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Xbox Runs X, KDE, Gnome, StarOffice and Tuxracer
freax writes "Today in the the xbox-linux mailinglist:
I'm typing this into KMail using a USB keybaord (and a USB mouse) in front of the TV connected to the Xbox. ... and even StarOffice works quite fine. TuxRacer also runs (look at the new screenhots on the website), but only with one frame per second.
Check out screenshots here."
my first ;-)
Wow, just like my PC's linux box.
So the question now is whether you can run the X-Box emulator on the result.
Looking for an Information Security student project suggestion?
Try http://dotcrimeManifesto.com/
Microsoft looses once again!
I have an X-box, and NO games, just the DVD kit. (I entered the taco bell challenge 600 times!!) Now I can do something other than play DVD's on it!
--fetch daddy's blue fright wig, i must be handsome when i release my rage
Will linux on the xbox have good game support? ;-)
Does this mean someone will win get the $200,000 ?
I can spend $200 on a poor-quality, non-upgradable (and non-waranteed) Pentium III instead of building my own for about the same amount.
Now I can finally play TuxRacer at one FPS instead of all those crappy professionally made Xbox games!
Does anyone have some screenshots of the Xbox playing games with Wine running on X and Linux? Because if I can play PC games with Wine, X, and Linux on it (and a modchip of course), then I'll definitely get one.
I don't run any servers so I can't provide the bandwidth.
a PC!
[No wait! Zot!] NO CARRIER
"Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus."
This is fantastic, but the problem is the modchip, if Linux could be started without mod-chip. X-Box Linux will be a killer app!!!
Does the xbox have a video card with DRI support? That'd make the frame rate more reasonable...
Slashdot: Where people pretend to be twice as smart as they really are by behaving like children.
Just kidding.
NexuSys - Linux support by the best
with or without DRI enabled?
Samba, FTP, POP, NNTP, Squid, NFS, Grid engine.
:)
Y'know, all those services that an ISP or similar might find handy in a *big* server farm.
Hey, how's about a Beowulf of those.
Deleted
All this without the Anal Leakage (TM) that is the Xbox gamepad.
/^[A-Z0-9._%+-]+@[A-Z0-9.-]+\.[A-Z]{2,4}$/i
I'm typing this into KMail using a USB keybaord
Looks like it's a buggy USB keybaord.
Check out this picture.
"this is the beginning of microsoft's end."
Because everyone knows that Tux Racer is going to be the catalyst for change.
Oh, and GLTron.
This is the true beginning of a low cost, easy to use system. If the boot up totally doesn't destroy the system, for $200 you can get yourself a machine that:
This won't be perfection or anything as silly as that, but I'm curious to see where it goes. Great work to the team.
52 Weeks, 52 Religions with John Hummel
I'm typing this into KMail using a USB keybaord
:)
Looks like the xbox USB keybaord driver still has a few bugs in it...
Slashdot: come for the pedantry, stay for the condescension.
Is there any real advantage to doing this (graphics maybe??) on an X-box as opposed to a real pc or is just something to do when youre bored?
or just a DVD boot into Linux?
can you read/write from the hard drive?
I've never understood what all the fuss is about with Linux on the X-Box. Apart from being a fun hack, is there any point to this?
But wait, I can run Linux on my toaster, Look I opened a telnet session to my blender, ftp'd to my refigerator and I can finger my microwave - I am working on getting TUX Racer to run at 0.5 FPS - I'll post screen shots as soon as I do.
Not to slightly contradict my previous statement about building your own PC for the same price, but I do see one use: a networked audio appliance. The combination of the ethernet and digital sound output would integrate well into a home-theater setup. Good remote control and on-screen displays would round out the setup nicely. It would be much cheaper than Sonic Blue's solution.
How do we know the screenshots aren't created with a PC connected to the TV? :)
Go loss leader! I didn't really need another PC, but if me buying an xbox to use as a PC costs Microsoft money, then I guess I can find some use for it.
Everytime someone buys one of these and put linux on it, it COSTS MS money...
Lets drive them out of the console market an hurt them so much they dont come back.
"Consider how lucky you are that life has been good to you so far. Alternatively, if life hasn't been good to you so far
Is that an Amiga monitor?
if we went and did that, now would it. Where's the fun in that?
Deleted
xbox linux is ILLEGAL software. The developers have broken microsofts encryption to run their own ILLEGAL unlicenced software. This is a violation of the DMCA, and you could be SUED.
Hehe... I've been to enough computer shows to know that a box (be it Mac/PC/X-Box) sat next to a TV/monitor showing an interesting demo is just not something you can believe!
We all know that crap is king
Give us dirty laundry!
Check this out.
Some choice quotes:
Where was the idea to xbox-linux born?
To run unsiged code on the Xbox, wouldn't it be enough to write a boot loader, make someone with the SDK sign it and spread it on the internet?
Is your project illegal? Doesn't forbid the DMCA all this?
Finally I can start a web hosting business!
Thanks linux guy.
...you need capitalization ?
Watching the new He-Man and the Masters of the Universe movie last night brought so many emotions to me: joy, for seeing my favorite characters brought to the small screen once again; skepticism, in trying to believe these are the same characters as their original counterparts; and a sense of being overwhelmed, by the sheer number of revelations and surprises Mattel and Mike Young Productions managed to pack into an hour and a half of television.
Truly this is an historic moment for He-Fans everywhere. No longer is our favorite childhood hero banished to a one-time existence in the mid-1980s. Now it has been revived in a refreshing and powerful new series and toyline. Now our He-Man will take his place among the ranks of G.I. Joe, Transformers, Star Wars, and other franchise creations that have permanent appeal over many generations. What the new cartoon proves more than anything is that the concept for Masters of the Universe is timeless.
"The Beginning," which will be split into three "Origin" parts for regular airing, aspires to do something never before attempted in the Masters of the Universe canon. The original cartoon (and toyline) begin during He-Man's heroic career, never explaining how he got the sword or how his rivalry with Skeletor developed. Instead, we were fed constant hints as to how these things happened (Sorceress was assigned the job of giving the swords to their destined owners in "Origin of the Sorceress"), but never truly told the straight story on how a cowardly prince became the champion of Eternia. Mattel and Mike Young Productions have chosen not only to finally tell He-Man's origin story, but Skeletor's as well, interlocking the two permanently.
Skeletor's origin story still leaves many questions to be answered. The writers have chosen to use the Keldor tale first popularized in the 1986 series Mattel mini-comic, "The Search for Keldor!," which insinuated that Skeletor was King Randor's long-lost brother. Whether or not they are siblings remains a question mark, but what we do know is that Skeletor was once known as a goatee-sporting villain named Keldor (and goatees are always a sure sign of evil, right?). By the way Randor warns the Elders in the Hall of Wisdom, we understand that Skeletor and his army are fast approaching, threatening and invading every corner of Eternia. It is apparent that Randor and the Defenders (the new title of the Heroic Warriors that shows they are constantly on the defense against Skeletor) are struggling to keep the planet safe. While Mattel has chosen to show how Skeletor got his skullface, they have left the story of how Skeletor became Eternia's chief enemy up to question. This leaves all sorts of room for Hordak, King Hiss, and any number of threads to weave into Skeletor's past. But at this point in his life, Skeletor seems to have asserted his rightful place as Eternia's resident master of destruction and created a loyal band of warriors to fight his cause. When Skeletor and his forces attack the Hall of Wisdom, a clash with Randor leaves Skeletor faceless. When Skeletor tosses a vial of poison at Randor, he deflects it with his shield, and the poison sprays all over Keldor's face. The animators try so hard to make this a "Big, Important Moment" that they use dreadfully sluggish slow motion to It is thrilling to finally see Skeletor clutching his head screaming, "My face! My face!," and it is even more satisfying to know that Randor caused the deformation. If there was not hatred between these two before, there definitely is now. Mattel has worked hard to incorporate Randor more tightly into the He-Man/Skeletor rivalry and give Skeletor real motivation to detest the king of Eternia.
