Slashdot Mirror
World's First Custom Firmware For Wii Released
Croakyvoice writes "Waninkoko has released the world's
first custom firmware for the Nintendo Wii, which is installed using the twilight
hack; among its features is the ability to allow writeable DVDs to be read
in emulators. From the readme: 'The Custom Firmware installs as IOS249 and it does not modify
any other IOS so it is secure to install and has been made to be used ONLY with
homebrew
software. This is a custom IOS, an IOS modified to add some new features not
available in the official IOS.'"
There is the Mt Everest answer and there is the "it isn't as weak as you make it out to be" answer. I don't plan on installing this firmware (not till the first wave of guiniea pigs test it for me ^_^), but I do have several Wiibrew games installed, some of which are WiiPorts of old games that have been released to the wild (GPL'ed or put in the public domain) and though the Wii homebrew scene isn't quite as polished as say the DS homebrew scene, they still have some impressive things out already.
In the end though, the real question is "why not?" Do you only drive your car from home to work and back again? Sometimes something doesn't have to have a strict utility or direct benefit to have fun doing it.
... play DVD's?
That's the only feature missing on the Wii, in my opinion, anyway.
So you can write your own game that uses the wiimote?
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
Do you only drive your car from home to work and back again?
These days I sure do!
Actually no you can't. It was even stated in the summary this only works for homebrew software, not comercial rips, and on purpose. The people who are doing most of the cool stuff in the Wii Homebrew scene are fairly ethical folk.
What this should mean however, is now people can start making DVD's of their homebrew software and popping it in like a normal game instead of having to cram everything in a 'small' memory card.
its missing the ability to play pirated games. or, it was...
I know of at least a couple that were released before.
There is an insurmountable disconnect between those that understand why these things are done and those that don't. It's fundamental to how each thinks. As much as you say you don't understand us, we don't really understand you. There isn't a good/convincing way to explain either position to the other, nor should there really need to be.
In a way, it's like asking someone why they like, say, raw fish, or really any other food one might find unpalatable. It's not a very useful question, because it comes down to individual taste. If the questioner doesn't already understand, they're unlikely to appreciate the merit of any particular response someone might come up with.
Those look more like applications for the Wii (WAD OR ELF's) more than a total custom firmware.
adventure-today.com
I could understand the xbox, and the ps3,
I don't have a xbox nor a ps3, you insensitive clod!
alias possession='chmod 666 satan && ls
Jail? Your not serious are you?
Just in case your not kidding, it is not illegal or even close to anything remotely criminal to put custom firmware on ANY PIECE OF ELECTRONICS THAT YOU OWN.
That may just be what Sony is trying to push with their PR campaign throughout the world, which is that they have complete and total control of their equipment everywhere and to go against that is a crime... and kills puppies.
Because, you know, the summary didn't link to a place where they had an adapter for this program, that specifically lets you run gamecube iso images. And making an app for it that loads up an ISO image, wouldn't be really that hard. Just the fact that it can do this, means that is around the corner.
Generally vendors do not understand their products.
The most important use for a platform is frequently something the vendor never considered in either their software design, their marketing plan, or their business model. Or they considered it, and wanted to hold it hostage in the name of an ongoing revenue stream. Consider that most consoles are loss-leaders, with the money being made up on the licensing rights to put software on the box, with per unit royalties to ensure an ongoing revenue stream. The restrictions necessary to implement this business model disable a lot of the potential of the platform as a basis for other applications.
-- Terry
The "features" that this firmware enables that were not present in the official firmware..
These are not features. If your hardware can read the disc, then the manufacturer specifically disabled the ability to read from writable media. This firmware disables a form of DRM.
That said, I agree wholeheartedly with the intent of this firmware!
For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
Let's see:
- The Wii has a nifty built-in remote that can do all sorts of things... and homebrew offers learning coders the chance to play with it and come up with innovative ideas and neat tricks.
- A codebase set up to allow you to run burned discs with homebrew will hopefully be expanded to allow using the old (and quite solid) emulators that ran on the Gamecube. Being able to run my SNES/NES/Genesis/etc libraries from a burned CD rather than wasting space in the Wii's highly-limited 512MB of internal RAM would be a major benefit.
