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Blowing TiVo's Lid

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the because-you-can dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Taking things apart is just plain fun, but there's also a lot to learn about how to build a foolproof Linux-based appliance. Break out your Torx drivers and take a closer look at TiVo's inner Linux workings. Examining the TiVo system reveals how one company made the transition from desktop operating system to embedded system."

6 of 89 comments (clear)

  1. didn't i read this 2.5 weeks ago?!? by H8X55 · · Score: 4, Informative

    didn't i read this 2.5 weeks ago?!?

    first posted on slashdot 7/6/05 - dang!

  2. Re:Not that I care.... by jtdennis · · Score: 2, Informative

    it didn't talk about extracting or decrypting video, so no. It just voids your warranty.

    --
    -- "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings" -Optimus Prime
  3. Re:open source? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    http://www.tivo.com/linux/linux.asp

  4. More Info by CowboyRobot · · Score: 2, Informative

    This article: http://acmqueue.com/modules.php?name=Content&pa=sh owpage&pid=53 includes a lot more info about the history of tivo, specifically in regard to how it relies on open source software

    --
    every stain tells a story
  5. Original Slashdot Story by echocharlie · · Score: 2, Informative

    This story was first posted back on July 6 when the article was first released.

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    AnimeNEXT anime convention
  6. Re:open source? by iabervon · · Score: 3, Informative
    The license for the Linux kernel says:
    NOTE! This copyright does *not* cover user programs that use kernel services by normal system calls - this is merely considered normal use of the kernel, and does *not* fall under the heading of "derived work".


    The license for glibc says:
    We use this license for certain libraries in order to permit linking those libraries into non-free programs.


    TiVo's obligation is to provide source so that you can put together the base system that the TiVo software runs on (meaning that taking it apart is not particularly necessary), but they only have to include changes they made to the base system, not complete programs they wrote (and they probably chose supported hardware, formats, and so forth, so that they wouldn't have to write special drivers).