Student faces three years in prison for modifying Xbox 360!

reply to post by woogleuk


Which is fine, modify your own crap as much as you want. Probably nothing wrong with that at all. Who cares what you do to your own stuff. But the second you start making money off of modifying a device to play pirated material, thats when you have a problem, that's what this guy was doing wrong.

Like I said, modify your XBox to be a toaster, probably nothing wrong with that at all, but if you do it for your friends and charge them for it, now you are profiting off of it and that is what this guy is charged with.

I am not really against pirating music or videos or whatnot, if it's just for me, I don't see the problem, what I see the problem with is people doing it for a profit. Then the artist who made the thing deserves their cut.

reply to post by woogleuk




Just use a flipping PC ffs

"Oh I modded my Xbox and now it's 1/4 what a real pc would be.. I R teh roolestool rsum!!"

Man... I can upgrade my calculator by putting a 21" monitor on it if I was dumb and stupid enough, but hey, its just a little bit silly, when the real thing is already made.

I love my xobx/ps3/wii/wah wah thing with a toy console..

God its friggen funny...

reply to post by JIMC5499


OMFG@@ HES A T#ERRORIST!! KILL HIM NAO!!11

This is bull#. And I pity the idiots that are defending this crap. There are plenty of legal reasons to mod a 360, like playing older games you already payed for. Corporate whores.... What's next, arresting a computer guy for installing a blu ray burner in my computer, because I might just burn a downloaded blue ray rip?

reply to post by JIMC5499


Modding a console to enable it to run pirated software should not be an illegal act, actually running the pirated software on it is.

The guy doing the modding isn't forcing anyone to use pirated software, that's a choice for the owner of the console.

If i gave you a small rock, and you repeatedly hit someone over the head and killed them with it, then you would be guilty of using that rock to commit murder...not me..it was your choice to use the rock in an illegal way, same with a modded console.

If we are to follow the logic that simply enabling something that *can* be used for an illegal purpose is a crime, then every gun and weapons manufacturer in the world should be on trial for genocide.

It's what the end user decides to do that counts...as long as the modded console was still able to play genuine, paid for games and software, whatever else the owner runs on it is up to them. Nobody is forcing them to use pirated software, simply because they can.

A word to the wise people...if you have succumbed to the advertising hype and run along to the shops and bought a kinect for your xbox, do yourselves a favour and physically cover the thing up when you're not using it...it *will* record what you are doing and upload it..*somewhere* if it's left on and uncovered.

YOU have been warned..

reply to post by whatukno

probably nothing wrong with that at all, but if you do it for your friends and charge them for it, now you are profiting off of it and that is what this guy is charged with.

What has making profit on it got to do with anything?

If someone sells a 2nd hand xbox for more money than they paid for it, that's making a profit on the console isn't it?
Would that make it a crime?

On the other hand, if this guy modded his friends consoles for free, gratis, zip..would that still be a crime then? No profit involved?

It's down to the end user if they use the console for illegal software, not the guy who modded it, regardless of whether he was charging money to mod them or not.

I'm sorry, it needs to be said...if this kid shows up to court he is an IDIOT. It is his property, he can do what he wants, if anyone attempts to take his freedom away for what he does with his private property, he is free to warn them away with lethal force, period. If he was charging a fee for his modding service, that is also well and good in a free and liberty pursuing country.

Seriously... 3 years for altering an X Box?
Thank god they haven't seen what I've done to my i-phone!

My question is do they have the game or DVD supposedly pirated? Any proof of distribution of such? Did the accused tell the undercover agent(s) that the Xbox could do this or that after the modification? (Run copies of what-ever) Now, it does not depend on what the accused said in the film footage. It’s how he said it is what really matters the most to obtain a conviction for the prosecution. If this accused said for example “I can make your machine run any game that is copied” Well, the Judge will have an admission of guilt, (on just the Xbox modification.) But, if the accused stated “Your machine can run copied games and DVDs” That’s no big deal, even if they filmed him modifying the Xbox. Assuming worded phrases like the above examples could have been what the accused said in the video. Assuming the video was edited like most are stating. They, unknown agents just cut out the non-essential parts. Or it could have been edited for the very reason of cutting out worded phrases from the accused. The judge is going to have a lot of trouble with this case. How the accused phrased the statements made in that films audio footage is what really matters. Not what was filmed or the Xbox for that matter; the films audio footage is the key. Since the film footage has been edited, so has the audio. Affidavits might have been signed by the unknown agents as well. Trying to get a conviction for copyright infringement based on edited film footage is going to be hard for the prosecution. The judge knows this. How the intention of modifying a machine that might contribute to a copyright violation sometime in the future ever made it to court is beyond me. Thousands of people in the U.S.A. modify their home computers with built in recording devices every day. The Xbox is not the case here, if it is then, Xbox sales will drop like a hot rock. I would not be surprised if the accused has a co-counsel from the manufacture of the Xbox.