In fact, word behind closed doors indicates that Nintendo is going to HAVE to open up something to allow games to read the external SD card reader as normal storage shortly. Anyone who's spent any amount of money in the Wii online store is getting pretty close to the limitation as-is even without the ever-expanding savegame files eating it up. It's one of the Wii's few major mis-design problems (the other being the incredible dead-zone that prevents the wii from detecting small motion, like trying to putt a short put in Wii Sports Golf, reliably).
- The Wii has more than enough power to become a pretty nice streaming media player (say, a MythTV frontend) if you can build it properly. The original Xbox is nearing the end of its usable lifespan (unable to handle 720p or higher content and a few of the newest and most processor-hungry video codecs with its processor) and both the Xbox360 and PS3 are locked in ways that opening them up for homebrew code is far more difficult than rewriting something (though rumors have it that PS3 custom firmware is being worked on). While it's true the Wii couldn't put out a true 720p signal, it could very likely process high-def content and display it in extremely pretty 480p, which would put it a step above the aging Xbox.
And before you say "but the PS3 allows you to run linux natively"... no. It doesn't. It allows you to run a very stripped-down Linux, and segregates hardware control to prevent Linux from being able to do most of the things that you'd want Linux and associated programs to be able to do. For example, the XBMC team (who are porting to both Windows and Linux right now) have already said that the PS3 will not allow them enough direct access (processor, video, RAM writes) to do what the software needs to do.
- The Wii is in more homes. That means that more people are able to enjoy the fruits of their work when they get the nifty home-brewed programs running.
Then you aren't living.
I disagree. I have XBMC right now and about 900GB of data that streams to it. If you put each item into a "channel" there would be hundreds and hundreds of pages to flip though. I think that a scrollable list that can handle directory structures is the only way to go.
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I may be wrong, but I believe the twilight princess hack has already been officially patched but remember reading that you can revert. So I guess technically this is already patched. Correct me if I'm wrong.
my site of misleading and incorrect information!
I believe it took the scene about an hour to work around the official patch.
Modding Trolls +1 inciteful since 1999
and kills puppies.
You mean it doesn't?! Damn.
All that wasted time...
The enemies of Democracy are
I agree. For me this is same with those fancy cover art viewers. They are fun and all, but really slow to find things.
my site of misleading and incorrect information!
Yeah, I mean that is the thing. Nintendo patches are kinda irrelevant in the long run as people often release workarounds within 24hours and/or backporting methods. This has seemed to be the trend for most of these console hacks of recent.
my site of misleading and incorrect information!
On the contrary, the GP is probably living life more than you are. :)
granted the video resolution stuff can be a bit daunting for some based on browsing through some of the linux on ps3 forums and the number of video mode problem posts. But that is what has always made me have a special place for sony consoles in my heart...i think i use my ps3 for multimedia pc purposes 10:1 over gaming.
my site of misleading and incorrect information!
Um, doesn't the DMCA make it illegal to circumvent the Wii's anti-piracy protection? I'm no lawyer but this seems blatantly illegal in the US.
What if you created a number of channels, and assigned things to them? Sports channel, action channel, cartoon channel... and an "Unassigned" and "Everything" channel? Opening the channel plays a random video at a random position (as shown by the preview, running!); or selecting it with another button brings up the programming list :)
Support my political activism on Patreon.
I suppose it won't even defeat the regular region lock?
Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
> actively supports the installation of alternate operating systems
As long as you can live with a crippled virtual machine that only emulates a dumb framebuffer. No, I won't be buying a PS3 because they allow you to play in a sandbox. If I can't run accelerated 2D I wouldn't even ponder the notion. Notice that Xboxes make great MythTV frontends but the supposedly newer and 'Linux friendly' PS3 doesn't. And without full (3D) hardware access it isn't really an open platform.
Democrat delenda est
Good question. That would be a tough argument for the prosecutor. You own the equipment out right, as in TOTALLY YOURS. Your property.
I would say that completely overwriting the base software with your own is not "circumventing" anything and is not physically tampering with the hardware or software to *specifically* achieve the goal of bypassing copyright protection schemes. You would have to prove that the secondary effect of removing the copyright protection provided through factory firmware was in fact the primary goal that the person was trying to achieve. You would have to prove intent. A Modchip is a "blatant" attempt to circumvent copyright protection. You cannot interpret it any other way. Custom Firmware is not even in the same ballpark as a Modchip.
