Xbox 360 Hacks - News, Hacks, Cracks, Mods.

Klutsh released a new version of iPrep 101 a .NET application and collection of MSDOS scripts/applications for use in flashing a Samsung TS-H943A or BenQ DVD drives.

Features:
- Detect your SATA/RAID controller, HEX-Edits MTKFlash.
- Formats your floppy/usb drive and copies all necessary files over.
- Can be used with NTFS cd’s, creates a folder on your hdd.
- MD5 checker when selecting your firmware lets you know your firmware is legit.
- Updateable Firmware definitions.
- Provides simple to use on screen instructions in MSDOS.
- Works with all current iXtreme firmwares.
- Load Firmware from .bin or .rar.

Here’s What’s new/fixed:
* Fixed BenQ Backup
* Added Menu Driven DOS UI.
* Added Flash Samsung TS-H943A using nForce SATA.

Official Site: http://x-projects.org

DOWNLOAD

The Non-Stealth users of the Benq iXtreme firmware only had one choice speed wise when they chose the Non-Stealth firmware and that was 8x. This package gives users of Benq iXtreme Non-Stealth the choice to use whatever speed they prefer (2x, 5x, 8x, 12x).

This is NOT an update to iXtreme firmware for Benq users… this is merely an update to the Non-Stealth version which only provides different speed choices NOTHING else.

Credit goes to C4E and others, it was named Rev 2 to avoid confusion.

You’ll have to take the typical steps to find and download the firmware…  http://www.eurasia.nu usually has everything you need.

From kotaku.com:
Another retailer has shown that Microsoft is planning to drop the price of the Xbox 360 20GB model — formerly known as the “Pro” — to $299, as a Best Buy employee has forwarded us (obligatorily blurry) cell phone pics of an upcoming weekly ad.

The Xbox 360 has become the cheapest home console on the Australian market after Microsoft slashed the price of the entry level Arcade model from [AUD] $399 (£191) to $349 (£167).

The mid-range 360 console, with a 20GB hard drive, now sells for $499 (£239). Before the cuts it was $579 (£277).  The high-end black Xbox 360 Elite, which adds a 120GB hard drive, HDMI cables and a free 30-day Xbox Live Gold membership, was slashed from $729 (£349) to $649 (£310).

The beans may already have been spilled by Kmart, but now another store has briefly emerged from retail obsolescence to spread the legend of the $50 Xbox 360 price cut. A Radio Shack employee recently mailed us the evidence, some scans of what they claim is an upcoming ad set to take effect on July 13 (same as the Kmart ad).

From the Xbox PR Blog:

We have all eagerly been awaiting the DRM tool that will allow you to transfer licenses from one console to another and guess what? Today, it has finally arrived!
I’m posting some of the key information that you need to know regarding this tool. To find out more, please go to http://www.xbox.com/drm

I hope this helped answer some of those questions you had about the tool.
Again, to find out more about it, check the xbox.com page at http://www.xbox.com/drm.

The court ruling for the Mr Modchips victory in the UK high court has been officially released to the public.

Points of note are:
“The prosecution contended that Mr Higgs was providing devices which enabled the circumvention of ETMs. But it is very important to understand the factual basis of the contention. It was not that the use of a modified console to play a game from an infringing CD-ROM itself involved any infringement of copyright. No attempt was made to prove that when such a CD-ROM is placed in a console, the console reads into its memory (particularly its random access memory, its “RAM”) the program and copyright material included with it such as images and sound.”

In the end, therefore, one comes back to the UK Act. Is it enough if the technological measure is a  discouragement or general commercial hindrance to copyright infringement or must it be a measure which physically prevents it? To our minds the position is clear - it is the latter. Neither the Directive nor the Act would have been drafted in the way that they are if such a general form of hindrance was enough.

It is for those reasons we quashed the convictions. Mr Higgs is a fortunate man in that it may well be that if the legislation had been less complex and/or the Crown had had greater opportunity to consider the details of copyright law the case would have been proved on the basis that merely playing a pirated game involves making a copy in the console and thus involves infringement. He may also be fortunate that, at least this far, he has not been sued in the civil courts. There the procedure is apt to be much faster, technical slip-ups in evidence can generally be readily cured before final judgment and the remedies of damages, an account of profits, injunction and legal costs are readily obtainable. Breach of an injunction, if serious, can of course itself lead to imprisonment.

