[olug] ***OLUG TAGS THIS AS SPAM*** linux powered xbox

[DYNATRON tech]

hello,
 i'm a local xbox hacker (not a black hat).
i'm looking to teach these skills to other interested parties.
before you click the delete button, here me out.
if you are a true tech junkie, this is very interesting stuff.
as a side note:
i also do xbox work professionally, but that's not what this bulletin is
about.

as you may or may not know, the xbox v1.x is composed of fairly standard PC
hardware. PIII 733, 64MB sdram, nvidia chip. the controller ports are even
standard USB with non-standard plugs (easy to adapt or splice). now this may
not sound like much, but when you are not running a complex OS, you have a
lot to work with. what i do is bypass the M$ BIOS by loading my own bios
software to allow the execution of my own OS (linux if you choose). contrary
to what M$ would have you believe, this is perfectly legal as long as it's
done in a matter that does not infringe on copyright, and it's not done for
the purpose of  violating copyright law. some people use modified M$ code to
do this. that is also where some cross the line.

after bypassing the bios, i replace the HD (8GB stock) with a 250GB HD, then
use an installation DVD to load an ftp server onto the xbox. i'm sure you
can see where it goes from there. you are now free to access the HD and load
any software you choose. what i use is basically a bad-ass media center
(1080p capable) w/ python scripts, a boot menu, a web browser, file browser,
and the grip of incredibly smooth running emulators. it also allows for
backup of your games to the HD eliminating the need for discs. I DO NOT
CONDONE PIRACY, but we all know the frustration of a bad media disc. i
strongly condone backing up your data. i'm not a d1ck, and i won't help you
steal games, so don't ask me how.

the xbox scene is dedicated to collaborative computer projects, and is
deeply rooted in the open source community. this is the reason for my post.
there is an unlimited amount of truly free software to use with these boxes.
these include all kinds of servers (web, ftp, smb, etc). you can turn your
xbox into NAS of any size you can fit onto one HD. extremely large HD's
(over 320GB's) require cluster size tricks, but work just as well.

many of you are surely familiar with the xbox-scene. if you are, i'm not
addressing you. i'd like to spark some more interest in the craft. it
started off as a fun hobby for me, but i am close to mastering the art, and
i'm getting bored. i've been offering it as a paid service for quite some
time now, but i would like to maybe present and hold a workshop for people
interested in the homebrew electronics scene. if you are into linux, then
this right up your alley. i'm a n00b when it comes to linux, but maybe we
could all learn something from each other. i've only done 1 linux install on
an xbox, but it was really cool. that's what open source is all about,
right? and if you know any young people that would like an incredibly fun
way to learn the basic approaches of advanced white hat hacking, this is a
great way to sink your teeth into it. it's not recommended for anyone who
doesn't know file system basics.

well, if nobody is interested in this, i hope you at least found it
informative.

if you have a broken xbox lying around you need to get rid of, or would like
to fix, let me know.
i don't give a lot for the xboxes, but you would be suprised how cheaply you
can fix some major hardware failures.
if people show interest in some kind of workshop, donations of neglegted or
broken xboxes will be accepted.
i've got a decent sized computer lab to work with, so if a few or many
people are interested, i'll go ahead with the project.

i don't have much else to contribute to OLUG, but i am deeply grateful for
organizations of this type, so i would like to share with you all what i
can.

much love to mr. wolf for solving my virtual host apache headache.

thanks for your time all,



-joseph
dynatron digital services
box 191 - 68037
www.dynatron.org
dynatron at gmail.com