What you also bring up is an underlying misconception that many people have, which is that homebrew and custom firmware's primary goal IS to circumvent copyright protection to facilitate and abet piracy (copyright infringment).
The fundamental purpose of custom firmware is to use any given hardware *exactly* the way that you want to use it. It is not a criminally motivated behavior.
Custom Firmware != Piracy. Custom Firmware != Copyright Protection Circumvention.
In any case, if there was further legislation which provided punishments for you using the software of your choice with the hardware of your choice, I would say that the law itself is an unjust law. I would then wholeheartedly advocate civil disobediance with respect to that law. Yes, as you may already have guessed, I think the DMCA is unconstitutional and ethically bankrupt as far as laws go. However, I don't even think custom firmware for any game console is actually violating it in the first place.
Why limit piracy? Nintendo hates it all the same, so why limit the possible applications of said firmware?
Videogames are too expensive to purchase often. :P
"He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing." --Paul Atreides, Dune
Exactly!
I laugh myself silly anytime somebody says that Sony PS3 is an open platform. If THAT is an open platform than I can tell somebody that they can sleep over at my house.... in the backyard ... next to the trash cans, and still seem like a nice and hospitable guy.
Sony is as much an open platform as a public kiosk is a home computer.
Might have been a reference to the PS3 ad campaign or might have been me reading too much into it.
Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
Waninkoko's "custom firmware" is just a ripoff of PatchMii with reduced functionality. PatchMii actually downloads the IOS from Nintendo's servers, patches and install it. It's even easier to use. Waninkoko has a bad reputation on the wiibrew community for stealing credits, and, as always, he releases a new tool days after someone else do all the hard work and release it for free under the GPL. PatchMii was created by bushing, one of the creators of the twilight hack. The unencrypted dvd read patch is by svpe based on an earlier patch for IOSes older than 30.
I wish I had mod points. I am so tired of people claiming that the PS3 is somehow friendlier or more open than other consoles.
The official Blessed-from-on-high firmware includes a deliberately and severely crippled VM that you can load stuff on. Nothing more. Not a bad feature to have; but not even close to "installation of alternate operating systems".
For that matter, I think the PS3 might still be the least open of this generation of consoles. The Wii gets hacked around pretty routinely, and there are exploits for older xbox 360's but, so far as I've heard, the PS3 has no such hacks available.
Graphics aren't everything, as I'm sure many people here can attest to.
I would attest to that, but it appears I've been eaten by a grue.
Heck, just for nostalgia I occasionally whip out the ol' Trash-80 emulator and play Raaka-Tu every so often, or Bedlam...
Ditto for the DOS games. When a game is still enjoyable 20 years later, THAT, my friends, is value.
Don't tell me to get a life. I'm a gamer; I have LOTS of lives!
If you think the XBox is a good choice, then why not the Wii? The Wii is 3 times stronger than the XBox.
To be fair, even if it is completely crippled, it's still a lot more open than any commercial console for the last 10 or 20 years has been.
Saying the 360 is more open because it's been hacked is a little unfair, Microsoft in no way helped or guided anyone to hack it, it just so happens someone found a problem with the DVD-Rom's firmware that could be exploited fairly easily.
Same for the wii, it's only open because someone found enough glitches to be able to open it. It'll soon happen to the PS3 (Although it must be said, Well done Sony for lasting THIS long, they apparently learned from their PSP botch up) and then we'll all be able to take full advantage of it.
Personally, I can't wait for it to happen as the sheer raw power available in that console could make it the biggest hacker's dream for years to come.
+1 IDisagreeSoHeMustBeATrollOrAnAstroturferOrAShill
Having not used it, I can't attest that it works perfectly. But you don't need this firmware to do that, there is already a homebrew 'region free' app out there.
This firmware isn't what is needed to run custom code, it's just an additional layer of the onion being pealed back to allow people to do more with their Wii.
If you aren't familiar with the state of homebrew on the Wii, here's a quick and only partially informed synopsis. I'm not hooked in sufficently to have history book accuracy.
Near the begining of the year, folk discovered a bug in Zelda:Twilight Princess that allowed them to do a stack smash and allow them to bypass the code that prevents 'unauthorized' programs from running. However, at that time you had to use the bug each time you wanted to load a program.
