2010-11-29, 21:54
topfs2 Wrote:All in all, running xbmc on the box is in no way a breach of DRM, not any more than running any of the other open source apps already residing on it (remember its linux underneath).
actually another comparison came to my mind: it's okay for a manufacturer to use a signed bootloader to "protect" its hardware, or to translate this: to make it a little harder for the community to get their own stuff loaded onto the hardware.
that's *exactly* what happened to some android smartphones where you can't get a custom ROM installed because of that bullshit, but that does not mean that you can't get root access and a somewhat customized OS onto it as long as you use the original signed kernel. see the moto milestone as a primary example.
so what's gonna happen to the boxee box? exactly the same! we'll figure out a way to root it, we'll figure out a way to install XBMC onto it on top of the original kernel, and the rest of the story is something like "We don't care!"
business models, protected content, hardware partners, WTF?! I also don't care what the boxee guys promised in the past, the fact is that we have a nice hardware with an awesome remote that begs for XBMC to be installed. and in the end that's what's gonna happen, exactly like what happened back in the good old xbox days.
so stay calm, let the linux gurus do their nasty work, and enjoy your hacked boxee boxes. maybe not this year, but q1 2011 sounds reasonable to me.