With edited film footage, it comes down to the accused words against the agents’ words even with signed affidavits from the agents. I think this case has a good chance of being dismissed for the mere fact there are laws on trial here as well as the accused. Talk about playing fast and loose with laws. Just might as well put everyone on trial that owns a home computer with a DVD recorder.

Originally posted by badw0lf
reply to post by woogleuk

 

Just use a flipping PC ffs

"Oh I modded my Xbox and now it's 1/4 what a real pc would be.. I R teh roolestool rsum!!"

Man... I can upgrade my calculator by putting a 21" monitor on it if I was dumb and stupid enough, but hey, its just a little bit silly, when the real thing is already made.

I love my xobx/ps3/wii/wah wah thing with a toy console..

God its friggen funny...

I have a PC, I have a very powerful PC, hell, I can run Wii games via emulation at 1080p, the Wii can't do that, I know consoles aren't a patch on PCs's the 360 is just a tri-core based system, the XBOX is a single core device, what is your point? I use my XBOX(s) for streaming media to my TV, because it is convenient, and uses less power than a HTPC.

And to all you "he should be prosecuted for making money so people could run pirate games" LOOK UP RUNNING LINUX ON YOUR CONSOLE OR RUNNING HOME BREW SOFTWARE.

That is not illegal, Linux is open source, homebrew games are games you, or other people like you make yourselves for nothing,

let him mod the thing, people mod everything, it makes our personalities

Originally posted by woogleuk
My point is, these are my consoles, I paid for them, I will mod them as I wish, running XBMC or Linux isn't illegal, granted thats where the legal side ends, but still..........

Thank you, I was going to say for those that don't know, that modding your XBOX is usually done to play downloads that may or may not have been gained illegally (and by that I mean may).

reply to post by spikey


It's the end user license agreement.

But whatever, if you want to modify your buddies consoles for a quick buck, go for it, don't blame me if you end up like this guy. I ain't crying a tear for his idiocy.

I don't personally care what you do I really don't, don't argue with me about this idiocy because I don't care enough to argue with you about it. I really don't care.

All I am saying is he was dumb, started his own business modding xboxes so that they would play pirated material, he did it for federal agents, got caught and you think he shouldn't be in trouble? Please! If he just did it for himself or maybe just his close friends, well, he probably wouldn't be in the trouble he is in now, but like a dope dealer who sells to an undercover agent, he was dumb and got caught.

When you buy a game console, a video game or a movie, you only buy the licence to use the console, play the game or watch the movie.
They'll make this official soon. You'll be actually buying a licence onstead of a console in the future.
Everything will use digital distribution methods and you'll have no excuse to making backups of your games or movies.
Or they'll be using a service similar to OnLive. Wouldn't that be great?

Originally posted by woogleuk
reply to post by whatukno

 

The problem is though, as I have mentioned, and from modding them myself, it can be used for running other operating systems (Linux) and homebrew games, both perfectly legal. AND the XBOX further has technology which can't be circumvented (yet) that bans you from XBOX live as soon as you try to run a pirated game whilst online.

Good one. How many people actually modify their consoles to run legal homebrew or linux?
And why the # would someone want to run linux on a console? Do it on a PC. And I'm pretty sure that most of the homebrew is just simple programs with only two lines of code in it that you could run on your PC just as well as on the console.

Originally posted by randomname
that's why i have a ps3. i can't stand that arrogant little nerd, bill gates, trying to control every piece of electronics in the world.

It makes no difference which console you have. It's still illegal to circumvent DRM.

Originally posted by randomname
windows is garbage and he should be sued for releasing such a mediocre program that has probably lead to more computers being trashed than any software in the history of computer programing.

this is my third computer now because windows has so many holes that viruses can exploit, it's not even funny. if window were a car, their be 10's of billions paid in civil lawsuits for causing death due to criminal negligence.

on top of that to pay money to xbox live so it can use your paid internet service and your bandwidth to connect to someone elses paid internet service is just greed.

