Since the dawn of time, man has continually attempted to improve upon his tools and technology. Extreme car enthusiasts make engine modifications to crank out more horsepower and computer fanatics push their hardware to the limit by overclocking their processors. The innate desire to improve upon current technology is one of man’s greatest attributes; this inherent obsession has contributed to the development of many of today’s most popular products.
Recently, Apple Inc. released one of its latest devices: the Apple TV. At just under $300, the Apple TV is capable of holding roughly 50 hours of television and wirelessly broadcasts media from one’s Mac (or PC) to his wide-screen television. With the Apple TV you can now enjoy, from the comfort of your couch, all the TV episodes and movies you’ve downloaded (legally of course) through services like iTunes.
Within a week of the release of the Apple TV, guides on how to hack and modify the device have already begun to surface on the Internet. Almost overnight, hacks such as how to replace the standard 40GB hard drive with one of a larger size, and how to run Mac OS off Apple’s latest media device are flooding the Internet. And, not surprisingly, site’s such as Apple TV Hacks are busy compiling extensive libraries of Apple TV modifications.
Now, the question on many people’s minds is what exactly drives someone to hack an device like the Apple TV.
Why Do It?
There are many reasons why someone would modify the Apple TV. First and foremost, experienced hackers and reverse engineers like to do it for the challenge; it is a quest to uncover and decipher the software in order to develop new uses for the Apple TV (such as enabling it to run off of a keyboard and mouse, and not the provided remote control). There are also those who simply want to increase the functionality of the Apple TV. Many may feel as if the standard 40GB hard drive isn’t sufficient to meet their media demands. Likewise, many wish to play media which isn’t acquired through iTunes (the media which is natively supported).
There exists, however, ethical boundaries when it comes to modifying the software and hardware of any device, including the Apple TV. Obviously, according the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), the redistribution of copyrighted Apple software is both illegal and ethically immoral. Ethically speaking, one has to decide whether or not it is acceptable to increase the functionality of a device by hacking it. Most would agree, though, that making enhancements to your own possessions is an acceptable process. Nobody would prevent you from tweaking the basic sound system in your car to play media from a laptop as well, would they?
An article on PC World further investigates why someone would be interested in hacking the Apple TV. They point out that, at its core, the Apple TV is truly an Intel Mac which would be capable of running Windows software (after some modifications, of course). Consequentially, people are going to attempt running Windows software on their Apple TV. The article also touches on the "challenge" aspect of hacking the Apple TV, and focuses on the crowd who hack just for the fun of it.
Whether one hacks the Apple TV solely for the challenge of it or whether he aspires to transform his $300 device into a fully operational computer, controversies regarding modifications and hacks made to the Apple TV have arisen.
The Controversy
Much like the debates about hacking Microsoft’s Xbox, there are advocates on both sides of the legal line. It is very difficult to make a legal ruling on this, unfortunately, because hacking the Xbox or the TiVo or the Apple TV is in a legal gray area. There are those who believe that modifying their devices falls under fair use; they believe that, because they purchased the device, they are permitted to make altercations to it. To some degree, the legality of this is obvious. Provided that one isn’t breaking the DMCA, making software and hardware modifications is acceptable (although it does void the device’s warranty). In the case of the Xbox modifications, however, various actions associated with hacking the device have been ruled illegal; it is illegal to distribute a modified BIOS (due to the fact that it contains Microsoft code) and the use of a modchip to play pirated games.
In general, most of the Apple TV hacks are classified as fair use modifications. Those who have managed to duplicate the Apple TV Operating System are walking right into the infamous legal gray area. Copying and reusing the Apple TV OS breaks copyright laws and the redistribution of copyright material is most definitely illegal (hence the reason why we can’t make copies of purchased DVDs and pass them around to all our friends). One should proceed with caution if they are debating whether or not to hack their Apple TV; analyze the ethical and legal issues associated with the hack you want to attempt before proceeding.
To complicate the issue even further, PC World (and other sources) have reported that some Apple TV hackers have noticed internal "clean up" scripts running on their devices. It seems as if Apple Inc. has included a script that returns modified permissions to their original state; reversing the effects of some hacks. While this might impede some enthusiasts from modifying the Apple TV, Apple is going to have to try harder if they really want to eliminate the hacking of their device. Suspicions of an Apple backdoor have also been established, but little evidence supports this claim.
No apparent resolution for the controversies regarding the hacking of devices is in view. There will always be advocates for and against modifying devices like the Apple TV.
My Opinion
As far as I’m concerned, I support the hacking for devices like the Apple TV as long as no copyright laws are broken. I truly believe that one should be permitted to expand and improve upon the functionality of a device (that is how we have developed today’s super computers and space shuttles). From an ethical perspective, modifying what you own seems to be an acceptable practice. Yet, at the same time, I believe that it is important to respect the hard work of others; there is no need to illegally distribute software in the process of unlocking and extending the features of the Apple TV.
The controversies surrounding these issues are legitimate; yet, in a perfect world, Microsoft and Apple wouldn’t attempt to prevent those from hacking their game consoles and media players. It is an inherent property of man to seek out ways to improve upon their current technology and this will continue to occur no matter how many "clean up" scripts
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