Another longtime hole in Skeletor's story has been how Eternia fought him all those twenty years while waiting for Adam to grow up and assume the powers of Grayskull. There have been many theories as to how this might be explained, but Mike Young Productions has come up with the best one I've heard yet. The Council of Elders banished Skeletor and his gang to Snake Mountain (in the "Dark Hemisphere," perpetuating the idea that Eternia has a dark half and a light half). The Sorceress and Man-At-Arms generated a mystic wall to imprison the villains in their own sub-world. This is the cartoon's first symbolic union of science and magic, as Man-At-Arms thrusts a generator into the ground and the Sorceress ignites it with her magic power. This is the first time in either cartoon series that the Sorceress has really performed a jaw-dropping magic spell. The shots of the mystic wall are breath-taking, and we understand immediately that this Sorceress will be a force to reckon with.
Unfortunately, the Sorceress is a failure. Gone is the maternity and soft-spoken spirituality of a kind-hearted woman in bird costume. She has been replaced by a female Egyptian pharaoh that speaks cold declarations and looks with hard eyes. I always imagined the scene when the Sorceress bestows the sword upon Prince Adam to be a beautiful, loving scene where the Sorceress would gently explain Adam's destiny as he, overwhelmed but fully aware of the moment's importance, dutifully accepted his new role. All hopes for such a moment are dashed by the icy Sorceress and frightfully bratty Prince Adam seen in "The Beginning."
Mattel has decided to make Prince Adam a boy and He-Man a man, which is a decision I very much approve. Michael Halperin, who wrote the original He-Man series bible, wanted Adam to be a teenager given the power to fight like a man, but Filmation nixed the idea in order to make He-Man and Prince Adam the exact same size and build to ease the difficulties of animating them. The new Adam provides endless avenues for personal growth and development. I think the writers chose to make Adam so unlikable in this first episode so that he would have some place to go and room to grow as the series fleshes him out. He certainly has the most potential of any of the characters in a series where the villain is usually the star. Adam's new look is a breath of fresh air, finally freeing him from that gaudy pink vest and giving him a look that crosses somewhere between Robin Hood and a punk rocker. The new story is more a fairy tale about how a child assumes the power to defeat bigger and stronger enemies, following classic myth-making principles.
But while writer Dean Stefan's decision to make Adam bratty now so he can become manly later is probably a smart one, it makes Adam's performance particularly hard to swallow. He jokes, chides, and ridicules the most important moments of his life, making him appear flippant and disrespectful. As soon as he meets the Sorceress, he makes a crack about sending her a birthday invitation (the guardian's silent response is the only moment when her frosty coldness truly works). Adam possesses reverence for almost nothing--his warrior training, his duties as a prince, his destiny as revealed in the legendary Castle Grayskull. Whereas his attitude in the old show was purely an act, this Prince Adam really does behave like this. It will be most interesting to see if, as Adam grows and accepts his challenges over time, he will grow out of his childishness and learn to act foolish only as a disguise for his secret identity. As told in "The Beginning," He-Man is merely a muscular costume for Prince Adam. Our hero is developed only minimally and possesses no life of his own. I always enjoyed in the old show how you could never really separate He-Man from Adam and vice versa--because even though Adam's behavior was all an act, his inner self was completely formed from the principles and strength of He-Man. One could not exist without the other, but there are times when Adam tires of being He-Man ("Into the Abyss") or outright gives him up ("The Problem With Power"). The writers for the new series seem to be going with the idea that Adam is the whole person and He-Man exists as an incidental, alternative form. If the writers are smart, they'll begin blending the two as the heroics of He-Man begin to have a maturing effect on Prince Adam. The new series promises us huge character development stories for Prince Adam, allowing us to fully understand the growing pains of suddenly becoming your planet's crowned champion.
Writer Dean Stefan produces an unexpected twist in the revelation scene at Grayskull when Adam completely walks out of it, mid-ceremony. Man-At-Arms, having known Adam's destiny all along (he and the Sorceress share a lot of secrets, don't they?), takes Adam to Castle Grayskull when he realizes the time has come. Adam hardly takes any of this seriously, which is a real shame. While I understand what the writers are trying to do, Adam's behavior subtracts not only from our love for him but also from the mystique of Castle Grayskull. If a teenage brat will not shut up when he enters Grayskull just from the feeling of being overwhelmed, then, well, he's a real brat. Adam's nonchalant attitude explodes when he declares, "I'm no great warrior. I'm just a kid. Thanks for the magic show," flagrantly refusing the Sorceress' offer. He flies back to the Royal Palace, where Skeletor and his minions have already wrecked havoc. Suddenly realizing that his family is in danger, Adam understands why he was asked to become a hero at this point in time. Some of Adam's behavior can be explained by his sheltered childhood lived in the safety of the Royal Palace. As Adam asks in his first scene, "What forces of evil? . . . They're history." He has never known evil, so how could he not have a carefree attitude about all this? By making Adam leave Grayskull prematurely, the writers force Adam to choose his destiny rather than have it simply bestowed upon him. Seeing the Palace in ruin, watching Man-At-Arms, his protector, jet off to the Evergreen Forest to join the fighting, hearing the words of his distraught mother, Adam has no choice but to return to Castle Grayskull and accept his adulthood. This plot twist allows Adam the power of choice and strengthens his character, even if it eschews the respectful scene I had always imagined in my head.
The problem with Adam's flippant attitude is that it belittles Grayskull in its very first scene, when it should feel the most powerful and grandiose. The director has chosen low angle and surveillance shots to give us a wide perspective on Castle Grayskull, mostly to make Adam feel small and lost in its expansiveness. The newly redesigned Castle Grayskull is another major weak point in Mattel's re-imagining of the old series. Rather than being a castle obscured by a twisting and elaborate Evergreen Forest, the new Grayskull is a vertical tower stuck in the middle of a jungle. It makes more sense now why no one could find Grayskull before, but that does not make for its frighteningly vertical design. Trying to better Filmation's Grayskull was a fruitless task from the beginning, since Castle Grayskull stands as the original He-Man's only true work of art. The huge jaw mouth, the deep, penetrating eye sockets, the animal-like body of the castle, its leg-like bones supporting its weight over the bottomless abyss, the organic green interior--how could the animators of today even begin to top all this? They don't even try. The new Castle Grayskull looks like any other stone castle with a skullface slapped on front. Instead of a dark interior that shifts and seems somehow alive, we are given dusty brick walls and empty corridors. The castle feels lonely more than anything else. The gargoyles peering from the rafters bring echoes of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" that I'd rather not acknowledge and, again, reduces Grayskull to a castle like any other. The designers give Grayskull no cohesive concept for its interiors. The entrance is a gothic stone corridor, the Sorceress's throne is an Egyptian pyramid, the labyrinth bears Roman coliseums, and the underground chamber is a haphazard mix between She-Ra's Crystal Castle and some vast region of outerspace (although the underground design certainly trumps all the rest of Grayskull). It's as if four different animators with completely different concepts for Grayskull decided they would each control a part of it. In the end, they succeed in making Grayskull into a confusing nothing. This is why the Sorceress's new Egyptian design does not fit in at all. If Grayskull were a pyramid, it would be appropriate, but not inside this castle. The Sorceress, the series's spiritual center, should be beautiful and simple, but the new design weighs her down with ornate designs and a heavy golden headdress. The new Castle Grayskull is this series' ultimate failure, unable to recapture almost any of the aura, suspense, or power of the original. Instead, it is an architectural mishmash.
