Originally Posted by
bah
XBMC or homebrew developed with the leaked official sdk.
The homebrew apps may be technically illegal to distribute in binary, but I cannot bring myself to see any moral objection upon which laws are supposed to exist. If I choose to buy hardware that has restrictions on what it can run, then I either accept them, work to break them/hope someone else does (and be thankful for whatever gets released) or don't buy the thing. I cant complain if no one breaks their protections, but if they do I should be able to run whatever the hell I want on the hardware I purchased.
Same goes for the PSP and people being so expectant of having a new custom FW for each official release.
It was a PC in terms of hardware, but it wasn't in that it was crippled/restricted (quite rightfully) as they wanted to make a profit or at least not a complete loss from their first console. In doing that they made it not a PC as far as accessibility (the hardware specs being fairly open to manufacture and create code for), which is what made the x86 format what is is in computing still today.
The ability to create unofficial apps like XBMC has kept the console alive beyond the point where MS felt it was no longer in their financial interests to keep it so.
The value of hardware should depend on its ability to do what the owner wants it to do, not what the producer feels is best for them.
New consoles are great so long as there aren't too many for the market to sustain and they don't come too often, but the original xbox is still worth owning well beyond 'official' uses.
/rant :)
Multi player: Mashed: Fully loaded (can't stand FPSs without a mouse or superior replacement).
Single player: GTA games, Destroy all humans (and to a lesser extent the sequel) and Conker.