You can actually solder more ram on to the Xbox motherboard yourself, taking the total to 128MB (from 64MB).
All of the xbox linux stuff is documented really nicely at http://xbox-linux.sourceforge.net
Total, it cost me about $250 to get Linux up and running on my Xbox (including the cost of the system, USB thumb drive, USB to Xbox adapter cables etc etc). You don't need a modchip to install Linux, nor do you give up your ability to play games. The only thing you give up by doing the Mech Assault dashboard method is your ability to configure Xbox Live ("Linux" appears where Xbox Live normally is).
My ability to play games is not hindered at all by having Linux installed.
The only problem I have with the Xbox-linux documentation as it exists is that it's a little scattered. If you have problems in the process of a howto, often times the remedy is elsewhere. Make sure to read the documentatiion thouroughly before you decide to do an install.
This morning for example, I turned my Xbox on (after it had been unplugged for a while) and the internal clock battery was out of juice. Normally when this happens, the Xbox will ask you for the date and you can be on your merry way. With Linux installed though, its a different story. The system goes into a process where it keeps rebooting itself over and over (and you can't do anything -- no loading linux, no playing games, no nothing). You have to wait about a half an hour for it to timeout before you can get going again. Depending though, on how you do the Linux install (Mech Assualt vs 007), this can be a small problem or a big problem (big problem = infinite loop).
This type of small obscure problem can be a huge hindrance to getting Linux functioning smoothly on the Xbox. If one of the howtos recommends that you backup something, or take note of something, it is a very good idea to heed that warning.
The Xbox may be $150, but it can either be a $150 Linux box, or a $150 paperweight, and you're walking that fine line when installing Linux.
I have linux installed on my xbox and it works great. I play Snes games on it (using the xbox controller and a separate usb controller), watch movies (using linux means I don't need to buy Microsofts remote to watch dvds), am running it as web server, mail server, ftp server, ssh server (overkill I know, but I don't care). And I run seti@home on it as well.
Well, doh. What the hell did you expect?! If we were so friggin good at predicting the market, then we wouldn't be programming (or more accurately, fucking around on./), now would we?
I'm not "you people". I'm currently undecided about who I'm gonna vote for. What does bug me though, is the sentiment that all wrongs in the world are the fault of President Bush.
but the election of President Bush put an end to that.
Yes, and president Bush is the reason people have to die. and why this world is not peaceful. and why people get fat. and why people starve. and why people commit crimes. and why I just stubbed my toe.
No. I am saying that the purpose of us going in there was oil (mostly) the liberation of the iraqis was a mere side effect.
With what evidence? Hypothetically, were the war for oil, would the Iraqis liberation then be completely unjustified?
A better one is that both of your neighbors are starving and you choose to feed the pretty one so you can rape her. You let the ugly one die of hunger because you can't get a hard on around her.
We're choosing to help Iraq so we can rape them? If their standard of living increases, their economy becomes powerful, and their lives become safer, are they still victims of American rape? Oh wait, let me guess. The only reason they might come to like the US is because they've been victims of propagranda and brutality? It can't possibly be that we've actually given these people a chance at democratic peace.
It won't ever happen. There will never be world peace. This act by Bush has made the world less peaceful not more.
I would argue that a world with tyrannical dictators can not be a peaceful world. With dictators as paranoid as Saddam and Kim Jong-il, you're gonna be hardpressed to find any people that have any hope of amassing the organization required to overthrow their government.
Outside intervention is the best way for these people to have any hope at longterm peace.
Without intervention, their dictatorships are going nowhere. Therefore, what do you propose? That we sit on our thumbs, to appease western europe, as foreign dictators commit genocide on their own people?
I believe that you are indeed articulating the position of the Bush white house. Lying, stealing, bribing, handing out fat contracts to friends etc are all accepted if the end is access to cheap oil. It's the halmark of moral bankrupcy of this administration.
Again, the oil argument. There is no reasonable motive that justifies this conspiracy theory. Some people have this image of Bush as evil and greedy, and the idea that the whole war might be for oil helps perpetuate the idea. It might work well in Liberal peace protests (where any mention of Halliburton gets people frothing at the mouths), but at the end of the day, there is not much substance to the argument.
The fact that the ends may justify the means in a war seems to fall on deaf ears with most Liberals.