The only attempt to capture the mystique of old comes when the Sorceress leads He-Man to the underground chamber. Her firefly light leads Adam through Grayskull's corridors, allowing for some of the best lighting and direction in the entire episode. As the Sorceress and Adam descend to the underground chamber, echoes of "Origin of the Sorceress" abound. Since that episode provides our only idea of what it is like to receive the powers of Grayskull, it becomes the benchmark by which this new scene must compare. And, unfortunately, it falls short. The underground chamber is the only Grayskull location that takes our breath away even for a second, as the crystalline expansiveness wows our eyes. The Sorceress sends a ray down into a black abyss, hinting that the abyss may be just as important in providing Grayskull's power as it was in the old series. An ornate chest rises out from the blackness, revealing Adam's sword. I do like that this entire sequence is free of dialogue, as if the Sorceress knew Adam's decision without asking him and he knew what to do without being told. But the scene lacks any pause, any breath, any learning. Adam picks up the sword with little or no hesitance, whips it above his head, and declares, "By the power of Grayskull!," without even the least bit of encouragement. Even Zoar had to have some coaching from Kodak Ungor before she could become the Sorceress again. In a few wild anime camera moves, Adam becomes He-Man in a shock of electric blue light. The transformation happens too rapidly without any of the reverence it deserves. This should have been a quiet, powerful moment as Adam accepts his destiny, but instead it barrels over Adam's "It's heavy" protest to reach the finished product, a sword-wielding muscle man named He-Man that almost seems foreign to the whole event.
He-Man himself appears oddly disconnected and undeveloped in his first outing. Having just been created, he lacks any real personality of his own. The writers have taken great pains to improve our hero from the one of old. He-Man's action sequences are a lot like his old ones (picking up a boulder, deflecting Skeletor's blasts, stopping a fall in mid-air by plunging his sword into the cliffside), but they are a lot harder for him to perform. Lifting a boulder appears to take all his strength, as he carefully cuts the rock with his sword, pulls it up from the ground, and takes his time rising from his knees to hold the boulder completely in the air. A huge problem in the original series was that He-Man appeared to do anything and everything almost effortlessly. When a hero is all-powerful, he becomes boring. The new series has taken great pains to show He-Man is strong, but his feats of strength are not necessarily easy. This allows room for He-Man to be weak, to fall, to make a mistake. Already the writers have cured one of the major ills of the old show. I particularly love it when He-Man catches Randor as they fall into the lava pits and Randor asks, "He-Man, you can fly?" in a stroke of comedic genius. He-Man, of course, can not fly, pointing out one of his weaknesses right from the start. He plunges his sword into the mountainside to stop, but fails, and he has to let go of Randor to make the second attempt work. This is far more dramatic than He-Man quickly and effortlessly saving the day. Unlike the original series, the action sequences of the new one will actually be interesting.
If there is any message the new series is trying to send us, it is this: THE ACTION SCENES WILL BE MUCH, MUCH BETTER. At least a third of "The Beginning" movie is spent on battles, pairing up different character so they can square off and demonstrate their weapons and abilities. Just like "Diamond Ray of Disappearance," Mattel is using this as a toy commercial to demonstrate all the "neat things" each character can do, enticing us to buy. But such commercialism can be excused because the animators go to great lengths to make these tiffs interesting and exciting. One of the major problems of the old series was the "one strike, you're out" formula, which dictated that any time a villain was struck, hit, or kicked, he was automatically defeated and completely out of commission. This is why battles on the old series happen so quickly and quietly: all it takes is one action for a hero to knock out the villain. The new series has much more faith in the resilience of its characters. When Man-E-Faces knocks Mer-Man down, he stands up again and whips out his sword (cleverly using his belt emblem to hide his sword). The villains are not defeated easily and the heroes are not perfect, making the action scenes far more intriguing. The heroes might actually lose against these ferocious enemies.
While I do not have space to talk about every character individually, I would like to write a few quick impressions about each one:
Man-At-Arms - a more quiet force than I first expected, he maintains his fatherly presence with a bit more strategic intelligence. His once useless battle mace can change shape and produce strategy plans, and he seems more like a middle-aged warrior than the aging engineer of old.
Man-E-Faces - one of the most useless characters of the original toyline, Mattel could have ditched him this time around. But instead, they are trying to finally integrate Man-E with the rest of the cast. He still has not found his place, but he is more active than I expected. The question still remains whether his shifting faces actually change his personality and his powers or if they do nothing to him at all.
Ram Man - does not really have much to do here, but maintains the clumsy, dumbfounded personality of old, and his beefier redesign fits his powers perfectly
Mekaneck - this new series works hard to give Mekaneck the purpose he never really attained in the original; the fact that his neck can bend and twist will aid that goal a lot.
Stratos - not much different from the Stratos of old, his main purpose is to be the Defender that can actually fly.
I was actually amazed at how much Mattel did NOT change from the original series. Most of the characters' redesigns are variations on the old ones, and they all possess the same powers and even the same weapons of the originals (and the cartoon has managed to integrate the weapons in ways that Filmation never bothered to).
Teela has a refreshing new anime look, given long ponytail hair and a ferocious, wide-eyed attitude. She does not seem nearly as reserved and harsh as the old Teela; in fact, she comes across as playful, youthful, and freed up. This allows her to have more of a bantering sibling relationship with Prince Adam than the almost parental relationship of old. The new show chooses familiar ground with which to introduce them--the traditional training sequence in the Royal Palace courtyard under the watchful view of Man-At-Arms. Returning to this place assures the audience that nothing has changed at all. Adam and Teela's spirited attacks on each other tell us right from the start that their attraction is more than just the kind of bond childhood friends share. Teela's backflips and snake staff action prove she will certainly have more than her fair share of great action scenes in the new series.
Orko remains surprisingly unchanged from the original series. His more wizardly outfit works well, but his high-pitched squealing and Freudian slips prove he will be comedic relief all over again. That will probably be okay, since the writers must know Orko was overused in the original show. The writers have done an excellent job of solving yet another mystery from the original series: how Orko found out Adam's secret (or why Adam would tell him it at all). Orko and Cringer follow Adam to Grayskull and witness his transformation, becoming the only two other than the Sorceress and Man-At-Arms to know the secret. I like that Cringer and Battle Cat are unable to speak in the new series. It allows Cringer to be frightened constantly without the whiny voice (he looks more like a real cat too). Battle Cat's new design is disappointing, however. The animators have scaled back his armor, but his head is way too small for his body. Orko, Cringer, and Battle Cat always bear the burden of being the funny sidekicks, and the jury is still out on exactly how they will function in this new series.
King Randor and Queen Marlena are remarkably muted in their twenty-first century redesigns. The gruffness of Randor's original voice is missing, and he almost sounds like he could be He-Man's age. The animators have chosen to dress Randor and Marlena in the same brown and orange colors, but this has a dulling effect. Whereas the original Queen Marlena, in her striking and simple green gown, provided a commanding presence even when she did not speak, the new Marlena seems quiet and unaware. She's a token mother figure without any of the intelligence and power of the original. I can hardly imagine this Queen Marlena being a headstrong astronaut from the planet Earth.
But while Mattel and Mike Young Productions have done a credible job with the heroes, their energies have obviously been better spent on the villains. Maintaining the looks and color schemes for the Evil Warriors, the animators have wisely sharpened the appearances and powers of Skeletor's ratpack. Here's my rundown:
Mer-Man - the Best Entrance award goes to Mer-Man, who pops out of a swampy pool in foreboding, grand style. The animators have taken away the bumbling oafishness of the original and made Mer-Man's fishy origins an asset. His razor-sharp teeth, piercing eyes, and throaty voice make him dangerous and full of malice. His scene with the giant floating blowfish goes on way too long, however, and having Man-At-Arms trapped in its belly is a little too "Jonah and the Whale" for my tastes.
Beast Man - the quintessential first henchman, Beast Man fails to return to his darker roots from the first episodes of the original series. Instead, the writers have opted to go with the bumbling, clueless Beast Man that became the norm. His chief allies appear to be the Griffins, which allow him to swoop in and rescue Skeletor whenever necessary. The scene where the two ride Griffins and the wind flies against them is one of the strongest sensory moments in the episode and proves that Beast Man is Skeletor's right hand man.
