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Xbox 360 Update Will Lock Out Unauthorized Storage
itwbennett writes "The other shoe has dropped on the upcoming preview program for the next Xbox 360 update and it's going to cost you. In a post on the Major Nelson blog, Xbox's Larry Hryb reveals that this next update will lock-out unauthorized storage devices. As blogger Peter Smith reminds us, 'the Xbox 360 comes in two (currently) SKUs, one with a hard drive, and one without. The drive-less Xbox 360 Arcade unit is cheap ($199) but to realistically use it, you'll need to buy a "Memory Unit" (basically a proprietary USB stick) or an Xbox hard drive.... A 512 MB Microsoft branded Memory Unit goes for $29.99 at BestBuy.com. A 2 GB third party Memory Unit from Datel goes for $39.99, and the Datel unit is expandable using microSD cards....If you bought the Datel and it's full of data, between now and the launch of the new update you're going to have to run out and buy 4 of the Microsoft units at $29.99 each, or more likely, pick up the $99.99 60GB Live Starter Pack for Xbox 360.'"
... or more likely, pick up the $99.99 60GB Live Starter Pack for Xbox 360.
Or (in an even more likely scenario if you're reading Slashdot) you will opt to do it yourself to get twice that storage for a little over half the cost. This is, of course, assuming that locking out "unauthorized storage" does not also target in some crazy way locking out hard drives.
My work here is dung.
just when the hackers were getting ready to focus their efforts on the iPhone and Apple, there you go again, throwing down the gauntlet. Are you that much of an attention hog?
-- All this knowledge is giving me a raging brainer.
My four year old X360 died two months ago. Not a Red Ring Of Death, it went completely inert. No light at all. Swapping the power brick with a couple borrowed ones confirmed the unit failure. I had upgraded it to a 120G official MS hard drive a year ago.
I bought the arcade unit because [1] I could just plug the old hard drive into it and [2] as far as I could determine it was the model with the latest, greatest chip set that had all known issues solved. Works great.
I find Microsoft's willingness to squeeze for storage interesting in two respects: One, it suggests a very high level of optimism about their position in the market. Two, it suggests that they don't much care about, or aren't making much money from, downloadable offerings for the Xbox(or that they view those offerings as being extremely compelling and likely to drive consumer behavior).
If they weren't confident of their position, and were actively trying to drive down the perceived cost of their product, storage would be a natural target. Just let people use bog-standard flash drives for game storage, and the market will continually release cheaper ones faster than any one company could even do design revisions. Same basic idea with basic HDDs. The fact that Microsoft isn't doing that suggests that they are very confident in their price point.
As for downloads, if Microsoft were making good money on those, they would want users to have huge hard drives, rather than limping along on a nasty little 512meg card. Again, they don't seem to be thus motivated.
Locking out the competitor's product should be illegal. If you can't compete because your product is overpriced, you shouldn't be propped up. Yes that may mean that people have to pay the true cost of a console or printer or other device, as it isn't subsidised by content/ink etc. It's called honesty. Manufacturers should try it some time.
These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
Stuff like this is why I still haven't bought an X-Box, PS3, or Wii ... I'm so sick of this proprietary crap. I'm just waiting for an open source gaming system ... oh yeah ... I've got a PC :)
You can buy 60GB for $99 or "stick it to the man" by paying $29 for a 2GB third party device?
I'm so sick of this proprietary crap.
So you go for the game with no LAN play that you have to connect to proprietary Blizzard Servers? At least consoles give you little to no expectation of openness.
Anything can be found funny, from a certain point of view.
Unauthorized as in non-Microsoft or not Microsoft approved?
If they lock out even 3rd party devices, aren't they jumping straight into "abusive monopoly" territory?
What monopoly? I walk into the living room and see a Wii. Are you sure Microsoft has a monopoly on video games?
I recently bought a PS3 and despite what I've come to expect from Sony, it is probably more open than any other game console I've bought. Use any bluetooth headset for voice chat, use any USB hard drive for storage, replace the internal hard drive with any one that fits, I think that's pretty cool. I bought the older model and installed OpenSUSE 11.1 without much of a hitch, although 256MB of memory makes it pretty useless for most tasks. The PS3 was happy to backup the hard drive contents to my iPod before I repartitioned it for the "Other OS" and I restored the contents just as easily. You're right though, it's still nowhere near as open or as useful as a PC, but so many games come with system-bogging, glitch-prone DRM these days I tend to prefer the plug-n-play nature of a console.
