LinuxHam's Journal: MechAssault for xbox

Ok, getting closer. I picked up MechAssault for XBox over the weekend. Oh, the XBoxUSB adapter cable arrived in 3 days from Hong Kong! I've always heard good things about Lik-Sang, but I just couldn't believe that it would be that easy to order something from Asia. $13 for the cable and $20 for shipping.

I also already have a USB Combo SmartMedia/CompactFlash reader/writer, so according to xbox-linux.sf.net, all I have to do next is copy a hacked "savegame" of MechAssault to the SmartMedia, hook it up to the XBox and use the XBox console to copy it to the hard drive, then restore the savegame in MechAssault. Apparently it'll hack the main menu and replace the Live configuration option with LINUX. Just like adding a Linux bootable partition to the old Windows NT boot loader ;-)

Two things. First, the guy at the game store asked if I will be playing this on XBox Live and I replied, "no, this is the game you need in order to hack the XBox to load Linux on it." "Uhhhh, oh!" Second, I got into an argument with my best bud because he just doesn't get that I'm not removing any XBox functionality, instead just *adding* HTPC functionality to it by running MythTV frontend under Linux. He kept saying, "its such a kickass box, why do you INSIST on loading Linux on it? You just HAVE to see Linux running on EVERYTHING, don't you?" I was trying to explain to him how MythTV splits the backend (PVR functionality, DVD player/ripper/library, MP3 player/ripper/library, newsfeed and Weather Channel "screen savers") from the frontend which is only the display piece. They can run on the same box, but they don't *have to*. He has an awesome Shuttle HTPC on his main TV running XPME, so I guess he can't possibly imagine turning an XBox into a $149 convergence box with all the functionality of his $500 PC that doesn't play any games.

The long and short of it was my explaining that with Myth, you have one or more backend servers, capturing and storing all the content and a PC connected to each TV running the display piece. You can stream different content to each TV simultaneously. And if you use XBox instead of a straight PC, you can always reboot back to XBox mode and play XBox games. He replied, "you can do all that streaming with Replay" (even knowing full well that I already have a hacked TiVO on my LAN). It ended with my asking, "okay, how many subscriptions do I have to pay for with Replay then, because with TiVO, it is PER UNIT!" "Oh, good point."

Conversation over.

Happy Easter, all, if... you... believe in all that stuff.