Trap Jaw - thankfully, Trap Jaw's foolishness has been reduced and his powers emphasized. His huge robotic arm supports almost any weapon, and he actually seems threatening now.
Clawful - the loneliest of Skeletor's first season band, Clawful was a villain who always had great potential with his echoing voice and devilish eyes. The new series kills that potential by giving him the idiot voice and brain that Trap Jaw abated. But, like all the other villains, his terrific redesign and blazing powers reveal a triumph of brawn over brain.
Whiplash - how did Whiplash get so big? He's huge now, and the better for it. His tail cracks down on Teela, and if that doesn't frighten a person, Whiplash sitting on you will.
Tri-Klops - the "odd man out" of Skeletor's original five cohorts (Beast Man, Trap Jaw, Evil-Lyn, Mer-Man, and Tri-Klops), Tri-Klops returns in this series with newfound purpose. His cyclops eye can shoot fire now (among other things, I'm sure), and his Doom Seeker robots attack when we least expect them to. The Doom Seeker have not been fully explained, but they add purpose to Tri-Klops. Expect a lot more from him in the future.
Of course the most improved villain is Evil-Lyn, who reaches her full potential in this new series. While the new design is a little too sticks-and-bones for me, the attitude and the power are all there. Whereas it was sometimes unclear her role in the original series, Evil-Lyn is undoubtedly second-in-command now. She stands alongside Keldor in his first scene, and takes over for Skeletor when he escapes with Randor. And just as Skeletor receives a tilting shot over his body upon entrance, so too does Evil-Lyn warrant a similar shot later on, proving that she is just as threatening. Her staff-length crystal ball is an improvement and her glowing purple eyes are a welcome addition to her sorceress ensemble. Whereas Evil-Lyn always seemed like Teela's evil counterpart in the original series, this Evil-Lyn positions herself far beyond Teela's level. As a longtime Evil-Lyn fan, it is a thrill to see her finally kicking butt. After Tri-Klops, Trap Jaw, and Beast Man each try to break the mystic wall, Evil-Lyn steps forward and declares, "Step aside, boys," and fires her magical best. While her attempt fails (allowing Skeletor to assume his rightful role as destroyer of the mystic wall), the sequence proves the hierarchy of the Evil Warriors and Evil-Lyn's place atop it. Perhaps no moment among the action scenes is more powerful than when Evil-Lyn sends a cosmic blast across the Evergreen Forest and turns it into a barren wasteland, turning the tables and making the Evil Warriors the team to beat. Never would the original He-Man series have produced a moment where it seemed so much like the villains would actually win. Skeletor's army is, on a hand to hand ratio, more powerful than He-Man's Defenders, allowing them to become the longtime threat legend has made them out to be. Now we understand why Eternia needs He-Man: these enemies are too strong for anyone but him.
Evil-Lyn's rise to power could not come without a hint of mutiny. Writer Dean Stefan chooses to end the episode with a tacked-on scene where Evil-Lyn questions Skeletor's authority. "Perhaps you think you could run things better than I," Skeletor coldly says to Evil-Lyn, eliciting the conciliatory reaction he wanted from her. The scene is rather useless in "The Beginning," but it does promise plenty of classic tension between these two power-starved villains. Evil-Lyn will be her own force in this new series.
But just like "Diamond Ray of Disappearance," the true star of this premiere episode is Skeletor. Retaining the wit of the original, this Skeletor is far more powerful and threatening than ever before. His voice leaves much to be designed, but Mattel has successfully re-imagined him as a warrior. The new Skeletor is far more physical, allowing him to fight He-Man almost equally. His flips and jumps into the air, his amazing sword slashing, and his dynamic mid-air moves all reveal the potent influence of anime on the new Masters of the Universe. Skeletor can do almost anything, and that makes him a stronger villain. Thankfully, the animators have brought back the Havoc Staff and added a royal cape, giving Skeletor a captive elegance and form he did not quite possess before. The director has overused the red eyes glowing, which are supposed to signal the moments when Skeletor gets most angry. The red eyes were used throughout original He-Man memorabilia, but Filmation chose to resist it. It was inevitable that the new cartoon would employ the red eyes, but the animators should be frugal with their usage. On the other hand, director Gary Hartle chooses brilliantly to obscure Skeletor's skullface until he finally reveals it to King Randor, the man he blames for his deformation. As Randor wisely responds, "You did it to yourself," cleverly pointing out that Skeletor's evil will poison himself and ultimately bring his downfall. Obscuring Skeletor's face, shrouding him in darkness, and granting him legendary fighting skills and magic powers have bolstered Skeletor to the level he was always meant to achieve--a serious, powerful supervillain almost incapable of defeat. Skeletor still delivers terrible dialogue about threatening He-Man and ruling Eternia, and he still surrounds himself with blundering idiots (he gets annoyed with Beast Man), but he's a much stronger villain than the one Alan Oppenheimer voiced (even if Oppenheimer's Skeletor laugh was much better). As always, Skeletor remains the star of He-Man's show.
Mattel and Mike Young Productions have done an amazing job of streamlining and retelling the often incongruous He-Man mythology. The Hall of Wisdom, which never appeared in the original series, finally establishes the Council of Elders as the center of wisdom and power in Eternia. When Keldor attacks the hall, the Elders vanish and declare Captain Randor king of Eternia (finally proving that Randor rules over all, not just part, of the planet, but vanquishing the King Miro mythology of the old series). The Elders' disappearance marks a powerful shift for all of Eternia. Randor, standing alone in the now empty hall, hears only the voice of the Sorceress in falcon form. She declares, "Peace will come only for a time. A hero shall emerge to protect Eternia." Director Gary Hartle takes care to obscure the Sorceress until Adam meets her, cleverly hiding her in shadowed shots of her wings. The Sorceress explains to Adam that the Elders joined their powers and gave their energy to the Sorceress to protect. While this would seem to answer the question "What is the secret of Grayskull?," it does not quite make sense. If the ultimate power of Grayskull is the the power and knowledge of the Elders, then what did Grayskull exist before they stored their power in it? Why was the Sorceress living there? When Skeletor grills King Randor for information, he asks, "Now that the Council of Elders is no more, who controls the power of Eternia now?" What is this power of Eternia? Does it allow one to control Eternia, or the entire universe? Is is simply the knowledge and power of the original Elders? And why did Grayskull exist before it became the storage place for that power? Since Skeletor is still looking for the Elders, he does not even realize that Grayskull exists, adding an interesting new twist to the mythology. Skeletor will not attack Grayskull until he learns that the Elders' power is stored with in it. I am hoping that Grayskull houses more than just the Elders' magic. The original Grayskull kept its secret mysterious, but always offered the power to control the universe. This new series does not quite say if Grayskull offers this kind of power anymore or if the "power" is just the concentrated wisdom of Eternia's oldest Elders.
Furthermore, is the Hall of Wisdom still standing? With all the energy put into creating the Hall of Wisdom at the beginning of this movie, we would expect its presence to continue. I wish the animators had put as much effort into Grayskull as they did the hall. The opening shots and music in "The Beginning" are unrivaled by the rest of the story. On the whole, the music is banal and disinterested, providing more coverage than truly adding excitement. Places where the music should have provided the most emotion (such as Adam receiving the Power Sword) is where it remains the most unmemorable. The direction is vastly improved, showing what twenty years can do to children's animation. The moving camera shots, low angles, and blazing action cuts show the new influence of anime and modern cinema on animation. Director Gary Hartle has done a supreme job of making the once stagnant He-Man characters practically jump off screen.