We were asked to certify that this case involves a question of law of general public importance. We are willing so to do. The question (agreed by Counsel) which we certify is:  Do the provisions of section 296ZF of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 in relation to “effective technological measures” apply to devices incorporated into computer games consoles and computer games which do not prevent counterfeit copies being made of such games but which do prevent the counterfeit copies from being played on games consoles?

Full Court Ruling: bailii.org

The Details:

XB01 was first shown at the 2008 CES show in USA, and this concept got a lot of feedback and user suggestions. At the 2008 Computex in Taipei, the final vision of the PC-XB01 Xbox 360 modding case was ready for shipping.

Lian Li wants to make the 360 even better!  So, their designers made this case around the Xbox360’s main board (of course), and created the XB01 case, for those who want an Xbox 360 with better cooling performance and that works silently.

Not only does it work silently and with better cooling, it is all aluminum, in metallic finishing.
Rounded edge, in brushed aluminum with anodized finishing, it can be place up-right or flat-down on the table top. The high quality finishing will fit in most user’s living environments.

XB01 will help Xbox 360 to have better cooling performance, and running silently. User don’t need to worry about overheating problems anymore.

Some Features:
* There is a 120mm exhaust fan at the rear of the XB01 to replace the original two 70mm cooling fans. The 120mm fan can move the heat faster at lower speed, and with less noise.
* XB01 has a 12cm fan, with high airflow but it only needs to run at 1500RPM to cool down the Xbox 360 effectively.
* The Xbox 360 DVD-drive has been relocated to the side, allowing maximum opening for the graphics chipset heatsink and it will also allow users to change the heatsink.
* There are sound insulation foam sheets around the DVD drive to reduce the noise.
* Huge aluminum airduct that covers the Xbox 360 heatsinks, the cold air will pass through the cooler to remove the heat.
* There are water tube openings at the rear of the case, allowing users to upgrade their Xbox 360 to liquid cooling solutions.
* The XB01 includes two fan converters for the different versions of the Xbox 360.
* There are aluminum flippers to cover and protect the front connectors.

See more at: http://lian-li.com.tw

AMD has invested heavily into hyperbole research, proudly proclaiming that its new graphics chip, the RV770, is “more powerful than every generation of video game console ever brought to market combined.” The RV770, demoed Monday, is capable of processing one trillion floating operations per second on a single chip, a feat that AMD says “punches a sizeable hole in the sensory barrier.”

If the specs and information on this chip are correct?  The next gaming console will have graphics that will look like you just transitioned from a Dreamcast console to the Xbox 360…   It is a very powerful chip, with close to real looking graphics.  We all await the details!

The title basically says it all, but the blurb is: Microsoft has decided that it will announce the long overdue upgrade at E3 next month (the event runs from 15 - 17 July), with a release date scheduled for August…

Jack Thompson, the US attorney and frequent critic of video games, has been disbarred from practicing law for a minimum of ten years! It’s about time! Hypocrite; He is against inappropriate and violent conduct in video games, but apparently it’s he believes it’s ok in the court-room?

The transcript of the hearing, where the Florida Bar recommended the disbarring for professional misconduct, has now been released and is available here from GamePolitics.

The disciplinary hearing, held last week, saw Thompson behave erratically and finally walk out after being refused the chance to read a prepared objection. It followed Thompson being accused of 27 violations of misconduct and a series of increasingly bizarre allegations from the US attorney against the game industry. There is hope for Thompson yet, with the final report of the hearing being made to the Florida Supreme Court on September 3rd.

One of Thompson’s more bizarre recent rants saw him write to the mother of Take Two’s chairman, accusing him of “unleashing porn and violence.”

In a landmark historic occasion today 11 June 2008 at the court of appeal criminal division the legal argument that modchips do not circumvent copyright protection was upheld by Judge Justice Jacobs.

What will these mean for modchips in the UK ?????? Truly a disaster for the likes of ELSPA and Trading Standards.