* Leftists love the concept of peace. * A war can bring peace. (god forbid) * Leftists hate war.
This left-wing paradox seems to be indecipherable to so many anti-war peeps.
It is a simple fact that aggression is sometimes needed to bring peace. Anyone who has even a vague recollection of Elementary school playground dynamics should be able to reason through this. Sometimes you have to bully the bully in order to get him to stop bullying. This doesn't make you a bully, but it does help you bring the peace.
but will Microsoft try to use cupons, or "donate" software to schools, thus locking in more Microsoft users from a young age?
You say that like Windows is a drug. I know that might fall in line with the sentiment of a typical Slashdot-drone, but come on.
You should submit that advice to a teen bible. In the margins during the David and Goliath fight, it could say "Turn to page 1123 for some hip and healthy advice".
Just a thought.
The fact that Iraq is sitting on a lot of oil allows the liberation of their country to be less costly for us (by getting discounted rates). You seem to be saying that yes, Iraq will (and is) benefiting from our occupation, but that none of it was justified simply because there are countries worse off than Iraq.
By this logic, nothing would ever get done in the world. Am I completely unjustified in giving my neighbor a cupful of sugar simply because there are starving kids in Africa that could use it more?
Iraq has the potential be a great democracy and trendsetter for the region. It is a simple fact that the middle east is the most backwards, dangerous, (oftentimes) irrational part of the world right now.
The Left love to reap the love and joy that comes from hard work and war, but condemn the means. There were a lot of faults in the Bush's prewar Iraq plan, but at the end of the day, when all the smoke clears (literally), I have little doubt that it might just prove an essential part of world peace (eventually, in won't happen tomorrow or within the decade).
The US has done a lot of shitty things around the world, but oftentimes the ends justifiy the means. (not always though.. I know there a lot of people that despise the US for fully justified reasons)
The simple fact that the Iraq war is under such high scrutiny from the rest of the world is a good thing in itself. It will force us to be extra careful, determined, and devoted to it.
My guess is that everytime Michael receives money, he runs down to CompUSA, picks up whatever deal he can find, and ships that computer out to the buyer.
If the buyer contacts him about slower than advertised speed, he'll probably say that the special "optimizations" got knocked out of whack during shipping, but not to worry, becuase it's still a "World Class" product.
Some visionary should write a book about a future dystopia and call it 2040.
Then Apple can come out with a cool new commercial in 2040, with a dubbed over voice saying, "god damn it. it's happened.", and have a gunshot fire with the sound of a body falling to the ground.
right?
There is an excellent case to be made for the benefits of opensource software, but I don't believe the afformentioned analogy makes that case.
By basic maintenance I mean things like defragging, ad scanning, config file fiddling or basic stuff of that sort. I don't always do this stuff every day, but they are 'everyday' type of things. Without access to what's under the hood of your car, you can't even perform what would otherwise be routine tasks, such as changing the oil. You couldn't install new headlights, wiper fluid, etc etc.
Again, opensource rocks, but I would sure as hell rather have an open-hooded car than an open-source program.
The analogy is flawed. Not having access to the source code of a program does not mean that you can not troubleshoot or perform basic maintenance on it.
A car with a welded hood would be like having a harddrive that couldn't be defragged, it would be like not being able to use anti-virus software.
Source code isn't everything. I perform basic maintenance on closed source programs everyday. It could be argued that a closed source easy-troubleshootable program is actually easy to fix than an opensource program whose developers don't give a crap about trying to help people troubleshoot.
The real exciting part isn't about the machine learning what the brain is doing, but rather the brain learning how the machine works. Near the end of the article, he talks about a cluster of neurons that grew in the monkey brains after the implants, and would fire only when the implants were active. The monkey's brain, in effect, sensed a new presence and adapted to it within minutes of its arrival.
Sweet! Our brains are plug-n-play. Take that Linux!
Slashdot Mirror
You can actually solder more ram on to the Xbox motherboard yourself, taking the total to 128MB (from 64MB).
All of the xbox linux stuff is documented really nicely at http://xbox-linux.sourceforge.net
Total, it cost me about $250 to get Linux up and running on my Xbox (including the cost of the system, USB thumb drive, USB to Xbox adapter cables etc etc). You don't need a modchip to install Linux, nor do you give up your ability to play games. The only thing you give up by doing the Mech Assault dashboard method is your ability to configure Xbox Live ("Linux" appears where Xbox Live normally is).
