An anonymous donor has offered a total of USS200,000 as prize money for getting Linux to run on Microsoft's Xbox, legally, by the end of this year. The prize money is intended to be awarded in stages as parts of the project, which is being run via the <a target="_blank" href="http://xbox-linux.sourceforge.net/articles.php?aid=1&sub=Manifesto">Xbox Linux Project</a>, are completed.
Finding a way to do this before 1st January 2003 will certainly not be easy.
The project consists of two sub-projects, each of which is worth $100,000. Project A is for porting Linux to a modified Xbox, and consists of development of a PC-style bios, for which the prize is $55,000; kernel and XFree drivers ($25,000), and FATX and bootloader work ($10,000 apiece). Project B is just one big $100,000 nightmare - Development of a CD image that makes an unmodified Xbox run any unsigned code from the CD.
You can find more details <a target="_blank" href="http://xbox-linux.sourceforge.net/articles.php?aid=1&sub=Roadmap">here</a>, along with the competition rules.
sourced John Lettice
$200k prize offered for getting Linux to run on Xbox
