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Linux Now Booted On GameCube System
modifried writes "The GameCube-Linux project managed to get the Linux kernel to boot on a GameCube gaming system - it 'shows a full screen of kernel messages, up to mounting root', but there are still errors to be fixed. From what I have gathered no one has (as of yet) been able to burn a bootable mini-DVD for the system. Instead they are currently using a glitch in the patching system from the online-enabled game Phantasy Star Online. Screenshots can be found here. (And if you'd like more information on the PSOLoader, it can be found here.)"
Nintendo can put whatever they want into the EULA but it doesn't mean that their statements will hold up in court. I don't have my EULA that came with my Gamecube available to me so I can't check it over and I haven't been able to find a copy online so maybe someone can quote theirs - but, I think that even if Nintendo makes statements regarding this type of operation, it wouldn't hold up in court.
I hate liberals. If you are a liberal, do not reply.
I too think it's cool that hobbyists are hacking consumer electronics.
But, c'mon. Neither you nor I will ever actually run linux on our gamecubes.
/bin/fortune | slashdotsig.sh
But why would you want to run Linux on the Cube when it has no high-capacity storage (i.e., hard drive)?
:)
Perhaps I shouldn't be the one to answer- I can't see any compelling reason for running Linux on the Gamecube, even considering my answer. *shrug*
There's no reason someone porting Linux to the GC, or someone interested in using the port, couldn't add a hard drive or a more regular media drive to the GC through one of the high-speed ports on the bottom of the GC.
For me, the only useful reason to have Linux running on the GC wouldn't even require a HD. That is, it might make a nice cheap cluster machine. A pretty fast 485 MHz PowerPC chip, fast bus, etc for only $99 new, possibly less in bulk. And small. You could buy 20 of these, use the optional official ethernet card (or something home brewed, fiber?) and have a zippy cluster that isn't all that big.
Even then, it doesn't seem that worthit. But whatever, I'm not the one doing the port.
Working toward a usable PDA environment in the spirit of Newton OS: Dynapad
The Gamecube is extremly cheap and once the team is able to get a working Linux OS on the Cube, there will be many applications for such a device. (Many have been mentioned aboove, like thin client, low end web server, etc).
They are the most litigious in the realm of emulation and ROMs but they also have the most to lose. Sony's playstation hardly has a history to build on (note that sony has also pursued emulators to court, something that Nintendo hasn't if I recall correctly). Microsoft hasn't had any problems since they have no history at all. Emulation cuts into remarketing concepts and games already built.
That Nintendo just won't let us have games for free is sucky, but their entire empire was built on survival. Their refusal to enter the CD realm was partially based on a lack of expertise, and a lack of expensive facilities. Sony already had plenty of CD based factories, but Nintendo was still in the chip market. CD piracy was of course another consideration, one that ultimately came back to bite Sony in the butt as personal cd burners came to market.
Sega has probably been the most emu friendly, but thats not exactly an endorsement. As I recall, they settled their suit against a popular Genesis emulation by building Sega PC Sonic fun packs that are built on the author's emulation technology. And then the saturn has just been too rare (and large) and unheard of for emulation, let alone market exploitation. Though Sega has been releasing some other games for GBA as a sega classics, and the sonic mega collection on gamecube.
So no illusions, just know that Nintendo works with the strategy that's worked for them -- conservative decisions. They spend a good deal of R&D money, but they do exercise caution in what they release, and how they move. Of the Big 3, Nintendo has the smallest bankroll. On the other hand they're also the most game dedicated. They're the least likely to pull out if things are looking down. At some point Microsoft's due dilligence will have to examine the XBox situation (at which point heads would roll if they hadn't already all left the company (interesting sign)).
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Open Source Sysadmin
Sellers have the right to place conditions on the use of items sold, and buyers have the right to take their business elsewhere if they don't like it.
Furthermore, owning something does not give you the right to break the law. Rightfully owning a knife does not give you warrant to stab someone. Whether you like it or not, the DMCA *is law*... and under it, reverse engineering "your property" *is illegal*. No matter what you claim to have not agreed to.
This is cool, but I'd rather see Linux on the GBA, or maybe even the DS. A Linux distro on a portable system would be quite useful for those of us who want to have a makeshift PDA. Concidering the DS uses rewritable media, I think it could be done.
"It was their staunch refusal to touch CDs (because they were easily copied)"
That particular detail is not entirely true. (Though what I'm about to say does not, in any way, defeat your point about Square.)
Nintendo was quite happy to go to CD, see the Super NES CD that didn't quite make it. But that was a peripheral. With a mainstream system, like the N64, CD-ROMs were not so interesting to Nintendo.
* The drive mechanisms were expensive. The money saved by using cartridges went towards more powerful processing. (note: The N64 came out for $200 instead of $300 like the PS launch.)
* The media is easily damaged. Cartridges are much harder for kids to break.
* Nintendo would have a hard time controlling who made what for the system. (Look up Nintendo's tiffles with Tengen and Atari for more info on that.)
* Access times are slow causing interruptions in any given game. Above all else, it's a game machine, not a wait machine.
* Cartridges make a lot more money for Nintendo.
As I mentioned before, this does not interfere with your point about Square. However, arguably, Square was being rather whiney about it. The reason why they wanted CD media was so they could use CG rendered full motion video in places. Really, it wasn't that necessary. (Yes, I've played the game.) It was a luxury they demanded, instead of a limitation they could have overcomed. As a result, Square made their decision, and found themselves crawling back in Nintendo's direction.
I will say this, though: Square made the right choice. I don't like Sony, I wasn't a fan of the PS, but I do think Square did the right thing. Sadly, they severely damaged their relations with Nintendo. They're slowly patching it up, but we as gamers have been hurt by it.
"Basically, Nintendo has this illusionary image that they are a good, consumer-friendly company."
Believe it or not, they are. Sadly, a company their size often finds themselves in a position where they have to make tough decisions. Everybody has their opinion, that's something Nintendo has no control over.
"if you get in their way, they will not hesistate for a second before coming down on you like a ton of bricks."
I don't think that's a fair statement. In a sense, it's true. However, there are a few missing words in that phrase. Believe it or not, they do think before they act. They do act swiftly, though.
"Derp de derp."
In one of the more beautifully simplistic bits of copy-protection I've ever seen, Gamecube discs spin opposite to standard DVD/CD playing devices.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think there are a lot of reverse-direction DVD burners floating around.
What if you get someone else to open the box for you or buy the unit used?
But it's their copy protection (burn/read from outside to in, among other theories) that has really stumped emulation enthusiasts like myself.
The idea of the data starting on the outside and working in has been tossed around a lot, but no one has really tried to test it.
What has been proven to be the main factor in the copy protection is the barcode around the inside of the disc. The barcode is found near the center of the disc, just a little further in than the data. The barcode can't be burned onto a disc - it must be put in during manufacturing. You need to use a microscope to make out the bars, but if you're magnifying it enough to distinguish them, you won't be able to see anything but the bars, leaving you no frame of reference, making it impossible to map the bars.
To my knowledge, only a small group of people have figured out how to rip a GC disk, and they're not sharing how. Developers of the Dolphin emu probably know how to do it as well.
It's simple to rip a GC disk. Load a program using the PSO exploit. Write code to read from the DVD and send the data over the network. Code for all of that is readily available.