My ability to play games is not hindered at all by having Linux installed.
The only problem I have with the Xbox-linux documentation as it exists is that it's a little scattered. If you have problems in the process of a howto, often times the remedy is elsewhere. Make sure to read the documentatiion thouroughly before you decide to do an install.
This morning for example, I turned my Xbox on (after it had been unplugged for a while) and the internal clock battery was out of juice. Normally when this happens, the Xbox will ask you for the date and you can be on your merry way. With Linux installed though, its a different story. The system goes into a process where it keeps rebooting itself over and over (and you can't do anything -- no loading linux, no playing games, no nothing). You have to wait about a half an hour for it to timeout before you can get going again. Depending though, on how you do the Linux install (Mech Assualt vs 007), this can be a small problem or a big problem (big problem = infinite loop).
This type of small obscure problem can be a huge hindrance to getting Linux functioning smoothly on the Xbox. If one of the howtos recommends that you backup something, or take note of something, it is a very good idea to heed that warning.
The Xbox may be $150, but it can either be a $150 Linux box, or a $150 paperweight, and you're walking that fine line when installing Linux.
I have linux installed on my xbox and it works great. I play Snes games on it (using the xbox controller and a separate usb controller), watch movies (using linux means I don't need to buy Microsofts remote to watch dvds), am running it as web server, mail server, ftp server, ssh server (overkill I know, but I don't care). And I run seti@home on it as well.
::Generic liberal "but, but... the government is trying to kill us all" comments to follow::
Well, doh. What the hell did you expect?! If we were so friggin good at predicting the market, then we wouldn't be programming (or more accurately, fucking around on ./), now would we?
I think that hits the nail on the head : )
Slashdot? Inaccurate mods? You don't say...
(troll? insightful? who knows)
The day "no text [config] files necessary!" and "linux" can be used in the same sentence will be the day pigs fly.
I'm not "you people". I'm currently undecided about who I'm gonna vote for. What does bug me though, is the sentiment that all wrongs in the world are the fault of President Bush.
but the election of President Bush put an end to that.
/immense sarcasm
Yes, and president Bush is the reason people have to die. and why this world is not peaceful. and why people get fat. and why people starve. and why people commit crimes. and why I just stubbed my toe.
I HATE HIM!
No. I am saying that the purpose of us going in there was oil (mostly) the liberation of the iraqis was a mere side effect.
With what evidence? Hypothetically, were the war for oil, would the Iraqis liberation then be completely unjustified?
A better one is that both of your neighbors are starving and you choose to feed the pretty one so you can rape her. You let the ugly one die of hunger because you can't get a hard on around her.
We're choosing to help Iraq so we can rape them? If their standard of living increases, their economy becomes powerful, and their lives become safer, are they still victims of American rape? Oh wait, let me guess. The only reason they might come to like the US is because they've been victims of propagranda and brutality? It can't possibly be that we've actually given these people a chance at democratic peace.
It won't ever happen. There will never be world peace. This act by Bush has made the world less peaceful not more.
I would argue that a world with tyrannical dictators can not be a peaceful world. With dictators as paranoid as Saddam and Kim Jong-il, you're gonna be hardpressed to find any people that have any hope of amassing the organization required to overthrow their government.
Outside intervention is the best way for these people to have any hope at longterm peace.
Without intervention, their dictatorships are going nowhere. Therefore, what do you propose? That we sit on our thumbs, to appease western europe, as foreign dictators commit genocide on their own people?
I believe that you are indeed articulating the position of the Bush white house. Lying, stealing, bribing, handing out fat contracts to friends etc are all accepted if the end is access to cheap oil. It's the halmark of moral bankrupcy of this administration.
Again, the oil argument. There is no reasonable motive that justifies this conspiracy theory. Some people have this image of Bush as evil and greedy, and the idea that the whole war might be for oil helps perpetuate the idea. It might work well in Liberal peace protests (where any mention of Halliburton gets people frothing at the mouths), but at the end of the day, there is not much substance to the argument.
The fact that the ends may justify the means in a war seems to fall on deaf ears with most Liberals.
* Leftists love the concept of peace.
* A war can bring peace. (god forbid)
* Leftists hate war.
This left-wing paradox seems to be indecipherable to so many anti-war peeps.
