At 11:15 AM 1/15/2002 -0500, you wrote:
F. Marc de Piolenc[SMTP:piolenc@mozcom.com] wrote:
Dear Michael,
Michael Motyka wrote:
Hack CD burners to add a SetBurnerIDCode command.
Sorry. Could you expand on the significance of this for non-programmers? What does this command accomplish? Is it in firmware?
CD burners place a unique BurnerIDCode onto each CD-R that they write. Thus, a CD-R can be associated with the machine that made it, much as color copiers place their serial numbers on copies they make.
Of course, this serves no useful purpose for the average user, but narcs out software pirates or samizdat publishers.
"You may not speak anonymously on CD-R".
I don't know what level of work would be required to modify it.
There are probably two major hurdles: reverse engineering the firmware and getting the new code into the device. The second is probably the hardest. Because of high volume production techniques the processor-memory chips are probably not field programmable. Even if they were or field programmable equivalents were available they are likely mounted using BGA (Ball Grid Array) techniques. Very difficult to remove and re-insert without expensive equipment. steve