Linux On Unmodded Xbox, Improved 375
An anonymous reader writes "It looks like pSyCo from XEmulation.com Has found a way to boot Xbox Linux Live on an unmodified Xbox with nothing but an Xbox and Linux PC (no memory card of any kind, etc). Also a guide to using this method to flash your Xbox's onboard TSOP with the bios of choice, making the Xbox modded without an actual mod-chip. $5 to rent 007 to mod my xbox sounds nice =) Check it out at: XEmulation.net Forum or XboxHacker.net BBS. *Wonder what the DMCA would think about this...*" This builds on the "007"-based method discussed earlier. Update: 04/15 01:11 GMT by T : XEmulation.com, not .net. Sorry.
What is the point? (Score:-1, Insightful)
FYI (Score:5, Insightful)
You were able to execute code (in most cases, a BIOS flash to flash the internal TSOP) tacked on to the end of your save game.
Hopefully this comes as a lesson to ALWAYS ALWAYS sanity check ANY USER INPUT, even if it comes in the form of a file that you THINK you know the layout of.
Neat, but why bother? (Score:0, Insightful)
Hmm. (Score:1, Insightful)
The problem with this... (Score:2, Insightful)
Shows Palladium is not going to work (Score:5, Insightful)
e.g. say you have a DVD player program that is "trusted" and prevents you from taking a screenshot or recording anything from a DVD. If you can find a buffer overflow or any other kind of exploit in the program, you can just have it execute your own code (rip the whole DVD) at its super-trusted privilege level.
Given that MS has a hard time keeping its HTTP server secure, I don't think buffer overflows will be too hard to find in typical razzle-dazzle media player programs
Re:Wow. (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Neat, but why bother? (Score:2, Insightful)
The XBox is a game machine, not a PC, and it is designed to run 3D graphics applications really well. I can only conclude that the "run Linux on XBox" thing is a "proof-of-concept" (or as someone else put it, "stick-a-finger-in-M$-eye" thing or a "wow-your-fellow-geeks" thing)
By the way, I consider soldering to be modding.
PCs are cheap and plentiful. There are many FREE Linux distros that can be run on them. And, HEY! you DO NOT NEED A MOD CHIP nor do you need to solder ANYTHING to run Linux on them!!
ya ya... -1 redundant.
Because (Score:5, Insightful)
a powerful processor
enough memory
dvd drive
high-end graphics card
and more
All for only $200. You can't get a PC with the same specs for near that price.
Did you vote? [linuxsurveys.com]
Re:no mods? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:But... why? (Score:1, Insightful)
#1. Because I can.
#2. Because it's cheap hardware and I want to find a use for it after I beat Halo and Fatal Frame.
#3. Because it's a form factor that looks nice next to my TV and makes a decent media center, playing network available MP3's and movies.
#4. Because I can, it's my damn XBox and this is another way to prove laws like the DMCA are pure bullsh*t.
Mostly though, it's all about 'because I can.' People want to boot this OS that boots on so many platforms on one more, just to say they did. After that, maybe people will find a use for that platform running Linux. It's all good.
Re:Neat, but why bother? (Score:2, Insightful)
Linux is just the "front" that lets kids talk about how to flash the BIOS with a hacked version to play warez.
They act as though they have the moral high ground with all the linux jibber jabber, but go peruse the forums in the links and you can see what 99% of the kids are really interested in hacking the xbox for.
It aint linux, it ain't Tux racer, it aint backups or imports. It's just code for "warez" and we all know it.
Eg; a local game shop does mods, and sells imports. I was chatting with the owner one day, and asked him how many mods he does a week. He tells me 50 on a good week. I ask him how many import games he sells. He just kind of laughed and says practically none, they just keep them around to legitimize the whole thing.
meet the impossibles (Score:4, Insightful)
the fireman says: "i want a firehose that weighs less than a pound that can fight fires 250 feet away."
the scuba diver says: "i want an oxygen tank that holds 10 hours of air, and fits in my back pocket - those backpack tanks are HEAVY!"
the hot rodder says: "i want a car that goes from 0-60 in 1 second with a top speed of 400mph in the quarter mile and i don't want to spend over $500."
the alwsn says: "i want to make some electronic equipment i own do something it was never intended to do without opening the case, changing anything, and i want it to work flawlessly every time."
