High-tech pirates are exploring new territory, as new chips promise to defeat Xbox copy-protection features.


The Xtender, a “mod chip” intended to be added to the main circuit board of the Xbox, purportedly allows the console to play illegally copied game software. Will this inspire a Napster-like wave of copy infringement? Probably not, analysts say. For starters, using the mod chips requires disassembling the Xbox case and affixing the chip to the circuit board, a task that can require more than 20 soldering connections

Cracking Xbox game software may be even more difficult. Copy-protection software built into all Xbox games makes the game disc unreadable on PCs. So far, only a few hacker groups claim to have been successful in breaking the protection scheme. . . . Read on . . .

And in related news, an online survey conducted recently by a Microsoft partner indicates that the software giant is considering producing a kit that would let people use an Xbox video game console and a TV to access entertainment files stored on their PC. The survey, sent to registered Xbox owners, appears to focus on Freestyle, an extension to Microsoft’s Windows XP operating system aimed at turning PCs into digital media jukeboxes, although the survey refers to the product as “NewPC.”



The survey includes a number of questions about a proposed Xbox Connection Kit that would let Xbox owners use the console to remotely access MP3 music and other entertainment files stored on a PC. The kit would include software and a remote control for the Xbox that would allow people to access music files and other media via a TV screen.

Original story via The New York Times.

Filed under: News

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