attn: dorks
[tech]
posted by tom / January 03, 2006 / 
Three quick tech things.
- Bunnie Huang, the man commonly credited with cracking the Xbox 1, has some things to say about the burnable XB360 disc I wrote about last week. Nothing particularly new, but he summarizes the exploit approaches that were being suggested — and offers some expert confirmation that this burnable disc is a track worth pursuing.
- If one wanted to — hypothetically — help set up his mom with DirecTV, and he hypothetically had a spare hypothetical satellite receiver, and her house already boasted a DirecTV dish, could he just activate the receiver @ $5/month on his account and plug it in for her? Or is there something that ties the receiver to the dish (the hypothetical one)? Remember kids: cable theft is a real and serious crime, even when there's no cable.
- I'm interviewing someone from the Shmoo Group for DCist, so if anyone has anything intelligent they'd like to ask them, let me know.
Comments
Regarding ITEM 2:
Not going to work! Why? You don't have the same phone number. Granted, there is the issue of the Access Card but it is tied back to the phone number. DirecTV sets up receiver boxes via on-board memory and the Access Card through the user's phone. Policy dictates that all users/clients have only one phone number for servicing.
But the box doesn't have a modem, and I have an access card for it. I'd just have it set up at my place, then unplug it, drive it to Charlottesville, and plug it back into a satellite feed. No phone number required... right?
Technically, the box is supposed to dial in every X days, but I don't have a landline, and it hasn't been a problem (they cut off my service once in the almost two years it's been like this, and I just called and said "no landline, but you don't really want to lose my business" and they turned it back on). (Yours doesn't have a modem? Really?)
But as far as I know, there's no coded dish/box connection.
come to think of it, yeah, it must have a modem -- otherwise they couldn't sell me payperview junk, and I'm sure they wouldn't let that stand. But I don't have a landline hookup in the bedroom, and the satellite box there has always worked fine.
A box and Access Card can purchase PPV until a certain limit is reached. It used to be $100, but I think DirecTV got wise and adjusted this limit to $30. After that, the system needs to dial home, unload the charges and reset itself to "no charges". This is why you're able to use a box without a phone cord and why the system doesn't have to dial out every time you order something. The Access card still needs to be activated by a phone line (if it hasn't been done before).
WARNING: Violating the DirecTV license can lead to fines and a lifetime ban from DirecTV service.
Post A Comment