Any local users caught up in the great Microsoft Xbox switch-off? According to overseas reports (here, here and here) somewhere between 600,000 and million Xbox 360 users have had their Xbox Live access cut because their machines contain "mod" (modified) chips.

Yes, mod chips may be used to play pirated games, but many people just use them to play games purchased in other regions. And apparently even having a non-Xbox hard drive will lead to a ban.

It appears that the consoles themselves are banned, not their users. That could lead to a flood secondhand ones on sites like TradeMe, so if you're in the market, caveat emptor!

Mind you, I reckon caveat emptor applies to all corporate-controlled hardware. In the real world you'd be allowed to know what your crime was, be given some means of redress and even have the right of appeal if the powers that be got it wrong. But not in corporate court.

Updated: (2009-11-15)
Looks like the ban is permanent:


This has a number of implications. As I suggested earlier, expect more Xboxes to hit the online auction sites, but what interests me more is that since modding takes a degree of technical savvy and that since Microsoft has essentially 'bricked' thousands (or possibly millions) of consoles, Xbox Live hackers now have nothing to lose. Something in those machines - possibly a Palladium-like hardware key - is coming up with a UUID for the console. Hack the console, spoof the UUID and you're back in business. There's plenty of stuff online already about hacking the Xbox - like this 56-minute presentation on The Xbox 360 Security System and its Weaknesses - so I don't expect it'll take long.

Of course, you could always upgrade your Xbox to run something useful ...