No-Solder Modchip For The Xbox 266
toothfish writes "There's a review of the latest generation of Xbox modchip over at xbox hacker- no solder, flashable BIOS, 15 min. install, etc. Stuff like this should make it easier for the average Xbox user to run emulators, Linux, and such. No word if it does or does not work in the latest iteration of Xbox though. Anyone from australia order one of these guys yet?"
Real info (Score:4, Informative)
The Xodus thus uses a 256kb LPC flashrom. The flashrom in the Xbox is 1024kb. Lucky for us the Xbox BIOS is 4 copies of the same thing, so it actually works - HOWEVER - the devbios is 512kb and one of the Linux-bioses is also larger than 256kb and thus doesn't work in the Xodus.
The new Xbox seems to have (at least) the encryption key changed for the BIOS. Thus whether the Xodus will work on the V2 Xboxes has nothing to do with the mod, but with the BIOS you load it with. Other flashable mods (like the BioXX) will work or not work on the V2 Xbox just as well/bad as the Xodus.
It's a no-solder mod - it seems to work even if you shake your box around - but sorry, I'd trust my own soldering job any day instead (and I want to use a BIOS that supports on-target debugging, i.e, larger than 256kb)
Re:Why not get a real PC? (Score:4, Informative)
(Microsoft doesn't have control over the costs in the Xbox in the same way as Sony has on the PS2 or Nintendo on the Gamecube. Intel and NVidia, together with Philips/Thomson and Seagate/Quantum has their words in this too
Re:Real info (Score:1, Informative)
"In accordance with Mr. Green and with GPL we will be publishing the designs of the programmer on our site."
When they actually will remains to be seen, but they don't seem likely to skip that issue.
Yes I can (Score:4, Informative)
Re:This is the "Maxtrix" chip right? (Score:4, Informative)
No. Microsoft changed thier board layout along with the bios. There is a slight chance that they kept the block that this unit attaches to, but the alignment method will definately be off. On the plus side though, as the bios is reprogrammable if somehow you managed to attach the thing, you could put in a new bios.
2) Will we be able to switch it off (I want my Xbox to be unmodded really, just modded occasionally to do some things), otherwise future original MS games with barf modded Xbox's, and Xbox live...
Yep. There are 2 dip switches with (you guessed it you binary freaks) 4 modes. First, a programming mode. Second, a on mode. Third, a off mode. And finally, a switchable mode done with some voodoo involving ejecting your cd.
3) What will the flashes cover? Dvd regioning? (My biggest concern). Booting unsigned discs? (Linux on Xbox) Playing import games? (this is what its been quoted for) Playing backups? (Not too bothered about that one really).
Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. (of course, its dependant on the particular bios you decide to pop in.)
Re:Why not get a real PC? (Score:1, Informative)
Xbox got nVidia...
You suck.
Clarification about emulators on XBox (Score:5, Informative)
Firstly, there is not yet an N64 emulator that runs well. There are the preliminaries of a port of Daedalus [boob.co.uk] for the XBox, including a leaked beta binary. It runs so-so because it was still early in development. This is not a comment on the author - I'm sure something will be developed soon that will make the majority of people happy, but don't get your hopes up about emulating all your favorite N64 games just yet.
There is also no PSX emulator yet. You can find the usual hype/marketing ploys on modchip reseller webpages about modchips allowing you to emulate "great systems like SNES, N64, PSX...". Please remember when you read such things that these people want your money. Look into it yourself first. There are no PSX emulators for the XBox yet. I'm sure something will be ported over in the future ( or Linux-on-Xbox will be able to run a linux PSX emu at a decent speed soon).