About a month ago, a team of coders released a custom built channel (The Homebrew Channel - HBC) that could be installed using the TP hack. The channel allowed you to launch homebrew apps from your memory card directly, (i.e. once installed you didn't need the TP hack).
Thats when alot of the programs avaliable right now took off.
This firmware is the next level. Another layer of the onion being pealed back. As I understand it, the Wii actually keeps a copy of all the versions of firmware that are installed on it, for compatibility purposes, and loads the version games specificly ask for. So this doesn't actually do anything directly except allow programs that are written to ASK for the new firmware to enjoy the new level of access provided. That's why you can't use this to play copies, because the copy of the game would still be asking for the offical Nintendo firmware, which would then detect that it's a copy.
I'm at work right now so I can't look up the name of the region free program. I believe it's something similar to "Gecko Region Free".
From reading about it, it sounded as if you just launched the program, then inserted your imported game and hit a button to reset the machine. From there, you were good to go as long as the game didnt' try to install region specific stuff (i.e. like the WiiFit channel or system updates from Smash Bros) and even then there were work arounds.
It sure is in the USA. Modifying your devices in ways that defeat built-in Copyright protection schemes is illegal because of the DMCA.
Who gets to define Copyright protection schemes? You certainly don't.
- Michael T. Babcock (Yes, I blog)
The PS3 does not have a spectacular video card. If you want to play with high end 3D graphics programming, go do it on your PC. The PS3 has a CBE chip and if you want to program one of those, you can do so on a PS3 freely and without breaking any rules.
If you'd like a PS3 development kit to try your hand at 3D game development, you can order one of those from Sony.
If you just want to do 3D on your desktop, then the PS3 is not the platform you're looking for. Yes, as a result of being designed primarily as a gaming system it has some limitations built in, some of which may very possibly be because of a certain third party's graphics hardware that that same third party won't release details on to Linux enthusiasts elsewhere either.
That said, no matter how much FUD you sling, the PS3 still allows you to legally and without violating any licenses or agreements, install alternate OSs on its hard drive running inside its hypervisor. Personally, that's pretty cool to hack around with and I know I'm not the only one who enjoys playing with SPE programming.
Feel free to believe that 3D graphics hardware is the be all and end all of systems programming though. You'd be wrong though.
- Michael T. Babcock (Yes, I blog)
1. This is not a "custom firmware". It is a hacked copy of an official IOS. IOS is the code which runs on one of the sub processors on the wii, it has nothing to do with the main firmware you see that shows channels, launches games, etc
2. You still CANNOT read dvdr's on an unmodified Wii. On an unmodified Wii, this modified IOS lets you only do one thing: dump commercial wii discs.
3. To read dvdr's in wii homebrew, you need a drivechip (a modchip attached to the DVD drive in the wii)
Conclusion: This is pretty much useless for homebrew, unless you are in the small minority who installed a modchip for piracy, but are still interested in homebrew. Even then, burning DVDR's is much more hassle than using SD's.
sig? uhh, umm, ok
That the wiidev guys don't know where to start with correcting it. Seriously. For one thing, wanky borrowed these features from patchmii. Just as he borrows for everything he does. The version he released yesterday was almost 100% Nintendo copyrighted code. He cannot code. Fact. Sad slashdot, sad.
Actually, the fix didn't even remove installed channels, just prevented the system from loading the specific savegame used by the twilight hack.
Either the coder who fixed it did a sloppy job, or he left the actual vulnerability there on purpose.
http://www.xkcd.com/354/
Modifying the firmware isn't illegal of itself, unless the modification allows for the circumvention of copy protection. Since this modification apparently only allows for homebrew code execution, i don't think it applies..
Of course, IANAL, and i haven't actually applied/played with the code of this mod. it's possible that wholesale piracy is now possible without hardware modification, but i'll still be buying games i like regardless.
http://www.xkcd.com/354/
If you can run homebrew code, you had to break the protection that only allows the device to run signed software.
They're putting it in gray area territory here: they broke the protection, but made it so it only work on software that users are authorised to copy... so its still breaking the protection, but for stuff no one will sue for.
