Editing Modding (section)

== Computers and digital equipment ==

=== Legal issues ===
Modding may sometimes infringe the legal rights of the copyright owner. Some nations have laws prohibiting modding and accuse modders of attempting to overcome [[copy protection]] schemes. In the United States, the [[DMCA]] has set up stiff penalties for mods that violate the rights of intellectual property owners. In the [[European Union]], member states have agreed the [[Information Society Directive|EU Copyright Directive]] and are transposing it into national law. A 22-year-old man was convicted by [[Caerphilly]] Magistrates' Court in the [[United Kingdom]] in July 2005 for selling a modded [[Xbox (console)|Xbox]] with built in software and games.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4650225.stm|title=Man convicted for chipping Xbox|date=July 4, 2014|website=BBC}}</ref> However it is also worthy of note that some other European countries have not interpreted the legal issues in the same way. In Italy a judge threw out a [[Sony]] case saying it was up to owners of a console what they did with it.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://management.silicon.com/government/0,39024677,39117891,00.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060324123541/http://management.silicon.com/government/0%2C39024677%2C39117891%2C00.htm |archive-date=March 24, 2006 |title=Chipping PlayStations isn't illegal, says Italian court}}</ref> Similarly in Spain, mod chips have been ruled as legal despite the EU copyright legislation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theregister.com/2004/04/27/spanish_xbox_modding_ruling/|title=Spanish judge rules X-Box mods 'legal' Intellectual property loophole|date=27 Apr 2004|first=Lester|last=Haines}}</ref> Modding may be an unauthorized change made to a software or hardware to a platform in gaming. Case mods are modifications to a device with the altering of certain styles. For example, people who mod a [[Microsoft]] [[Xbox 360]] can alter the [[LED]] lights on the controller to glow different colors.

On August 5, 2009, Matthew Crippen, a 27-year-old student at [[California State University, Fullerton]], was arrested for modifying game consoles including the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii for profit.<ref>[https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=8244137]{{dead link|date=November 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2009/08/game-console-jailbreaking-arrest/|title=Student Arrested for Jailbreaking Game Consoles — Update|first=DAVID|last=KRAVETS|date=August 4, 2009|magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]|access-date=December 31, 2014}}</ref> Crippen testified that it was so owners could play their backup discs of DRM-laden gaming software that they legally own.  However, the DMCA states that it is illegal to circumvent copyright protection software, even for non-infringing uses such as backing up legally owned games. In December 2010 the prosecutors dropped all charges<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2010/12/crippen-dismissed/|title=Prosecutors Dismiss Xbox-Modding Case Mid-Trial|first=David|last=Kravets|date=December 2, 2010|access-date=June 19, 2017|magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]}}</ref> against Crippen because of inadmissible evidence obtained through an audio-less video recording deemed illegal by California law.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2010/11/xbox-trial-dustup/|title=Corporate Cop's Covert Video at Issue in Xbox Modding Case|first=DAVID|last=KRAVETS|date=November 8, 2010|access-date=December 31, 2014|magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]}}</ref>

=== Video game consoles ===
[[File:NEC-PC-FX-Motherboard-L2.jpg|thumb|An [[NEC]] [[PC-FX]] motherboard with a modding chip]]
A common example of one kind of modding is [[video game console]] [[mod chip]]s, which can allow users to play [[Homebrew (video games)|homemade games]], games legitimately purchased in other [[Regional lockout|regions]], or legal backup copies, but can also allow [[copyright infringement of software|illegal unauthorized copies]] by allowing the player to play personally [[CD recorder|recorded]] [[compact disc|CD]] or [[digital video disc|DVD]] copies of [[video game]]s. [[Modchips]], in their current form, were first available for the Sony [[PlayStation]] (and later the [[PlayStation 2]]). Various other types of copyright circumvention systems also existed for the [[Nintendo 64]] and the older Game Boy consoles (though neither include actual modding, but instead backup devices).

==== Types of modding ====
There are two different ways of running unsigned code on a game console. One is through [[Softmod|soft modding]] (modifying software, normally using a [[softmod]]) to allow the user to change data contained on its [[hard drive]] in the case of the Xbox. Another type of modding, known as [[hard modding]], is done by modifying the hardware, such as components connected to the [[Hypervisor]] in order to run exploits to the [[BIOS]] of the console or to run unsigned code and games. This form of 'modding' (more correctly termed as [[hacker (computer security)|hacking]]), while not as popular as softmodding, is mostly done as it is able to 'run' many different types of software. Soft modding is more popular because of its ease of installation and its relatively low price (it can even be done for free with the right tools).

Another type of console modding is about appearances, much like computer case modification. Which includes, adding lights (most likely [[Light-emitting diode|LEDS]], [[cathode]]s or other electro-luminescent lighting). Cutting the game system case, to fit hardware and/or expose the internal systems. Cooling is a large part of console hard 'modding', including: heat sink upgrades, more powerful or quieter fans, some even go so far as to abandon common heat exchange to air all together by liquid cooling a console (most notably in the [[Xbox 360]], which initially had some heat problems).

=== Game software ===
{{main|Video game modding}}

On the other side, some companies actively encourage modding of their products. In cases such as [[TiVo]] and [[Google]], there has been an informal agreement between the modders and the company in which the modders agree not to do anything that destroys the company's business model and the company agrees to support the modding community by providing technical specifications and information. Some commercial [[video game]]s thrive through a [[mod (computer gaming)|modding]] community. In the case of ''[[Half-Life (video game)|Half-Life]]'' and ''[[Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos|Warcraft III]]'', mods called ''[[Counter-Strike (video game)|Counter-Strike]]'' and ''[[Defense of the Ancients]] (DotA)'' respectively'','' drove sales of the original software for years.

=== Device drivers ===
{{see also|Unofficial patch}}
Modded [[device driver|drivers]] are made for improved performance which official versions of drivers do not offer or in cases where there are no official versions of drivers for new [[computer hardware|hardware]] designed for older [[operating system]]s such as [[Windows 98]].

=== Computer hardware ===
[[File:2014 Modding komputera 01.jpg|thumb|A [[desktop computer]] modded to have wires that [[fluoresce]] under UV light]]
{{Main|Enthusiast computing}}
[[Case modding]] may range from simple case (or ''chassis'') painting, to extensive case modifications with custom-fabricated pieces.  The terms ''modding'' and ''modder'' have expanded to encompass a broad range of customization by [[Enthusiast computing|personal-computer enthusiasts]], especially in [[Gaming computer|gaming PCs]], including: custom and homemade hard- and soft-line [[Computer cooling#Liquid cooling|liquid cooling]] loops; installation of [[LED]] strips and other lighting effects; replacement of stock cooling fans with high-performance ones (on [[Central processing unit|CPU]] coolers, power supplies, cases, drive bays, and other components); "[[delidding]]" of CPUs and [[Graphics card|GPUs]] to replace their stock [[thermal paste]] and pads with high-[[Thermal conductivity|thermal-conductivity]] ones; addition of individually sleeved (and often color-coordinated) cabling; replacement of various heat sinks with custom liquid-cooling water blocks on components normally air-cooled (e.g. [[Random-access memory|RAM]], GPUs, and [[Solid-state drive|SSDs]]); addition of new components not usually found in PCs, such as electronic timers or temperature and humidity alarms; custom soldering to replace or change the behavior of components; expansion of the motherboard's capabilities with [[PCIe]] add-in cards and risers (the latter also used to mount graphics cards sideways to show them off better); addition of server hardware into a consumer-grade system; and extensive [[overclocking]] through detailed benchmarking that seeks to squeeze out every last percentage of performance improvement without the system becoming unstable.