Hi I love XDSL - it is just so freaking fast (in fact it launches firefox and several other apps much faster than I can launch them on my 3.4 GHZ machine).
XDSL is a direct derivative of DSL - which has been only slightly modified to run on Microsoft Xbox. However there is no discernable difference at all in running it on an Xbox than there is in running it on a PC - so please do not let this confuse you. The procedure is the same in all instances - since effectively the Xbox really is nothing more than a cheap PC.
In any case I got into the idea of installing Linux on my Xbox with one specific purpose in mind - and that was to turn the Xbox into a hardware based
LastFM radio player either by using LastFM player, or by using a combination of
Lastfmproxy and Mplayer - which would be a lot better in my view. I also have quite a decent sound system and am quite keen to find a way to get digital out sound working - but this doesn't appear to be possible on the stock included version of ALSA.
So my objectives are as follows.
a) Install LastFM Player or LastFMproxy
b)Install Mplayer
c) Get digital out sound working - which I assume means also upgrading to a newer recent 2.6.x kernel
The thing is I have ran into some snags. First given that XDSL (and DSL in general) is so small, it is naturally missing several important libraries that missing in order to enable me to run it. (In other words currently it doesn't run at all in DSL).
So the question is, what are these libraries and how do I get the most recent compatible versions?
Also I believe LastFMProxy is written in Python - so what libraries do I need to install in order to be able to compile and run this? (There are no binaries available for this unfortunately - so it must be compiled).
Additionally, what must I do to install a recent version of Mplayer? One thing I have noticed is that on DSL (since it appears to be based on 'stable' or possibly 'testing') a lot of the apps appear to be very old. (Synaptic for example looks like it is in an almost pre Alpha state). So I am a little worried that I won't be able to get a recent enough version of Mplayer in order for it to be useful. Also again I would love to know what libraries I need to install to both run and compile it successfully?
Lastly - with regard to enabling digital out sound - compiling/installing a new kernel shouldn't be such a big deal for me - as there are plenty of guides that show you very clearly how to do this on the Xbox - but one thing that does concern me is again getting recent enough tools to successfully compile the newest 2.6.x kernels (with Xbox patches applied) I recently tried this with another Debian distro on the Xbox - but that turned into a real mess - because since that also was based on stable/testing, a lot of the tools required for compiling recent kernels were simply too old to be compatible.
I did try going straight from an initial install of DSL 'testing' to 'unstable' in order that I could obtain most recent tools and libraries by adding my own sources.list containing all the latest unstable repositories - but having tried this I ran into a wall of dependency issues - and have therefore been forced to conclude that running XDSL from unstable is simply not possible. ( I would very much like to be corrected on this however). So again, what tools and libraries do I need to install to ensure that I can cleanly and successfully compile a recent 2.6.x kernel version? (I already have a patched 2.6.16.4 kernel just ready and waiting to go - all I need is to know what the right tools are to successfully compile it - and where to get them?)
BTW - for those who don't know LastFM (along with Pandora raidio) look set to become the next big thing in the so called 'social music revolution.' It is based around the idea that music listening by definition should be a collaborative experience and that music listeners should be able to share their tastes, passions and interests with others. More than that LastFM (and again also Pandora) have the unique capacity to 'learn' the kind of music you like and (after some training) to play only the kind of artists back to you that you typically like - so it is very much like having your own personal radio station. As a bonus many of the suggestions it throws up are by bands that you may not entirely be familiar with, but that often have the capacity to widen your musical listening capacity considerably. I have found hundreds of truly astonishingly good artists that I never knew existed since i stated using LastFM. (Proof if anything that the slump in music sales is down to Music execs not knowing what good music is if it jumped up and slapped them in the face).
In any case ever since first installing LastFM I have wanted my own dedicated last FM hardware based radio player - and it seems to me that XDSL and the Xbox is the almost perfect way to achieve this. Again I do not even particularly want a distro I install to do anything else than to work as a dedicated LastFM radio player. I could always install another Linux version (or perhaps another copy of XDSL) if I ever wanted to do anything else other than this with my Xbox. If anyone has ever used LastFM for any length of time - I'm sure you too would agree that a hardware based LastFM player would be too cool for words.
So if any of you guys can help me achieve any of these goal I really will be eternally grateful.
Best regards,
GJ
