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Free60 Project Aims for Linux on Xbox 360

BlueMoon writes "The Free60 Project wiki and developers mailinglist has been launched. The project aims to port open source operating systems like GNU/Linux and Darwin to the Microsoft Xbox 360 gaming console. The site already contains some interesting details about the Xbox 360 security: per-box key stored on CPU, boot ROM will be on CPU too and a hypervisor verifies the running state of the kernel."

44 of 511 comments (clear)

  1. *click* by NightDragon · · Score: 5, Funny

    *Starts the "Time-to-360-hacked" Stopwatch....*

    --
    -ND
  2. Re:Why would you need it on a three 3.2 GHz proces by amliebsch · · Score: 5, Funny

    They want to run KDE.

    --
    If you don't know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else.
  3. Re:Easier option... by mordors9 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Because the most important question of all must once again be answered, "yeah, but does it run linux?"

  4. Re:My Thoughts Exactly by Miros · · Score: 3, Funny

    So, buy an extremely expensive piece of propreitary hardware, an extra pc case, a bunch of modding tools, spend hours of your time moving the pieces from one to the other and getting the OS tweaked just right... to not waste money on overpriced games.... dude, just go out and buy a computer, seriously.

  5. They should probably wait... by Hymer · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...until that overheating problem is solved...

  6. First step! by Libor+Vanek · · Score: 4, Funny

    I already know 1st step "HowTo run Linux on your XBox 360" - it's:

    1, Attach your XBox on a string so it can be c00l enough ;-)

  7. Re:My Thoughts Exactly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny
    4) Install Linux and stop buying those ridiculously priced games...

    ...so you can play Tux Racer. Oh Oh Oh, what about bzFlag? Linux can play games, honest!

  8. Good idea by GroeFaZ · · Score: 5, Funny

    because game consoles, too, want to be free.

    --
    The grass is always greener on the other side of the light cone.
  9. Re:Why would you need it on a three 3.2 GHz proces by paranode · · Score: 5, Funny

    And they want to open something in OpenOffice.

  10. Re:Yay by porneL · · Score: 5, Funny

    It just gives that fuzzy feeling that Microsoft has paid $126 for your Linux box.

  11. Re:Consoles are not general computing platforms by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    You missed the whole point of being a geek. Sorry, slashdot is not for you, don't come back.

  12. This is not the slashdot I once knew by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Hello fellow slashdotters, I've been reading slashdot for several years but this is ourageous.
    As the Executive Sales Manager for Microsoft XBox 360 I don't see this as news but a direct
    illegal action against the Microsoft corporation. Hacking the XBox hardware which the machine was
    not originally intended for will be further looked into by the FBI and CIA as it is considered a
    hostile Terrorist action against the United States of America's privatly owned enterprises. We
    have the governments full support to fight this Communist plague and any attempt to interfere or
    hinder this investigation will result in an immediate hostile response.

  13. At least by paranode · · Score: 4, Funny

    Before they try porting Gentoo to it.

    1. Re:At least by smittyoneeach · · Score: 2, Funny

      Well, they already ported Gentoo's creator to MicroSoft, so the distro itself should logically follow.

      --
      Get thee glass eyes, and, like a scurvy politician, seem to see things thou dost not.--King Lear
  14. Re:Yay by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    >>> Why would you need it on a three 3.2 GHz processors.

    Because they're THERE!

    Geesh... :-)

  15. Re:Yay by hullabalucination · · Score: 2, Funny
    Why would you need it on a three 3.2 GHz processors.

    The main reason: Jewel Box Total Annihilation Edition
    http://www.games.ru/games/linux/screenshots/xjewel .gif

  16. Re:Question by Slashcrap · · Score: 5, Funny

    But even the best game consoles make for pretty poor PCs if you just look at the specs, so it seems to me that this is more of a proof-of-concept and the sheer devilish joy of seeing Tux on an Xbox.

    3 x 3.2Ghz Power PC CPUs, 512MB memory, high-end GPU, 20GB HDD & wireless.

    I see what you mean. It's hardly worth bothering with really is it?

  17. Re:holy mangled facts, batman by CustomDesigned · · Score: 2, Funny

    Thanks. No wonder I couldn't google it either :-)

  18. Re:Why? by Aqws · · Score: 2, Funny

    According to Godwins law, I must now try to hack the x-box.

  19. Re:Yay by Geoffreyerffoeg · · Score: 5, Funny

    But how long does that fuzzy feeling last when your system crashes because the power-supply overheated?

    Then it becomes a warm fuzzy feeling.

  20. Re:How To by Eideewt · · Score: 5, Funny

    I believe that's:
    1. Get modified Xbox with Linux installed
    2. Suspend on a piece of string
    3. Spin 360 degrees on piece of string
    4. ???
    5. Profit!

  21. One other thing by Zen+Programmer · · Score: 2, Funny

    Cziksentmihalyi is pronounced "CHICK-SENT-ME-HIGH", and although he was the first to academically describe this state, as Cziksentmihalyi acknowledges, it has been known and pursued for much, much longer by yogis and many others.

    1. Re:One other thing by Oopsz · · Score: 2, Funny

      It was always "Chick-sent-mah-hail-yah" through my motivation prof's lower east side accent..

  22. Re:Yay by akeyes · · Score: 5, Funny
    Why would you need it on a three 3.2 GHz processors.

    You must be new here...

  23. OOo? by tepples · · Score: 2, Funny

    You should be certain to specify that these CPUs don't execute OoO

    Only because they haven't been cracked yet. Should the box be cracked, you'll see a port of Linux, and then you'll have your OpenOffice.org suite.

