Re:The Most Interesting Quote...
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 1, Interesting
they have made steps towards this idea. im not sure of tech based approaches. but licensing is one method, the windows license is tired to the machine AND the machine is tied to the license. the latter is important, but it hasnt been heavily adopted though.
or my personal favorite for school volume licensing: "total up all PC's and Macs" thats the number of Windows (not office) licenses you need to buy to be complient.
hmmm, wtf? of course it would be funny if you legally had to pay for the macs too, call up Microsoft tech support and demand help with installing XP on a mac.
Re:The Most Interesting Quote...
by
HeelToe
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· Score: 2, Interesting
Could this really happen? How would Microsoft deny having a monopoly if they went this route?
With the Bush administration in power they don't have to worry about denying any monopoly. No one in the justice department cares.
XBox running non MS software. How much more elite can that be?
It poses an interesting question. Can we make it run GL?
Re:Why teh X-Box sucks
by
porkface
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· Score: 4, Interesting
My Xbox games from launch look better than even the newest games on my PS2 and Gamecube.
Xbox has had well documented periods where no good new games were released, but that's not a reason why the Xbox itself sucks. I've managed to find enough good (some great) games to make my Xbox purchase worth my while. Halo, for example, while being released before level design was finished, is still a smashing game. It single handedly proved FPSes can be great on a console.
Maybe I'm happy because I fall into that 10% catagory you mention, but to be fair, Nintendo has historically done a far worse job of making games for a wide audience than what Microsoft has done here, and Nintendo STILL has a long way to go. And Microsoft has some good MMORPG and RPG shit coming to help the cause. So sure Sony is the leader in game variety and overall game quality, but Microsoft isn't the runt of the litter by any means. Lack of games isn't all that big a deal for Xbox owners.
Online gameplay. Xbox Live wins hands down. At least Sony did SOMETHING, and that something works, but it's not on the same level.
So I fail to see how you can say the Xbox sucks so badly when it has the best hardware, and the best online setup. You didn't make very many points for me to draw comparisons on, but that's what I got. And your comparison of the Xbox to an Alienware isn't of interest to me. I can't Jabba The Hut it on the couch with an Alienware. Furthermore, that's apples and oranges.
You expect them to compete fairly?
by
Viewsonic
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· Score: 2, Interesting
Of course they're losing money for every unit sold. In some countries this is called "dumping" which is illegal. I'm curious why no one has spanked them on this issue. Nintendo has always stated that their systsme costs under 100 to make, and no one really knows about Sony, but it's safe to assume they're making a profit as well.
Re:Meanwhile, a LEGAL and FUNCTIONAL PC
by
InvaderXimian
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· Score: 2, Interesting
The Xbox is actually a much better machine than those computers found in Wal-Mart. Hell, even the graphics card itself is faster than most of the CPUs inside the Wal-Mart computers.
The appeal behind all of this is that because MS released a "locked down" computer, please wanted to circumvent around those security devices and prove something to other. Also, its fun, you can show off, and its a good time waster.
Re:Meanwhile, a LEGAL and FUNCTIONAL PC
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 1, Interesting
I find it strange that people actually buy into the crap that says modifying something you purchased is "illegal". Implying that modifying the XBox is illegal is like implying that it is illegal to upgrade the video card in your PC.
It is just amazing to me that there are people who base their ethical and moral evaluations based on what corperations say. Can you say "Baaaa"?
NR
Re:USA TODAY "research"
by
TheNetAvenger
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· Score: 3, Interesting
The small 's' controller is now standard in new XBox machines sold in the US now. It has been for quite a while.
I also prefer the smaller S controller, and you can trade in your 'big' original controller and pick up an 'S' controller for not much money.
Go to someplace like GameCrazy (in most hollywood Video stores) and trade in the 'Big' controller for credit towards the 'S' controller.
I traded in my PS1 with a few games and had enough credit to get a Refurbished XBOX with 1 year no question GameCrazy warranty and a couple of games.
BTW Buffy, Halo, and Castle Wolfenstein on the XBOX look and play awesome.