I feel it is a perfectly good compromise (I'm heavily against piracy, but while I don't use homebrew, I feel its good when homebrew is encouraged in opposition to piracy), especially since once they allowed homebrew, it was probably quite easy to allow pirated content, and they didn't. Hat off to them.
I just did some quick checking, and it's exactly as you have said.. The commercial keys are (apparently) known, and while it would still take some effort, all the stuff required for running commercial games appears to be available for anyone with the skills to make use of.
I echo your sentiments. Hat of to them for opening up the possibility of simple homebrew without the piracy, even if it's just until someone releases a new version of the firmware.
http://www.xkcd.com/354/
"or he left the actual vulnerability there on purpose." --friends on the inside? That would be quite awesome!
my site of misleading and incorrect information!
I'm thinking more along the lines of a sympathetic group who know that most software and hardware specialists like tinkering with this stuff in their spare time.
In addition, Nintendo is in the unique position that a business case can be made for this action: The fact that the console is moddable with minimal effort means that more people will buy it for hackery, and since they still make a profit off each sale, they still make a profit. Oh, and they sell a copy of Twilight Princess too.
Of course, they'd still have to keep the shareholders happy, hence the token gesture.
http://www.xkcd.com/354/
> Feel free to believe that 3D graphics hardware is the be all and
> end all of systems programming though. You'd be wrong though.
I don't particularly want to play games on the damned thing. I said I'd even consider buying one if it had 2D that didn't suck ass. But video that is more on par with a plain VESA framebuffer just doesn't cut it.
So you can go play with the SPUs on that closed VM they give ya and when the box is eventually cracked I'll have another look... but by then it probbaly won't be 'all that' anymore.
Democrat delenda est
This firmware doesn't allow you to pirate games. It allows you to load homebrew software from DVD-RW discs as opposed to just DVD-Rs.
http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
XBox doesn't invite you to install Linux. Sony does. Sony invites you to install Linux, gives you the tools, uses standard hardware, and even allows you to upgrade your HDD without voiding the warranty.
You're saying XBox is an open platform where as Sony isn't. Sony's platform is open. The XBox was just hacked easier.
Hacked is not the same thing as open.
http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
There's no VM -- I'm not sure what you think you're on about. Maybe you should look at the IBM SDK documentation or the kernel development logs from the patches submitted to make things work on it.
Yes, there's hardware restrictions in place, but you're running right on the hardware as far as the CPU's concerned. You get access to USB and the hard drive through kernel level drivers to the hardware through Sony's hypervisor, yes, and your video access is somewhat limited although despite Sony's not providing one, some people have had success with an accelerated 2D driver on the RSX.
- Michael T. Babcock (Yes, I blog)
Naivety is not a valid argument in the court of law.
AFAIK copies of Zelda TP still go for over 50 Euros, is there any cheaper game that would allow installing the HBC? Some of those shitty shovelware games are bound to have a weakness and shovelware gets discounted pretty fast...
Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
The only game someone has written the requisite savegame file to enable taking advantage of the bug is TP. The people who are currently maintaining that have stated that it'd be fairly easy for them to find other games should Nintendo actually come up with a way to block this bug in TP. But I imagine it's easier to use a game actually published by Nintendo than a shovelware game that might be cheaper but no one can find.
This doesn't circumvent anti-piracy. This only allows homebrew to access the whole contents of a DVD unencrypted. Normally you would need a modchip to do so. As there isn't any method of booting pirated games through homebrew, this doesn't help piracy at all, just lets homebrew read DVDs, which I'm hoping leads to a homebrew DVD player for Wii.
All your base are belong to Wii.
The DVD firmware hacks don't make the Xbox open, they just let you play pirated games ... uh, sorry ... I mean "backed up" games. There was a hack that let you run Linux on it but that was sealed pretty quickly, a long time ago.
The XBox is probably the most open of the consoles today, because Microsoft provided a supported path for people to write their own games or software for it, and they'll publish it on XBox Live if it passes some minimal quality bars (like not crashing or being full of porn). Anybody can download the XNA SDK and write their own game, and many people have. Despite the rather limited toolkit some of the results are very impressive. It's just too bad that they insist on you using a shitty C# compiler that couldn't optimize its way out of a wet paper bag, but nonetheless, the compiler/API is there and it's fully supported.
