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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. Does it boot with... by wheresdrew · · Score: 5, Funny

    "It's'a me, Tux!"

  2. 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
  3. Re:Next Gen... by TiMac · · Score: 5, Informative
    Well, one of the arguments for Xbox Linux that the Xbox was a really cheap PC (essentially) so running Linux on it was a good way to get a solid machine for not much money. I can see this as much of the same thing--GameCube is cheaper still. So that's one reason you might want to run Linux on a brand-new machine--it'll be cheaper than a lot of PCs out there for what it will be used for.

    Accourse, I could be wrong....but this whole thing seems extraneous.

    --

  4. Excellent point by Sheetrock · · Score: 5, Informative
    But unfortunately, the extensibility of a product once it is in the hands of the consumer has been realized by corporate culture to be something that is better controlled than given away.

    There were any number of hobbyist platforms in the 70s and 80s. They're not around anymore. The people that control the industry today got their start on programming and hardware on these machines and are all too happy to remove that opportunity for the next generation. Some might think it's a bit hypocritical, but it's really about cutting out the competition.

    Besides, if just anyone can write for or modify these things, that cuts out the revenue stream from licensing. The future will be in renting, not buying. And really, they've got every right to control the product if we keep buying it.

    --

    Try not. Do or do not, there is no try.
    -- Dr. Spock, stardate 2822-3.




  5. Re:Next Gen... by MrRTFM · · Score: 5, Funny

    I know what you're saying, but not everyone has the dollars to get the latest game console.

    If all you have is an GameCube, and your bored with playing the games - then WTF - hack away!
    You have nothing to lose**, and you'll learn heaps doing this stuff - well done!


    **apart from stupid lawsuits, angry Dads and potentially the local Fire department :)

    --
    You can't expect to wield supreme executive power, just because some watery tart threw a sword at you
  6. How they run the homebrew code by galaga79 · · Score: 5, Informative

    For anyone like myself wondering how they run the homebrew code on something that doesn't employ a standard CD format the FAQ has some - ableit brief - answers.

    ### Can I just burn a 8 cm CD/DVD and use it in the GameCube? ###

    No. The GameCube reads no CDs/DVDs. There is no way to produce a GameCube compatible optical media using a CD/DVD burner.

    ### So do I run homebrew code on the GameCube? ###

    The PSOload method is the only way.

    ### What do I need in order to run homebrew code? ###

    A GameCube, any version of "Phantasy Star Online", a "Broadband Adapter", a memory card, and PSOload.

    ### Do I need a modchip? ###

    There are no modchips.

    All sounds kind of cumbersome IMHO.

    --

    aus.music.scrapbook
  7. Re:Next Gen... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Maybe you should read the stuff you comment on.

    GC Linux project is actually from the guys who
    also started XBOX Linux. And the webpage also
    says...

    Q: GC is old... why now?
    A: The XBOX had to come first

    and as a side notice. All looks like XBOX2 will
    be a PPC. So why not learn on GC how PPC works.
    All the XBOX Linux guys are x86 experts, but
    they need to learn PPC *BEFORE* xbox2 is out