Wolfenstein is well done, taking advantage of the XBox's graphics and is so smooth and fluid, reminded me of the good old Doom days on a descent PC. (Except the graphics now look almost real.)
US Army likes XBox
by
Alain+Williams
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· Score: 2, Interesting
See BBC News today, they have a war game that runs on one. Is this preparation for dealing with those individuals that won't run a M$ operating system ?
Re:X-Box Troll Handbook
by
UserChrisCanter4
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· Score: 4, Interesting
The only good games for the XBox are out for the other systems, except for Halo which i was not impressed with
I own all three of the current-gen systems, and every one of the XBox games I own are "XBox-exclusive". Halo is a great game, but you might also check out Buffy (basically a 3D Double Dragon with a decent storyline), Panzer Dragoon, Jet Grind Radio, Mech Assault, and Dead or Alive 3 (if fighting games are your thing).
Dead or Alive 3 was the only game I was interested in at launch (I was a fan of the prior games), and I put off buying the XBox until early last summer. Although I'd still recommend a GC or PS2 to someone who only wants one console (A PS2 would be my first inclination), the Xbox is a really solid game machine.
A new (and better) WebTV?
by
Angry+Pixie
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· Score: 3, Interesting
Ona quick note, Microsoft doesn't mind hacking the Xbox to make it into something more; if fact, MS wants that done... but not right now... and not by someone who hasn't been licensed to develop software/hardware.
I've watched a week-long dedication to hacking the XBox on TechTV a little while ago, and I saw Windows Media Player on the thing. I don't own any console, but what does XBox run OS-wise? Is it Windows CE or some mutant form of it?
Can I get a keyboard, web browser, a dialup modem, and maybe have a better WebTV? If it can run Linux, does that mean I can install Slackware straight from CD?
"Nintendo has historically done a far worse job" 2
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 1, Interesting
Have you heard of the original Nintendo? Or Super Nintendo? Consoles existed before 1999. Nintendo once had games for a very wide audience (some would argue they still do, but that's not important right now).
Re:X-Box Troll Handbook
by
TheNetAvenger
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· Score: 2, Interesting
#3 You haven't played Castle Wolfenstein on the XBOX - obviously. Halo is a great game with great game play, especially in the upper levels with vehicles.
#5 The Original controller is large, but it is NO longer being shipped with XBoxes, they moved to the S Controller like 8 months ago. And again, if you already have the large controller, trade it for an S controller at any GameCrazy for a few dollars difference.
#7 This is a first version console, of course it will lag in sales compared to two console makers that have dominated the market since the mid 80s. But considering it is out selling GameCube, the former US leader, is quite a good sign.
#8 Buffy is great XBox game available no where else, the moves, fighting and character play are truly above most games. Also Kung Fu Chaos and several other titles are out there that are XBox Only.
You will also see several XBox and PC only games - XBOX being the only console release. (Hence XBox game development is just an expansion of DirectX for Windows - so of course there are many PC XBox cross overs - it is very easy for developers to make a PC game and basically add the XBox interface requirements to it.)
Also notice that many of the 'better' games being released are coming out on the XBox months before they are being released on other platforms. Castle Wolfenstein is out for XBox, and just now getting ready for release on PS2 (with quite a drop in frame rate and graphics on the PS2 as well)
#10 Having a good friend that is in the Gamer world professionally, I have heard of a few XBox with bad DVD drives. The lockups are from the drive having trouble reading the disk. Trust me it is not the Win2k core crashing. And it is still better than the number of people he has encountered that have had their PS2's literally catch on fire. (No joke)
Hope your 'friend' enjoys their GameCube, they have several nice titles, but playing a game like BaldersGate on the GameCube after playing it on the XBox made me realize how slow the GameCube can be, and how much graphic detail is lost.