The new He-Man series brings almost hundreds of welcome improvements upon the original, including better action scenes, better continuity, and darker villains, but it fails miserably when it comes to voices. King Randor and Mekaneck and Man-At-Arms all sound like the same person. Skeletor's voice is hollow and posses none of the resonant vocals of Alan Oppenheimer. He-Man's voice sounds the way a boring muscle-man's should, lacking any of the maturity and moral depth of John Erwin's performance. Even Evil-Lyn, who has the best voice of all the new characters, sounds grainy and desperate when listened against the golden confidence of Linda Gary's witch. All the characters look fantastic, but when they open their mouths, I want to cry.
Still, my complaints are largely nitpicky. Mattel and Mike Young Productions have overcome the major hurdles by firming up the mythology, finally telling the origin story of He-Man, and re-envisioning the entire cast of characters without taking away the appearances, powers, and personalities that first made us love them. I am impressed by how much has not changed, and most of the changes are welcome improvements upon the original series. Executive producer Bill Schultz has succeeded in guiding this new series to its rightful place. On the whole, "The Beginning" is off to a great start.
What type of monitor is he using? Can you directly plug in any PC monitor into the back of an x-box or do you need an adapter? Will all usb keyboards/mice work?
Nice work so far. You all should be proud.
Dawn of the Dead
Dude, you need to take your camera back to whereever you bought it. There's some really fucking annoying penguin stuck to the lens that's being included in every shot.
I can't believe you haven't noticed it.
Invoicing, Time Tracking, Reporting
so it's the same as a normal pc with a geforce then
**boom boom**
it's a video appliance too, you can have it decode mpeg2 and divx files, store them on your file server, and watch your divx movies from any tv in the house (provided you have RJ-45 jacks nearby). now that is the cool part.
ChopSuey
Then he would have enough money to buy a beowulf cluster consisting of 1001 of them (Including the own he currently owns ;-) )
This expensive cluster would probably run a modified version of Tux Racer at a decent number of FPS.
Is http://www.xbox.com/ hosted on a XboX running Linux with Wine + IIS ??? ;-)
I'd love to see that
"If you keep an open mind people will throw a lot of garbage in it."
How far are we from a Linux distribution for the Xbox that can be booted from CD? I think that would be great for a web server farm (or a home web server).
How good of a Linux PVR would this make?
I think this is more of a lesson to MSFT about what precautions you need to make for a DRM box to really work!
The power consumption and heat would kill your server farm. A typical 1U rackmount box takes 1/10th the power and generates 1/10th the heat as an XBox. Over the long haul (12 months) what you save in upfront cost you lose in electrical and cooling bills - nevermind the cost to lease more floor space for the larger XBox boxes.
1. Get new pants
2. Go to bed
Is it good, or is it whack?
We should all watch He-Man. The hero of an Ayrean nation. Blond hair. Blue eyes. Iron Cross on his chest.
HEIL HITLER!
God creates man... Man creates computer... Gates creates microsoft.... microsoft creates most sucessfull OS on the market... DOJ distroies microsoft... Linux inherits the earth.
It's even true on a Microsoft piece of hardware. How 'bout them apples Gates?
To all those people who think buying an Xbox and running Linux is good because it causes Microsoft to loose money, your better off not buying an Xbox. Microsoft has already taken a loss on those nice shiny new Xboxes that you see in the stores. By buying them you are helping Microsoft recoup $200. If you don't buy the Xbox then Microsoft is out an additional $200.
And if you want to keep Microsoft out of the console market your better off buying a Playstation 2 and some games. Building up Sony's market share is more likely to keep Microsoft from making an Xbox2 then Linux Xbox. Of course , Sony's business practices aren't much better then Microsoft, but that is going way off topic.
What we really need to get running on this is xmame. Nearly 3500 arcade games on your living room television set!
Now there's $200 worth of entertainment!
If you're a zombie and you know it, bite your friend!
Microsoft Biznatches!!! Ahahahahahha oh the fucking humiliation. That stupid Monkey prancing around the stage is gonna be eating his shit. 'I love this company' my fuckin arse. hehehehe.
... we used to buy game machines to play games, not turn them into half-assed computers.
"Derp de derp."
...for Linux but big crash for Pd ;o) (I think MS is testing some basic components here - running signed code only, special BIOS etc. etc.)
I think that might be a more interesting feat.
You know, people have been saying this since at least the Intellivision. Try #1 Try #2 (And something for the 2600 is niggling at my brain... there might have been something for that, too.)
After 20+ years of this line... I'll believe it when I see it. Not one second sooner. And with Microsoft fighting this tooth and nail... frankly, the Dreamcast had a much better shot here (what with most or all of them able to run custom CD-ROMs with no modifications to the unit), and it didn't happen either.
whoop-dee-freakin'-doo!
Why does this sig rock so hard?
Comment removed based on user account deletion
It was free. And I only had to stab one stupid honky for it.
You're an idiot. Pure and simple.
If you DO buy an X-Box even without buying any games you are still giving MS $200.
If you do NOT buy an X-Box, MS gets NOTHING from you. That costs them more than simply buying the X-Box and then not buying any games.
Mac OS X and Windows XP working side by side to fight back the night.
Check out screenshots here.
The monitor looks a lot like a Commodore 1902A. I think they're just faking us out with some Commodore-64 graphics!
Oi, just because it is a video doesn't mean that it can be believed. You can rent a James Bond movie at Blockbuster where it actually looks as if he can singehandedly save the world - without getting his tie out of place!
With a little bit of video editing experience I could put together a video showing you where I just put together some code and voila - there is a new OS on the screen of my PC!
However, all the cynicism aside - I doubt these guys would do that as it would be a fair bit of effort and they would be nailed fairly soon.
--
Employing incompetence: $35/h
Fixing the resulting mistakes: $1000's
Employing me: Priceless
The means is upon us at last to fairly compare the power of the two systems - the ultimate benchmark, Tux Racer!! Can the PS2 Linux system beat 1 FPS?
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
at this rate, we'll only have to buy up a shade over 26 million of these puppies to eat up Microsoft's $4 billion cash reserve. The Empire is about to fall!
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum viditur
*MY* Xbox runs tux racer at 2 frames per second, because I was l33t and overclocked it.
Hah, all you suckers running Microsoft dictated specs! I laugh at you!
Can you imagine a beowulf clust...er...nevermind.
In college, really poor, need a flatscreen.
Gee, so it's all the fault of the liberals...
Funny how none of those commie European countries got attacked! (Let alone those soft Canadians, suspect Aussies like me and traitorous New Zealanders). By the standards of the rest of the world even Clinton was well and truly to the Right.
There's one reason for September 11 and one only: US foreign policy in the Middle East. It's not about democracy, it's not about wealth. No other developed country has been attacked or looks likely to be.
Americans like you, with your head stuck several meters (sorry, feet; that's right, you can't even organise yourselves to use a standard weights and measures system) are the reason your nation has become so totally loathed worldwide. Simplistic spoilt brat, retard, militarist, military service dodger and ex-coke user Bush is a wet dream come true for people like you.
Problem is that no matter how many troops Bush sends into the Middle East there'll be more September 11s to come as long as the US (a) continues to support corrupt puppet governments in the area (b) outrageously favours Israel (c) conducts foreign policy in the area with all the subtlety of a rhino that's just had its balls cut off.
3,000 people die as a result of box cutters. Response - ballistic missle defence. If it weren't so tragic I'd be laughing myself sick...
If you DON'T buy an X-Box it costs them $200, doesn't it? $200 > $150 moron.
People have said this in other forms, but no one's summed it up so far.
When it comes down to it, why do most people use Windows? Not because it's simple or Linux is complex - most computer users couldn't install or manage Windows configurations, so the added complexity of Linux wouldn't make much of a difference if the defaults (a la Mandrake) were any good. Not because it's more familiar (Start Panel, anyone?), or because it runs their productivity apps (most people can be set up with OpenOffice and not notice a difference).
People use Windows because it's got the games. As commentators have said time and time again, the computer industry is driven by gamers. No one buys a Pentium 4 2GHz computer with a GeForce 4 Ti because they want to run Office, eh? Geeks resort to dual-booting, Linux for most tasks and Windows for games, while most users simply use what works best - Windows for everything.
