BeagleBone Black!

[noah]

But it makes them hypocrits.

[omega_rugal]

(05-13-2013, 03:09 PM)Shonumi Wrote: Software is a set of instructions for a specific task. The game console happens to be the platform of choice by the software's author

The console has copyrighted code running inside it (BIOS, microcode inside the ICs). making a console is not just soldering ics together. and the software made by the author also contains code which is property of the console`s author, anything generated with the official SDK is partially owned by the console`s author.

Besides, For instance, NINTENDO owns the design of the NES/SNES/GC/Wii, that`s why no other company can make clones of them (at least no without paying Nintendo for it)

[Shonumi]

omega_rugal Wrote:The console has copyrighted code running inside it (BIOS, microcode inside the ICs). making a console is not just soldering ics together. and the software made by the author also contains code which is property of the console`s author, anything generated with the official SDK is partially owned by the console`s author.

Any copyrighted code can freely be reverse engineered, as long as the reversed engineered version of the code contains nothing copyrighted from the original. Google won a major case against Oracle in this regard, with Android's clean-room implementation of Dalvik. Dolphin provides RE'd versions of the ROMs found on the GC and Wii's DSP. There is legal precedent in the U.S. that allows for RE, both physically and digitally. There's also High-Level Emulation to consider, wherein BIOS and such aren't even necessary. Dolphin doesn't use the GC BIOS, for example, and PCSXR can HLE the PS1's BIOS to get games booting. Copyright and patent law in the U.S. expressly permit RE; the only thing that could stop software RE would be an EULA, and even those aren't enforceable in every state.

What's more, the courts here have ruled that users can dump copyrighted files like BIOS (again, covered under Fair Use), and run that code/software. That makes it possible to boot GB games with the BIOS (Nintendo scrolling logo and all) in emulators like VBAM.

omega_rugal Wrote:Besides, For instance, NINTENDO owns the design of the NES/SNES/GC/Wii, that`s why no other company can make clones of them (at least no without paying Nintendo for it)

You could RE a Nintendo system and sell your own. That's perfectly legal as long as you can prove you took a completely clean-room approach. In fact, that happened on a number of occasions way back when before the great gaming crash to some consoles. Today, the R&D costs would be phenomenal, not to mention few people would ever reckon that taking on Nintendo head-on like that could even succeed.

[omega_rugal]

Quote:that happened on a number of occasions way back when before the great gaming crash to some consoles

Back in those times consoles used Off-the-Shelf components, it was rather easy, today is nearly impossible.

Maybe one day we will see a cloned NINTENDO console sitting next to the original at something like Wal-mart.

[Shonumi]

(05-15-2013, 06:50 AM)omega_rugal Wrote: Back in those times consoles used Off-the-Shelf components, it was rather easy, today is nearly impossible.

Very true Most consoles took an existing CPU from some manufacturer and customized it for the console, or simply dropped it in with few to no tweaks. As console generations progressed, you start to see greater levels of customization and even specialty CPUs and GPUs. Some were even so unique they were detrimental to developing on the console (I'm looking at you, Sega Saturn). Interestingly enough, we may see a sort of shying away from customizing CPUs and other components for consoles and handhelds, at least judging from early reports of the PS4 and the next Xbox. Neither system is fully disclosed or released, so it's mere speculation atm.

Reverse engineering a modern console today, even if you had off-the-shelf components, would still be a complex investment in time, money, and effort

(05-15-2013, 06:50 AM)omega_rugal Wrote: Maybe one day we will see a cloned NINTENDO console sitting next to the original at something like Wal-mart.

Maybe we'll see clones for older systems for people who want to preserve something like the GC too. Perhaps it's unlikely, but one can dream you know.

[benjewmin]

What about the new Beaglebone AI?

[Helios]

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