Modchip Designer Taunts Microsoft 56
Thanks to Polygon for posting a follow-up to the article we ran about Australian Xbox modchip designers releasing their schematics to the public. They have a story quoting AussieChip creator Grant Sparks as subsequently saying "It would be a little disappointing if [Microsoft] couldn't sue me. You see, I'm quite happy for them to take us to court, I just want to see it happen under conditions where we win. In order for them to argue they have not agreed to the download conditions, they would have to acknowledge that click-through legal agreements are not valid - which is something that I think would be very funny to see Microsoft doing. There are many other reasons why people want to use a modchip, and only one of them is directly illegal. I'd be happy to stand up and explain that in court."
I admire your courage (Score:4, Interesting)
<RANT>
Firstly I was going to moderate this topic, but being as there was only 2 comments (and they were about being the first post) were there. Common guys, is getting the first post all that great? I mean we an easily display in newest first order. Then your FP!!! will be LP!!!! :-P
</RANT>
Now to my point. I think this is the right kind of attitude towards mod chips. Keep at it until modders get their way. As pointed out above mod chips have plenty of other uses than the illegal ones, we've all heard the arguments before.
What I am most interested is how MS will handle (cause you know they won't sit and take this) the catch-22 that has been set up here. I'm sure they will try and down play it, but its sure to come up. I predict that MS will try to "steamroll" this poor guy into legal oblivion :-(
Ah well information wants to be free so even if this falls apart there will be more mod chips to be had in the future.
Re:I admire your courage (Score:4, Interesting)
I think Microsoft will do nothing and hope nobody notices outside the alpha-geek circles. This is common practice for a corporation when it recieves negative press. Search for xbox AND modchip on news.google and you're only going to see a handful of results-- Australian papers and geek.com... Thats great that this news made it to games.slashdot but it NEEDS to be on the slashdot main page. If it makes it to the front page it seriously has a chance of making it to more news 'sources'. If it generates enough press it could seriously create an impact.
Your thesis is false (Score:4, Funny)
Re:I admire your courage (Score:2)
I'm just waiting (Score:4, Insightful)
Would they just lose all their money to piracy? I doubt it very much. It would be rampant, but the popularity of the machine would far out-weigh this.
Imagine if Microsoft allowed you to do all the things people are modding it for by default. I would buy one today.
Re:I'm just waiting (Score:5, Funny)
It's called "a computer." You are typing at one now.
Re:I'm just waiting (Score:5, Insightful)
But even though a computer can do all those things, it's not the same as sitting on your couch and being able to relax properly whilst you do them. Give me that and I'll be happy.
Re:I'm just waiting (Score:2, Insightful)
You'll need the pants to take the hit of the door in your arse on the way out.
Sorry bud, but there's a lot more to marketing than just Freedom.
Re:I'm just waiting (Score:2)
galette also did a famous campaign like this... "give the razors out for near free, and make your money selling blades"...or something like that. seems to be a good strategy...
Re:I'm just waiting (Score:1)
Finally! (Score:2)
Re:Finally! (Score:2)
Re:Finally! (Score:2)
Idiot (Score:5, Insightful)
How many examples does it take to pound through some peoples' heads that it doesn't matter if what you're doing is actually logically technically illegal. Corporate lawyers and PR people can convince non-technical judges and jurries that just about anything they don't really understand is illegal.
They have unlimited budgets, pannels of payed experts, focus groups and statistical research firms.
You have jack shit.
Re:Idiot (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Idiot (Score:1)
Re:Idiot (Score:2)
I'll tell you what he has. He has the ability to whatever the hell he wants with hardware he legally bought. If I buy an Xbox I have a legal right to do whatever the hell I want with it. If I want to wipe its OS and throw Linux on it, I can do that. Microsoft trying to tell you what you can and cannot do with hardware you legally buy is quite frankly absurd.
Example: if I buy an IBM compu
New XBOX vulnerability (Score:4, Informative)
Advisory: XBOX Dashboard local vulnerability
Release Date: 2003/07/04
Last Modified: 2003/07/04
Author: Stefan Esser [se@nopiracy.de]
Application: Microsoft XBOX Dashboard (up to today)
Severity: A vulnerability within the XBOX Dashboard allows to totally compromise the security features of the XBOX.
Risk: Critical
Vendor Status: Vendor is not willing to talk about XBOX vulnerabilities.
whatever you're smoking, i want some! (Score:3, Insightful)
He reminds me of the warez sites that have a "disclaimer" to the effect that feds, police, fbi, etc are prohibited from browsing or downloading. I wonder if they really believe that works.
Re:whatever you're smoking, i want some! (Score:2)
If Microsoft says that the click-through "license" isn't valid, they open up their own similar licenses to the same thing.