  24. Re:holy mangled facts, batman by Scherf · · Score: 4, Funny

    [...]Csikszentmihalyi, and he's Hungarian[...]

    Seriously, I was this close to mod you funny... ;-)

  25. Re:Why?? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny
    Because not all of us share the same tastes as you and we actually find it funny?

    I understand that it happens. I just don't understand *why* it happens. Let's look at the linked cartoon. Oh man that's a hoot! A joke about geeks not having sex! How *do* they come up with it? Geniuses, I tell ya.

  26. FAQ by Paradise+Pete · · Score: 5, Funny
    Pretty good FAQ on that site:

    Q: Have you guys modded the Xbox360 yet?
    A: No, not yet.

  27. The name by FLAGGR · · Score: 2, Funny

    Free60? That's pretty cool. What are the other consoles going to get for a name? "Open Source Revolution", uh.. "PS3 Linux"?

  28. Aussie by tardigrades · · Score: 2, Funny

    In case you didnt know free60 is Australian pronunciation of for 360. Im getting kinda fristy here.

    --
    really bored? My blog
  29. It's just a ploy from MS to make Linux crash... by marcushnk · · Score: 4, Funny

    You see.. they're taking a $129 loss on every x360 sold.. the reason is that they KNOW we're going to put Linux on it.. and the moment we do you KNOW some well meaning twit will port Gentoo to it.
    Now if these buggers over heat and die regularly what do you think GENTOO is going to do to it with all that compiling?!?!

    It's going to set fire to houses and KILL PEOPLE!!
    Then MS can sit back and let the marketing dogs of war loose, and Linux will be branded as the child killing OS for ever and a day.

    so.. which of you genius Judas will be nailing Tux to a dead tree first??

    --
    "Consider how lucky you are that life has been good to you so far. Alternatively, if life hasn't been good to you so far
  30. Re:Not too quick! by nazsco · · Score: 2, Funny

    that makes sense!

    1. M$ releases just a few machines as a probe
    2. hackers abuse version 1
    3. M$ launches version 2 that can't be hacked that way.
    4. all of versions 1 burn to ashes
    5. ???
    6. hackers get to version 2, but then it's too much work for the pseudo-chip makers in china to cople with

  31. Some team at M$ is watching by bhav2007 · · Score: 3, Funny

    I bet there is some group within M$ whose job has been specifically to prevent Linux from running on the xbox 360. They better cross their fingers

  32. Linux string? by EmbeddedJanitor · · Score: 1, Funny

    So what's the deal here? Using Linux string to fix the 360?

    --
    Engineering is the art of compromise.
  33. Re:Nice try by croddy · · Score: 5, Funny
    The real questions are: is there a hack that requires so little effort from the part of the user that it is worth the trouble, and if so, how long until it is discovered ?

    After some analysis, I've already discovered what appears to be a critical vulnerability already in the 360's chain of trust.

    The approach will not be easy. You are required to maneuver straight down this trench and skim the surface to this point. The target area is only two meters wide. It's a small thermal exhaust port, right below the main port. The shaft leads directly to the reactor system. A precise hit will start a chain reaction which should destroy the station.

  34. Would Linux even run? by Short+Circuit · · Score: 1, Funny

    Even if you got around the intentional security measures, would Linux even run on a machine with an number of processors not 2^n? If so, I've never heard of it before...

    1, 2, 4, 8, even 32 processors, sure. The only non power-of-two systems I've heard of were clusters, which typically have a different task-distribution model.

  35. Re:Nice try by Jozer99 · · Score: 2, Funny

    I did it! I found all the security stuff difficult, so I replaced the hardware with my Pentium D desktop. Now, the XBox 360 will boot Suse, BSD, Windows XP, and even BeOS with little or no configuration. Then I decided that hacking the Xbox 360 alone was too easy, so I decided to write an XBox 360 emulator for my new hacked XBox 360. This was easily accomplished by subsituting the original scrapped hardware for the new hacked version. Spread the news.

  36. Re:This must be a great story by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Don't worry. I hear they're working on a story about Linux on XBox 360, from the Free360 Project.

  37. SAD NEWS! MUST READ! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    I just heard some sad news on IRC - Slashdot Editor CmdrTaco was found dead in front of his computer this afternoon. There weren't any more details. I'm sure everyone in the Slashdot community will miss him - even if you didn't enjoy his work, there's no denying his contributions to geek culture. Truly a Slashdot icon, and his picture will be turned into one soon.

  38. Re:Nice try by Eccles · · Score: 2, Funny

    Many Bothans died to bring you this information.

    --
    Ooh, a sarcasm detector. Oh, that's a real useful invention.
  39. Re:Nice try by Lectrik · · Score: 2, Funny

    After some analysis, I've already discovered what appears to be a critical vulnerability already in the 360's chain of trust.

    The approach will not be easy. You are required to maneuver straight down this trench and skim the surface to this point. The target area is only two meters wide. It's a small thermal exhaust port, right below the main port. The shaft leads directly to the reactor system. A precise hit will start a chain reaction which should destroy the station.


    Wow, the 360 must use some sort of transfinite spatail interface just to have a 2 meter wide thermal port.
    That and shouldn't that be
    A precise hit will start a chain reaction which should destroy the [Play]station [3].


    That's no moon, that's an XboX.
    --
    --- As to make my comment seem, by comparison, more intelegent... doodie doodie doodie poop poop poop!
  40. Re:are there any non-gaming applications to this by mblase · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'm sure there are a lot of high-perf researchers on a shoestring

    A lot of Xbox 360 power bricks, too.

  41. Grad Students by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    As long as thier are grad students, linux will be ported to anything that can processes assembly instructions.