Hacking The Bush IBX100 Internet Set-Top Box?

Matt asks: "I saw the Bush IBX100 set-top box the other day and have been searching the net for more information about it. At approximately £80 it would seem very hackable (i.e. upgrade to Ethernet and add in a larger hard drive). It would make an excellent 'consumer' device for those of us using PAL TV systems, perhaps, much like the devices from the previous Slashdot stories: 'Embedded Linux Box' and '50-Dollar Hackable Websurfer'. Has anybody seen inside an IBX100 yet? The fact that the built-in browser is Netscape strongly suggests it's already running Linux/BSD, but what else is inside?"

Netscape on Linux? No, Fresco on RiscOS

[pdh11]

It doesn't run Netscape. It runs Fresco, an embedded-styley Web browser written by Ant Limited (http://www.ant.co.uk). The operating system is Pace NCOS, which is Acorn RiscOS under a more internet-friendly name.

I'd pretty much forget trying to hack it. The CPU (an ARM 7500FE) and architecture could in theory run ARM Linux, but it has RiscOS in surface-mount masked ROM, and there's nowhere really to plug an Ethernet card.

Peter (Fresco architect)

Cirrus Logic

[pravel]

I found a bit more detailed info at Cirrus Logic [cirrus.com].

From the page: UK-based Alba chose Cirrus Logic's PS7500FE device because it provides a highly-integrated solution that combines major system components onto a single chip. The PS7500FE incorporates a 32-bit ARM RISC processor with advanced peripheral functions, including a floating point co-processor, a display controller, a complete memory controller, and direct interfaces to modem and LAN devices.