WinCE on the Xbox good option?

donavan · 06-17-2005, 10:54 AM

Alright folks I am hoping that I can spark a little interest here. So apparently the xbox will run windows CE and it is legal so says the MS EULA, but there are some problems. Mouse pointer does not appear and the system crashes when you boot with a mouse and KB (works fine plugged in after boot). But it does work and this opens a huge world of possiblities to us. The Xbox is a pretty sweet little system when you get right down to it here are some specs for reference.

733 Intel Cel
64 mg video Ram
64 mg system Ram
8-10gb IDE HD (model varies depending on xbox version)
IDE DVD-ROM drive (model varies depending on xbox version)
4 port USB hub (controller ports)
composite video [RGB] or RCA Video (depends on the output cable used)
*this should make getting a cheap screen to connect a lot easier

They boot quickly, are in huge supply and are fairly cheap [even cheaper once the xbox 360 comes out]. You can even get the xbox to boot to other OSes without wiring anything, you can softmod it.

It seems to me that if a way can be developed to fix a few of these issues then we have a viable source of carputers that can run internet, media, and navigation cheaply. Using CE will also provide us with a large base of peripherals that already have drivers and whos programs are designed to work in a mobile configuration.

I'm not very good at coding so I don't yet know what is involved in this. I hope to find out more and post further.

Please let me know what you think and any adivce in the matter.

mikebaz · 06-18-2005, 10:43 AM

Just wondering where you got your information about the Xbox running CE?

Last I heard there wasn't any further developements with CE since about February and it was still far from working decently.

You can run Win9X and even Win2000 (stripped down) thru the various Linux ports but that's definately not ideal for a car setup. XDSL will run a nLite install of 98 at decent speed but thats basically the only option right now as far as I know. And of course that is after you already have installed a modchip or softmodded your Xbox.

The Xbox would make a good media PC for the car but as far as GPS or anything like that, I don't see that happening for a long time.

If you run XBMC as your dashboard you can easily control music and video but unfortuntely you wouldnt be able to use your touchscreen and would have to hack up a remote or keyboard of some sort thru the USB ports on the Xbox, which also need modifying as they're not standard size.

All in all, your post did make some good points about the Xbox being a cheap alternative but I don't think its comparable to a full carpc setup.

Check out www.xbox-scene.com as they always keep you up to date on any new xbox appz or developements.

-Mike.