The latest from the DevShed - Zope series - Using Zope With Apache:

"Over the next few pages, I will be discussing the myriad ways in which Apache can be connected to Zope, together with my experiences on how easy or difficult each technique is. I will assume here that you're working on a Linux box, and have a working Zope 2.5 installation with super-user access."

via The Register - EuroGamer - The Empire Strikes Back

Microsoft has cut the price of Xbox in North America to $199 this morning [15 May], confirming the suspicions of industry observers and analysts. The price cut puts the console at a rough £137.

I wonder just how much Microsoft is losing on the sale of each Xbox? At that price, and with its inbuilt capabilites, I would imagine that the Xbox would make quite a nice compute node for a cheap Beowulf-type cluster.

The Xbox Linux Project ;-)

I am very surprised that a Google Search: haXbox only gets three hits, only one of which seems to refer to a genuine use of the word - it's a beverage control (i.e. drinks dispensing) product. Given so few hits it's not surprising that a Google Search: haXboxers gets no hits.

I am seriously giving some thought to some future student projects that would look at the possibility of using the Xbox as a general computing engine. Hence the tentative project title - haxBox. The one concern I have is the question of how protective Microsoft is about technical details of the Xbox and, if they are very protective, how aggressive they would be in pursuing that protection.

I've not researched the issue at all and have no idea of the technical or legal issues that may arise. The project(s) would be totally above board as the emphasis is on 'converting' the Xbox to be a general compute machine rather than as a games machine.

However, given the fact that Microsoft loses money on the sale of each Xbox - and hopes to recoup this loss by the sale of games - I suspect they'd be anxious to make sure that 'converted' consoles don't appear.

But is there anything Micrsoft could do if the 'conversion' is simply achieved by loading software off a CD-ROM? Corollary: Microsoft has no comeback on people that boot their PC into Linux? It's an interesting question.

Also noteworthy is bunnie's adventures hacking the XBOX

[Update: Google Search: haxXbox gets no hits so I think I'll be using this as my project title.]

X-Box to be built in China

"MICROSOFT IS TO BUILD X-BOX IN CHINA. The software giant and its manufacturing partner have settled on a facility in Doumen, according to reports. Flextronics of Singapore, maker of the console for Microsoft, is to transfer manufacturing from its site in relatively-cheap Hungary to super-cheap mainland China."

AMD demos Slegehammer running windows.net

"AMD has been wooing system builders with a demo of a two-way Sledgehammer running a 64-bit windows .net OS."

vnunet.com Lindows ruling smashes Windows:

"Microsoft has lost its court case against Lindows, leaving the small company free to sell its Linux-based operating system capable of running Windows applications.

The Redmond giant had been pressing the judge to shut down Lindows.com and prevent the company from selling its product under the name LindowsOS.

Microsoft claimed that the name trod too close to its Windows trademark, but this week the judge threw the case out."

Woo hoo! Seth 'pre-announces' the availability of Conversant. In fact, this is one of the main reasons I'm de-junking my office (and iBook) - my reward to myself is making the time to become more Conversant ;-)

Lots of good stuff linked off the O'Reilly Network Emerging Technology Conference Coverage Page. Must... get.... on... .with... de-junking... the... office... before... reading...

Amazon.com: Editorial Reviews: XML Processing with Perl, Python, and PHP - looks interesting. Think I may start saving up for this book. Why it's over £30 in Amazon (UK) when it's just $35 in Amazon (US) is a mystery.

via hbwt - Lifewise: Work: Are you a procrastinator?

I admit to being a procrastinator. I'll get round to doing something about it tomorrow ;-)

In fact, I started de-junking my office yesterday. I took some 'time-lapse' photos but all they seem to show is my office getting untidier B-} More de-junking up when I get back into the office tomorrow. Hopefully by the end of that day I'll be able to see my desk-tops again!

Check out the Apple - Xserve. Doc Searls has blogged the Steve Jobs presentation. So cool!

i think I'll Download GraphicConverter 4.4 once I'm in the office tomorrow morning.

I didn't procrastinate - I've just bought a copy of The Procrastinator's Handbook: Mastering the Art of Doing It Now. Perhaps it should be required reading for my students? ;-)