[WEB4LIB] Re: Gaming consoles in education and research

[John Kirriemuir]

From: "Daniel Messer" <dmesser at yvrls.lib.wa.us>

> ...

>     Playstation2 has net and web connectivity via a high speed network
card. The X-box and Game Cube boast similar features. To go even further,
Sony Japan has released a version of Linux for Playstation2. While not yet
available in the US, Sony Japan is considering an American release depending
on market conditions. The PS2 has the ability to accept peripheral hard
drives and a keyboard. So your plan is certainly feasible. If nothing else,
you could set up a bunch of PS2s running Linux and KDE with Konquorer or
Netscape or the like.
> ...

In addition to the official developments, there are the unofficial ones that
occur whenever a new kit or object is launched; this is especially true of
games consoles. I have recently become wary, after a few incidents, of
loaning my Game Boy Advance to technically minded people, especially those
who quickly produce screwdrivers and start examining the casing!

Two examples of "Let's see what else we can make this do" developments are:
1.  http://www.boob.co.uk (yes, this is a serious site and not a dubious
site), which is a collection of people experimenting with enhancing the
functionality of the dreamcast games console.
2.  http://www.mqp.com/fun/gb.htm where people are turning the Game Boy
Advance into an eBook reader (incidentally, people interested primarily in
eBooks may want to check out the EBONI project -
http://eboni.cdlr.strath.ac.uk ).

I'm especially interested in anyone who has tried to enhance their existing
or new games console to enable Net/Web access. While most consoles do not
currently offer anywhere near the functionality of the PC, they do tend to
offer a much cheaper, easier to use, and (usually) more stable operating
environment; these factors may be of interest to academic institutions and
public libraries in particular, and am wondering if any have done relevant
investigative/comparitive research on these devices.

John, Ceangal,
http://www.ceangal.com/