I went to eat some animal crackers and the box said, "Do not eat if seal is broken." I opened the box and sure enough..
Pfft... slippery slope. In this case, the company (Datel) already CREATED a working solution. It's not about about hand-holding or anything like that, right now. It's about MS locking out Datel's product because it's 4x the storage (expandable to like.. 64x with a micro SDHC card) and only $10 more. Microsoft is doing it because they love money.
But Apple blocking the Pre from working with iTunes isn't bad?
Your hair look like poop, Bob! - Wanker.
I'd Like to point out that you can upgrade the PS3 Hard Drive, and still keep your warranty.
It's about MS locking out Datel's product because it's 4x the storage (expandable to like.. 64x with a micro SDHC card
I'm ok with that so long as those network effects can be used to benefit American companies to the exclusion of foreign competitors.
Pfft... slippery slope. In this case, the company (Datel) already CREATED a working solution
For all we know the original story is a press release from Datel basically arguing that MS should keep the same format so Datel won't have to change (er, be locked out!)
This is my sig.
Well, some folks use the word 'monopoly' when they mean 'market share'.
I judt got a nre Kinesis keybiartf so please excusr ant egregiou typos.
The drive-less Xbox 360 Arcade unit is cheap ($199) but to realistically use it, you'll need to buy a "Memory Unit" (basically a proprietary USB stick) or an Xbox hard drive.... A 512 MB Microsoft branded Memory Unit goes for $29.99 at BestBuy.com.
The current version of the Arcade comes with 512M internal memory, so throw this whole statement out the window.
Not monopoly, anti-competitive. I see a lawsuit here. Typically stepping on your competition like this gets you in some trouble.
This will kill them in the battle against the PS3. Sony make it so easy, for a start every PS3 comes with a hard drive, so games developers can assume that there is bulk persistent storage there and take advantage of it. You can also use USB mass storage devices. You can also upgrade the internal hard drive with undoing just a couple of screws, and it's all supported.
Sony have an easy way for you to back up your PS3 to an external USB hard drive, you then insert any laptop hard drive (I went with a 7.2k one and some things are noticeably faster) and you then restore your system onto the new hard drive. All without paying Sony an extra cent.
Specialist Mac support for creative pros, Melbourne
This is something I've been wondering about for a while with devices that receive software updates. People base their purchasing decisions on the list of features announced for the devices, the payoff of what features you get against the price. Then, as part of an upgrade, the manufacturer deliberately cripples part of the device and removes some functionality. This removal of support for third-party storage is a good example, or Amazon pushing an "update" to remove the text-to-speech feature for many (all?) books.
There are all sorts of arguments made about software because we're typically sold licences, not an actual copy of the software. But in cases like this, we've actually bought a physical object. It's now ours, not the manufacturer's. So do they really still have the legal right to reach out an remove features? They advertised a function, which it now doesn't have. It feels like a sort of retroactive false advertising. A lot of Xbox owners will now need to spend extra money simply to restore the original functions; if they'd known this was necessary before purchase they might only have been willing to buy the XBox at a correspondingly lower price, if at all. So as MS have changed their end of this bargain, surely their customers should have the right to change theirs? A partial refund (to represent a lower original price) or the option of a full refund both seem fair to me,
I know people can, in principle, unplug their XBox to avoid accepting this update but then, again, they're losing the functionality that was originally advertised and that they originally paid for. Does this seem fair to anyone? Does it seem legal?
^^^ They certainly have a monopoly on the memory card market now...
Bean counters.. may they perish under the weight of a thousand pod husks.
This is the wave of the future with all devices.
You don't need to upgrade it yourself, let Microsoft give you storage, for a "small monthly fee".
Next will be, you don't need to "own" a PC, or software, rent it, for a couple of "small monthly fees"
Let someone else manage your data, for a small monthly fee.
Let someone else update your programs, for a small monthly fee.
Let someone else manage the hardware, for a small monthly fee.
You will pay your "small monthly fees" and you will get NO WARRANTY, NO FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NO RECOURSE, NO REFUNDS, and NO SECURITY.
Most of the caps text is taken from the license agreement from most 'online only' software.
Think it won't work? It already does.
You don't "own" your cellphone, SIM card, or it's data. You simply rent it, for a "small monthly fee".
Good luck selling any of it, getting a decent warranty, or being able to cancel your contract.
