ZuneHD hacked: Developers able to use its full potential

[Regulith]

So, a few days ago, the ZuneHD was hacked (to some extent) using a hole in the firmware. It opened up a whole new realm of app development, allowing developers to use other programs other than XNA Game Studio, which before now was the only way to make anything for the Zune. They can also use the full capabilities of the Nvidia Tegra chip built into the Zune to create games and gadgets with the same quality as some of Microsoft's default apps.

Just as Apple has fixed exploits allowing jailbreaks on the iPhone, Microsoft might well choose to fix the exploit (or exploits) that are being used to enable native Zune development. In many ways, this would be a pity.

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I don't see why they would patch the hole though, as there wouldn't be any money loss since XNAGS and all apps are free, and to my knowledge this firmware hole doesn't do anything negative to the Zune that Microsoft may not like. I don't think there are any legal problems either (and if there are hopefully I'm not in any trouble for posting this).

And in case you were wondering, yes, the ZuneHD can now run Doom.

Other demonstrations of the unleashed power:
Cubic (Rotatable cube)
Three Dee (Spinning pyramid) and Hello World (Showing ability to create text boxes)

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[Madmitten]

my god that looks hard to handle

[Godik7]

Downloaded this last night, the game is extremely fun and works well, the controls are a little forgeted up but you get used to them fast. :)

[Regulith]

The guy who made the app is working on joystick controls.

[Madmitten]

The guy who made the app is working on joystick controls.

??

[Regulith]

??

For Doom. So that you can use the "move" section like a joystick instead of having to swipe the direction you want to go each time.

[Madmitten]

For Doom. So that you can use the "move" section like a joystick instead of having to swipe the direction you want to go each time.

o i c

[Solid]

the iPhone already has Doom doesn't it?

[Regulith]

Also, in case you're interested (I'm going to assume this topic will draw almost every HD user on the forum), the Marketplace released Solitaire, a Stopwatch, and a game called Labyrinth, which is a tilt-the-ball-through-the-maze game.

[Regulith]

Bump.

[Triple Nickels]

Not to derail, but I've been a long-time apple customer. I am reluctant to try Zune, even though it has features that I would enjoy. At first, the thing looked like a huge ripoff of the iPod touch to me, but now I feel like considering purchasing one. Would this be a smart move?

[Regulith]

You might want to wait awhile, currently Zune doesn't offer as much as it could, but I'm hopeful that Microsoft is working on it to some extent.

[Sirrus]

I still don't understand why you can't just erase every mote of information on the thing including the OS and start from scratch and build a platform of Linux for the HD and then go nuts.

[Snaffle J. Bean]

What's so special about spinning objects and text boxes?

[Regulith]

What's so special about spinning objects and text boxes?

The fact that you can do them now, it's just a demo of what's possible

Microsoft was being stupid about what you could and couldn't put on the Zune by blocking access to the 3D abilities of the Tegra