RE: FN-FORUM: [OT] can't wait till microsoft tries this....

date posted 4th January 2004 19:05

Erm, isn't that what directX is all about ? The Xbox uses shared memory
for the graphics & the application, a bit like the "low-end" Intel
boards. The difference here though is that it's used for speed rather
than cheapness (their words).=20

http://www.xbox1.com/article-expand.asp?i=3D335 gives the answer.


Andy
IWD2 LLP
[EMAIL REMOVED]
=20
-----Original Message-----
From: Danny Leonard [EMAIL REMOVED]
Sent: 04 January 2004 19:32
To: Andy Macnaughton-Jones
Subject: Re: FN-FORUM: [OT] can't wait till microsoft tries this....


Windows just isnt capable of handling the graphical intensity as it was
never built to carry that sort of strain yet linux although isnt
designed to handle intense graphics can easily cope with it thru various
avenues.. eg editable kernel and add-ons and most of it is open source.

For instance.. TiVo uses Linux as its operating system as it can handle
the video/audio capabilites along with all the connectivity and
housekeeping.

Linux uses what memory it needs not everything it has all at once "just
in case" like windows therefor much most stable and dynamic.

As for the OS being stored on the DVD games, not sure on that one.. its
possible i guess as there is the physical capacity but seems rather far
fetched as it would take a LONG while (in comparison) to load the OS
environment just to load a game.. would probably make more sense to load
the OS first and pass any variables eg game data etc to the kernel.

There would have to be a resident OS to load the base OS anyway.. just
like BIOS on a PC.
When u switch the box on it loads some form of environment to play
normal dvd's or audio cds.
Yet Linux has GUI capabilites so could either be handled by W2K or
Linux.

There again there has to be some part of MS software in there as it
wouldnt be viable to call it a MS XBOX!

>
> Andy MJ:
> > The way that the xbox works is that the "base" O/S - i.e., the boot=20
> > loader is stored in hardware. However, each game actually has the OS

> > on the DVD so that all drivers and anything else is specific to the
DVD.
> > The O/S is a core win2k with custom drivers as appropriate.
> >
> > As for the O/S of the boot loader, not sure but I'd be surprised if=20
> > it was linux
>
> I've never really considered a boot loader to be an OS, or even
necessarily
> part of one.
>
> I'd guess there's really only two possible cases (and I'm quoting=20
> certain stuff to avoid having to define it):
>
> 1. What you're calling the ' "base" O/S ' contains the 'kernel', and=20
> just loads all available 'drivers' on the DVD automagically. In that=20
> case, I'd argue that aforementioned boot OS is actually *the* OS - in=20
> which case the XBox runs W2K. Incidentally, I'm thinking you'd need a=20
> *really* good
reason
> to do it any other way - otherwise you'd have to duplicate *core* APIs
like
> I/O, SHM and Graphics on *every* DVD, which seems wasteful.
>
> 2. If each DVD really does contain *all* of a cut-down W2K (if that's=20
> not
an
> oxymoron), then the in-XBox boot loader simply has to pass control to=20
> the 'kernel' on the DVD, which *doesn't* require the boot loader to be

> an OS
per
> se (as an example, I boot my XP box with LILO (LInux LOader), which I=20
> certainly wouldn't consider to be an OS). So again, the XBox runs W2K=20
> -
just
> not the same 'image' for every game.
>
> Anyone know for sure/got any other thoughts?
>
> - Nick Grimshaw
> { if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.=20
> }
>
>
> --
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> Kit will show you proven tactics and strategies for marketing your=20
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>=20
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