Microsoft patches Xbox 360

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You aren't the target user

Perhaps you are looking at this from the wrong angle. You are a competent computer user who is capable is understanding when, how, and why to choose what patches to apply when. The Xbox is intended to be like an appliance; it's just supposed to work. A 10 year old shouldn't have to know PC maintenence to make his game work. Therefore, if/when a patch is required, the Xbox does it automatically and leaves the user blissfully unaware. In other words, the appliance just keeps working.

One major reason for requiring all Xboxes to be patched identically is because of "glitchers"; people who exploit glitches in the HW or SW to cheat on games and ruin the fun for those they play against. There is also the idea that a hold big enough to exploit for fun may also be exploited for malicious reasons (perhaps a "zombified Xbox" probing around inside your network?)

Of course MS doesn't want you to install your own OS! They take a loss on each Xbox sold in hopes of recovering their money by selling games. They aren't in the business of giving away subsidized PC hardware, they are selling video game machines. If you want a cheap/free PC, go to Goodwill.

I'm sure MS has no desire to let nerds do goofy things like impress their geeky friends by installing Linux on an Xbox, but I also think that concern is pretty far down on their list. MS's biggest concern with that crowd is that they are probably too nerdy to ever reproduce and expand the video game market.

Posted by: robertgerhart   Posted on: 03/06/07 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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