14 DAY TRIAL // Just in case you've read my article about how to put your old Xbox to better use, you should know that those aren't the only ways to make the old machine from Microsoft do something useful for your indoor entertainment. Jonathan M. Gitlin over at ars technica posts an interesting article about how you can pay no more than 100 bucks to have a system that runs DivX or WMV content and also play Xbox games.
Getting yourself a used or old Xbox from the local gaming store means 70% the job is done. All you have to do is mod the machine to the proper requirements and you're ready to view DivX movies, something that you can't do with the $300 Apple TV. OK, until this point you can say you have a better movie playing device than the Apple TV.
But having a modded Xbox doesn't necessarily mean that Microsoft's first console is a better device than the television from Apple. Actually, the only thing it can do better than the Apple TV after you mod it, is in fact playing DivX files. They're two totally different devices and saying that one is better than the other would require more comparison terms. It's a good article however and it's a good thing too that some think of sharing with the world useful information. I myself, am very fond of putting older devices to good use again after they become obsolete and I'm sure that many of you out there think the same.
One day I really hope that someone will say: "Here's why the old 1989 GameBoy from Nintendo is better than Alienware systems." That would make me really proud that I didn't trade it in or sell it when Nintendo developed the GameBoy Pocket, or Color or the GBA.