What To Do With a Free Xbox 360 Pro?

OzPeter writes "Last week I won an Xbox 360 Pro. However, I am not a gamer, and after looking at the current MS offerings, I am not tempted to become one. But I am in the market for a Media Center PC that I can use for streaming TV shows off the 'net as well as general web browsing and displaying video through the HDMI port. With that in mind, I again looked at MS and saw they seemed to have positioned the Xbox as an adjunct to a separate Windows Media Center PC and not as a stand alone unit (which is not what I want). So, once again, I did some more research into the Xbox homebrew scene and discovered things like Xbox Linux. But after reading that site, it is apparent that MS is trying to beat down the homebrewers, and I am left wondering how much hassle it would be to go down that path. So my question is: how should I re-purpose my Xbox? Is it worthwhile doing the Homebrew/Linux option (and can anyone share any experiences)? Are there other ways of re-purposing the device that I haven't considered? Or should I just keep it boxed up as a Christmas present for a favorite nephew?"

Comments

Re:Penny Arcade Charity

[rm999]

Also, don't forget that the XBox is considered income and will be taxed as such. It could cost you up to 100 dollars to keep it or sell it (assuming you do your taxes honestly - I believe here in the US the IRS has been known to go after people who don't declare their prizes). So, if you sell it you only get 100-150 dollars - not too much.

If you give it to charity it is no longer income, and won't be taxed. I think this is the best way to go - the IRS can't tax karma ;)

Re:Why bother?

[AnotherUsername]

All three major consoles charge to develop.

The Nintendo Wii development kit is $1,700.
The Sony PS3 development kit is $2,000 (non-Linux)
The XBox 360 development kit....$100

Compared to the others, the XBox 360 development kit is a steal. As for not offering anything in return, consider:
1.) Small indie teams can work on a major console without breaking the budget.
2.) The games created by the small indie teams can be hosted on a major console's server, allowing instant access to millions of possible customers.
3.) Small indie teams don't have to be major developers in order to use it (unlike Nintendo).

Depending on the price that the game ends up costing ($5, $3, or $1), given the millions of gamers who are on the marketplace, an indie game studio could somewhat easily recoup that year's losses($100) from having Microsoft host their game by selling anywhere between 20 and 100 copies of their game. If the game is good, they should have little problem. If it stinks, they may have more problems. If no one is buying the game, they will eventually take it off, freeing up the marketplace for others to try selling their games, which may or may not be good.

Also, if you think that the above prices are extreme, consider that licensing the Unreal Engine 3 costs $350,000. And that doesn't come with hosting. Plus, paying 3% royalties on all sales of games made with the engine.

People need to figure out that not everything Microsoft does is horribly horribly evil. They are a company. They do things to make money. They are more evil than some companies, less evil than others. Yes, they have done some pretty shitty things in the past. That doesn't mean that everything they do in the future is done in the name of Satan.

Oh, and before anyone accuses me, no, I don't work for Microsoft. I am just open-minded enough to realize that they are a company, not a church. Business is brutal. Some people can't handle this, and prefer to remain in an idealistic fantasy world. I used to be in that world. I hated everything Microsoft. But then I grew up, and I dealt with reality. And I've been much happier and less stressed than I ever could have been had I remained a die-hard anti-Microsoft zealot.