ALL RIDICULOUS.
Re:Neat, but why bother? (Score:3, Insightful)
No need to solder anything. No voiding of the warranty. No giving MS any more of your money.
Re:TSOP? (Score:2, Insightful)
The xbox' bios is a TSOP eeprom.
You'll also note they talk about burning an "ISO of Halo", when of course, the filesystem they're burning is anything but ISO 9660 (either UDF or Xboxes native system)
Re:Whats with all the blatent piracy news stories? (Score:3, Insightful)
BECAUSE IT'S THERE! (Score:3, Insightful)
I swear this question gets asked each time the Xbox-Linux topic comes up.
Because it's there!
Why did people used to buy Heathkit TV's when you could buy a pre-built similar TV for less money?
Why should some kid build a linux-workalike when there were already other OSes that ran on his hardware?
Why build a motorized car out of lego bricks when you can buy a ready made motorized car for less?
Why do people do pointless things? Model railroading? Build their own automobile from a kit? Fix their own car? Why does a kid with a soldering iron to spend $30 bucks on parts to build his own radio, when he could have bought a ready made transistor radio for $5? Why does my straight cute neighbor build all kinds of things out of wood when he could purchase ready made items? (Mailbox, Playhouse, Swingset) Why would someone spend many hours learning to program a simple no-frills text editor for the millionth time when many people already have notepad pre-installed?
What for? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:What for? (Score:3, Insightful)
No network on DCs. (Score:3, Insightful)
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Why You Do This..... (Score:1, Insightful)
The next goober that comes in and buys an XBox was going to buy one anyway, after all, and your purchase is just going to entice MS to make more.
Re:Shows Palladium is not going to work (Score:5, Insightful)
This is true as far as it goes, but you have to think that the goal (from Microsoft's perspective) isn't to lock hackers out of the hardware, it's to lock them out of the hardware only long enough to ship the next version, built on a platform immune to the vulnerabilities of the previous platform.
Look at the satellite TV folks -- once pirated satellite got out of hand, they just dropped the H cards and started shipping HU cards. Once the community started getting traction on those, they moved to the next version of smart cards.
DirectTV doesn't have to lock the hackers out forever, just make it hard enough to reverse engineer that they can move to a newer platform when the dam starts to break. So Microsoft can do the same thing. They can move faster than the community can, particularly when the protection is on die. Makes reversing it *really hard*... both expensive and time consuming.
So really, the security on Palladium doesn't have to be great, just good enough.
Re:no mods? (Score:3, Insightful)
What about SUN (Score:1, Insightful)
IBM and Sun are American companys are you say that they are wrong. Sun run the open office project the most useful open source project to date in my opion. IBM runs many small open source projects too.
Basicly wake up microsoft has made enemys it is now paying the piper.
And the game has not began yet just see some time gnome will come to windows then the war will be on.
Basicly this is war with IBM and SUN and other companys supporting linux the battle will only get stronger.
And you call it RIGHTFUL profit. What about ripping Netscape off and destory them. Basicly it is come back to them. You undermine someone else proft just because they are not prepare to give up there product. If any american company is truely great it is cisco if anyone can beat what they have they allow the company to use there brand name ie for a fee of course.
And if any IT company is a Saddam with thugs it is Bill Gates and Microsoft.
Basicly the Microsoft Thug acts are long and harmful. Breaking global aggrements, keep secrets and being pig headed. Yep Microsoft has done all of the above.
Now you are just as fool who belives what you are told with out finding the truth.
Impossible is done every day. (Score:5, Insightful)
"That problem is strictly theoretical" -Microsoft
"L0pht, making the theoretical possible since...."