Small Monthly Fees, get used to paying them , for everything.
You all did it to yourselves. I tried to warn caution when Microsoft entered the console market, but all you people would do was hug them for Halo. They're like Wal-Mart, they move in, offer you low prices, then when the competition is smeared, they take you for everything you have. Maybe next time MegaCorp shows up and goes "I'll give you a good deal if your forsake the competition" you'll stop and go: "Hmmm...did this work out for me last time?"
"Monopoly" or "Market Share", the DMCA doesn't make distinctions about either before branding circumvention a criminal act.
More Twoson than Cupertino
I do have to agree with you on the lack of LAN play, but perhaps that will change in the future.
Clearly they're trying to prevent piracy, but maybe a future update, once sales have slowed, will include LAN play.
I can't create a car that artificially locks out 3rd party replacement parts and upgrades... why should Microsoft be able to create a gaming box that does the same thing?
My blog. Good stuff (when I remember to update it). Read it.
It'll be a cold day in hell when I let them... Ummm. Did you say Xbox? Oh. I don't have one of those. Never mind. -- This is how most of the general public will respond.
Why are the feds not realizing: This is MY hardware. I gave THEM money to produce it for ME. I could plug it in and play games with it. I could also throw it down to a valey, put it in my kitchen sink and pour water on it. I could take a big SUV and drive over it the whole night long, and if I'm courious I take the sledge hammer and set everything on fire when I'm finished. I can do all that because it is MY hardware. And now they are going to tell me, that I must not alter the firmware (which I also bought) which is an integral part of the hardware? Thankfully I'm in Europe (we have different issues here), but this DMCA is just !'%(#!=/&!!! Stop beating the hackers (and I definitely mean hackers not crackers!). All that technology filly-willy-blinky stuff we need and use today would not exist without the work from great and honourable hackers from the past! cheers nomike
Apple isn't blocking the Pre from working with iTunes. Apple is blocking the Pre from working with iTunes by pretending it's an iPod. If Palm had used supported APIs (say, by letting you create a "Palm Pre" playlist and then reading the songs from that playlist to sync to the Pre) there wouldn't be a problem. Palm cheaped out to avoid having to write their own sync application (which is crazy, because they made the best handheld sync I've ever used) and used a hack instead.
People expect publishers to lock out hacks. They don't expect them to lock out stuff using standard APIs.
Clearly they're trying to prevent piracy
Every time they do that it is the customers get screwed. Lets see here, you get rootkits because of "piracy", you get updates that can break your console because of "piracy" (such as the Wii update that disabled homebrew and there are many many things you can do via homebrew that isn't piracy), etc. There isn't a single console that has been truly killed because of "piracy" that had everything going for it. The most cited example is the Dreamcast which had a host of problems including lack of DVD support which the PS2 promised, lack of good games, etc. and that kills a console more than piracy can ever.
Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
All those American HD manufacturers...
Oh, I see, you mean Microsoft taking an 80% profit margin on the exact same hard drives imported from Taiwan and locked down.
With the huge failure rate (I read one time it was close to %54 red ring of death for the xbox), and the constant vendor lock-in feature removal I am glad I have stayed with the PC. I know quite a few others that have given up on consoles and gone back to the PC (although some of them were because the gaming on a PC was better)
but perhaps that will change in the future
My money is on: "It won't." And you can quote me on that.
They aren't going to patch in LAN if they have a guaranteed lock on all the users playing it. The only way I can see it getting put in is if people didn't buy the game and informed Blizzard that LAN play was the reason... which they won't do.
Every time I start to have faith in humanity, I ruin it by driving to work between 7 and 8 am.
I guess I'm NOT going to be buying an XBox for Christmas this year. It was down to the PS3 and the XBox. Now, I'll have to take a second look at the Wii. Any /.ers have preferences out there as far as game quality vs price? (yeah, like I have to ask a ./er for an opinion)
Why can't we go back to using jumpers to configure slot adapter cards? Why? I say!
Don't like it, then DONT BUY THE PRODUCTS. You fucking statist whiners need to just stfu already.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
If you think it's bad on consoles, you should consider how bad it is on PCs... most of the games require you to have Microsoft Windows installed. At least on consoles, you have the choice of Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo's offerings.
Follow me
Monopolies are not necessarily only monopsonies.
Next thing you know, you'd have to hold your competitor's hand, work together on some product, watch your own share evaporate....
