WebTV: What is it good for?

March 23, 2005 5:28 PM

WebTV equipment absolutely clogs the computer sections of my local thrift stores. Is there anything cool that can be done with it? (In my view, anything that involves a dial-up connection is not cool.)

Including but not limited to: repurposing the wireless keyboard/remote portion, adapting the box to use Ethernet or wifi connections, iOpener-style Linux installs, etc. There's a lot of old WebTV equipment around, much of it available for next to nothing. Does it have potential?

I'm reasonably handy with a soldering iron or a Dremel, less so with things like flashing chips, but for the right project I'd be willing to learn.

posted by box to computers & internet (2 comments total)

Well, I worked with them in a testing lab environment and I can tell you this, there was no way to clear the cache.
posted by Dagobert at 2:10 AM on March 24, 2005

Not particularly. WebTV hardware does not have a reputation of being especially hackable or repurposeable. You might want to check with the i-appliance BBS and see if anyone is working on them.
posted by majick at 9:49 AM on March 24, 2005