What you are decrying is innovation, not MS style word corruption, but the real thing. My parents bought a building in the 70's. It was ~75,000 sq feet, 30 foot ceilings, and a HUGE air conditioner, but almost no heater. It was built in the 1950s to house a computer. I shudder to think what it cost, much less cost to run. Today, my $27 timex wristwatch has over 10x the computing power of that HUGE computer, runs for about 3 years on a button battery, and never breaks, can work under water to 100m, survive heat, cold shock, and me beating it.
Looking down the list of 'rediculous' things you mention, that is far and away 'more rediculous' than any of the things you mention.
For another example, my roommate has a bullet proof vest. Another friend makes plate mail armor. The plate costs ~$2500 and takes months to build. A
Rediculous!
So, what is your problem with innovation. The very best things that you use came from the same spirit that the people doing XBox hacks have. I mean, why bother with things like transistors, antibiotics, lasers, nuclear power, and CIA mind control lasers. Oops, you aren't supposed to know about that one.
Rediculous!
Before you decry cool stuff that others do, I suggest you try the following in order.
1) Take a deep breath.
2) Try ignoring things that bother you.
When that fails
3) Don't bitch at people doing things you don't like.
4) Move out of your mother's basement
5) Do something usefull yourself.
Rediculous!, I know.
Seriously, the world needs more cool things, be they useful or frivolous. Strange things come from seemingly random events, and noone tends to see the next killer app ahead of time. Don't be a roadblock.
-Charlie
Re:What is the point? (Score:1, Insightful)
if u cant see the point, then u obviously are too lazy and non-observant to do this, why are you here wasting your time...
Mr.Big
Been there, done that... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Shows Palladium is not going to work (Score:3, Insightful)
It only shows that the schemes won't work by merely technical means, and that they'll need the help of laws to make hardware media protection work.
Legal methods alone won't work, because people will ignore laws that are totally easy to break. And it's impossible to arrest/intimidate millions of people for a non-sexual, non-violent, drug-free, victimless crime.
Hardware methods alone won't work, because as soon as one smart guy deciphers the hardware, he'll spread his workaround to the entire world.
The combination of hardware and legal protections can work. If there are laws allowing for severe punishments to the handful of hackers who create the workarounds, and moderate punishment to people who distribute them, it'll be quiet possible to keep 99.99% of people unable to break their hardware "trust" protection. And then the "trusted" code side will have won.
Given that MS has a hard time keeping its HTTP server secure, I don't think buffer overflows will be too hard to find in typical razzle-dazzle media player programs
That assumption is shortsighted. Maybe it's true today, but it won't stay true. Microsoft currently has many buffer overflows in its software, for 2 reasons.
Re:Neat, but why bother? (Score:2, Insightful)
Now, I believe that most people bought an xbox to play games, with an aside of ``and other home entertainment purposes'' (i.e. playing CD's, DVD's, etc). Given this as a starting point, is there something wrong with the idea of `Tux Racer on the XBox'? Maelstrom on the XBox? Frozen Bubble on the XBox? Random-other-linux-game on the XBox? Not-yet-written, free software, open source game on the XBox?
In general, this hack (and the non-hardware-intrusive one before it) provide a way for people to make xboxes better able to do the sorts of things that many slashdot readers [like to] do. What's so hard to understand?
Re:What for? (Score:1, Insightful)
That means that you can develop software (e.g. games) for the Xbox, without necessarily having to license their SDK.
The value of that that, should be obvious to any hacker. If you don't see the value in being able to program a computer, then .. uh .. I just can't relate to you.
But another consequence (non-hacker-oriented), is that if you can do this without requiring any hardware mods or expensive third-party stuff (e.g. that 007 game) then you can have a fairly large commercial market for your software but don't have to pay any royalties to the dark lord and also don't have to sign any bizarre contracts that contain heinous terms above-and-beyond the merely financial aspects.
Piggy-backing on Microsoft's marketing and subverting their business model, would have a delicious payoff.