Watch Ben Heck Hack a 360 and a Sega CDX

We've previously discussed a few projects by game system hacker Ben Heck, including his PS3 laptop and Xbox 360 laptop. Now, GameSetWatch points out two videos produced by Ben showing and explaining new projects. First, he designs and builds a disc-changer for an Xbox 360, and then he turns an old Sega CDX system into a portable console.

Next up....

[Lissajous]

He'll mod a console to auto-First Post to slashdot!

good thing it's not a ps3

[Flush1]

Good thing he did not make a disc changer for PS3, they would probably take him to court.

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[dohzer]

Didn't they learn their lesson from the last time they took someone to court?

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[Nursie]

The lesson that if you take a hacker to court then they roll over and sign a settlement saying they'll never touch another piece of Sony equipment for as long as they live?

Not that I can blame geohot for doing that, but he did rather hype the 'we will fight them on the beaches' stuff first.

And Sony are still going after various others right now. Of course suing for a hardware mod like this should get them laughed out of court, but there's a huge difference between 'should' and 'will'.

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[Nursie]

He did what he said he would on that front - $10k (equal to all received donations) went to the EFF. Not something I have a problem with, though clearly not the preferred outcome for everyone else.

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[Flush1]

I doubt they will. And this goes for most corporations these days. 20 years ago it was not as much a problem, when handfulls of people had technical skills to modify hardware/software. Nowadays hardware hacking is more popular due to the hardware being in more homes and all it takes is a youtube video and the hack is popularized as opposed to being confined to a limited population of hackers. In result your big time corporations feel they need to protect their IP because of this viral effect. Pardon any gr

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[Belial6]

That would be pretty funny since he used a Sony disk changer for the mod. Not that that makes a legal difference, but it would be pretty funny listening to a Sony lawyer try to explain to a judge why hooking a Sony disk changer up to a Sony game console is a problem.

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[Flush1]

That would be pretty funny since he used a Sony disk changer for the mod. Not that that makes a legal difference, but it would be pretty funny listening to a Sony lawyer try to explain to a judge why hooking a Sony disk changer up to a Sony game console is a problem.

It may be sleep deprivation, but i snort laughed when i read that!

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

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[Belial6]

It isn't trademarks or copyright that keeps him from mass producing most of his creations. It is that he doesn't design things to be mass produced. Look at most of his stuff. It is heavy on the CNC, and Heavy on having lots of parts. He makes money by producing art. Not for producing technology. The price of his services reflect that. He is like the painter that sells one off custom portraits at very high prices instead as opposed to the one that makes poster designed to sell thousands at a small pri

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[Mad Leper]

Hmm, would this supposed "disc changer hack" allow Mr. Heck to pirate games ? Or hack Sonys PSN network?

Don't see that happening, so I would bet SONY wouldn't give a damn about it.

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[tlhIngan]

Hmm, would this supposed "disc changer hack" allow Mr. Heck to pirate games ? Or hack Sonys PSN network?

PSN network I can understand, piracy, not so much. Simply because every console is subject to piracy. Some, like the PSX and PS2, thrived on it. Others, like the PSP, died because of it (though given its competitor suffers from even MORE piracy, I think its merely a contributing factor).

The Wii has tons of piracy. The Xbox360 ditto. PS3 piracy only really started as of 2011 when the keys were discovered.

H

Bugger

[Danieljury3]

I think its slashdotted.

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[quantumphaze]

And there has only been 8 comments in this article so far

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[EdZ]

While I can't be 100% sure due to the slashdotting, this is probably just two clips taken from from two different episodes (11 for the CDX, and 21, the most recent, for the 360 disc changer) of The Ben Heck Show [revision3.com].

Why won't Ben Heck hack the CIA

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh wait, he is the CIA.

Ben Heck should do something useful for once.

[Anonymous Coward]

Will we ever see an American chip/wafer fabrication line where he replicates prior processor designs into an American company again? In other words, when does America finally get the balls to copy another country's procedures and product like a Chinese company copies others? That would be neet to hear in foreign countries that they are looking to the black market in America to rely on a certain product that was otherwise banned in their own country. Such is the sad state of affairs in America.

Link is Slashdotted

[will.perdikakis]

... any mirrors/cache? My googleFu fails me.

wow a portable CDX

[Osgeld]

what is he going to do? plug it in to a portable screen?

Old News

[thetinytoon]

There's a hellotamore on the revision3-page - unfortunatly without the illustrator-source-files.

Still using optical media?

[Ksevio]

I solved the "get up and switch disks" problem on my Wii by installing them all on a flash drive. While it's kind of cool having a CD changer, it's a lot more practical to just get rid of the whole need to read disks completely.

As much fun as I have watching Ben Heck....

[JohnRoss1968]

Why bother. Its not like he shows you how to do what he does.
Sure sometimes they put the plans up, but they always seem to be corrupted file, or deleted files.
His show would be much better if they showed you step by step how to do the things he does.