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The Xbox Linux Project announced that Microsoft Windows 2000 has been successfully started and run on a Microsoft Xbox gaming console. This has been accomplished by using the Linux operating system, which already works reliably on the Xbox, as host environment. Windows has been run inside Linux with common PC virtualization software.
The artilcle is here....
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I've never understood this infatuation people have with getting productivity OSes to run on a game console. Can anybody explain to me why you would want to run Windows 2000 on an Xbox, aside from shits and giggles?
[EDIT]I get the part about using Linux for compatibility, but why do it on an Xbox instead of a PC?
Maybe its an anti microsoft thing.
FYI - I posted this here :)
The one application I was thinking of when I saw this would be if some kid needed a cheap alternative to a PC for schoolwork and wanted some games as well. He could use the XBox in its original form to play games, and then boot up Win2k and MS Office when he had to do some work. The sum cost of a setup like this would (I think) be much less than that of a normal PC. Can't see it taking off, but I thought it was an interesting idea.
-toad
Sounds OK, but I'm still not buying it. By the time you pay $275 for Win2k and $400 for Office, you could buy a $500 or $600 Wal-Mart PC and throw Linux and OpenOffice on it and come out ahead.
Besides, what would you do with your Office document once you got it created? I'm pretty Xbox ignorant, as I don't play games. Does it have a printer port or floppy drive where you could move your document?
The controller ports are USB ports - you could always plug a printer in there. No floppy drive, but then again, there are all those USB ports along the front, and a USB floppy drive couldn't be too expensive. I don't think it's really fair comparing OpenOffice and MS Office, they are two different programs. Say the end result (PC or XBox) had to be something with Win2k and MS Office - you would come out ahead on XBox. If the end result had to be Linux with OpenOffice - you would come out ahead on the XBox as well, forget about running Win2k and Office on top of Linux, just run Linux and the office program from there.
Like I said, it's not really viable and I can't see anyone bothering - it was just an idea.
There is a point of sorts. Game consoles are generally produced by manufacturers who sell them at a loss, in a hope of getting a good market share and recouping their investment through game sales. So, with a cutting edge console running a free/inexpensive OS, like Linux, You may just be able to get the most bang for your buck. The Windows emulation thing, however, I think is just to prove it could be done.