Now, with Xbox, there's an opportunity. Games, by their very nature, defy multitasking. When you're playing a game, you're not doing anything else, period, and you expect real-time performance from your computer. No file/print serving in the background, no preemptive multitasking meaning that your game is only running half as fast as it could. The computer should be doing nothing else but running a game. When you put a game into a console, it loads up that game, isn't running anything else in the background, and thus can (theoretically) give you better performance than any desktop with a full-blown OS can.
So, suppose you had an Xbox with Linux installed. A user decides they want to type a document, or surf the web; they boot up Linux, and can open Moz or OO. Then, they decide they want to use a game. They shut down Linux, put the game CD/DVD in the Xbox, and load it up.
Essentially, users have the benefits of a dual-boot situation without the downsides. Games are fully integrated, having every piece of software you need to run them built-in to the disc; the fact that it uses DirectX behind the scenes is irrelevant. And when you're not gaming, you load up Linux, which requires almost no configuration because it's for a standard PC configuration; the Xbox, in fact, may soon be the most ubiquitous PC configuration (plurality) anywhere.
Users are happy because they get a $200 computer that they can use equally well with a TV, HDTV, or computer monitor; and due to its compact nature, could easily be transported from room to room if need be. Microsoft is happy because people are buying Xboxes, which means they buy games; so MS still ends up making a profit, because most people who buy the Xbox are going to get at least one game (which puts MS almost at break-even).
OMFG!!! It's funny 'cause Window$ suxs!!! HA HA HA!!!
Tell that to everyone who plays games.
Mine plays a fantastic game of Halo. My friends love to come in, grab some couch and a controller, and blow off some steam. It's called entertainment, and socialization, and fun. You know, fun? What you see everyone else having?
That contradicts your previous statement, you fucking dumbass. You said "Here in Europe", yet here you claim to be in the Czech republic?
No contradiction. Czechy is on the continent of Europe but is not part of the European Union.
Such a shame the psx2 is pants in comparison to the xbox eh?
Around the time the X-Box came out, didn't some bozo at MS say that if someone were to get LINUX to run on it, there would be a job waiting for them?
Walmart sells $200 PCs now. These would make a better PC than an Xbox.
Religion is the main cause of atheism.
Yes, because the PS2-linux system supports accelerated 3D graphics. The XBox might too, in a while.
It's hard to be religious when certain people are never incinerated by bolts of lightning.
The question, of course, being which evil empire you'd rather support less.
> The only harm you'd do is to the game companies
> trying to sell games. Not cool. Not cool at all.
No, screw em hard and screw em now. Any company that gets in bed with M$ gets screwed into the ground eventually. Best they get burned now while they still have other markets. They can take a hit to their stock price, what they can't take is allowing M$ to run Nintendo & Sony out and then be forced to assume the position, leaving M$ the only game company.
Democrat delenda est
First, only fixed costs decrease as volume increases. Since the xbox is basically a lower end pc (which is a mature and highly competitive market), I am willing to bet my Economic's degree that the majority of their costs are variable in nature (very easy MES point, not ideal for monopolies, low fixed costs).
Second, the unbought xbox verse hacked xbox losses to MS projection is correct in a per box analysis. However, total losses will be much higher from the hacked xbox due to the asymetric nature of information in these circumstances.
Third, these guys are "cool" (check out their music videos). At every point of the development of Linux, there was always someone there to complain that it just didn't make sense to port to this platform or write a clone of that application. After a decade of stubborness, the community has something to brag about, and humanity has a tool that does not discriminate based on the distribution of wealth.
In conclusion, there is no corporate front sacred from the scrutiny and manipulation from those possessing the ability to do so. Corporations are the creations of man and, therefore, must be constantly judged by man. If a corporation were to fall from grace in the eyes of individuals savvy enough and many enough, its fate would be sealed. In the end, I do not see hate as being their motivation, but their belief that what is good, will continue to survive. Their job is simply to hasten our journey to that conclusion.
Sdelat' Ameriku velikoy Snova!
Which gives me an idea. As long as Microsoft wants to continue to compete in the low end they mush make DRM truly optional. Their software is now the most expensive part of a computer. The hardware has been getting cheaper and cheaper and ther software is getting more expensive. Otherwise the cost of closed hardware will drive the demand for alternitives and drive MS into Apple territory. Afterall, if MS is able to fritz chip all pcs, what will be the difference between PCs and Apples. Not a whole lot.
You need at least 30 gigs for 6 hours.
With an 8 gig XBox drive you can tape just 1.5 hours.
Loose != Lose
Look it up!
-- Give him Head? Be a Beacon? :P)
(If you can't figure out how to E-Mail me, Don't.
My question (which I'm sure others have also raised), is why it is a good thing if Microsoft doesn't make an Xbox2?
I'm not attacking neverkevin.... I'm just curious as to what people are thinking. Making Microsoft lose money on the XBox will only cause them to shut down the XBox unit. It's not really going to hurt their Windows or Office units.
Isn't competition a good thing? Even though I have no wish to see Microsoft dominate the set-top-box market, their huge budget and presence forces all others to continue with innovation.
I enjoy seeing boxes hacked, like the Dreamcast. I also like seeing Linux being used in creative locations. But I wouldn't go as far as to say we should somehow drive a potential competitor out of a market.
(\(\
(^.^)
(")")
*beware the cute-bunny virus
> Isn't competition a good thing?
Yes.
> Even though I have no wish to see Microsoft dominate the set-top-box market, their huge budget and presence forces all others to continue with innovation.
But that is Microsoft's MO. Their huge budget and presence WILL be used to force all others out of the market.
Bad actors are bad actors. They need to be replaced by good actors, not appologized for. People have to realize that it is OK to "kill" a Microsoft for it's abysmal behavior. A fully capable replacement WILL pop up, and it WILL have learned better.
You worry too much, it won't happen. I'm not gonna buy a DRM enabled motherboard/cpu until I've found a hack for it on the net.
They use this type of monitor because it has a composite connection. This is the easiest way of connecting the Xbox to a monitor.
My Xbox is now an X box, because it runs X.
Xbox Media Player lets you watch streaming videos (divx,avi,mpg etc) and listen to mp3s store on your PC. Have been playing with it all week.
AND ITS FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It says something like 'runs with slight modifications'. *MEEEEP!*
Wrong answer.
200K still waiting for anyone who dares to go for it.
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
While hacking the XBox to put Linux on it may hurt Microsoft, it isn't cheap enough or available to enough of the market that the Microsoft XBox targets to cause Microsoft concern.
However, it is still cool. Microsoft is a company that makes products. You may love the products, or you may hate the products. You may love the way that Microsoft practices business (i.e. you go to business school), or you may hate it (i.e. you sell competing software, and MS just stripped you of your market share with some product integration).
Anyway, the XBox is a cool product, and for a small fee, you can buy a hardware hack that voids your warranty (not like you care at this point) and lets you do more with the hardware. If that is running XBox Linux, then by all means, run XBox Linux. If that means running DivX and MP3 from your XBox, then that's cool. If you want to throw up a game of Quake 2 or something on your TV, all power to you.
However, as much as I think that XBox hacking is cool, please buy the software that you use on it. Pirating software sucks. Yeah, yeah, we all pirate software is no excuse to be stealing someone else's property, and if piracy becomes the number one reason to get a mod chip, then Microsoft will start suing mod chip manufacturers over DMCA laws and winning (all the mod chips do is defeat the encryption mechanism), and then you ruin it for everyone.
I personally love the ability to run my Farscape DivXs off the XBox rather than having to use my old PC with the TV Outs. It's far more convenient to just put in the DivX CDs into the tray than it is to go into the back room and setup the divx program and run around so I don't miss the first few seconds... All I need now is the ability to record the TV and encode it to DivX without my old PC... I guess I can wait for the Windows Media Center edition and buy another expensive hardware toy.
