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Xbox 360 Backup Discs Bootable
An anonymous reader writes "The firmware of the Xbox 360 DVD drive has been hacked, allowing users to boot backups of games on the new Microsoft console. A group of hackers on the xboxhacker.net forum managed to trick the DVD firmware into reporting a recordable disc as an original Xbox 360 disc. This means that it will not allow booting of unsigned homebrew code (like Linux), as the signature check is not bypassed. This hack will just trick the Xbox 360 into thinking you inserted an original Xbox 360 disc, so it'll only boot unedited executables. A video has been released, the hack has not been released to the public (because it will be mainly used for piracy), but all the research of the last few months is publicly viewable."
Actually, Playboy articles are pretty good, providing good analysis of all the hot topics, like global warming, politics, religion, law, freedom, etc., etc.
I don't like DRM either, but one fallacy among opponents is the distinction between "average consumers" and "pirates". The problem is that average consumers can easily become pirates if various conditions are ripe: the original seems expensive, copying is easy, nobody is ever punished, etc. There are entire countries of "average consumers" who almost never buy original software or music.
to hack a disc? this is the entire disc authentication system completely reverse engineered with little or no understanding of the inner working of the 360 kernel. this is a complete sidestepping of what was probably 3 years of complete tightening of all of the 360s internal communication, integrity checking and copy protection. no one made any claims about it taking a day, and when a loose community does this in 4 months it IS god damned impressive since it is more than most people on this board could do in a fucking lifetime.