Re:whatever you're smoking, i want some! (Score:2)
Re:whatever you're smoking, i want some! (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:whatever you're smoking, i want some! (Score:2)
Re:whatever you're smoking, i want some! (Score:1)
Isn't a "disclaimer" like that actually restricting access to the host computer and not to any specific items contained on it? I would think that could be restricted. It's a technicality I know but that's about right for this discussion.
Ravi
Not A Lawyer
My thoughts... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:My thoughts... (Score:1, Interesting)
WHAT advantage? (Score:1, Interesting)
WHAT advantages?
The ability to copy games?
The ability to cheat online and ruin the game for everyone else?
The ability to run an OS on a system that was never designed for it?
Face it - the first two are immoral, the last two are stupid. A $200 computer is going to run Linux way better than an Xbox ever will. The most popular use of mod chips is to RUN ILLEGAL COPIES OF GAMES.
As a gamer, I sympathise with those wanting to make backup copies of their game
Re:WHAT advantage? (Score:1, Insightful)
People who have modded it and love it: they can play emulated games, upgrade the hd, play mp3s, divx movies xbox movies, ftp content from their pc to the xbox.
People who haven't modded it and hate it: there are too few games for it.
Create a better box, more people will buy. How popular was the Apple with its tightly controlled applications and limited hardware? How popular was the PC with its loose hardware, nonexistant software controls?
Re:My thoughts... (Score:2, Insightful)
Console's can't be open for anyone to develop on???
WTF, computers shouldn't open for anyone to develop on either?
Create something new and entertaining..I mean INNOVATE something new and entertaining and we might all have to rush out and buy it.
This "Hey, I program for the XBOX and your mod-chips fuck up my life" attitude is bullshit.
Re:My thoughts... (Score:2)
In order to recoup these costs the manufacturers allow developers to create games for those systems for a share of the profits. This requires contractual agreements. So not everybody can make games for consoles because they can't make a good en
Re:My thoughts... (Score:2)
I am all for firearms that won't shoot the innocent
Beer that tastes great and is less filling
Women that are loving but don't speak
And a world where all pirated movies, software, and music are really sales that would have been made at full retail.
Oddly enough none of these things exist.
Re:My thoughts... (Score:2)
Re:My thoughts... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:My thoughts... (Score:1)
If consolemakers wan't to practically give away consoles, that's fine. They don't have any right to make profit, giving things away, though.
Unfortunatly it looks like you're side is winning, and all aspects of fair use is being bought out of the law, as we're speaking.
You might make me a communist, but I belive in the right of possesion.
Lord Britsh (Score:5, Funny)
"You can't kill me, you can't kill me, you can't k..."
Being a Jerk Gets Press - News at 11 (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Being a Jerk Gets Press - News at 11 (Score:5, Interesting)
So, all he is saying is: "Stop making vague threats and actually sue me, Microsoft", because he knows that if they do, they won't have a leg to stand on.
He's not hiding behind Australian law, he's simply saying that Microsoft's allegations about modchips being illegal is FUD - and he wants to get the matter settled once and for all, so that modchip users and designers in Australia can stop fearing Microsoft's bullying tactics.
If Microsoft took him to court, and he won, it would be perfectly reasonable for a LikSang style company to open in Australia and trade without fear of prosecution.
time flows like a river, and history repeats.. (Score:3, Interesting)
The way I see it is I spent part of the limited time I have on this earth earning the money to buy your POS system or games, learning how to program, disassemble, repair, or have to go back to return said system. Can you give me my time or energy back? I didn't think so. People always say time is money. What makes my time worth any less in this scenario?
Keep playing games with copyrights people and you will eventually be trapped in the web you weave. Are you ready to kill for your patent on mashing a button on a controller, buying something from a store or downloading/copying a CD? Oh! Sorry! A corporate ideal is always worth more than one persons life.
Reading stupid crap stories like this makes me tired.
Crackers, do your work. (Score:3, Interesting)
What I want is for crackers to start reverse engineering and releasing the code in the mod chips. I see no reason why we should buy mod chips from mod chip vendors. I have a PIC chip programmer and I could rig up an EEPROM programmer from existing known circuits. Let's liberate this knowledge from the mod chip vendors. It wants to be free!
Re:Crackers, do your work. (Score:5, Interesting)
Eric S. Raymond is on a campaign to change the meaning of the terms that we have always used, but his attempt to sully the reputation of the term 'cracker' is misguided and historically revisionist.
Legal, Schmegal.. (Score:1)
Re:Legal, Schmegal.. (Score:2)
other sites (Score:4, Informative)
http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/
ZDnet Australia
http://www.zdnet.com.au/newstech/secur
Penny-Arcade
http://www.penny-arcade.com/view.
Sorry guys and gals but I don't know how to make a link.