What do you do with your windows and what kind of viruses do you get that lead to you trashing and replacing your PC???
My Windows 7 installation is over a year old and I'm yet to encounter a virus or the BSOD on it.
My take here is that the problem lies between the keyboard and your chair..

So, are we now to understand that making back-up copies of anything you have is illegal? Are the companies out there going to start sending us replacement cd's and dvd's for scratched or broken discs? When I came back from Bosnia I bought with me a lot of the IC's needed to allow burnt games to play. My Playstation(one) was "chipped" and I purchased many, many games from overseas. Games that are region specific. How would I ever have replaced them had they become damaged? How would I have played American games when I came home? There is only one answer; mod it. I preformed this mod for many people after I got home too. Some of them probably used it to pirate stuff; I don't care. I didn't use it to play copied games. I charged 50$ for each IC I installed and it took about an hour to do so.

Sorry, I got onto a tangent there. The point remains; you are allowed to back up your data. What is the use of being able to back it up if it's unusable. When the companies out there send you replacements I will retract this statement.

What we THINK we should be allowed to do and what we can actually do are two different things...and that is that.

I think a rental shop should be able to sell their DVDs when people stop renting them often, but they can't. Heck the DVD cases have big warnings across the bottom saying they are rental copies and not for sale.

I think a shop should be able to break out a bundle pack of crisps and sell them separatly if their stock runs low by mistake. But they can't, the packs of crisps say "Part of a multi-pack not for individual sale.

So no sorry...the rental shop guy can take the dvd home and keep it for himself, but he can't sell it, the shop owner can take a bundle pack home, and split the packs out and store them separately, but he can't sell them that way. This guy can mod his console, but he can't sell one he modded.

And for everyone who says 'yeah but it could have had a reason not involving pirated games'. Firstly that doesn't matter and secondly...don't insult everyones intelligence, including your own, we all know perfectly well that wasn't why they were being modded. As much as we would like to, sometimes you just can't defend a persons actions. He did wrong, whether you think it should be or not simply doesn't matter.

I'm all for harsh punishments for people selling modded consoles/modding consoles/anything that

reply to post by davespanners


Haha iv had them circle scratches and microsoft told me that it wasnt their machine that made them.
By the way. You forgot to mention that it all so give him 3 red lights

reply to post by GhostR1der

Originally posted by GhostR1der
Well now i'm going to take SKC, Verbatim, LG, Sony, Acer, Asus, Panasonic, Phillips, BenQ, Toshiba, Hitachi, Pioneer, HP and every other company that has ever made a CD or DVD burner for consumer use to court under DMCA charges. They enabled me to pirate things, just like this guy has. He hasn't caused any loss or unlawful action by modifying an xbox. its what others choose to do afterwards that could be unlawful and it's up to them.

Equality is paramount and mandatory at law. Those who don't know or claim their rights have none. Lesson: learn ya law!

Well, then let's sue Chevy and Ford for manufacturing cars that I can use to speed in, and also Louisville Sluggers for building baseball bats that I can beat people with. Your point is completely irrelevant - Having a DVD burner is legal, as you can use it for tons of legal things. It is YOUR choice to use that DVD burner illegaly by making illegal copies of movies. The issue here isn't that he modified his XBOX, it's that he modified his XBOX in an illegal way by using it for viewing illegal pirated media.

Well, well, it looks like sanity may have prevailed afterall here folks:

UPDATE: Judge suspends Xbox modder's trial, admonishes prosecution

A California man on trial for modifying Xbox 360 consoles may not see a jail cell after all, now that a judge has suspended the trial and admonished the prosecution on numerous points.

"I really don’t understand what we’re doing here," U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez said, according to Wired magazine.

"Gutierrez slammed the prosecution over everything from alleged unlawful behavior by government witnesses, to proposed jury instructions harmful to the defense," Wired reporter David Kravets noted.

Full article:

www.rawstory.com...

reply to post by whatukno


He was just dumb and got caught eh?

Monkey boy Bush and poodle Blair are both dumb and got caught lying about the reasons for war in both Iraq and Afghanistan, and all the backhanders they both got from oil barons awarded contracts in Iraq...millions worth each, and neither of those arseholes have been send down for even 3 minutes...this kid mods a few game consoles for pocket money and gets 3 years...yeah, real fair legal system you guys have out there...remind me never to visit your country again...they might send me down for 10-20 years for dropping a ciggy butt!