Heck Hack Gives Xbox 360 an Automatic Disc Changer; Raises the Laziness Bar

When you're playing on your Xbox 360 on multiplayer, there will be a few times in a session you might want to change to a different game. Once you're comfortable in your gaming spot, it can seem like quite an effort to get up and switch the discs--sadly even the Microsoft Kinect isn't that clever yet. Fortunately, serial modder Ben Heck's latest hack will satisfy your lazy streak: the Xbox disc changer.

Heck re-configured the gaming console to hold the the carousel from a multi-disc CD player, so say goodbye to the Xbox's sleek chassis. He also did a little bit of programming so the 360 would cope with the change, along with the necessary hardware tweaking to get it all to work--a relatively big job.

The downside is that he never actually finished the project. Although the reason isn't entirely known, it does mean that fans of his podcasts can complete it as they desire. But there's a catch: it isn't done yet. Ben's done most of the writing and programming, but he wants to let a fan of his podcast have the opportunity to finish it up. Heck will be giving away the project as it is so far in a future show.

Once you get the coding and positioning of hardware right, you could conceivably get the console to shuffle between more than just a couple of discs at one time. Plus, the need for a new case does allow you to get creative with your mods (check out these computer casemods for inspiration).

Check out the video of the hack in progress on Element 14's website.

[Element 14 via SlashGear]

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