The good news, however, is that the world of emulation on the XBox is unparalleled on any other console. Here is a list of emulators ported to the XBox which work almost flawlessly:
Stella (Atari 2600) [xb-power.com]
Gnuboy (Gameboy/Gameboy Color) [xb-power.com]
FCEUltra (NES) [xb-power.com]
SMSPlus (GameGear/Sega Master System> [xb-power.com]
HU-GO (Turbografx-16/PC-Engine) [xb-power.com]
NeoPop (NeoGeo Pocket Color) [xb-power.com]
DGen (Sega Genesis) [xb-power.com]
Bochs (x86) [xb-power.com]
Bochs emulates the PC architecture and has prebuilt packages for running DOS 6.22, Windows 3.11, and Windows 95. Windows runs too slowly in Bochs to do anything useful, but it runs old DOS games very well.
Snes9x (SNES) [xb-power.com]
MAME (Arcade machines) [xb-power.com]
Daedalus (N64) [boob.co.uk]
Frodo (Commodore 64) (url?)
Handy (Atari Lynx) (url?)
GBA (Gameboy Advance) (url?)
Final Burn (Arcade/CPS2 esp) (url?)
Owning a modded XBox allows you to easily play just about all of your console classics on the TV in your living room. (No, not everyone has computers in every room of their house yet. :P ) IMHO, the most fun I've had with my XBox so far is playing games on all of the above emulators. Now that there is a solderless modchip, just about anyone can enjoy them also.
Myths (Score:5, Informative)
As for the cheap PC vs. X-Box argument, there are many reasons why I have found it useful: Hooks to a TV with progressive scan (there are now patches to enable the DVD and the dashboard menu in progressive mode), Media streaming - the current media player can view streamed video from a host PC or from media on the x-box HD. This works with the x-box remote, and even plays divx. MUCH more seamless than any PC-home theater-type setup. And this is coming from a guy who has had a living room computer hooked up to a home theater for a few years now. This way I don't have to keep a computer in the living room, and I don't have to keep a mouse/keyboard handy to do trivial tasks such as watching a video clip. Emulators are great, and work great with the x-box controller (controller S is actually very nice). A PC is much more tedious to setup, harder to get multi-player configured, and once again requires mouse/keyboard to even startup.
Sorry for the rant, but after all the modding, my X-Box has actually turned into that set-top box everyone was talking about (when coupled with my UltimateTV set, of course). It provides customizability and ease of use that a living room computer simply can't compete with. If you can get over the Microsoft factor, I think anyone would be quite pleased with what has been accomplished in such a short time as compared to a stagnant PS2 development community (grass-roots, not companies trying to make PVR software) trying to play catch-up on such a limited system (even with the Linux kit).
Steel Battalion (Score:2, Informative)
What's unique about it? The controller that comes with it has about 40 buttons, many of which light up, blink or whatnot. The controller itself comes in three sections and a footpedal and looks amazing, not to mention the details involved in it's creation (the eject button is covered with a plastic cover to keep from accidental ditching of your mech).
The negative? The game costs about $200 here and it'll be probably be produced in limited quantities. The Japanese version only costs about $150, but the price of importing and shipping will probably double the price. Either way, you're screwed. Still, you asked for innovation.
Re:DING DING DING DING! (Score:3, Informative)
If Microsoft thinks that they can take on the hardware OEMs then they are in for a shock. Apple made the mistake of thinking that hardware was the place to be, and look what that bought them. For years their Macs were light-years ahead of the DOS based competitors (I am talking about the days before Windows), but people bought PCs because they were good enough and cheaper.
If Microsoft tries to control the hardware companies like Dell will have no choice but to go to war, and part of that war will include getting Linux to the point where grandma could use it. And the Dells, Compaqs, and the folks down on the corner are going to be able to build computers cheaper Microsoft.
I personally am hoping that Microsoft starts to get serious about being a hardware manufacturer, because that would very likely guarantee the success of Linux.
Re:The Xbox as WebTV replacement. (Score:2, Informative)
photoshop
flash
and all those other big corperations that put out software that the users pirate anyways
stop living in the 90s
linux has everything a normal person wants