Mod parent up, he knows what he's talking about. Although bushing did say that Waninkoko was a nice guy, he also said he didn't think things through all the time, and I do notice that his new things come out right after someone else makes a breakthrough.
All your base are belong to Wii.
How'd he get the copyrighted code? Disassembly? I saw something about that on hackmii.com, but I didn't quite understand what it was talking about.
All your base are belong to Wii.
Actually the DVD-Rom hack is instrumental in running Linux and as far as I'm aware, if you're prepared to spend a few days brute forcing your CPU-ID, you can bypass any protection Microsoft has and downgrade your Firmware so that you may install Linux once again.
Still, it's not as ideal as the original Xbox hacks and a "true" hack to install custom *nix has yet to be seen.
As for XNA, it's a step forward, but it's still pretty limited. It's not as limited as Sony's *nix stuff, but it's not that far off.
+1 IDisagreeSoHeMustBeATrollOrAnAstroturferOrAShill
So, you think that all those who own a Wii and want to run/make fun and free homebrew games and stuff, should go and buy themselves an expensive PS3 or XB360 for that purpose instead of hacking their Wii for a low cost or even for free?
That's more or less what's it all about.
There are fun stuff to do with any console that the creators of that console don't make any money from and thus want to prevent you from doing.
For some, it's the fun of making it do something it was designed specifically not to do.
For some, it's the fun of making their own games instead of simply playing what other has made.
For some, it's the fun of having access to lots of free games, instead of the 1 - 2 games per year that they might have had the economy to buy otherwise.
For some, it's simply the fact that they want to be able to run pirated copies of games for free.
Or any combination of the above.
/.Mattsson - My native language is not English, so please don't whine over linguistic errors. (That's lame anyway...)
Wrong. It allows you to load homebrew software from DVDs, -R, +R, -RW, whatever, as opposed to loading it from SD Card
Perhaps you should try telling that to the OpenMoko people.
Your an idiot and a troll. However, since you are holding out your hands with your name proudly worn on your little chest, I will feed you, with a little bit of my karma too if necessary.
Naivety - lack of sophistication or worldliness. I hardly think that anything that I wrote would indicate that I lack sophistication or worldliness.
Instead of throwing insults around, which would not hold much weight in a court of law (The movie Idiocy being an exception) try responding to the arguments.
My position that installing custom firmware on YOUR HARDWARE is not a position which lacks sophistication. In fact it is a position that recognizes that the value of the hardware can often exceed the value of the software, and in FACT.. both values are separate. That you OWN the hardware, but are LICENSED to use the software. Sony CANNOT enforce an agreement, through any EULA (which is weak anyways) that governs your physical use of the hardware.
The copyright protection scheme being provided by the licensed software only exists as long as you choose to use it. Installing a NEW and SEPARATE firmware onto YOUR hardware does not violate that license in any way shape or form. If that were true Microsoft could sue you for formatting your hard drive and installing Linux.
My positions are both technically as well as legally sophisticated. They are reasonable positions, which may or may not, be ultimately proven correct in a court of law.
Naivety is merely your childish attempt at attacking my arguments in ironically non sophisticated fashion.
Good point. And with what I've read about the E3 showing and their apparent lack of desire to really make any more real games for the console maybe this would actually be a good angle to keep their sales going. I guess it is time to dust off the ol wii again.
my site of misleading and incorrect information!
You are a total and complete fucking idiot and a coward. I don't care if that completely resets my karma on /. either. Fuck the anonymous posting, I will say it to your face.
You are the reason why some men have the ability to dominate others through fear and violence. Because you are a PUSSY and will not stand up for your rights, or SUFFER FOR THE RIGHTS OF OTHERS.
Thank the Heavens that Ghandi did not have your sentiment. That Martin Luther King did not stay home settling for a little fear instead of fighting for everyone's rights.
It will be people like you that lead us all to oppressive fascist totalitarian governments. Becuase people get the government they deserve, and if you are willing to live in FEAR and SETTLE than you don't DESERVE FREEDOM.
My god, fuck you. Seriously... Just fuck you. This has nothing to do with Sony or custom firmware either. Just your proposition that we live in fear rather than stand up for freedoms, or even our belief in freedoms, to gain temporary safety and security. Wow. Fuck YOU.
