[olug] Best Linux media center program

[DYNATRON tech]

trust me,
soldering a chip is much easier than all of this




> I'll throw my hat into this ring and add that I personally softmod all
> my xboxes!  It's quicker and easier than hardmodding it!
>
>   You will need a original copy of one of 3 games
> (Mechassult, 007 Agent under fire or Splinter Cell if memory serves) as
> well as
> the softmod installer for your game on a memory card to transfer to the
> xbox.
> Installation is as simple as running the game, select the gamesave
> (softmod
> installer) and follow the directions till finished.
>
> Once installed, most features of a hardware modchip work with the softmod,
> boot
> code checking is disabled, ability to run homebrew and "backups", and
> depending
> on the dashboard you chose during install, there is usually an ftp
> server on the
> xbox now.  From there, you can move over homebrew software such as
> emulators,
> xbmc, homebrew games, etc.



i started out doing "softmods". i've done about 20 of them. i've even done
the IDE hotswap into a computer (my old favorite!)

trust me friend, soldering a chip is much easier, and once i got over my
shaky hand syndrome, i found that out.
it takes 5 minutes, and your xbox gets the cleaning it needs when you take
it apart. (dust builds quick in there!)
one trend i've noticed is that i end up putting a chip in somebody's box to
repair the mess they made of thier hard drive by "softmodding".

a million things can go wrong doing a softmod, and when that happens, you
need to install a chip to fix the mistake otherwise your xbox becomes a BBB
(big black brick).

another sloppy mod practice is to use a solderless adapter that clamps on to
the motherboard.

i have had to fix countless motherboards that have been scratched by the
pins of a solderless adapter, sometimes the mobo is a loss, sometimes the
chip just slips reverting the xbox back to loading the retail bios, which
often can't boot the hard drive due to a modified file structure, which
results in the BBB problem.

the softmod/chipmod fight is much like the old DOS/windows fight.
i'd rather not debate it on a linux forum.
find me on the forums if you've got a good argument chris!
the rest of your information is excellent in my opinion.
thanks for posting the links.

this is the definitive xbox-linux website...
http://www.xbox-linux.org/wiki/Main_Page
i've got some chips pre-loaded with a linux bios/kernel if you wanna give it
a try.
i prefer the non-linux approach for media needs, but i've used linux also,
and it runs well on the xbox.
i'd recommend adapting the USB ports to fit standard usb rather than
XboxUSB.
that's all i've got for you guys.
hit me up on e-mail if you are interested.