I call B.S. We're talking about commodity storage hardware; there's no excuse. MS is going out of their way to shut off access to otherwise compatible and standards compliant storage options. Moreover, there's a long history of third party storage for various platforms, e.g. the various "multi-memory" cartridges for the PS1, etc. In this case, these are bog-standard memory cards and drives, not even the proprietary exotica that third-party PS1 memory makers had to contend with.
As to the comments that "it's a locked down console platform", the digital camera market (esp. pro- and semi-pro dSLRs) is probably more mission-critical in terms of stability expectations than the console market. Yet the major digicam makers haven't done anything so daft as to lock themselves down to a few SKUs of memory cards.
If it were the case that an unfortunate side effect of the upgrade was the loss of interoperability with a competitor product, I would agree with you. However, the situation we find ourselves in is one where we purchase hardware with the manufacturer's fingers still in it. They are able to modify the product after the original purchase (read: modify the deal after the money changes hands) and able to exercise some direct legal rights to prevent the owner of the hardware from modifying the behavior of the device (DMCA in the case of circumvention) as well as use some indirect strongarm tactics such as loss of online service should the owner of the hardware refuse a firmware upgrade. (I have seen this on the Sony PSP)
It would be a simple matter to hide behind the "unfortunate side effect" argument if the manufacturer really was using their dominant position in one product to edge out competition in another product.
- The lesson to be learned here is not to purchase proprietary hardware.
I think it would be interesting to see if there is anything in this arrangement that could be used to legally strip the manufacturers of their DMCA protections. I know that this is the exact reason companies push for "tort reform" that eliminates class action lawsuits - they don't want their customers able to organize a posse to come after them when they do actually cross a legal boundary.
DISCLAIMER: This post was not checked for speling and grammar- if you complain- you're a whiner
I can't create a car that artificially locks out 3rd party replacement parts and upgrades... why should Microsoft be able to create a gaming box that does the same thing?
Actually the auto makers have been trying to essentially do that by denying training and key software to independent garages. story here
The drive-less Xbox 360 Arcade unit is cheap ($199) but to realistically use it, you'll need to buy a "Memory Unit"...
Not strictly accurate; I purchased an Arcade a few months back to replace my dead Elite, and they now come with a built-in 512MB. They've had at least 256MB internal memory since late 2008.
Also note that there are third-parties with "authorized" storage solutions, this isn't a carte blanche ban on all third-party storage. Still, it seems like a random anti-feature.
When did the future switch from being a promise to a threat? -C. Palahniuk
A better question would be "Why shouldn't you be able to create a car that locks out 3rd-party replacement parts and upgrades?"
Just because a wrong decision has been made in the past doesn't mean we have to repeat that mistake in the present.
"The state is that great fiction by which everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else." - Bastiat
The Wii has more market share as well...so he still doesn't have a point.
Support a great indie game: http://www.abaddon360.com
It's not MS changing a format. Their old cards work the same, the new cards work the same as the old cards. It's MS specifically locking out any non MS devices (and just that) for memory usage. It's plain and simple anti-competitive.
Sadly, I posted already, so I can't mod you up. But yes, the only hurdle so far to automakers locking people out of doing unapproved modifications is that there was no technological way of doing that. However, every industry has at some point or other attempted to look out unauthorized competition. It started with Guilds in the medieval times and now lives through patents, copyright extensions and software-based access control.
As a result, it seems to me that the natural state of affairs for corporations is to create things where access is as restricted as the technology of the day allows it.
Those who can, do. Those who can't, sue.
As far as I understand it, LAN play will be possible. It will just require that the LAN let everyone connect to Blizzard's battle.net servers. Gameplay after that should stay local.
Those who can, do. Those who can't, sue.
And remember that any attempt to circumvent locking out third-party memory is a heinous violation of the DMCA and will leave *you* the crimino-consumer liable for a big fine or jail.
No it isn't. A memory card is not a protected work under the DMCA.
It's bad enough that we have an over-restrictive law in the first place. Don't make things worse by making people think it covers things that it doesn't.
And remember that any attempt to circumvent locking out third-party memory is a heinous violation of the DMCA and will leave *you* the crimino-consumer liable for a big fine or jail.
No it won't, because:
The prohibition ... shall not apply to persons who are ... adversely affected by virtue of such prohibition in their ability to make noninfringing uses of that particular class of works under this title. source
If all your data for legitimately purchased software gets erased every time you try to play, then by all means, you are showing substantial adverse effects on your non-infringing use of copyrighted works. By all means, circumvent the hell out of them!
