LWN: Comments on "Hacker cracks Xbox challenge (News.com)"

Hacker cracks Xbox challenge (News.com)

ucjuk — Thu, 06 Nov 2003 06:26:04 +0000

Just to round off the list with a bit of info: The X-Box is sold as a loss leader for the software. They want everyone to buy one so as to fork out for the games and stop you buying a ps2 or whatever, so they pay for part of the cost of the box, making it a loss (hence loss leader).

This means M$$ pay for you to get a Unix machine.

Hence the appeal for U-Boxes as servers for home networks (put it behind the tv by the cable socket, no need for monitor etc) and at £85 in the UK they are quite reasonable for the job.

Just my (or M$'s) 2 cents,

Hacker cracks Xbox challenge (News.com)

Scriptedmind — Wed, 20 Aug 2003 14:09:29 +0000

Ok im not all that wise about the XBOX, im still learning. BUT. i do know that it is NOT just another gaming console like the PS2 or the GameCude. It is in fact a Legacy free PC. It sports a Pentium 3 class processor it has an 8gb or 10gb Western Digital hard drive, it has a 10/100 ethernet car built in, it uses standard USB for the front ports and a standard DVD-ROM with special firmware. if you read the details on this, you will see that is far for just another gaming console and contains mayjor potentian. And besides dont bitch about what we spend money on. WE DO IT BECOUSE ITS FUN AND WE LIKE IT ;-)

Hacker cracks Xbox challenge (News.com)

delducra — Wed, 02 Apr 2003 04:26:52 +0000

Oh c'mon...... All of this about "that's not important 'cause your paying for
MS hardware..." is a load of crap. Have we all forgotten the "hacker"
mentality that brought us Linux in the first place. Namely, knowing the
technology well enough to make it do what you want it to do - even
(especially) when it is outside of the design specs? How many of you out
there bashing this person for owning an XBox own DVD players with
embeded decryption technology, when you could have gone out and built a
linux-based media server instead??? Or what about the sparc ports of linux?
Are those developers fools for supporting Sun Microsystems "closed"
hardware?

DMCA violation?

helgehaf — Tue, 01 Apr 2003 21:47:07 +0000

Using the game as it wasn't intended and what not?
Perhaps it was intended :-)

DMCA violation?

captrb — Tue, 01 Apr 2003 18:54:21 +0000

A question for any law-geeks: Doesn't this violate the DMCA? Using the game as
it wasn't intended and what not?

True Significance

ncm — Tue, 01 Apr 2003 16:48:12 +0000

The true significance of this event (besides hack value for the participants) is that all those Xboxes received as gifts can be turned into real computers. Useless hardware has been turned into useful hardware. Captive hardware has been freed.

There would never be any point in buying an Xbox to run Linux on. Rather, when there's already an Xbox lying around, now it has potential as a Free Software engine.

"Never seen Linux? I'll show you what it looks like. Here, let's just plug this into your Xbox, and you'll see!"

Or, "You don't have a computer? Never mind, look, you have an Xbox. We'll just plug this in and go."

Or, "I wish I could afford to get a computer. All I have is this dumb Xbox. Maybe I can make something out of it?"

Can we see the sales stats on 007 for this month?

getalife — Tue, 01 Apr 2003 15:25:46 +0000

more dumbos giving more money to M$..

we really shouldnt be encouraging this

Hacker cracks Xbox challenge (News.com)

getalife — Tue, 01 Apr 2003 15:24:52 +0000

for years now Sun has been doing this.. just as long as M$ has been around.. why not them..!

plus fair enough you made a point of owning the hardware.. but its a gaming console!! same as PS2.. or Gamecube.. what possible good would it do to the LINUX COMMUNITY!!

and lastly your comment about the M$ codes etc.. well their approach has changed significantly over the last year and some.. win32 api was released to allow people to develop their code. sure you have to fork out for their .net sdk but they are changing their rules..

i dont mean any disrespect to anyone.. but the whole point is to ensure Linux becomes popular enterprise and at home!! and the point clearly isn't giving M$ money.

Hacker cracks Xbox challenge (News.com)

getalife — Tue, 01 Apr 2003 15:24:24 +0000

for years now Sun has been doing this.. just as long as M$ has been around.. why not them..!

plus fair enough you made a point of owning the hardware.. but its a gaming console!! same as PS2.. or Gamecube.. what possible good would it do to the LINUX COMMUNITY!!

i dont mean any disrespect to anyone.. but the whole point is to ensure Linux becomes popular enterprise and at home!! and the point clearly isn't giving M$ money.

Can we see the sales stats on 007 for this month?

Max.Hyre — Tue, 01 Apr 2003 15:16:54 +0000

It would be interesting to see whether there's a spike in the next couple of months. :-)

Hacker cracks Xbox challenge (News.com)

Laney — Tue, 01 Apr 2003 14:38:44 +0000

you live to use a free OS and moan about M$ but yet buy xBox and its games... where is the logic in that?????

You're confusing freedoms. My OS and its software gives me the freedom, amongst other things, to modify its code and to run any code i like on it. I am not free to do this on the X-Box.

Software must be digitally signed by MS to run on the X-Box. They get to choose what software can run on hardware that you own.

This challenge appeals to not only reverse engineering hobbists, but also people who believe that you own the hardware and it does not own you.

