Linux
When it was announced that the specifications of the Xbox were known to be very similar to an X86 PC, Xbox Linux was quickly considered as a possibility. Michael Robertson, the CEO of Lindows.com, offered two $100,000 prizes with the vision of getting cheap Linux PCs into the hands of the masses. One of the prizes was for a demonstration of Linux running on an Xbox (with a $55,000 "subprize" for writing a BIOS) The other prize was for an exploit capable of getting Xbox Linux to run without hardware modification, ideally by using just a CD-ROM. (was this claimed? the prize deadline was extended here) The first Xbox exploits were created to make Xbox Linux possible, and were quickly repurposed by modders, while Linux remained a more niche application of the original Xbox. In the years while the Xbox was still being manufactured, it could function as a cheap daily driver Linux PC. But, as with all PCs they eventually became obsolete as cheaper, smaller hardware became available with similar processing power.
Today, Xbox Linux has more of a hobbyist appeal. But, it would also be possible to use it to bundle Linux setups and individual Linux applications, once the proper functionality is set up.
The former kernels of 2.4 and 2.6 are woefully out of date. To save the day, haxar has patched a modern kernel (5.8) with everything needed to run a terminal-based instance of Xbox linux. This kernel can be used as the basis for setting up modern Xbox Linux distributions.
Links
Many of the old Xbox Linux information now lives on archive.org. It is helpful if you come across anything useful, to add it here!
- Haxar's modifications to the 5.8 kernel
- A basic initramfs for use with that kernel
- The busybox setup used in that initramfs
Historical links
- The original Xbox Linux repository on sourceforge. The mailing list archives can help answer esoteric questions about xbox linux, sometimes
- 17 Mistakes Microsoft Made in the Xbox Security System A security review of the Xbox made by Michael Steil, a member of the Xbox Linux team