I am the richest astronaut ever to win the superbowl.
While I think Blizzard's decisions are deplorable there's a world of difference for several reasons. In particular:
a)Blizzard's actions mainly affect their own products. Them limiting their games in this way does not in any way prevent competition from other video game vendors. It won't interfere with you running a game made by Westwood, an open source game, or a game you wrote yourself on the same machine.
b)In Blizzard's case they actually have some valid reasons to do it. While many of us ( myself included ) dislike the way blizzard go about this, trying to make it difficult for people to play their game without paying for it is not quite in the same league as limiting the functionality of hardware in order to make you buy more stuff. In one case they are limiting the functionality of a product to enforce their terms for you using THAT product. In the other case Microsoft is limiting the functionality in order to stop you using OTHER products. The two are not the same.
To make a mandatory car analogy. What Blizzard is doing is akin to programing a car you rent from them to only run after checking that the monthly payment has been made. What Microsoft is doing is more akin to putting gates on the road that only open for vehicles Microsoft approve of.
And what of the remainder of the XBOX Live Gold subscription? As this gets sprung upon unanticipating subscribers, can they then opt out of their Live contract and thus regain access to their unauthorized storage, or is upgrading giving Microsoft a permanent foothold in your hardware free to exert any terms they want, including bricking the hardware if you don't take it on-line for remote auditing often enough?
Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
somebody mod this up. i think it's crap that you essentially need to buy a copy of Windows to play any current games on a Mac. Sure you get the occasional RTS thrown your way every now and then. But for the most part OS X is a barren wasteland when it comes to gaming.
It takes a big man to cry. It takes a bigger man to laugh at that man. ~ Jack Handy
What monopoly? I walk into the living room and see a Wii. Are you sure Microsoft has a monopoly on video games?
Are you kidding? Everybody has a Monopoly!!
Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure everything I just said is completely wrong.
How is "readily available" defined? Is "available under NDA and a license agreement for a fee of $1 billion dollars per month provided your postmarked application is received in 10 seconds starting now" encompassed?
Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
We're still evil!
It was my understanding that "unauthorized" meant "bootleg" in this case. There do exist authorized peripherals, which bear the logos found at this link, and while it's still a bit of a cash-grab on Microsoft's part (licensing), it likely has more to do with anti-cheating than anything - In other words, removing the ability to crack open an SD card on your PC and modify your save files, so as to prevent things like the CoD4 UFO hack and other exploits.
But don't let me stop the mindless bashing - It's MS, after all, and they deserve it no matter what, right?
Right?
Feh.
Screw the rules, I have green hair!
I have already got one running Lincade. Between the cabinet, the Wells/Gardener 30" monitor and HAPP controls, I have got some serious $DOUGH$ invested in the hardware. No console runs these games like this, and even the coin slot works!
"Be grateful for what you have. You may never know when you may lose it."
Stick with a PC. They're versatile: Upgradeable AND modifiable!
No, they can't opt out of their contract, because going in they accepted that Microsoft "may automatically download upgrades to the software to your computer or console to update, enhance, and further develop the Service."
Benford's Corollary to Clarke's Law: "Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced."
Everyone seems to be missing a fundamental issue: okay, let's say I am fine with not being able to connect to XBox Live (lame), but where exactly do I end up when I purchase a new game that demands I upgrade in order to play at all, even offline (like CoD:World at War did)? Now I get to choose whether to lose money on the non-returnable, opened game or lose access to all my saved data and render my memory hardware useless? Swell.
I actually have one of these Datel devices and an XBox Arcade. My opinion was that this was a better value than purchasing an overpriced/undercapacity HDD. Micro SDHC is cheap, and I could swap them out if I needed more capacity.
This kind of thing is completely unreasonable: they are intentionally locking out this device for no other reason than to be anti-competitive. At some point, these kind of antics from a manufacturer eclipse any amount of fun that was being had with the item or service. I have reached this point.
This marks the beginning of the end of my use of the XBox platform for gaming. My current games will work, offline. I can still stream video to it (in a limited fashion) with Vuze, so I will keep using the XBox for that until I get a "real" device for that purpose. It goes without saying that I won't be spending any more money on games, hardware, accessories, or XBox Live--the XBox is going to be gathering dust sooner rather than later.