The same can be said for cross plat titles that I have played on XBox and then play on the PS2, the graphics are usually lower quality, the load times are 5 times longer than the XBox and even the frame rates suffer on high polygon scenes. Reference Enter the Matrix for a good example, the PS2 version is jerky, and the scene load times are terrible. It is just too bad they textured the game at the PS2 level and not the XBox level, it could have looked more impressive with by taking advantage of the XBox's graphics capabilities. Even Buffy has better graphics and gameplay, but whoops, it is an XBox only title.:)
BTW, since my friend 'is' in the gamer business, I have all three systems. So I have no 'proud owner' bias. The XBox is by far ahead of the other two in performance, graphics, and gameplay.
Nothing but the truth...
Did it every occur to anybody..
by
rufusdufus
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· Score: 4, Interesting
Did it every occur to anybody that maybe Microsoft really wants people to hack X-box? They want it to become hip-to-hack. This is the sort of grassroots cool they really hunger for. Basically, the hackers create a hip new market and what the heck can MS do but jump on the bandwagon? After all their goal all along is not to make a game platform, but to build a more ubiquitous computer platform.
just bought one ...
by
timothy
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· Score: 2, Interesting
I paid $150 for a used Xbox from an EB Games in Florida, and (not technically part of the Xbox, but now intimately connected;)) a clip-on LCD screen from intec. That was also $150, so, so far I've spent $300, but I know I need to purchase at least one more thing, which is either a modchip or a memory thingie loaded with the buffer-overflow code from the 007 game.
The reason I spent so much for a (tiny -- 5.4") LCD screen is that (so I was told by the EB clerk, at least:)) the xbox won't run without a video output connected, and I bought this to run in my car.
(Pawn-shopping, I might have found one cheaper, but... EB I figure has a decent reputation, and if the box was broke, I'd have better luck there than at Ed's Pawn & Guns.)
I have already downloaded one live-ISO distro for the thing (dynebolic); until I have a modchip, though, it's just a clunky but surprisingly good-sounding CD player. (The speakers on the intec screen are not outstanding, but they're decent for my tin ears.)
Why an xbox for the car? You don't have to agree with my reasoning, or taste (of which I have none), but my thoughts go like this:
1) I want a CD player for the car. I don't have one, and I happen to like my head unit (an oldish but *old* Blaupunkt system with a simple, logical control layout and a line-in), so I'd rather not pay for a CD head unit. (I also think most of them have terrible control layouts, just really bizarre design decisions.) CD player is for some music, and for the audiobooks that Cracker Barrel conveniently stocks for $3/week;)
2) I'd like an ogg player for the car. I've been compressing my CD collection to ogg, and it's a lot simpler to carry 3 CD-Rs than 30 CDs.
3) When stopped (or for passengers) I think a video screen is neat in a car. Futurama in DiVX, for instance. Frivolous? Yes. I would not like to spend thousands of dollars on a video system, but as a nudge toward the xbox as a possible do-everything car computer, it works.
4) With a USB hub attached and a GNU/Linux system installed, I'm hoping I can hook up a web cam and use is as a low-tech DVR for the car.
I don't care too much about games per se, and will probably be using a no-solder modchip with the Cromwell BIOS, so Xbox games are probably out, but Frozen Bubble...
If anyone would like to offer a memory card with the hack that makes a modchip unnecessary (for a fair price), let me know quick, before I order a regular modchip:)
Modchips don't have to be illegal
by
timothy
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· Score: 2, Interesting
rsilvergun wrote: Still, I don't like the idea of relying on something so patently illegal (note: I said illegal, not immoral) as modchips.
I know you also said "[xbox hacking] provides a real, legit, fair use reason for modchips," but I don't think your first statement is correct. A modchip loaded with an illegally BIOS would be illegal -- but for one that's blank, or loaded with the Cromwell BIOS, I don't know why that should be true.
And on that note, a no-solder modchip with the Cromwell bios seems like a reasonable enough upgrade -- less than the cost of the ethernet module for a Dreamcast:)
Xbox = Mostly Standard Components
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 1, Interesting
Here's a thought - Since the Xbox is little more than a very specialized Intel based PC, shouldn't it be possible to replicate the entire hardware base? So instead of making an Xbox run Linux, shouldn't we be able to build an x86 machine that runs Xbox games?
