A ton of people sent in the latest development on the Xbox homebrew front. A console hacker that goes by the name of [GliGli] released a new exploit that boots any Xbox into a Linux loader.
The hack requires some hardware – in this case an Xilinx CLPD. The hack works by sending a tiny reset pulse (no word on what ‘tiny’ means) that glitches the hardware and gets around the hash checks during boot. If that’s not technical enough for you, check out the readme on the project’s github.
This isn’t a silver bullet to cracking Xboxen wide open. The glitch only has about a 25% chance of success for each boot. The glitch also take a few minutes to boot into unsigned code. This being said, the hack works on all 360s, including the slim models that can’t be opened up with the JTAG method.
Check out the demo of one of the beta testers demonstrating the exploit after the break. Again, thanks to everyone for sending this one in.
Not to be outdone by their North American counterparts, these German-speaking hackers have come up with a truly unique console mod. Although modding one system may be OK for most, the builders of this console decided to combine three systems into one clear plastic box. A stripped down Xbox360, Playstation3, and Nintendo Wii were all put together to form this “Extrem” system.
The build style should be very appealing to those interested in video game hardware. Combining the look of a tower PC with a clear plastic allows one to see all components in action. Since the box is lit up with electroluminescent lighting, one is able to show off this system in the day or at night. Read the rest of this entry »
But think back to when the original Xbox was first hacked. Watching the XeXLoader (after the break) sends us back to the days of EvolutionX. Sure there wasn’t much that could be done in those early days (other than pirate games), but that slowly changed with the hard work of a lot of developers. XBMC came out of those first steps and became the greatest media software ever to grace your television. The GUI work here may be more beginning steps in another great community-driven legacy.
[Ben Heckendorn]‘s Access Controller is now shipping. The controller is designed to be used with just one hand. It has six openings that the five control modules can be placed in. It’s easy to reconfigure depending on the player or game. While the prototype was built using Xbox 360 controller parts, this newly released unit is available for the PS2, PS3, and PCs. The Xbox 360 version is still being reviewed for final production. [Ben] says that in the coming weeks he’ll post a how-to for building your own modules. There’s always one empty slot and the bus like design should make this fairly simple.
[Ben Heck] posted and update on a project he’s doing for THQ. This latest Xbox 360 laptop is being built as a contest prize. It’s based on a 60GB Xbox 360 and is slightly larger than the previous laptops. It can accommodate a standard 360 hard drive without modification. An Xbox Live camera is included as well.
[jon barber] pointed out another great project on the benheck forums that hasn’t gotten much attention. [techknott] built a wireless video interface for his Xbox 360. Think of it as a sort of video game thin client. It has the form-factor of a portable but doesn’t include the 360′s components. Instead it has a 1.2GHz A/V receiver and the guts of a wireless controller. The specific transmitter was chosen because it wouldn’t interfere with the 2.4GHz controller. The power supply is two 2600mAh batteries running at 7.5V with a built in charging circuit. The draw from the screen is ~500mA. The entire unit is 1 inch thick.
Back in May we mentioned AcidMods’ spitfire mod that enabled rapid fire (amongst other things) and was undetectable by Xbox Live. The parts list was quite low, needing just a PIC16F84A and a few other components, which led to third parties selling controller mod kits on eBay. The AcidMods team has figured out a new way to enable rapid fire using just a momentary switch and the necessary wire to hook it up. All you need to do is wire in the switch between the ground on the controller LED and the middle pin on the trigger. The only caveat is that because it’s hardwired to the LED, you can only use the mod on the particular port you’re using the controller on.
The reason it’s so simple is because the Xbox 360 controller uses pulse width modulation to “dim” the LED on the controller, creating a rapid high/low signal. When the momentary button is depressed, it routes this rapid high/low signal to the trigger input on the controller, which is then input to the Xbox 360. Hit the read link for a couple more videos explaining this hack.
While this modification is undetectable by Xbox Live, it does create an unfair advantage in multiplayer gaming and could result in your account being banned.
The mod is not particularly complex. The Microvision 360′s creator [PvP_LostKnight] only removed the working parts from the Xbox 360′s case and mounted them to the back of the TV. A few of the inputs of the TV had to be moved and rewired, and a repurposed and painted tupperware container was added to cover the Xbox 360 parts. Unfortunately, [PvP_LostKnight] did not post a writeup, and even added “The wiring for this is horrible, I would not recommend anyone trying this.”
Setting aside his recommendation for a moment, a few of the advantages to his design are improved airflow to the Xbox 360 and better space usage. What we’d like to see added more than anything is power integration, with a single button to turn on both and a single power source powering the TV and the Xbox. See the proof of concept video after the break, or more photos and comments at the read link.
