Anonymous Will Award $200,000 for Xbox Linux

An anonymous reader writes: "The X-box Linux Project at Sourceforge reports today that an anonymous donor will award nearly a quarter of a million dollars to the individuals responsible for the completion of a two-phased effort to run Linux on the Xbox. One can't help but wonder if this will help or hurt the community. On one hand, it is likely to generate additional interest in the project, on the other, some people may be less inclinded to share their discoveries with money on the line. Then again, getting both Money and Glory sounds pretty good."

Comments

Linux

[FigBugDeux]

I pay you $50 to get Linux running on my TRS-80

Re:Linux

[randomErr]

last time I tried the tulip driver failed to function on my Kingston ethernet card (a computer without access to the internet is pretty fricking useless these days).

Yeah, but think of the security.

Bad news for Linux?

[PhysicsGenius]

I can see a few bad outcomes. First, it will splinter the development community. There will be numerous sourceforge projects started, only to be abandoned when no one is skilled enough with GIMP to create themselves an icon. This is development effort that could have been directed towards making KDE themes and Linux will only suffer as a result.

Second, assuming someone succeeds, a large cash infusion has proved to be the downfall of many Linux companies. Roger Stallman was right, money is the "root" (ha!) of all evil, just look at companies like RedHat and VA Linux Something.

Third, even if they succeed and no one is killed in the process, what possible use could Linux be on an XBox? I heard they use some kind of proprietary game format that Linux won't be able to read anyway. "DVD" or something.

Re:weird way of saying $200,00

[Bouncings]

That's a really weird way of saying $200,000: "nearly a quarter of a million dollar"

yes, but then again, this is slashdot. Be glad they didn't say nearly a korter of a mellion" -- besides, it is roughly 25 cents after taxes and Microsoft legal action.

There are some things money can't buy

[roesti]

Task 1: Replacement BIOS - $55,000
Task 2: Kernel and XFree drivers - 25,000
Task 3: Kernel logic: FATX and miscellaneous - 10,000
Task 4: XBE bootloader $10,000
Run unsigned code on an Xbox without any hardware modification - $100,000

Making Microsoft sell streamlined Linux boxes below cost, and making the Xbox developers see their own horrified looks reflected in the surface of the Xbox-Linux CD you made: priceless.

Re:Hmm

[rodgerd]

I reckon it's Bill. He's actually a bit of a liberal at heart (look at Slate and all the money he donates to UN health programs), and now he's horrified by what Microsoft has become. Having lost control of the company to the brutal apelike Steve Ballmer, he's looking for ways to subvert it.

Bill is trapped, a prisoner in his own machine. His best chance for freedom is to destroy it. Won't you help Bill? Won't somebody think of Bill?

I can do this, but I'm not going to even try.

[Typingsux]

My bank won't cash a check made out by anonymous.