Ah well, that's what happens when you come out of college to find cash burning a hole in your pocket.
I see a lot of people justifying the worth of this port. Some people say it's "sticking it to Microsoft". Others say it creates well needed negative publicity for DRM. But I'm not seeing a lot of people talking about the obvious benefit: MORE VALUE FOR THE CONSUMER!
Imagine a CD from AOL with Mozilla on it. The only instructions required are "Insert this disc into your X-Box". The CD connects to AOL automatically. You enter a unique code (perhaps printed on the CD sleeve) and the login process is completed. In under a minute you're sending and receiving email and browsing the web. Text entry could be via an on-screen "virtual keyboard" or a USB keyboard with an appropriate dongle.
Don't like the ISP idea? How about a Logitech USB keyboard bundled with a complete office suite on an X-Box disc. Automatic bootstrap straight into OpenOffice. Files are saved to the conveniently included hard disk. Logitech can bundle appropriate dongles to connect their USB keyboard and a USB printer to the Microsoft-USB ports. Home users who can't afford (or don't want) a PC can still reap the benefits of a word processor at home.
This is a huge opportunity for companies to to reach a wider audience. Linux is irrelevant. What is relevant is APPLICATIONS and a closed well-defined system that can run them. If you only think of an X-Box as a games console then you're not going to be convinced. If you think of it as a cheap computer with a hard disk and broadband connection that millions of people have in their homes, then you'll understand that Linux/X-Box really is important.
... but I think that people buy game consoles to have fun. If some people are having a lot of fun by fiddling around with the Xbox doing anything, loading Linux on it inclusive, I think that thats good. I'm not so sure this is hurting M$ very much, it seems to me that this is bringing it additional publicity, not to mention the number of linux-geeks who will be buying Xboxes to try it out! just a thought
if it was running FreeBSD instead
You finance MS but that means you cost them cash.
Lets see, situation 1, you buy a Xbox,
MS invests around 350 in each Xbox: -350
You buy an Xbox: +200
Total for MS: -150 (plus the potential to recoup money via games, because you will buy games once the box is gathering dust there).
Situation 2, you don't buy a Xbox,
MS invests around 350US$ in each Xbox: -350
Total for MS: -350. Full stop, you will not buy games even if you were tempted to.
Now tell me, what costs MS more?
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
I have to deal with MS software and servers all day long and they suck. However while i do not like what MS intentions with xbox are(ie dominate yet a another market) i do think the xbox is a fantastic little box. If you are running linux on it just to say you can do it great. But dont think that it is hurting them, your are doing for more to help MS then Bill could ever hope to buy. Free publicity! The best way to fight MS is to deny them existance. How many of these are going to get converted world wide a few hundred maby a 1000 tops. Bill spends that kinda of money on breakfest. Stop kidding your self people you are helpping him not hurtung him.
Linux modi 2.6.26-2-parisc
Xbox definitely has the advantage over the PS2 for running linux, as Xbox is nothing more than a stripped down pc. It is good for those people that tied up a lot of money in the Xbox, now they have more use for it. Although linux runs on the PS2, it's not going to be the primary reason people buy a PS2 because many linux programs require more porting to work on the non-intel PS2 system- more people will continue to buy the PS2 because that is where the most/best games are. Linux is great, I use it exclusively but when it comes to games, nothing beats the PS2.
>>>please remove "nospam" from email address
Maybe I am missing something, but why would I want to use a Xbox running linux? True, the hardware is very cheap, but: on the one hand there are no good linux games I would want to play on the linux-Xbox. On the other hand the hardware isn't fit to be used as a cheap replacement for e.g. a router or a workstation for development or office applications. I dont see the point.
Competition is a great thing. It is what encourages capitalist companies to improve their products. Without competition the only motivation left is for them to improve their profit. Since Microsoft have clearly shown that they are not interested in beating their competition with a better product instead resorting to underhand monopolistic practices, lawsuits and atempting to buzzword their way into the next generation (.NET), I have no interest in seeing competition from them anymore. The sooner they get the fuck out of the market the better.
as my bedroom tv. And of course whenever i wanna play some c=64er games...
> When you're playing a game, you're not doing anything else, period, and you expect real-time performance from your computer.
:-) since it is adjacent to my consoles.
For most games & gamers, yes, I would agree - the game IS the computer.
However I can provide a few examples where that's not 100% correct.
When I was playing UO, I always had UO Assist, ICQ, and UO Map running. Other guilds (usually PK ones) ran IRC in the background. Why? Because the game didn't provide the proper tools to automate a lot of tedious activity / communication.
In D2X, I usually alt-tab out to RuneWizard (to check rune words), to diabloii.net (to check stats on items), to ChippyDips skill calc, and/or to my spreadsheet template of my character's stats/skills.
Another example: Playing a (single player) rpg/shooter, and I'm stuck for the past 30 mins. I tried everything I can think of, but it hasn't helped. Alt-Tab out to google or gamefaqs and hit the walkthru to get a hint. I know it would of been a huge PITA to quit the game, load the browser, check the info, then restart the game.
Granted, I'm a power-gamer, but I can't be the only one, who finds it extremely frustrated when I can't alt-tab out of a game on my computer.
Now for a console, there is no need to switch to another app in the middle of game, since you can't anyways. However, that doesn't mean you don't want access to other info when you are playing the game! What I do instead is use my main computer to load up the FAQs
i.e. I want to try out some of the interesting cheat codes in GTA3. Pause the game, look at the computer beside me, then go back to the game.
My $0.03
Cheers
What is worse? A monopoly on closed source OS, or the extinction of the pc? If Sony and Disney get it the way they want, the PC dies and a DRM Microsoft machine replaces it. Microsoft would be more than happy to just sell Office and WinXX with a subscription model giving them say $150 a year for 95% of all desktop PCs. They would NEVER have pusshed for DRM if they didn't think it would be mandated by law. Now they are just making sure they still sell 95% of all OS's (the fact that they now will sell 100% doesn't hurt, but that cannot be why MS is doing this).
Still off topic, but Sony ain't better at all.
- Ost
---- Sig. gone.
SHUT THE FUCK UP WITH THE MICROSOFT-LOSES-MONEY-THING! IT IS NOT FUNNY ANYMORE!
I fucking type in caps if I want to, you lame filter. I fucking type in caps if I want to, you lame filter.
To clear up a few things for people.
The xbox can be connected to a VGA monitor with an adapter.
The Modchip bios replacements are now so easy that even an idiot can install them. Basically its place the module over the lpc bus , heat up some points with a soldering iron. Then attach one wire. Takes all of 10 minutes.
You can replace the xbox hard drive with another drive. I use a 40GB drive in mine.
Xbox linux has the ability to read and write FatX just fine.
Once chipped it has full network capability. You can assign it an ip, ftp to it, telnet, etc.
It allows copying of your purchased games to the xbox hard drive for playing. Enabling you to put 20 games on the drive and never have to load up the original. No more disc swapping between games . Go to your friends house and just take the box, no dvd's need be carried.
Linux on xbox is progressing nicely. Give us all time to figure out the format of the xbox hardware.
Emulators are around such as Xmame, Xsnes, etc which contain all the roms on one disc with the emulator, so its boot and play.
There are also media players which allows playing of divx, vcd, avi, mpg, mp3, dvd. Either from the drive or the xbox hard drive, and yes even over the network.
Xbox infared interface has been cracked so remote control function is now useable and reprogrammable to whatever you want to use it for.
People are starting to work on an open source xbox sdk for home brew game design. I personally would love to write my own xbox titles that run under linux or the xbox itself.
I really can't see anyone not wanting one with all of these features and more to come.
Thank goodness someone else finally noticed. The misuse of the word "loose" on Slashdot and elsewhere on the internet really bugs the holy hell out of me. I would have sworn that I was the last english-speaking person on the planet that knew the difference and that the next edition of the OED would cave in and rewrite the definition.
