Idea: Microsoft Xbox Reloaded

Posted on 2011-06-282020-07-09 by bobdvb

So, this morning I was having a retro moment and wondered about the original Xbox, the classic one from 2001 which was so popular. It was build on a pseudo Windows system with an Intel processor. Then I remembered the PS2 slim which was reintroduced long after the PS3 had taken over as Sony’s flagship and how Sega have also licensed their technology to create retro clones.

If we look at the Xbox1’s original specification:

CPU: 700MHz Pentium III Coppermine
RAM: 64MB DDR1 @ 200MHz
GPU: Custom NVidia ASIC @ 233MHz
Audio: NVidia custom Surround Processor
Storage: 8GB IDE HDD
Optical: DVD-ROM
Security: Secure BIOS
Extras: 100Mbit Ethernet, Analogue Component HD, USB1.1, and other AV connectors

So, when you compare this to the CE 3100 from Intel, which is being used by set-top box vendors to build the next generation of multimedia products, you find some interesting parallels:

CPU: +800MHz Pentium-M
RAM: Up to 3GB DDR2
GPU: Intel GMA500 (PowerVR SGX 535)
Audio: Dual core 337MHz DSP processors
Storage: Flash or SATA
Optical: DVD via SATA
Security: Crypto-processor
Extras: GBit Ethernet, HDMI, USB2, and other AV connectors

So, Dear Microsoft, why not ‘Reload’ the old XBox classic as a new product and get some revenue from that old architecture? The CE range supports DirectX 9, so there should be legacy support for the graphics calls. I don’t know how the GMA 500 compares to the Xbox1’s custom ASIC but they are 8-9 years apart in development so they can’t be too different. If there are differences they might be resolved with a bucket of faster DDR2 RAM and the better CPU clock.

I would imagine an XBox Reloaded spec would look something like this:

SoC: Intel CE3100
RAM: 256MB of DDR2 @ 800MHz (a bucket extra useful for other things)
Storage: 8GB of Flash (shouldn’t need more, but can utilise USB 2 flash or HDD)
Optical: Slimline DVD-ROM
AV: HDMI, TOSLink, Composite
Networking: 100Mbit ethernet (GBit might increase power/cost)

The whole thing should be able to emulate the Xbox’s original design without much special assistance, just the addition of SATA support to the microkernel, modification of the security mechanism and replacement of the graphics drivers (the highest risk element). If there was any problem with this it might even be possible to use a microkernel bootloader or BIOS to emulate the IDE on SATA in legacy mode and possibly even map the GPU calls. I would put a bootloader on the box which booted a version of MeeGo Linux stored in Flash as an alternative media player tool and possible DVD player alternative function.

Thus you would have a decent media player, a TV browser and a most importantly of all: a very cool retro-games console capable of playing games like Halo, Project Gotham Racing, MotoGP and Splinter Cell. All for under £100 retail! I know you can get a new Xbox 360 for £160 but there is always a market for the retro and a lower end product. The return on investment could be good and it could reach new markets as a “computer for all” in developing markets!

Beyond next generation HD and web-enabled TV

Posted on 2010-06-182020-07-22 by bobdvb

This is a transcript of a speech I gave at the Westminster eForum in London about the future of television in the home. I thought I should share it…

Continue reading “Beyond next generation HD and web-enabled TV” →

Hierarchical taxonomy in email

Posted on 2009-07-28 by bobdvb

My Brother recently wrote a post in his blog about Context Browsing and it is an interesting concept, but the biggest bane of my life is email sorting at the moment.

I use a combination of Thunderbird for personal email and Outlook for work email (because of Exchange, Journal and OWA proxy). In Thunderbird I love using the Bayes classifier to guess where emails should be placed (one click to put it where it has suggested) and this would be a useful addition to Outlook.

However, beyond this I would like to take advantage of taxonomies and hierarchies because when moving an email it can often be difficult to decide which folder is appropriate. If it is an email from the PR agency about a client of ours, or if it is an event involving a customer I would like to tag them in both categories. Then I would like to be able to drill down through a tree of those hierarchies to find emails. Even if this left all the emails in the in-box I would then be able to search the entire in-box by hierarchical taxonomy.

What do you think?

Freesat HDR

Posted on 2008-04-012020-07-09 by bobdvb

Ok,

I have been authorised to unofficially comment on the messages I have had of late. I have been asked many times about the Humax freesat DTR (the technical term that we are using to describe this product, not a product number), better known to you as the intended first freesat HD PVR. Unofficially because we will clarify things with the press in due course through the usual channels.
Continue reading “Freesat HDR” →

Heroes and TVs

Posted on 2007-07-202020-07-09 by bobdvb

I hear Heroes is a really good series and it looks along my lines. I think I'll give it ago.

On the other side, for those that don't know my girlfriend and I don't own a TV. This confuses the TV Licensing authority a great deal, after I contacted them to tell them I didn't own a TV they wrote to me to thank me for informing them but that they didn't believe me. Great!

So, now I have moved jobs and moved house (the one caused the other), and I am presented with a challenge. I work for a company which makes LCD TVs, STBs and PVRs; so my boss said I should take home our current PVR model and try it out. I pointed out to him that it would be difficult because I don't own a TV and he suggested that I take a TV as well. This now places me in a dilemma: I deliberately don't own a TV not on some moral grounds but on the basis that we tend to find better things to do than to fall into the trap of falling onto the sofa, switching on the box and mindlessly watching whatever is on.

I think I will end up taking a TV, however we are tempted to resolve not to watch live TV. By using new features such as "Freeview Series Link" I hope that we can just pick things that we hear about or read about and tag them for watching. Then we can sit down, look at the list of programme content and pick something we actually want to watch.