Re: NetBSD on Nintendo Wii (PowerPC 750CL)

[Harold Gutch <logix%foobar.franken.de@localhost>]

On Fri, Jan 01, 2010 at 03:11:33PM +0100, Frank Wille wrote:
> Harold Gutch wrote:
> 
> > Officially, Nintendo does not even allow running *any* unofficial
> > code, so one would always have to rely on an unofficial way to run
> > code on the Wii.  There are however a few possibilities to do this,
> > even on the most up-to-date systems and even without opening the Wii.
> 
> Wow, that's interesting!
> The question is whether those holes will be closed, as soon as a new system
> revision is released - as Sony did it with their PS3.

It's a kind of cat and mouse game.  Nintendo tries to close all known
holes.  They try not to haste things, so when a new hole is found, it
usually can be used for a few months before new system versions are
released that close that particular exploit.  Newer games come with
updates that patch your system and you are required to install the
patches before the game works, and of course Nintendo only allows you
to connect to their online shop system (where you can buy software for
the Wii) if your Wii is fully updated.  However, Nintendo apparently
has been very reluctant to uninstall the "Homebrew Channel".  In short
terms, this is an unofficial piece of software (so it has to be
installed via an exploit) that is installed on your Wii's flash file
system, that acts as an ELF loader.  So far, once you have installed
it, it's there and can be used, and Nintendo doesn't try to delete it
with updates.

All in all, Nintendo could be more aggressive preventing unofficial
code from running on the Wii, but they do fight it.


best,
  Harold