Linux geeks have busy weekend

Linux geeks must have been hard at work over the weekend as separate announcements were issued for two different games consoles.

The first homebrew application to run on Microsoft's Xbox was trumpeted, and another geek released details of how to run the Apache web server on a PlayStation 2.

German programmer Michael Steil made the first step towards running Linux on the Xbox with the release of his Linuxpreview program.

The program draws a picture of Tux, the Linux mascot, and has been acknowledged as the first Xbox code to be written without Microsoft's Software Development Kit.

It is unclear whether Steil will be in line to pick up any of the $200,000 prize money offered by an anonymous donor as part of the Xbox-Linux Sourceforge project.

In related news, another 'interesting web server' idea was added to the list on Saturday when PlayStation 2 hacker Chris Taylor announced that he had got the Apache web server running on his Sony console.

Sony released a kit to run Linux on its games machine in May and, while not picked up by the mainstream, it has already become popular among Linux geeks and PlayStation hackers alike.

Although the PlayStation 2 only has a 300MHz Mips processor, which meant that the compile time for Apache was quite long, Taylor persevered and is currently running his console as a web server.

But the announcement was greeted with mixed reactions from the community. "Another bizarre, ridiculous and completely useless application of the technology," said one bystander on the Slashdot forum.

"Which is exactly why it's so cool," was the retort from another user.