BreakmanX.com

RurouniTrelane wrote:

BreakmanX wrote:Er, hell, maybe Q knows of some Mac solution that would be similar in price?

That was unnecessary.

That was sincere. Q you're just getting tied up in a knot over nothing again... you knew that modded X-Boxes can't play on Live, we had this discussion in like January. Anyone who tries to use a video game console as a PC is screwed up in the head anyway... that's what PCs are for. A tightly controlled system is the benefit of using a console. If you want to do your own thing, get a PC. That's how it is.

X-Box is a console, not a PC.

Oh and, if you got a nice Mac it could easily play DivX and TV-Out it, Macs make TV-outing (is that even a word? ) very easy.

I don't have the damn money to get a Mac or even a new PC. I'm on an extremely tight budget, and I've weighed everything and decided an Xbox is the way to go. And what do I get? I still get people saying I'm full of shit and I don't know what I'm doing. Seems I just can't make anyone happy at all. A modded Xbox does multiple things, some of which a PC can't do, at least not very easily. It can play divx files and other media on a TV, which would require an expensive video card. It can play modded versions of existing Xbox games, like that tricked out version of Halo I played which was the most fun I've had in a long time. It can run emulators of old consoles and arcade games at full speed, with four controller support. I reiterate, four CONTROLLER support. No keyboard control crap. And it does this on a TV as well; keep in mind my TV is 10 inches bigger than my computer monitor.
My decision to get an Xbox was not an easy one, which should be pretty easy to figure out, considering my past feelings towards them. Can you blame me for trying to get the best of both worlds, i.e. Live and all the benefits of a modded box? Could you guys please stop treating me like some moron who doesn't know what he's doing? I am a smart guy, ya know, and not just some lame poser trying to cause trouble.
Anyway, I dunno, I could be wrong, Break could be sincere, but it looked like a dig at Mac prices to me; he knows how expensive they are. In either case, I did overreact a bit, I'll admit, and I'm sorry Break, but I'm getting pretty sick of being knocked around like a tetherball by everyone. I took it out on you, my apologies.

*hands Rurouni a shovel*

Have fun! And yes, if you have DivX files on the xbox which were *NOT* intended to be on the xbox in the first place, you are at fault as well, and MS has the right to delete them off of your system, even if you have installed a mod chip with a switch on it, because....survey says: YOU PHYSICALLY MODDED YOUR XBOX. This is strictly prohibited in the EULA. You want to mod an xbox, go ahead, but the moment something screwy happens, don't come crying to me.

-Jack

Shovel? <scratches head> I don't get it...
Jack, you weren't opposed to the idea of me modding my box at all when I first presented the idea... Why the sudden change of heart?

i think he ment you're digging your own grave. lets face it q this simply isn't the best solution. i hear your argument and its a sweet one. who wouldn't want to be able to do all that stuff on the tv and only have it at the cost of a moded xbox, but the problem is you can't always have your cake and eat it too. if you do mod you take a chance with live. now this personally doesn't seem like the biggest deal since you can do that lan thing online, which is supporting more and more games. i think its up to 8 or something, zukin would know. but the thing is while you can do some great stuff with this is it really worth it? you have the cost of the xbox and the cost of modding, i think that adds up to about 300-400? something like that? correct me if i'm wrong there. now for that price you can get a brand new pc that is way better for what you want right now. i know it wouldn't have '4 controller support' but it can do some great stuff. my budget is tight too, but i'm scarapping my old comp and building a new one for little over 200. and its going to be about 1000x better then my old comp. the thing is while on the budget why take chances? you most likely will have fun with the xbox but its only going to last for a while. the computer will last longer, in my opinion. its not like you can't do the xbox later. also i thought our friend was going to give you a pc? did that not pan out?

If not I'm still selling my old one....

-Jack

I'm still supposed to be getting that PC from him. Our work schedule's don't match up very well so it's hard to get a meeting time worked out.
In either case, remember, it was the possibilities of the modchip that convinced me to get an Xbox, not Live, so I'm still gonna lean towards the modchip and take my chances with Live.

(apologies for the double post)
Ok, I've done a little research and found out the following things:
It is possible to run a modded Box and play on Live, if you have a switchable mod. The best way to make sure you never get connected to Live when the modchip is on is to unplug the network cable when you use the modchip. Simple, ne?
I can live without Linux, so I will; it would have been nice for convenience's sake, but I'll just use FTP to transfer my files to the Box.
Oh, and you Bungie employees who frequent the site, don't worry; I'll not be ripping any discs to my Box unless I own them and have paid for them. Break's done too good a job beating the evils of piracy into my head for me to do that to you guys. (Piracy, arrrr!) I'll even let him do random HD checks for any games I don't own. I'm not trying to bring down The Man or anything like that, I just want the maximum gaming pleasure for my dolla'.

You do know there is a media viewer out for ps2 right? We've got one at EB, and it seems really easy to set up.

-Jack

I was actually sincere about the finding a Mac thing. I thought with all your mac knowledge you could do it.

You could build a PC for the price of the xbox to do the divx movies, and prolly including the video out. Their pretty cheap now. Best bet though, get the ps2 media player.

Unfortunately, even with my skillz, finding cheap good Macs is near impossible unless you're in the right place at the right time.
You guys are forgetting the emulation and other homebrew possibilities. I know about the PS2 media player, but all of the possibilities of a modded Box (including Live with a switched-off modchip) are too good to pass up.
Geez, I can't believe you guys are actually trying to convince me not to get an Xbox. I just can't win, can I? :^)P

not when you try to change your opinions to suit us. face it q some of us liked you better when you hated the box. atleast it was funnier.

RurouniTrelane wrote:Damn you Microsoft, you almost had a customer, but then you went and blew it by wrecking the best thing you had going for your console. Way to go.

Correction, mod-chip makers and linux-geeks-gone-bad had a thing going here, not Microsoft. Microsoft still has a good thing going. If it's not broke, don't "fix" it.

Sure, it may be cool to be able to show your friends what you can do with your XBox, but all it really takes is a good URL and some money. It's not really that big of a deal. Why the hell did you buy an XBox if you just wanted to watch DVD rips and store you music collection? ...seriously.

Kaervek wrote:Why the hell did you buy an XBox if you just wanted to watch DVD rips and store you music collection? ...seriously.

Um... I never said I wanted to use my Xbox for either of those things. The divx files I'm specifically wanting to watch are not DVD rips, and I never even thought once about using it for my music collection. I'm more into using it for 4-player MAME and SNES emulation than music.

You can do those things with a PC also, you know...you can daisy-chain MS Sidewinders.

-Jack