I suppose the three big things I see as possible problems are the nVidia chip (Is that chip available in a PC based card?), the weird DVD drive, and the strange partitioning the Xbox does. The hard drive should be easy enough to duplicate - EvoX already has the capability to prepare a HD for Xbox use in the actual Xbox. And we've already seen that someone has made a standard DVD player work in an Xbox, so we should be good there.
I currently use my modded Xbox to stream music and videos from my desktop PC as well as to browse the web via GentooX/Mozilla. I think it's great, but would love to have a faster proc and more memory to actually run Linux at a decent speed. Since I use Linux almost solely for browsing on my Xbox, I suppose it would make me happy if someone ported Mozilla over to run as an.xbe natively on a modded Xbox instead of in Linux.
Slashdot Mirror
.... still losing money on each of these things?
Get your own free personal location tracker
The xbox has replaced my dreamcast as the emulator box of choice, i already have a few nice computers :)
quick swap of the stock hd for a nice 80gig, throw on your emulators and roms, and viola, punch out courtesy of ms.
Microsoft's attempt to "lock down" the Xbox's parts is a prelude to using similar techniques to keep PCs from running anything but Windows.
Could this really happen? How would Microsoft deny having a monopoly if they went this route?
Very popular slashdot journal for adul
XBox running non MS software. How much more elite can that be? It poses an interesting question. Can we make it run GL?
My Xbox games from launch look better than even the newest games on my PS2 and Gamecube.
Xbox has had well documented periods where no good new games were released, but that's not a reason why the Xbox itself sucks. I've managed to find enough good (some great) games to make my Xbox purchase worth my while. Halo, for example, while being released before level design was finished, is still a smashing game. It single handedly proved FPSes can be great on a console.
Maybe I'm happy because I fall into that 10% catagory you mention, but to be fair, Nintendo has historically done a far worse job of making games for a wide audience than what Microsoft has done here, and Nintendo STILL has a long way to go. And Microsoft has some good MMORPG and RPG shit coming to help the cause. So sure Sony is the leader in game variety and overall game quality, but Microsoft isn't the runt of the litter by any means. Lack of games isn't all that big a deal for Xbox owners.
Online gameplay. Xbox Live wins hands down. At least Sony did SOMETHING, and that something works, but it's not on the same level.
So I fail to see how you can say the Xbox sucks so badly when it has the best hardware, and the best online setup. You didn't make very many points for me to draw comparisons on, but that's what I got. And your comparison of the Xbox to an Alienware isn't of interest to me. I can't Jabba The Hut it on the couch with an Alienware. Furthermore, that's apples and oranges.
Of course they're losing money for every unit sold. In some countries this is called "dumping" which is illegal. I'm curious why no one has spanked them on this issue. Nintendo has always stated that their systsme costs under 100 to make, and no one really knows about Sony, but it's safe to assume they're making a profit as well.
The appeal behind all of this is that because MS released a "locked down" computer, please wanted to circumvent around those security devices and prove something to other. Also, its fun, you can show off, and its a good time waster.
I find it strange that people actually buy into the crap that says modifying something you purchased is "illegal". Implying that modifying the XBox is illegal is like implying that it is illegal to upgrade the video card in your PC.
It is just amazing to me that there are people who base their ethical and moral evaluations based on what corperations say. Can you say "Baaaa"?
NR
The small 's' controller is now standard in new XBox machines sold in the US now. It has been for quite a while.
I also prefer the smaller S controller, and you can trade in your 'big' original controller and pick up an 'S' controller for not much money.
Go to someplace like GameCrazy (in most hollywood Video stores) and trade in the 'Big' controller for credit towards the 'S' controller.
I traded in my PS1 with a few games and had enough credit to get a Refurbished XBOX with 1 year no question GameCrazy warranty and a couple of games.
BTW Buffy, Halo, and Castle Wolfenstein on the XBOX look and play awesome.
Wolfenstein is well done, taking advantage of the XBox's graphics and is so smooth and fluid, reminded me of the good old Doom days on a descent PC. (Except the graphics now look almost real.)
