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XBOX Media Player 2.0

Posted by timothy on from the repurposing dept.

smashr writes "If you can't afford the new Windows XP Media Center edition, why not grab yourself a modded XBOX, and check out the XBOX Media Player 2.0. The official site has some screen shots and previews. I am sure Gates will be real upset about this one. Somehow $300 for an x-box setup is cheaper than the $2000 XP boxes."

12 of 249 comments (clear)

  1. gates could care less by eht · · Score: 2, Informative

    i'm sure gates could care less, as he's not selling the 2000$ media center pc's, hp is

  2. Re:modded xboxes by DBordello · · Score: 3, Informative

    He tried. He released a new version of the xbox. Something in the kernel changed. Now you can use the same mods as before! just need a new bios on it. db

  3. MPlayer by Doug+Neal · · Score: 3, Informative

    Its worth noting that this project is based on MPlayer, the Linux video player. There were some GPL violation issues recently with XBox Media Player but they have apparently now been resolved...

    1. Re:MPlayer by zurab · · Score: 5, Informative

      There were some GPL violation issues recently with XBox Media Player but they have apparently now been resolved

      Still not resolved with the old source code that was violating GPL from ffmpeg and xvid. If you read the mplayer website:

      Their reasoning: the Win32 version that is/was available for download at http://xboxmediaplayer.com was an older version which didn't contain ffmpeg or xvid, and has non-GPL license, equipped with a DivX3 decoder which was 20-30% faster (!) than ffmpeg. Well that's what they say. Unfortunately, the source of that version was lost (??!!).

      They also insist on us providing an apology. For what? They nuked any topic on their forum which was discussing GPL. The homepage did not contain enough information about licenses - only the success story of porting ffmpeg and xvid..

      And the "losing" of the old source.. Either way, let's hope they are more tolerant to (L)GPL licenses now.

      They took the code, distributed it violating both GPL and copyright, came up with lame excuses, conveniently "lost" the source code, and now demand an apology? Gimme a break! The only apology they get is "I'm sorry I won't go near your products for quite a while because I don't trust you!"

  4. Re:modded xboxes by MonTemplar · · Score: 3, Informative

    For the same money, you could go buy one of those Walmart/Lindows PC's and load a copy of Mandrake or Redhat on it to achieve a low cost useful PC.

    The difference, of course, is that you can fit an Xbox in your front room alongside the TV and VCR.

    --
    -MT.
  5. Site Mirrors by JavaTHut · · Score: 3, Informative

    http://www.xboxmediaplayer.0catch.com
    http://www. xbox.homebrewers.co.uk
    http://www.xboxmediaplayer .de/
    http://www.xboxmediaplayer.it/
    http://intra net.ktg.se/~andbje/xboxmediaplayer/

  6. Re:Even Less Price by moorg · · Score: 2, Informative

    Ok, I'll bite.

    Wal-Mart.com has two different computers for $200.

    $300 (as quoted in the story) - $100 (as in this guys post) = $200 (Wal-mart.com computer)

  7. Re:So far, he isn't. by matguy · · Score: 2, Informative

    Not so much, it's the perverbial Gillete syndrome. Ms sells the Xbox cheaper than it costs to produce in the plan that owners will buy the highly profitable games.

    So, if an Xbox is sold, but it spawns no game sales from that one Xbox than MS should, in theory, actually loose money on that sale.

    --

    matguy(.com)
  8. Re:xbox bias? by CommanderTaco · · Score: 3, Informative

    Actually, there was already a story about both the broadq and snapstream software available for tivo.

  9. Re:Guess what. by GigsVT · · Score: 2, Informative

    I see what you are saying, and I almost wrote a post to the same effect as yours, but I decided to check the GPL first:

    "You are not required to accept this License, since you have not signed it. However, nothing else grants you permission to modify or distribute the Program or its derivative works. These actions are prohibited by law if you do not accept this License. Therefore, by modifying or distributing the Program (or any work based on the Program), you indicate your acceptance of this License to do so, and all its terms and conditions for copying, distributing or modifying the Program or works based on it."

    So, one could argue that there is implicit acceptance of the GPL under the bold text above.

    Whether you call it a GPL violation or copyright infringement is really meaningless IMO, I believe it is both.

    --
    I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
  10. Re:modded xboxes by Nickus · · Score: 3, Informative

    Build a box based on VIA EPIA. It costs basically the same but you don't have to deal with any stinkin modchips. Take a look at http://www.mini-itx.com for more ideas.

  11. Re:Bill Cares? by runderwo · · Score: 3, Informative

    The disc does not spin the opposite way. It is read the opposite way. (Outside-in as opposed to inside-out).

    --
    LRC, the best-read libertarian site on the web