You sit at home you little PUSSY. The rest of real MEN (including some pretty awesome Women too) will be outside risking our lives, liberty, and property to make sure little fuckers like you have some freedoms left.
The point you missed, I think, is that you can also overwrite an existing firmware. You'd have to be halfway insane to do so, as there's still no way to bring back a truly bricked console (sans something like an Infectus chip), but there's no technical reason I'm aware of that you couldn't patch the various IOS versions _in place_ to ignore the DVD checks. Frankly, from the descriptions I've read, it doesn't even seem that hard to do if you've got the right skills.
So, you're right that this custom IOS isn't going to enable softmod-style piracy on its own, but it's almost certainly an indicator that it'll be possible by the end of the year, and probably widespread by mid-2009.
Plausible conjecture should not be misrepresented as proof positive.
Wow, I didn't mean to get you so incensed. I'm glad your dictionary is working... well, at least for my words. I'd meant to write naivete (with an accent aigu) and I'm glad you caught that typo, AND learned a new big people word!
While I hate to get off topic, I can't help but find it wildly amusing that you call me an idiot and a troll, and then suggested that I stop 'throwing insults around', and proceed to involve irony.
Regardless of how 'sophisticated' you feel your positions are, they've been argued in the court of law, in larger first world countries, and failed. People contravening satellite security were saying the same thing for years, as were those creating, selling and installing mod chips, hell even softmods are illegal. The way you think the law should be, and the way the lawyers properly interpret the law (whether you agree with it or not) are two completely different things. While I may agree with your stance, the court of law does not.
Oh, and, Microsoft *CAN* sue you for formatting your hard drive and installing Linux as you're circumventing their copy protection and security measures to install it. They just don't, as it's probably not a good idea on their part, for many reasons.
Altering something does violate copyright, though. It is up to the creator to determine what is altering also. Case in point, a guy created a bust statue for a school. The school put a hat and things on it, and the sculptor asked them to take it off, the school said no. He sued for copyright infringement and won.
Not that the guy wasn't an idiot...but aren't you taking the whole I'm a man and you are a pussy thing too far? What are you doing in this noble crusade of yours...pirating video games? Posting things on Slashdot? I am sure you are sacrificing yourself to save us all....right...
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Uhh... while I pretty much agree and all... come on. You're not marching through Tibet and staring down Chinese tanks or something. You're hacking a video game console, not exactly "risking your life". Yes, yes, I know... mod me down because I don't understand that it's THE EXACT SAME THING IN PRINCIPLE and all. Hyperbole, much?
... from the just-added-yourself-to-the-terrorist-watch-list-but-hopefully-it-was-worth-it dept. :)
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." -- Ben Franklin
Somehow we ended up with a society of people so conditioned to their constant safety and comfort that they take everything else for granted.
* Our forefathers are turning in their graves.
* These people should be shipped off to the third world.
Move all sig!
Well your wrong. Period.
I was being sarcastic, but Microsoft CANNOT sue for installing, formatting, uninstalling operating systems on hardware that you own. The fact that you believe that means you think that copyright protection schemes can be used as a "lock" on any hardware regardless of whether or not the software manufacturer owns it.
That the simple act of removing software that contains copyright protection code creates a criminal act is lunacy.
I doubt that you would have many supporters for that position, and the reason that Microsoft does not sue is that they have NO LEGAL STANDING TO DO SO AND WOULD LOSE IN A COURT OF LAW IN ANY COUNTRY.
Additionally, custom firmware is not a software mod.
My rather passionate response has NOTHING to do with pirating video games in any way shape or form.
It was 100% related to his suggestion that instead of fighting unjust laws and powerful people that we should settle for a little fear and less freedoms to enjoy temporary security. That behavior is cowardice. Now maybe the whole "I'm a man thing and pussy thing" was a little to far. Like I said I got PASSIONATE about it.
In any case it is that behavior itself that tends to keep people living in fear and oppression. If you believe in certain freedoms strongly, there should be no limits as to how much you should suffer to protect them for yourself AND OTHERS.
This goes so far beyond just video games and piracy. I don't support piracy at all. Rather I support the freedom to own and use your hardware in any way you see fit.
I believe that we all have a right to peaceful enjoyment of our property. I am a strong supporter of anonymity and privacy. If you believe a law is unjust, you MUST perform civil disobediance and/or jury nullification to protest it.
