NDC
01-05-2003, 11:46 AM
Michael Robertson, CEO of software company Lindows, has revealed himself as the formerly anonymous donor of $200,000 in prize money in a contest to translate the Linux operating system to Microsoft's Xbox video game console.
The revelation was made in a posting earlier this week on the Xbox Linux Project site at SourceForge, a site for collaborative development of open-source software projects. Robertson disclosed his identity as the person funding the contest and extended the deadline.
The project was announced last July with prizes of $100,000 each for the first developer to accomplish two goals. The first challenge was to get Linux running on an Xbox, a goal that has already been met by several developers. The project team expects to divvy up that prize money between several hackers this month, according to the site.
The second challenge, to run Linux on an Xbox with no hardware modifications, has been more of a struggle. To date, hackers wanting to run unauthorized software on the Xbox have needed a console outfitted with a "mod chip," gray-market add-ons that defeat security measures built into the machine. Microsoft has used a variety of legal, technical and other measures to defeat mod chips.
Running software without a mod chip could require hackers to crack the Xbox's built-in software to the point where it could be booted from a homemade disc, as hackers managed to do with Sega's now-defunct Dreamcast console.
Both Xbox Linux contests originally were set to expire last Monday, but Robertson extended the deadline for the second part to encourage development projects. "Michael Robertson has decided to extend the deadline for part B for another year," according to the SourceForge posting. "We are already preparing new open-analysis tools. Any experienced hacker is welcome to join the effort."
Robertson first came to prominence several years ago as founder of digital music site MP3.com. After selling the site, he started Lindows, which aims to sell a streamlined version of Linux for the average PC user.
The revelation was made in a posting earlier this week on the Xbox Linux Project site at SourceForge, a site for collaborative development of open-source software projects. Robertson disclosed his identity as the person funding the contest and extended the deadline.
The project was announced last July with prizes of $100,000 each for the first developer to accomplish two goals. The first challenge was to get Linux running on an Xbox, a goal that has already been met by several developers. The project team expects to divvy up that prize money between several hackers this month, according to the site.
The second challenge, to run Linux on an Xbox with no hardware modifications, has been more of a struggle. To date, hackers wanting to run unauthorized software on the Xbox have needed a console outfitted with a "mod chip," gray-market add-ons that defeat security measures built into the machine. Microsoft has used a variety of legal, technical and other measures to defeat mod chips.
Running software without a mod chip could require hackers to crack the Xbox's built-in software to the point where it could be booted from a homemade disc, as hackers managed to do with Sega's now-defunct Dreamcast console.
Both Xbox Linux contests originally were set to expire last Monday, but Robertson extended the deadline for the second part to encourage development projects. "Michael Robertson has decided to extend the deadline for part B for another year," according to the SourceForge posting. "We are already preparing new open-analysis tools. Any experienced hacker is welcome to join the effort."
Robertson first came to prominence several years ago as founder of digital music site MP3.com. After selling the site, he started Lindows, which aims to sell a streamlined version of Linux for the average PC user.