Modchips have always been in a shady legal area, because their most obvious use is to allow pirating games. Up until now, they have been considered legal to import and sell in the US because they (at least the Xbox chips) come preloaded with a free and legal Linux bios and they do have legitimate uses.



Despite this, the government has decided to crack down on modchip retailers as well as "garage" installers. Several webshops have stopped taking orders or selling chips, some installers have had their soldering irons confiscated, and Team Xecuter has decided to stop manufacturing Xbox modchips entirely.



Now I lucked out on this one, because just as I was about to pull out my soapbox and lay out my opinion on the subject someone beat me to it. Even luckier still, it was someone with a brain and they managed to hit some extremely good points that I would have missed. I'd like to introduce a guy that goes by TwistedSymphony. He has an engineering degree, and has been respected in the Xbox community for many years. I personally miss his old website "HardMods" but still enjoy his opinions on his blog thoughthead.



Normally this blog is reserved for my personal opinions, but today I'd like to quote TwistedSymphony instead. He already said what I was thinking, and did an awesome job. I hope you enjoy reading his commentary as much as I did.



Continue reading "Are Modchips Legal?"

I would guess it's safe to say that everyone has seen something about the new Xbox360 Elite. It was a wild rumor for several months, but now it is heading toward shelves in your neighborhood soon. Actually, if you're lucky some stores seem to be selling them ahead of schedule....



The Xbox360 Elite:





So, what's new with the Elite? Well, you can find the Microsoft version here and it boils down to:



- HDMI port (with HDMI cable included)

- 120gig hard drive

- It's all sexy black instead of white

- It's $480 ($80 more than the Premium)



Ok, but what will these features offer the hackers and modders?



Continue reading "How will the Xbox360 Elite effect the modding/hacking community?"