Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Gamecube Linux Port Announced, In Progress

Posted by simoniker on from the teh-console-domination dept.

NiteStar writes "A group of people from the homebrew scene and Xbox Linux have now started a new project to port Linux to the Nintendo Gamecube. A small preview version has already been released, it's a small application that draws Tux the penguin on the GameCube screen. The roadmap explains a small client will run on the Gamecube, so the 'GameCube could be used as a desktop computer, which stores its data on a server on the network. The GameCube has a CPU that is powerful enough to decode common multimedia data like MPEG-4/DivX and MP3. It can serve as a display unit for content stored on a server'."

7 of 258 comments (clear)

  1. Next Gen... by TiMac · · Score: 4, Insightful
    By the time this is finished enough to be "useful" the next generation of hardware will be out or imminent....why not think of this stuff when the hardware is new? Xbox Linux crew did...

    But now the Xbox 2, PS3, and GameCube successor (name?) are looming, so....how about waiting til then, and starting on those immediately?

    --

    1. Re:Next Gen... by Xpilot · · Score: 5, Insightful

      By the time this is finished enough to be "useful" the next generation of hardware will be out or imminent....why not think of this stuff when the hardware is new? Xbox Linux crew did...

      Perhaps, so that old "obsolete" hardware continues to be "useful"? Besides, I wouldn't want to install Lunix on my Gamecube if it were brand spanking new, I'd be using it to play games.

      --
      "Backups are for wimps. Real men upload their data to an FTP site and have everyone else mirror it." -- Linus Torvalds
    2. Re:Next Gen... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You remind me of Aristotle who claimed that women had more teeth than men. He could have just looked, but that would have been too easy. Likewise, let me go turn on the Gamecube. Ok here we go, yes the disc is spinning in the normal way! It doesn't go backwards!

    3. Re:Next Gen... by lambent · · Score: 4, Insightful

      What's the point?

      What the hell was the point in porting UNIX to a x86 architechture? Isn't that that chip that was based on chips originally used to control ballistic missiles back in the 70s?

      What the hell was the point of emulating windows apps on unix? You geeks whined and whined and got your own OS; why don't you get your own freakin' software, too?

      What the hell was the point of ...

      oh just fsck it.

      They did it because it was there. Proprietary hardware and software are the Mt. Everests of the geek.

      I, for one, look forward to my new thin-client multimedia center.

  2. And this will be useful because? by EvilDonut · · Score: 3, Insightful

    How on earth is this going to be useful? The GameCube uses a proprietary media format, so in order to boot anything that's not an official game, you need to use the Phantasy Star Online-exploit.

    Which means that you would have to boot up the GC like you normally would, load PSO, do the exploit-thingy and then begin streaming Linux to the console from your PC/server/whatever via the Broadband Adapter. Am I the only one who thinks this is way to big of a hassle?

    I mean, Linux on the Dreamcast was just a matter of throwing in a DC-Linux cd and hitting the power button. By comparison, this GameCube hack is cumbersome, to put it mildly. Why not just buy an Xbox and screw Microsoft over?

  3. Re:more wasted work by Montreal+Geek · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Perhaps, simply, because then you can use the hardware you bought to do the things you want?

    The GC is small, runs quietly, and has decent audio and video outputs. It's already sitting in my living room, where my large TV and sound system are. If, in addition to games, it can be used to play media that lives on my network then so much the better!

    I can think of othere uses. RSS feed displayer, anyone? :-)

    -- MG

  4. The Eternal Answer by Dan+the+Intern · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Why not?

    This will add a lot of functionality to an aging piece of hardware. Why go out and build/buy a media center when you can just port linux onto an old Gamecube?