggers beleif, but there we are.
Alas the world is changing, and the RIAA et al represent the people who want it to change in a way which suits them. It won't, but try telling them that. Just wait, soon it'll be 'you may only play this game for one month after purchase unless you buy the extended licence'.
Its amazing, this guy actually did violate copyrights with piracy, for profit, and on quite a large scale and he gets a small fine and community service. Dimitry Skilerov violated no copyrights, in another country, and mearly talked about it and he got 6 months in prison.
This brings me to another point: If the whole purpose of a copy-protection device is to stop you copying something, then why do you need a law to prohibit tampering with the device?? If its such an amazing piece of engineering why does it need legal protection? It seems like 'they' are getting the best of both worlds - they can have their copy-protection devices AND the law behind them when only ONE is actually necessary. Perhaps consoles should be sold under a contract making it clear that you don't actually own the console and you may not modify it. For fucks sake someone just choose one of these options, you cant have your cake and eat it too.
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>>this guy no more deserves our sympathy or support than some guy selling bootlegged CDs on a street corner
From my experience in NYC, most street vendors selling pirated music, movies, bags, t-shirts, whatever, have been very hard working immigrants..
They would sell fruit (as the Jews, Italians, and Irish of old did), they would sell rags, they would sell pottery, paint, poems, dishes or used magazines, except for one thing: bootleg music and movies and games make more money, have a bigger demand. Selling drugs or sex might make them more money, but would involve considerably more personal risk.
I don't feel sympathy for the bootleggers: I feel admiration for their hard work and gratitude for how they keep the authentic culture machine well-oiled.
Others have pointed out that the real concern was the pirated games but I think it's important to point out why this is such a major issue. The game systems themselves are sold at a loss inorder to get market share with the games sold for profit. If they can't make enough on the games the system cost will have to be raised. I guess if you don't mind paying twice as much so other people can sell pirate games it's a non issue. The other problem is he is helping draw negative attention to modding. The guy isn't a hacker or geek he's a sleazebag who deserves to go down. He wasn't doing it for the greater good he was trying to make a buck selling pirate materials.
1. Are the 80 games copyrighted? And did the man need and not have permission from the copyright holders? The implication is "yes" and "yes", meaning he violated copyright. But the article doesn't make this point clear. Perhaps he was buying legit copies and merely repackaging and reselling them, which may but should not require any special permission from copyright holders.
2. What exactly was he convicted of? And what is he guilty of? The article says he was convicted of modifying an Xbox, NOT piracy. If he violated copyright, why bother with this new "illegal modding" law? Why not just fine him and his future descendents into extreme poverty for old fashioned copyright infringement? Or even better, get him for both crimes? Was it a plea bargain? Maybe it is because the plaintiffs do not hold the copyrights for any of those 80 games and so cannot sue for copyright infringement (I don't know, IANAL) and instead tried him under this new law. Or was it that he didn't pirate?
There's more to this case than we're hearing. If his only crime was modding, and those 80 games were legit, then this conviction is scary. What is next? We won't be allowed to tinker with our cars? Home improvement will become illegal too? I hope he appeals and wins.
But if those 80 games aren't legit, then he was pretty stupid, and the only notable thing about this affair is the means used to punish him.
Beyond the immediate is the poor job the media did on the story. The few times the media has covered a story I knew, they goofed. They were sloppy with the facts, and focused poorly on the issues. In this instance, the media may be more concerned with sensation than research. As Goodgulf says "beats me, but it makes good copy".
Intellectual Property is a monopolistic, selfish, and defective concept. It is "tyranny over the mind of man"
...not selling a modded X-Box.
The man had been selling modified Xbox consoles which he fitted with a big hard drive containing 80 games.
So, the bigger crime is that he sold modded X-Boxes, rather than the fact that he loaded it with 80, most definitely pirated, games??? What's the world coming to... That would be like if someone was arrested for having a hydroponics setup, rather than for the large marijuana crop that individual was growing.
Duct tape is like the Force. It has a light side, a dark side, and it holds the universe together.