See BBC News today , they have a war game that runs on one. Is this preparation for dealing with those individuals that won't run a M$ operating system ?
The only good games for the XBox are out for the other systems, except for Halo which i was not impressed with
I own all three of the current-gen systems, and every one of the XBox games I own are "XBox-exclusive". Halo is a great game, but you might also check out Buffy (basically a 3D Double Dragon with a decent storyline), Panzer Dragoon, Jet Grind Radio, Mech Assault, and Dead or Alive 3 (if fighting games are your thing).
Dead or Alive 3 was the only game I was interested in at launch (I was a fan of the prior games), and I put off buying the XBox until early last summer. Although I'd still recommend a GC or PS2 to someone who only wants one console (A PS2 would be my first inclination), the Xbox is a really solid game machine.
Ona quick note, Microsoft doesn't mind hacking the Xbox to make it into something more; if fact, MS wants that done... but not right now... and not by someone who hasn't been licensed to develop software/hardware. I've watched a week-long dedication to hacking the XBox on TechTV a little while ago, and I saw Windows Media Player on the thing. I don't own any console, but what does XBox run OS-wise? Is it Windows CE or some mutant form of it? Can I get a keyboard, web browser, a dialup modem, and maybe have a better WebTV? If it can run Linux, does that mean I can install Slackware straight from CD?
Have you heard of the original Nintendo? Or Super Nintendo? Consoles existed before 1999. Nintendo once had games for a very wide audience (some would argue they still do, but that's not important right now).
#3 You haven't played Castle Wolfenstein on the XBOX - obviously. Halo is a great game with great game play, especially in the upper levels with vehicles.
:)
#5 The Original controller is large, but it is NO longer being shipped with XBoxes, they moved to the S Controller like 8 months ago. And again, if you already have the large controller, trade it for an S controller at any GameCrazy for a few dollars difference.
#7 This is a first version console, of course it will lag in sales compared to two console makers that have dominated the market since the mid 80s. But considering it is out selling GameCube, the former US leader, is quite a good sign.
#8 Buffy is great XBox game available no where else, the moves, fighting and character play are truly above most games. Also Kung Fu Chaos and several other titles are out there that are XBox Only.
You will also see several XBox and PC only games - XBOX being the only console release. (Hence XBox game development is just an expansion of DirectX for Windows - so of course there are many PC XBox cross overs - it is very easy for developers to make a PC game and basically add the XBox interface requirements to it.)
Also notice that many of the 'better' games being released are coming out on the XBox months before they are being released on other platforms. Castle Wolfenstein is out for XBox, and just now getting ready for release on PS2 (with quite a drop in frame rate and graphics on the PS2 as well)
#10 Having a good friend that is in the Gamer world professionally, I have heard of a few XBox with bad DVD drives. The lockups are from the drive having trouble reading the disk. Trust me it is not the Win2k core crashing. And it is still better than the number of people he has encountered that have had their PS2's literally catch on fire. (No joke)
Hope your 'friend' enjoys their GameCube, they have several nice titles, but playing a game like BaldersGate on the GameCube after playing it on the XBox made me realize how slow the GameCube can be, and how much graphic detail is lost.
The same can be said for cross plat titles that I have played on XBox and then play on the PS2, the graphics are usually lower quality, the load times are 5 times longer than the XBox and even the frame rates suffer on high polygon scenes. Reference Enter the Matrix for a good example, the PS2 version is jerky, and the scene load times are terrible. It is just too bad they textured the game at the PS2 level and not the XBox level, it could have looked more impressive with by taking advantage of the XBox's graphics capabilities. Even Buffy has better graphics and gameplay, but whoops, it is an XBox only title.
BTW, since my friend 'is' in the gamer business, I have all three systems. So I have no 'proud owner' bias. The XBox is by far ahead of the other two in performance, graphics, and gameplay.
Nothing but the truth...
Did it every occur to anybody that maybe Microsoft really wants people to hack X-box? They want it to become hip-to-hack. This is the sort of grassroots cool they really hunger for. Basically, the hackers create a hip new market and what the heck can MS do but jump on the bandwagon? After all their goal all along is not to make a game platform, but to build a more ubiquitous computer platform.
