Hi there All
(THIS IS MY OPINION & MY OPINION ALONE) ok im not here to flame or be flamed by ANYONE !!
The scene appears to be becoming frequented mainly by flamers and children, hell bent on destroying what is in the main a decent scene, many will attack me for this statement but you only need to look at "ubergeek" who although too much of a gent to admit it decided to "retire" from the scene for this very reason, as it seems "he was pissed off and tired of the children and flamers!!
Now I personally feel that any chip that attempts to make life easy for the inexperienced is a good thing. (but note in NOT saying this chip is good, as we just dont know YET!) <------ and as we DONOT know yet how can anyone give an informed opinion about and as yet "UNKNOWN,UNTRIED & UNTESTED" piece of hardware............. From the spec sheet you might say, well thats like looking through a telescope and concluding that the moon is made of cheese..............
But we SHOULD give it a fair assesment and at the very least "refrain" from wild speculation, and remember that "familiar" is not always better, but maybe "familiar" is "the easy option" for some, and I suppose on the flipside of the coin may could say well "why" change a proven format.
Well why indeed, I agree, but time stands still for no-one and if we do not embrace new ideas and look to the future we will stagnate, You only need to look at the excellent work that "oz-paulb" has undertaken with his singled minded approach to breach the 137Gig HDD barrier that may said would NOT become a reality, and one even went as far to call his work a "pointless & "useless" exersize ( I bet the guy that posted that feels a proper prick now ).
If this new chip assists the inexperienced then good, if it enables them to flash their chip easily without the hassle of setting up boot discs,and parallel port setting and such like(come on guys we must admit that for some, these things can be a bloody minefield) then it is one better than some.
And if anyone tries to say that "no one has problems flashing the currently available chips" with a evox style bios, then their head must be firmly inserted where the sun dont shine,
Because as an Op in an IRC channel I get "at the very least" a dozen requests DAILY for assistance on how to flash their chip, So something IS occurring and IS problematic with the current system and practises required to allow the inexperienced to flash their chips. For many the current way of doing it is fine, but for many how shall we say "less technically minded" are having difficulty.
We could say that if you "cannot do it the current way" then you should not be modding your xbox. This too might be true but it is in our human nature and biological make-up to try to "do it ourself" regardless of our "own ability" it is a thing that will occur till the end of time, so that being so, some of a kinder ilk will always endevour to assist those "less technically minded" than some.
I myself "hotswap" all my chips to flash them for my customers, but if im "on-site" and I require to recover a customers chip from a "bad" flash I use my lap-top with a custom X2lite style programmer to Re-flash.
Now this works for me and makes me money, I will be done out of business if this chip allows the inexperienced to flash their chip themself, but hey I will still get other work and we will have another happy xbox'er to learn the intricacys of the "fickle" xbox, and maybe even supply new directions and new ideas for the future.
So those Who read and post "its crap, buy an X2.2lite" really "should" know better and for some who are for one reason or another are in positions of authority within the scene, please stop giving anything "new" a hard time, if everyone had that blinkered and "anal" type of view we would still have guys walking in front of out cars with red flags.
Progress Must be allowed to occur and things "good or bad" must be allowed to appear.
Now Remember this is MY opinion which IM entitled to, so please read it and think about it and if you have a positive opinion, good , post it , but if you read it and can only think im bashing other chip makes then you need to back up and read my post "in full" again as you really missed the point totally.
And if you notice "I edited" my post, it is to CORRECT any spelling mistakes I notice later NOT any "back tracking" on my part, as i have been accuses of by certian (maybe that should read"CRETIN") indviduals in the past.
Regards