THE LATEST FROM BEN HECKENDORN – THE NESTARI

It’s been awhile since we last checked in with console hacker extrordinaire Ben Heckendorn, so we figured it would be time to head over to his website and see what he’s been up to. Turns out, it’s another handheld system – the NEStari.

This time, Ben has taken an Atari Flashback 2, one of those "Nintendo on a chip" systems and some technical know-how and built a combination Atari 2600 / NES handheld. I don’t know about you, but I really do wish I had this guy’s technical expertise – I’d probably spend all day building consoles. (ok, I’d at least spend all day starting console projects)

Be sure to check out his earlier projects if this is the first time you’re visiting his site – you’ll probably be drooling in no time flat.

• The NEStari – BenHeck.com

MICROSOFT MAY SHUT DOWN BOOTLEG COPIES OF WINDOWS

ArsTechinica has a report on the rumor going around that Microsoft may be expanding their Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) program to lock out pirated copies of their Windows XP operating system.

For those unaware of what WGA is, Microsoft recently made the software a mandatory download for anyone seeking Windows XP updates, and the product simply checks that the user has a legal copy of Windows installed. In the event the user does not have a legal copy of Windows, the program simply asked them to purchase Windows and would restrict the downloading of some non-critical updates. Of course, after release it was also revealed that WGA also reports back to Microsoft periodically with it’s findings and updates how the software displays the piracy warnings.

It seems the rumor is now that Microsoft plans on changing the warning from just a nagging reminder to buy a legal copy of the operating system along with a few download restrictions, to a potential full shutdown of the operating system within 30 days of the first notice if the user does not comply.

While I fully understand Microsoft moving to protect their interests, I have to wonder how many cases of mistaken shutdowns this could cause. Despite whatever text Microsoft may throw into the EULA, I’m quite sure the lawsuits would be flying should people lose access to their PC’s due to an error on Microsoft’s part.

Check out ArsTechnica’s report on the WGA rumors here and ask yourself if Microsoft is watching you right now…

MICROSOFT RESPONDS TO XBOX 360 HACK

Microsoft’s employee blog, Gamerscore Blog, posted the company’s official response to the news that the Xbox 360 disc authentication system was hacked earlier this week. The statement reiterates their stance that any modification to the Xbox 360 hardware will render the system warranty void, that bootleg games may not run properly on the system and that they will make changes as need be to both correct the security flaw and identify those responsible. In other words, Microsoft isn’t happy, but it wasn’t unexpected.

If you look back to before the system even launched, J. Allard had made a statement to the effect that Microsoft knew that people would eventually crack the 360’s security system, and that while they would do everything they could to make it difficult to do, they felt that their interests were better served by creating a gaming experience, via services such as Xbox Live, that would discourage people from doing so. Click here for the Gamerscore Blog post.