Xbox Receives Linux Mandrake 9.0

An anonymous reader writes "Today the Xbox Linux Project announced that Xbox Linux Mandrake 9 has been released. This is the first complete Linux distribution for the Microsoft Xbox gaming console. A 350 MB installation CD of Xbox Linux Mandrake 9 is available for download free of charge from the Xbox Linux website."

Comments

Woooweee!

[ebbomega]

Now I can use WINE on my Xbox....

README / legal

[jukal]

Heh, they handle the legal issues in a very "pro" way:

Xbox is either a trademark or a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Mandrake might be some kind of trademark of MandrakeSoft. Linux definitely is a trademark of Linus Torvalds. GNU is cool, but I don't think it's a trademark.

Stupidity

[e8johan]

If M$ was so determined to build a console and prevent people from running *nix and other fun stuff on it, *why* did they choose a (nearly) standard PC hardware platform. Please provide a more custom solution next time to give the hackers a real challenge ;-)

Re:Stupidity

[e8johan]

Judging from how much resistance M$ has put up against the modding of XBoxes (required to run XBox Linux currently), I don't think that they are trying to let the hacker community to do it for them.

In that case it would be easier to make the PS2 run XBox games, as it has a known HW (and an official Linux distro available). The biggest problem is that the XBox runs an x86 and the PS2 an MIPS CPU. This means that you have to some translation magic (either emulation or recompilation) in order to run stuff for one machine on the other.

One of the advantages of having Linux for both systems, and open source games is that you can recompile them for either system. Also propetary games can take advantage of this by having the same environment on both systems, just re-compile, make a CD (or DVD) with a small Linux kernel + drivers and the game for each platform. All they have to distribute is the Linux source. This removes the need for paying M$ for an expensive, restictively licensed, SDK.

Re:Stupidity

[warmcat]

Its not clear actually that MS have put up ANY resistance to the modding of Xboxes, other than changing the hardware recently to be incompatible with existing mods.

Certainly no one on the Xbox Linux team has heard a peep out of them, and of the three instances of MS apparently weighing in (a modchip company decided not to make their chip, Xbox Mame, and recently Lik-Sang going almost imperceptibly quiet), only the Xbox Mame one is certain to have come from MS. That apparently took the form of some communication objecting to binaries produced by a pirated XDK, which were then taken down. The other two instances may well have nothing to do with MS on closer inspection.

I think they are very concerned about negative PR snowballing, alienating the consumer and tainting the MS 'brand' as being arrogant, monopolist and exploitative. Truth will out!

Re:Stupidity

[tsa]

That's not stupid, that's brilliant marketing. The fact that you can run Linux on it will now be a reason to buy an X-box, so MS now earns money with Linux, and it didn't cost them anything! Bill never ceases to amaze me.

New Sourceforge Project

[youngerpants]

The first one to get CP/M running on the XBox will gain true kudos.

10 PRINT "Microsoft really wouldnt like this"
20 GO TO 10
RUN

Re:New Sourceforge Project

[sg_oneill]

by youngerpants on Tuesday October 08, @06:01PM (Score:1, Offtopic) (#4408767)
(User #255314 Info) [ Neutral ]
The first one to get CP/M running on the XBox will gain true kudos.

10 PRINT "Microsoft really wouldnt like this"
20 GO TO 10
RUN

Ah... Teen moderators... Don'chya lovem "What's CPM got to do with this?". (Hint read some IT history books kids.)

Why?

[miffo.swe]

Even if its nice and fun that they have made it possible why would i want to run linux on X-box? All they really do is helping MS finetuning their DRM system before it gets to he PC. It will be a cold day in hell before i buy an Xbox.

Re:Why?

[DJProtoss]

Why? Because you can have a small, quiet, nicely put together server box for around £140 + modchip costs (which if you are handy with a solder, are quite small).

Re:Why?

[blibbleblobble]

All they really do is helping MS finetuning their DRM system before it gets to he PC.

Very true. However, they are also demonstrating legitimate uses of mod-chips, legitimate uses of hacking proprietry hardware, and legitimate reasons for cracking hardware protection. Best of all, they are doing so in a manner which can easily be recognised by the general public (of which judges are a subset) - "Cracking hardware is good: look, you get to run this mainstream, competitive, and popular OS distribution.

A couple years ago, you'd have taken a modchip to court and the judge would say, "well yes, this is just for playing illegal games isn't it", but now you can take the same modchip along and the judge will see "yeah, that can be used to load the office-suite my son uses". Big difference.

Re:I don't want to buy MS products/.