Maybe I am an activist in regards to certain positions. So was Ghandi, and Martin Luther King. All the people that died in World War II fighting the Nazi's died to protect freedoms.
I am perfectly willing to take risks and suffer if I believe it will help freedoms for us all.
So I understand your response, but sincerely, this is not about pirating video games and I said that in the post.
I would wear that like a badge of honor! :)
In all seriousness though, I don't care if I have a file someplace or if I am on a list somewhere. I will not live in fear and I will never sacrifice my own freedoms, or my belief in freedoms that others should have just so that I can feel a little safer in my own home tonight.
If they are going to come for me, then let it happen. I would advise them though, to brings lots of firepower :P
I am NOT trying to compare myself to Martin Luther King, who was a great man. However, I aspire to have the courage to speak out and take personal risks to defend freedoms like he did. It is well known that Hoover hated him and Martin Luther Kind was on plenty of "lists" in the government. I could only hope that those who would seek to take away our freedoms consider me such a threat.
I don't live in China. If I did I WOULD have been at Tienanmen Square staring down a tank.
Please don't devalue what I said since the posting itself originated from an argument about video game consoles. It goes far beyond that. I am willing to fight for privacy, anonymity, our rights to 100% control our property and our lives.
I am sure you could see a LOT of hyperbole in my post, and in all fairness, I was quite passionate while writing it. However, I will walk the walk and not just talk the talk here, you can be sure of that.
I know that you are not "risking your life" putting custom firmware on your own property (which is not hacking BTW). The original poster THOUGHT he was risking his freedom though to do so and was willing to settle in exchange for temporary safety. It really is not about video games at all, but the fact he was not willing to stand up for something that he believed in since he was afraid they might come and get him.
I appreciate your skepticism and where it is coming from, but I am serious and genuine about it.
Maybe so. I do have to accept that... some people will not take risk to fight for their freedoms.
However, I think you should consider the 12 years in Germany before the end of World War II. There were plenty of people that felt how you do now. However, the situation was in a continual state of escalating horror. I think that if you confronted some of the people who were unwilling to stand up and fight in the beginning and asked them after it was all over if they were willing to take the ultimate risk in hindsight you would find a different answer.
Whether or not your deserve your freedom, I will die to make sure that you have it. I have to be on the "front lines" of the war to protect our freedoms, and make no mistake.. it is a war. My only other choice is to settle and live in fear. I just can't do it. I would rather die fighting.
So just consider at what point you think it will get bad enough, what kind of personal loss it will take, to push you over the line to action. How much harder do you think it will be at that point versus right now?
Clearly I speak of a slippery slope, and maybe with a good deal of hyperbole. However, I think I am right. It starts small.
Maybe you personally did not deserve such strong condemnation and I apologize for that. I will continue fighting, for you and everyone else. Who knows? Maybe one day you will back on "my side". There's plenty of room.
I just rented it, and then installed the homebrew channel. After you install the homebrew channel you don't need Zelda anymore. I may need to rent again if they put out another update for the Wii, but I think over time I'll save money, or they'll come out with another game you can use.
Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
LOL, just because you don't believe something shouldn't be law, doesn't mean it's not. For all your huffing, puffing, and insisting I'm wrong, it doesn't change civil law.
The act of circumventing copy protection, for whatever reason, is against the DMCA. Period.
"The act of circumventing copy protection, for whatever reason, is against the DMCA. Period."
changing firmware is not removing copy protection, that is the flaw in your argument.
by your logic, everyone with a WRT54G is breaking the law when they change their firmware to linux.
You do have a point, but it's a misplaced one, you didn't look at the argument properly.
While I don't completely agree with your presentation, I do commend you for being stern with your believes. It isn't often someone has passion for something so deep. I'm glad I don't have mod points because I'm not sure how I would mod that XP
circumventing copy protection != removing copy protection
The last time I pulled out my Trash-80, I found out my external 5 1/4 floppy drive stopped working. (It's a CoCo 2) I was so depressed that I havn't started the probably futile process of attepting to find a replacement. If only I could find all my old tapes, at least I could still USE the thing---although I'm not sure I trust the reliability of good ol' fashioned magnetic tape.