Summary: Nice new proof that Microsoft merchandise like Xbox 360 is rented, not owned; Microsoft disables hardware enhancements

AS MOST PEOPLE may know, there is a lot of DRM in Xbox 360. One of our readers refers to the product as "Microsoft's experiment with DRM on commodity hardware." It ought to be added that Apple is not much better in that regard.

Now, Microsoft may be right in banning people who obtain its games illegally. That's a service for games to be played over the network. service is one thing, however, but hardware is another. And Microsoft not only blocks GNU/Linux installations on hardware that it sells people.

A few months ago we wrote about Xbox 360 kill switches. Regardless of whether these exist or not, more proof is now provided that Microsoft uses firmware updates to block improvement to one's own hardware, which in turn shows who's in control.

An upcoming update for Microsoft's Xbox 360 will prevent "unauthorized" memory units from working with the console, according to a post late yesterday by Xbox Live's Larry Hryb, a.k.a. Major Nelson.

Many of the problems with Xbox 360 also include an extremely high defect rate, to which new and exceptional remedies are now being proposed. ⬆