[jez_f]

However they can use those figures to get more games to the platform, and more sales

True. Unless a significant number of Xboxes are chipped, in which case publishers become more wairy of using xbox. Hence less titles, less sales and bigger loss. Personaly I think that Xbox linux is a nice idea but it has taken the limelight from PS2 Linux which is provided and endorsed by sony. It is nice that Sony are happy to let you play with their hardware. OK so you have to shell out for a HDD but it is a hell of a lot cheeper than a PS2 dev kit.

If only...

[TheVidiot]

Is anyone working on bringing Xbox emulation to the PC? Wouldn't that make more sense?

There is method in the M$ madness

[ites]

"Why choose a (nearly) standard PC platform"?
Microsoft are long-distance players.
They are designing a Microsoft PC platform.
Let's call it 'Fritz 1'.
They would really like this to become the next standard.
And by trying this out in the XBox arena they are proofing the concept.
Whatever weaknesses get thrown up now will be closed in the next release.
After three releases, the design will be unbreakable.
After that, it's a minor matter to convince Dell and HP to base their PCs on this design.
And Windows XP 2003 will not run on anything else.
If the XBox does not scare you, perhaps you should consider a future where all PCs are designed by Redmond.
It would be smarter for people to leave the XBox alone and not contribute to M$'s strategy by hacking it.

Re:There is method in the M$ madness

[mr3038]

If the XBox does not scare you, perhaps you should consider a future where all PCs are designed by Redmond.

PCs will be PCs in the future too. It might be that you cannot run Windows on a PC anymore in the future. I really don't understand the difference between this new Microsoft XBox and normal x86 PC if they really decided to offer Windows for XBox only. XBox, even in its current form, has all the processor power the casual office worker needs and if companies can get their boxes for less than 250 euros then they should go for it. But some workers doing 3D stuff and simulations do need more processing power than that XBox can offer. So MS needs to offer multiple versions of this new XBox because companies are not going to pay for features they aren't using--at least I hope so. If this new XBox does have replaceable Xcpu, Xmemory, Xmotherboard and Xpci cards then how it's different from a reqular PC? It's not like we have a single identical bus between first x86 PC and todays PC either and we still consider those as the same architecture.

The only thing to fear is that general use PCs could have really high price tag because all the normal people buy the XBox New Technology (pun intended) instead.

Re:Can you still play games?

[ultrafunkula]

Ah, after a bit of research in the FAQs, I've found the answer to my question:

Will I still be able to play games once Linux is on my hard disk?
That depends on the solution you choose. If you run Linux through the XBE bootloader on an Xbox with a modchip, there's a dual-boot solution.
There are also "Live CD's" that make it possible possible to run Linux from a CD without having your hard disk modified at all.
If you use the replacement ROM method, you would have to install both ROMs in parallel to be still able to run games.

Re:I don't want to buy MS products/.

[13Echo]

Exactly.

Judging by the cost of the X-Box and the cost of these off-the-shelf parts when purchased in bulk, why must anyone assume that they are losing anything? Many of the parts are quite OLD. That includes the hard drive, RAM, CPU, and now even the GPU. It is foolish for anyone to assume that they are losing any money at all. Microsoft gets these parts at dirt-cheap prices, and they have Flextronics build the devices in their slave-labor shops in Mexico.

Taking a loss... Sure.

Re:This is an empty victory

[flamingdog]

really now, do you believe what you're saying? I mean look at Windows for example. Keep that in your mind and repeat to yourself what you're saying. "when all the weaknesses have been fixed" is not on the MS project calender anywhere, my boy.

Re:Why? (your answer)

[gosand]

Even if its nice and fun that they have made it possible why would i want to run linux on X-box? All they really do is helping MS finetuning their DRM system before it gets to he PC. It will be a cold day in hell before i buy an Xbox.

I agree, I wouldn't buy one either. But think about this: before Linux (I'll assume GNU/Linux, since it is now a distro) was ported to the Xbox, there was no reason to have a mod chip other than to play pirated games. Now people are hacking it (in the truest sense of the word) and are finding other fun uses for THE HARDWARE THAT THEY BOUGHT. I emphasize that because Microsoft just shut down a company that sold mod chips. They have no right to do this. Once you buy hardware, you own it. Now they might be able to convince a judge that the only reason to have a mod chip is to play pirated games, therefore robbing Microsoft of their money. But with the porting of Linux, it proves that there are non-illegal reasons to want to buy a mod chip.

Not that I think that it will stop Microsoft from bullying people, but it is a start. If you couldn't run the Linux kernel on the Xbox, there would be no other reason to buy a mod chip.

Besides, I think it is cool that people have the skills to do this kind of thing. It is interesting, and proves the power of the "little guy".