The adage is to vote with your money, right? Fine: never again, Microsoft.
Never again.
Automakers may have done that, and also quit selling shop manuals to the public to try to lock customers in, but many techs at dealers have posted torrents. I just grabbed WIS for one of my cars the other night because the manufacturer no longer makes the manual available to the public, so it's either download it off a torrent or pay a "pirate" $20 for a "counterfeit" copy. The thing is, when you buy a car, you should also get a service manual. You WILL need it.
The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
The Arcade bundle has always included a memory unit, yet they act as if it's yet another option for MS to milk you on. I've later upgrade to a hard drive, but I played my 360 for a long time with just the memory card that came with my Arcade bundle it it worked fine for save-games and the like.
"People who think they know everything are very annoying to those of us who do."-Mark Twain
give them a right old anal fisting, yet again. What a surprise.
You know, this is the sort of shit that should result in a class action suit.
The product used to do X, people bought it with the understanding it could do X. X was not covered by the warranty, but maybe those people didn't want the damn warranty.
And then X was deliberately broken for no purpose but for the company to make more money. Millions of people got, very slightly, harmed.
Microsoft should have to show up in court, where the average 'value' of using third-party hardware is debated, and if it's discovered to be $40 or whatever (And it easy could be, considering the markup in MS's stuff.), they should have to mail a check for that to every damn XBox owner.
Or, even better, change things back to how they were.
If corporations are people, aren't stockholders guilty of slavery?
See United States v IBM, 1936, USSC ruled that it was a violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act for IBM to require the use of IBM brand punch cards in their machines. Exact same thing here.
If the g'vt kept the data on you that google does you'd better believe you'd be calling it "doing evil"
I stand corrected. I heard Lexmark was using the DMCA to shut down third-party suppliers. Didn't realise it blew up in their face:
http://arstechnica.com/old/content/2005/02/4636.ars
To the other posters ranting about monopoly comments: was referring to Microsoft's Anti-trust suit. Never said they had a monopoly on games. Straw man called.
So you go for the game with no LAN play that you have to connect to proprietary Blizzard Servers?
I don't get why people single out THIS as a flaw like it won't be broken within a week of the game being released, and after that it's effectively as if it had ALWAYS had it!
Ayjay on Fedang
The parent is correct. Local play will be entirely possible and all the people whining about ping times and upstream bandwidth simply don't understand how it will work.
That's really the choice of the game publisher/developer, isn't it?
A better question would be "Why shouldn't you be able to create a car that locks out 3rd-party replacement parts and upgrades?"
Because it limits consumer choice and drives prices. What benefit is there to me the consumer being forced to pay three times the amount for a part I could have gotten cheaper from a 3rd party?
Microsoft has been slapped for anticompetitive behavior many times in the past - but unfortunately the punishment for their abuse of a (legal) monopoly position has amounted to being thwapped with a wet noodle; inconsequential fines that they just consider part of the cost of doing business. Microsoft needs to be fined to the tune of BILLIONS for them to even notice the fines in their quarterly results, or their game, OS, office applications, development platforms, and other divisions need to be broken up. Until then, it will be business as usual, despite whatever laws are in place and what rulings are handed down by the courts.
In other words, they're Microsoft, and they will do what they want, and people will just keep buying.
You know, I WAS about to buy an Xbox 360 - one of my roommates has one and it's great for streaming netflix (it is the original rev and I've had to fix the ring of death multiple times).
This news (Microsoft restricting storage options) just killed any incentive I had to buy an Xbox.
The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
Batteries, on the other hand...
circumvention for the purpose of interoperability is expressly allowed by the exclusion clause in the DMCA.
The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
At 52% failure rate within a year of purchase, the Xbox360 is practically garbage (not to mention that it likes to cut nice deep grooves in your media, if you look at ti wring). So if you bought one, it's only fair that you get a bum deal, too.
"The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
Microsoft have a perfectly valid reason. They like money.
Bit of a false dichotomy there. No hardware is being bricked; you're being prevented from using a bit of unauthorised hardware (which by itself is still functional) with your Xbox (which is itself still functional). Those are the risks you run when you buy unauthorised, unsupported hardware.
Oh, I see, you mean Microsoft taking an 80% profit margin on the exact same hard drives imported from Taiwan and locked down.
I guess they unload them from the ship with a Ford Truck, I can hope for that.
This is my sig.