Microsoft patches the XBox to prevent security breaches...like Linux

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  Oh, my. Microsoft has given me too much fodder today. As CNet is reporting, Microsoft has quietly issued a patch for the XBox 360.

  Microsoft has quietly released a fix for a security vulnerability that could let Xbox 360 owners run their own applications or operating systems on the console.

  The update corrects a problem with a tamper-protection mechanism on the Xbox 360. Hackers had discovered a way to break through the shield and run their own software, including operating systems such as Linux, on the games console.

  So, let me get this straight. Microsoft released a patch to fix a vulnerability, and that vulnerability is that someone could have Choice?

  Don't get me wrong: I own and love my 360. (FIFA 2007 stinks on it, but that's EA's fault, not Microsoft's.) And I think running Linux on it is dumb and pointless. If I wanted a Linux-based XBox, I'd make one. I bought a Microsoft-based XBox because it's the one that plays the games I like.

  But why isn't it enough that running Linux on it violates the warranty? That would seem like enough of a "patch" to me? Microsoft loses nothing by letting people have the choice to mod their machines, and perhaps gains much (mindshare, developer community, whatever).

  This is Yet Another Pointless, Dumb Microsoft Move. It's such a great company - why does it do stupid things like this?

  Wednesday, March 7, 2007 5:48 PM