I paid $150 for a used Xbox from an EB Games in Florida, and (not technically part of the Xbox, but now intimately connected ;)) a clip-on LCD screen from intec. That was also $150, so, so far I've spent $300, but I know I need to purchase at least one more thing, which is either a modchip or a memory thingie loaded with the buffer-overflow code from the 007 game.
:)) the xbox won't run without a video output connected, and I bought this to run in my car.
... EB I figure has a decent reputation, and if the box was broke, I'd have better luck there than at Ed's Pawn & Guns.)
;)
...
:)
The reason I spent so much for a (tiny -- 5.4") LCD screen is that (so I was told by the EB clerk, at least
(Pawn-shopping, I might have found one cheaper, but
I have already downloaded one live-ISO distro for the thing (dynebolic); until I have a modchip, though, it's just a clunky but surprisingly good-sounding CD player. (The speakers on the intec screen are not outstanding, but they're decent for my tin ears.)
Why an xbox for the car? You don't have to agree with my reasoning, or taste (of which I have none), but my thoughts go like this:
1) I want a CD player for the car. I don't have one, and I happen to like my head unit (an oldish but *old* Blaupunkt system with a simple, logical control layout and a line-in), so I'd rather not pay for a CD head unit. (I also think most of them have terrible control layouts, just really bizarre design decisions.) CD player is for some music, and for the audiobooks that Cracker Barrel conveniently stocks for $3/week
2) I'd like an ogg player for the car. I've been compressing my CD collection to ogg, and it's a lot simpler to carry 3 CD-Rs than 30 CDs.
3) When stopped (or for passengers) I think a video screen is neat in a car. Futurama in DiVX, for instance. Frivolous? Yes. I would not like to spend thousands of dollars on a video system, but as a nudge toward the xbox as a possible do-everything car computer, it works.
4) With a USB hub attached and a GNU/Linux system installed, I'm hoping I can hook up a web cam and use is as a low-tech DVR for the car.
I don't care too much about games per se, and will probably be using a no-solder modchip with the Cromwell BIOS, so Xbox games are probably out, but Frozen Bubble
If anyone would like to offer a memory card with the hack that makes a modchip unnecessary (for a fair price), let me know quick, before I order a regular modchip
timothy
jrnl: http://tinyurl.com/c2l8yr / foes: http://tinyurl.com/ckjno5
rsilvergun wrote: Still, I don't like the idea of relying on something so patently illegal (note: I said illegal, not immoral) as modchips.
:)
I know you also said "[xbox hacking] provides a real, legit, fair use reason for modchips," but I don't think your first statement is correct. A modchip loaded with an illegally BIOS would be illegal -- but for one that's blank, or loaded with the Cromwell BIOS, I don't know why that should be true.
And on that note, a no-solder modchip with the Cromwell bios seems like a reasonable enough upgrade -- less than the cost of the ethernet module for a Dreamcast
timothy
jrnl: http://tinyurl.com/c2l8yr / foes: http://tinyurl.com/ckjno5
Here's a thought - Since the Xbox is little more than a very specialized Intel based PC, shouldn't it be possible to replicate the entire hardware base? So instead of making an Xbox run Linux, shouldn't we be able to build an x86 machine that runs Xbox games?
.xbe natively on a modded Xbox instead of in Linux.
I suppose the three big things I see as possible problems are the nVidia chip (Is that chip available in a PC based card?), the weird DVD drive, and the strange partitioning the Xbox does. The hard drive should be easy enough to duplicate - EvoX already has the capability to prepare a HD for Xbox use in the actual Xbox. And we've already seen that someone has made a standard DVD player work in an Xbox, so we should be good there.
I currently use my modded Xbox to stream music and videos from my desktop PC as well as to browse the web via GentooX/Mozilla. I think it's great, but would love to have a faster proc and more memory to actually run Linux at a decent speed. Since I use Linux almost solely for browsing on my Xbox, I suppose it would make me happy if someone ported Mozilla over to run as an