It is a simple fact that aggression is sometimes needed to bring peace. Anyone who has even a vague recollection of Elementary school playground dynamics should be able to reason through this. Sometimes you have to bully the bully in order to get him to stop bullying. This doesn't make you a bully, but it does help you bring the peace.
but will Microsoft try to use cupons, or "donate" software to schools, thus locking in more Microsoft users from a young age? You say that like Windows is a drug. I know that might fall in line with the sentiment of a typical Slashdot-drone, but come on.
You should submit that advice to a teen bible. In the margins during the David and Goliath fight, it could say "Turn to page 1123 for some hip and healthy advice". Just a thought.
We've seen this before.
The fact that Iraq is sitting on a lot of oil allows the liberation of their country to be less costly for us (by getting discounted rates). You seem to be saying that yes, Iraq will (and is) benefiting from our occupation, but that none of it was justified simply because there are countries worse off than Iraq.
By this logic, nothing would ever get done in the world. Am I completely unjustified in giving my neighbor a cupful of sugar simply because there are starving kids in Africa that could use it more?
Iraq has the potential be a great democracy and trendsetter for the region. It is a simple fact that the middle east is the most backwards, dangerous, (oftentimes) irrational part of the world right now.
The Left love to reap the love and joy that comes from hard work and war, but condemn the means. There were a lot of faults in the Bush's prewar Iraq plan, but at the end of the day, when all the smoke clears (literally), I have little doubt that it might just prove an essential part of world peace (eventually, in won't happen tomorrow or within the decade).
The US has done a lot of shitty things around the world, but oftentimes the ends justifiy the means. (not always though.. I know there a lot of people that despise the US for fully justified reasons)
The simple fact that the Iraq war is under such high scrutiny from the rest of the world is a good thing in itself. It will force us to be extra careful, determined, and devoted to it.
It's funny - 11 CD-Rs are still 4 times as cost effective as a single dual layer DVD. Long live CD-R?
And if Kerry gets elected, we'll actually be able to test the skill of our scientists!!! oh, wait...
The corporate blob! Run Apple! Run Sony! RUN FORREST! :-(
I half-way expected Michael to go Vice-City on the interviewers ass part way through the interview..... dot dot dot
My guess is that everytime Michael receives money, he runs down to CompUSA, picks up whatever deal he can find, and ships that computer out to the buyer. If the buyer contacts him about slower than advertised speed, he'll probably say that the special "optimizations" got knocked out of whack during shipping, but not to worry, becuase it's still a "World Class" product.
Some visionary should write a book about a future dystopia and call it 2040. Then Apple can come out with a cool new commercial in 2040, with a dubbed over voice saying, "god damn it. it's happened.", and have a gunshot fire with the sound of a body falling to the ground. right?
then it'll be in the bargain bin in about 3 months for all of us to enjoy.
How's it feel to be drinking from a half-empty glass? if you tilt it a little more, you might actually get some of what you're trying to swallow. :-)
If /.ers had more business sense, maybe more of them could get out of their parents' basement. ; )
There is an excellent case to be made for the benefits of opensource software, but I don't believe the afformentioned analogy makes that case. By basic maintenance I mean things like defragging, ad scanning, config file fiddling or basic stuff of that sort. I don't always do this stuff every day, but they are 'everyday' type of things. Without access to what's under the hood of your car, you can't even perform what would otherwise be routine tasks, such as changing the oil. You couldn't install new headlights, wiper fluid, etc etc. Again, opensource rocks, but I would sure as hell rather have an open-hooded car than an open-source program.
The analogy is flawed. Not having access to the source code of a program does not mean that you can not troubleshoot or perform basic maintenance on it.
A car with a welded hood would be like having a harddrive that couldn't be defragged, it would be like not being able to use anti-virus software.
Source code isn't everything. I perform basic maintenance on closed source programs everyday. It could be argued that a closed source easy-troubleshootable program is actually easy to fix than an opensource program whose developers don't give a crap about trying to help people troubleshoot.
The real exciting part isn't about the machine learning what the brain is doing, but rather the brain learning how the machine works. Near the end of the article, he talks about a cluster of neurons that grew in the monkey brains after the implants, and would fire only when the implants were active. The monkey's brain, in effect, sensed a new presence and adapted to it within minutes of its arrival.
Sweet! Our brains are plug-n-play. Take that Linux!