Hardware hackers have developed a technique to hack Microsoft' s Xbox 360 gaming console so that it might be possible to run alternative operating systems on the hardware.

The approach, which only works given physical access to the hardware and is strictly for fun, relies on a taking advantage of a vulnerability in the Xbox 360 hypervisor. Properly exploited, the bug allows tinkerers to run arbitrary code (even an alternative OS) with full privileges and full hardware access.

Story here

Source here

Apart from reporting it to MS and a patch being issued, this is very similar to how the PSP got started off with privilidge excalations. I wonder how long the 360 will be a closed system for?

Man would it be nice if the Xbox360 got cracked like the psp' s, but I can' t see MS letting it happen the way Sony has. Then again, Windows has always been a fairly poor OS for security, but the funny thing is, the Xbox360 seems more secure.

I am interested in this because in a perverse way I think this sort of thing could be a decider in the format war especially as things are looking so close in other areas. I don' t condone the technology, but to date there has been very little in the way of 3rd party " mods" .

I mean the success of these formats is related to the success of their media formats, so In a way I think these stories are linked..

HDHVD software removed

I don' t condone any of this of course, and with XNA I understand there is a legitamate homebrew scene allready.

I really do have to hand it to Microsoft. For people who apparently have no idea how to secure a system (like all the Windows bashers say), they' ve done an extremely good job on the 360. I read about this before when it was reported on Xbox-Scene. Bascially, the guy is saying " I cracked your uncrackable system. Now give me a job."

Personally I can' t wait for the 360 to be cracked. I don' t want it for the warez, but for the multimedia capabilities. Ever since I softmodded my Xbox, it has been my second most used system in the house (with PC coming first). Homebrew like XBMC is such a robust media system that out performs many commercial alternatives, while being free at the same time. I simply can' t live without streaming media from my PC to my Xbox/TV anymore.

Hmm, I always wanted xbox(1) media centre - but with a media centre shuttle allready going to vista ultimate the 360 allready supports playback out the box - which is just fantastic, so do you think there is the same call there once was for it?

With that said, to be able to play xvid and have a hoooooge HD on the top would be a great start!

I definitely still think there is a call for XBMC on the 360. I' ve dabbled a bit with playing media through the 360 with XP MCE and it' s a far cry from the functionality of XBMC. Codec' s and ease of use are both areas where the 360 fails miserably. 80% of my media library is unplayable.

Shuttle PC' s are great but they' re still a little pricey when compared to an Xbox/360. You' ll still shell out around $1000 for a decent one.

I' m also a bit of a tweaker/tinkerer at heart so the flexibility (updating/upgrading hardware and software whenever you want) of a modded Xbox gets a big thumbs up from me too.

Sorry for the double post but it looks like it' s gone public now. Homebrew has begun.

Link

While it' s still early days and very limited to certain dashboard versions, it certainly didn' t take too long.

Erm, wanna be freaked out! We both have 507 posts!

Anyways, worth of a double post imho - if only on the account that it shows people are working with other peoples early results and that the " scene" is moving forward!