Maybe I just need to spend less time reading Slashdot.
It may seem strange to buy a "PC" from Microsoft to run Linux, but let's look at it a little closer.
Microsoft LOSES money with each XBox sold. They hope to recoup that money by selling licenses to the game manufacturers. So, if say a few million XBoxes were to be sold without any game purchases it'll go straight to MS's bottom line. (So maybe it's not as ironic as it might seem.)
--- I wish I could hear the soundtrack to my life. That way I'd know when to duck.
...what happens when better integration prevents you from being able to "chip" a machine?
Anyone out there know how much it would cost to put the important parts of a PC onto one chip using modern manufacturing techniques? This would mean anything significant to DRM (cpu, audio, and graphics) would need to be in one package soldered to the circuit board. I suppose it would have to include encrypted IDE and memory busses, too. If this can be done within the price ranges typcial for a PC, it will be done, and we really need to worry about it.
Healthcare article at Kuro5hin
Let's see, 19 individuals, presumably trained and financed by Al Qaeda, led and mostly financed by bin Laden, hijack 4 airplanes and kill 3,000 people and it's ALL CLINTON'S FAULT!!
The Bush administration had been in office for 1 1/2 years, and even had information that something big was going down, but they weren't able to do anything about it, and it's ALL CLINTON'S FAULT!! (Some even suggest that maybe they let it happen to give them carte blanche to do anything they want, you certainly would be suggesting the same thing if it had happened on Clinton's watch, wouldn't you?)
G.H.W. Bush left Saddam in power, and also left 6,000 troops in Saudi Arabia (which is one of the main reasons Osama declared war on the US, according to him), and it's ALL CLINTON'S FAULT!!
Look, Clinton certainly bears some responsibility to this, but to say the he's SOLELY RESPONSIBLE is idiotic. Do you really believe that? You need to pull your dittohead out of your ass, shut off Rush Limbaugh and take a look around.
If the Democrats and Clinton/Gore are so terrible, why did more people vote for Gore than for Bush? If everything was as plain and obvious as you say, why did over 51 million Americans not feel that GWB was the best choice?
Things aren't black and white, bucko. Most politicians are corrupt one way or another, your boy George (pun intended) is no different. If the things that happened during Enron and the other scandals happened under Clinton, you and all your dittohead buddies would be screaming bloody fucking murder. But since it was your boy, it's your turn to say, "There's no evidence, and if the courts don't find anything Bush is innocent, and we shouldn't have a Senate investigation, that will just waste tax payer money divide the country." Sound familiar?
Of course, I don't know why I'm bothering saying all this to you. You already have your mind made up and refuse to consider any opinion that doesn't run perfectly in line with your little dittohead world.
Have a great day!
/.: why the hell am I here?
At least learn some better insults.
Hrm....
You're one of those idiots...
Please tell me where in my post I advocated non-violence or downsizing the military? Gee, you're not being presumptuous, are you? I'm pro-gun ownership, pro-strong military (we should be paying our military personnel much better than we are), pro-tax reduction. I'm also pro-marijuana decriminalization, pro-gay rights (including marriage) and pro-choice. Hmm, seems I'm really all about promoting FREEDOM AND LIBERTY, aren't I? Pretty tough to stick me in a box and slap a label on it.
Oh, and your use of the word 'demagogue' pretty much ices the fact that you're a dittohead, especially since you use it incorrectly, like Rush usually does. I suggest you look it up, webster.com is your friend.
Bush got more votes than Gore.
Uhh, you wanna come forth with your 'source'? Here's mine:
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2000/results/
Those are minor pecadillos inflated by a bullshit war on drugs mentality.
Hmm, who started the 'War on Drugs'? Oh, that's right, Reagan and Bush! Remember recently when the republicans were all over Clinton because of the rise in drug use amongst teenagers? Did you know that arrests for marijuana possession doubled under Clinton/Gore? Fat lot of good the 'drug war' is doing, eh? The real addiction is the DEA and FBI and any other member of the drug war being addicted to the billions of federal dollars they receive to continue it. So far they've been much more effective at justifying more money than they have been at actually reducing drug use in this country.
And regarding Clinton's pardon of the fellow who supposedly embezzeled all that money (his name escapes me), which do you think is worse: pardining someone who embezzled money from a corporation or pardoning six people who may have been responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians? I'm talking about Iran-Contra, of course. Now we'll never know what anyone's role was in Iran-Contra, nor will we know if that fellow really did take all that money.
What I really don't understand is why people like you continue to be so infatuated with Clinton? He hasn't been President in 20 months! Let it go, man, let it go! And realize that GWB is just as corrupt as anyone else (Clinton included), he's just benefitting from the double-whammy of everyone supporting him after September 11th, and everyone being tired of the constant attacks against the office under Clinton.
But you don't care, you love all republicans and hate all democrats and ever shall it be. Enjoy you're little, narrow-minded, dittohead world, d00d, because you're right and anyone that disagrees with you is wrong! Oh, and they're all demagogues, too!
/.: why the hell am I here?
I will not have anything that microsoft makes/produces/blesses in my house. Its just
wrong.
Now the funny thing is NVIDIA is being investigated becuase it wrote down 7 million
worth of useless graphics xbox chips just because
MS changed their security roms.
Wouldn't it be funny if MS DUMPED their BOX.
XBOX going cheap......can you say SEGA....
K.
1. Get new pants
2. Go to bed
This exact comment has already been posted. Try to be more original...
Is it good, or is it whack?
...when your post is nothing but insults directed at me. Why are you such an angry person?
...so I was suggesting you up the level of wit a little.
...the fucking liberals ..liberal droids ...can I touch you? Yup, pretty darn witty, nice job!
:)
Regarding my 'research', it took me all of 30 seconds to find it. And I'm not disputing GWB's victory in the election, I was simply making a point. Your language implies that the things you say are totally obvious, yet more people disagree with you than agree with you. Are you really trying to say that the 51 million people who voted for Gore are all idiots and the 51 million who voted for Bush are reeelly smart, just like you?
You mean like you did?
I find it curious that you spend almost the entire post trying to foist various things upon me with insulting intent, from being an avid Rush fan (I've listened to him a few times [keep your friends close and your enemies closer, dontchaknow], but if 'dittohead' is indeed 'played out' as you say, then it must have been a while since I listened to him, eh?), to saying I'm a follower, to implying that I'm a high-schooler, then I'm a 'left Libertarian' (I thought I was a 'liberal droid'?), then I'm 'unsophisticated'.
Why are you so insecure that you spend so much time insulting others? Did you have a bad childhood? Maybe you should consider therapy.
And for you to say that you're an 'independent thinker' is laughable, since you completely toe the 'we hate Clinton' line. Like I said before, let it go, man, he's not president any more and hasn't been for almost two years. Why not put more energy into talking about how wonderful your man W is instead of wasting time talking about Clinton?
Cute
Thanks!
Have a nice day!
/.: why the hell am I here?
Recommending the X-box means recommending the hardware standard known as the Xbox console. All of the other issues are defeated by using Linux.
The only way to pervert that standard is by surrepetitiously replacing the hardware. Assuming that cheaper hardware is inferior hardware, they cannot do this without sacrificing compatibility to the existing Xbox standards. If they replace some hardware with superior performing hardware, then it can only be considered an upgrade once Linux supports it.
While the Xbox may be proprietary, it doesn't seem to be proprietary as Sony's offering, so they probably can't get away with a Freedom binding "Linux kit". Note that Sony is probably more "evil" than microsoft to date, from their computer practices (read "proprietary" vaio) to their media practices (MPAA, RIAA, etc).
So even if the X-Box should be avoided because of Microsoft, then the current best competition Sony should be avoided all the more for more global reasons.
-castlan, moderating.
i win...
/.: why the hell am I here?