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Gamecube Linux Port Announced, In Progress

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'."

5 of 258 comments (clear)

  1. jesus by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    linux on everything now...
    there'll be linux on my dick next.

  2. KDE Myths by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    The KDE project is famous for its funded and organised trolling of weblogs and message board associated with Linux and Free software/open source. Outrageous newbie impressing claims are made for the software and huge quanities of FUD are spread to destroy competitors. If this sounds familiar, then you are correct, most of these tactics were lifted straight from Microsoft's arsenal of dirty tricks. The Windows look and feel is not the only thing the KDE project has copied! In this short article I will address some of the lies and FUD spread by the KDE trolling teams. It is my hope that this, in some small way, will redress the balance and re-introduce two things almost eradicated by the KDE project: Honesty and facts.

    Myth #1 - KDE is more integrated than GNOME

    The oft-heard cry of the noisiest KDE advocates. No explanation is given, the reader is expected to simply grok the wholesomeness of KDE and the lack of this mystical quality in GNOME. It is nonsense of course. Neither desktop is particularly "integrated" compared to Windows XP, and certainly not compared any version of the Apple Mac. Whatever "integrated" actually means.

    Myth #2 - KDE is easier to use

    Again, such nebulous arguments are never explained, and the reader is expected to simply understand the truth of the zealots statement. Both KDE and GNOME have user-interface irritations (all systems do), but "ease of use" is not a simple thing to measure. KDE has never been subjected to detailed user testing, unlike GNOME, and the claims of user-friendliness are from crazed supporters and not average users. Furthermore, the KDE faithful rarely look beyond simple-minded copying of Windows, and forget that administering a desktop system is just as important as having widgets in the correct place on the toolbar. For example: What about application installation and removal? GNOME has the excellent RedCarpet by Ximian, which makes the installation, removal and updating of applications trivial. KDE users are expected to fend for themselves with brutal command line driven systems. GNOME also has the excellent Ximian setup tools to handle various tricky cross-platform and potentially risky system configuration operations. KDE offers none of this, only a few small half-assed Linux-only tools, which make no attempt at check-pointing to return to known working configurations.

    Myth #3 - KDE is more popular

    In what sense? Arguably more people use KDE, but it is a close run thing. Most KDE zealots use the results of online polls as proof of their superior userbase - which is, quite frankly, complete and utter nonsense. Online polls are the joke of the century; it doesn't even require a motivated script kiddie to render then worthless. A single post alerting the faithful on a zealot-ridden site can skew the result so much it makes American presidential elections look fair and well organised. Popularity is also difficult to measure when *both* GNOME and KDE are frequently installed on the same system. The systems can co-exist and even run at the same time, except for certain applications such as panels. Many KDE users actually run GNOME applications for their superior features and stability, not realising that by doing so they are barely running KDE at all.

    One of the few solid measures of popularity is commercial use of a desktop, and here, GNOME is far ahead with both Hewlett Packard and Sun committing to using GNOME as the desktop for their Unix systems. This also ties in with the previously mentioned ease of use. Sun's major contribution to the GNOME project is in the areas of user/developer documentation, testing, accessiblity and user-testing. Three of the less glamourous parts of desktop development. The arrival of the GNOME 2.x series will see these contributions reach fruitition and allow GNOME to make a quantum leap ahead of KDE in most of the basic computer/user issues.

    Myth #4 - Konqueror is

  3. My gamecube by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    Even though I'm disappointed with the games available for Gamecube, I can't see many people sacrificing a perfectly good game console so they can use it as a pretty limited server.

    But since we're on the subject of Gamecube, can someone point me to some decent Gamecube titles? The only two I've found that I really enjoyed are Metroid Prime and the new Zelda.

  4. Why? by Thijssss · · Score: -1, Troll

    Sure, because you can.. but isn't the xbox far superior in it's hardware field anyway then the cube? I have seen computer users buy xbox's because they like it.. the computer hardware inside and all the hacks. I have NOT seen any real computer freak buy a cube.. yeah sure my little nephew did. As if he or any of his 10 year old friends playing zelda all day long care about being able to install linux... To get back on 'because you (or we) can', do it.. hack it.. make your point. done. We really don't need another full linux distro running on a cube and nobody is going to connect it up to a network.

  5. Fuck Nintendo.com by JRAC · · Score: -1, Troll
    Looks like the idiot that designed nintendo.com has never heard of Mozilla.

    Placing something like "This site looks better with random piece of shit browser at random stupid resolution" is one thing, but completely blocking out customers/users is just moronic. The thing I don't get with nintendo.com, is that it lists Safari as a supported browser due to the fact that it's an Apple product. It's been out for like 6 months to a year or something. Mozilla's existed for over 5 years or whatever, and Netscape 6.x and higher (which is supported) is based on it.

    Yes, I'm aware of the whole fake user agent string trick, but I shouldn't have to do that. And also, I don't want every other site I visit thinking I'm a dimwit Internet Explorer user.