Hacker cracks Xbox challenge (News.com)

getalife — Tue, 01 Apr 2003 14:30:26 +0000

honestly.. i would have considered it.. but day in day out you hear on all the newsgroups and thread M$ is this and they did that.. if you hate them soo much.. don't give em money!

linux is not free either.. everyone has to make money.. other then downloading a free version copy of it and burning it onto a CD what else is there. I would love it to be in my datacenter.. but the honest to God truth is any Enterprise app costs about the same on Linux as it would on SUN or M$.. Oracle? Peoplesoft? Netbackup?

what we need is people working on making linux an enterprise OS.. not a xbox OS.. if you can do it in ure spare time.. yippee.. but its hardly news that will make a difference to linux world..
installing it on xbox is not what is going to make it more popular is it???

and for all of you who got soo turned on by this ever heard of knoppix?

Hacker cracks Xbox challenge (News.com)

beejaybee — Tue, 01 Apr 2003 13:57:08 +0000

"In Europe, Microsoft retail price is less than 200E. For the price of a PC motherboard I could have a powerful Linux box."

Sorry, you don't get my point. 200E will buy you a second-user system box with more power than Xbox, and without the hardware tieups. (Look at eBay if you don't believe me.) In fact these days you could build a system box from _new_ parts purchased retail with similar power to the 700 MHz Pentium III embedded in Xbox for round about that price - so long as you don't need leading-edge graphics.

It may be true that M$ loses money by subsidising Xbox hardware, but somehow I don't think we can bankrupt M$ by all rushing out & buying up Xbox systems.

Hacker cracks Xbox challenge (News.com)

foobar — Tue, 01 Apr 2003 13:41:33 +0000

Thanks to let reverse-ingeneering hobbists doing their hobby in peace.

>> Mr.Gates is probably laffing at this as we speak..
XBox is sold very cheap, just hardware-cost, in order to each kid can buy one. Microsoft just earns money from games'licenses, very expensive, them! If everybody buying XBox don't buy games but install Linux, Billy won't really laugh... don't you think so?

In Europe, Microsoft retail price is less than 200E. For the price of a PC motherboard I could have a powerful Linux box.
But I won't force you to do the same :-)

Hacker cracks Xbox challenge (News.com)

xoddam — Tue, 01 Apr 2003 13:37:14 +0000

The Xbox itself hasn't been cracked AFACIT, it's a buffer overrun in
just one game. The Xbox still requires software which has been *signed*
by Microsoft, and so far they haven't signed any free-software
bootloaders. So the fact that they *have* signed a proprietary
bootloader (in the form of a game with an exploitable buffer-overrun)
is the next best thing.

In buying an Xbox you're already paying (and paying Gates!) for
un-free software. Buying an un-free game as well is no big deal, is
it? You could even play it if FPSs aren't against your moral code!

Hacker cracks Xbox challenge (News.com)

banshee_dk — Tue, 01 Apr 2003 10:30:01 +0000

So, So true!!!

Why buy something from M$, when you have something FREE! I mean ... FREEDOM!

Stop buying things, you don't need. And only buy things you REALLY need. Nobody (I mean it!) needs anything from M$ - they are just lead to believe they do...

Hacker cracks Xbox challenge (News.com)

getalife — Tue, 01 Apr 2003 09:32:16 +0000

Get a life you lot..
all u lot do is complain M$ M$.. why did you buy the xBox.. then don't rain down do they??? i mean you lot think ure soo supersmart.. i hacked my xBox.. blah blah blah.. who cares.. everyone knows how to install linux.. but if uve got that much money to spare.. donate!!
you live to use a free OS and moan about M$ but yet buy xBox and its games... where is the logic in that?????
Mr.Gates is probably laffing at this as we speak.. dumb people buying xboxes exploiting security holes WOW.. who cares he is making his money.. and he'll make more when he makes a newer updated 'secure' xbox.. and the cycle continues..
TRY MAKING LINUX BETTER>> CONTRIBUTE TO IT>> DONATE TO LINUX ORGS...AND FREAKING GROW UP

Hacker cracks Xbox challenge (News.com)

lacostej — Tue, 01 Apr 2003 07:57:07 +0000

I first thought 'great news!'.
Then I thought: "could it be today's April fool?"
But the publication date seems to be of yesterday!
Pffouu. So that's a good news indeed!

Hacker cracks Xbox challenge (News.com)

beejaybee — Tue, 01 Apr 2003 07:29:55 +0000

Let's get this straight - in order to run linux on a current version Xbox, I have to buy not only an Xbox but also a game? Or do we now have a disassembly of the "hole" in the game which allows us to boot straight into linux?

How long before M$ modify the hardware again so the technique is ineffective?

Obviously I congratulate whoever developed this attack (one in the eye for "trusted computing"!) , but given that "open" second-user mid-range PIII PC system boxes are now available for little more than pocket money, is the concept of using Xbox as a low-cost linux system still economically viable?

Hacker cracks Xbox challenge (News.com)

cbo — Tue, 01 Apr 2003 05:00:58 +0000

It's about time that someone got it. Microsoft's security is far from perfect and everyone knows that nothing is truly secure.

Congrates to the person who made the discovery, Koodos to YOU!