2010s - NOTES
 DW FACTSby Dark Watcher |
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A start-up company called Indrema promises to release a new gaming console in 2001. Using a Linux operating system, the Indrema L600
will play games, DVDs, and CDs and it will even record TV shows on its hard drive. A man by the name of John Gildred decided to found a consumer electronics start-up. Gildred was a fan of Open Source software. Apparently he thought it would be great if people could design and improve their own video games, and maybe download them off the Web. So Gildred, backed by a few friends and generous investors, plus the credit line of his charge cards and the content of his savings account, went out to perform in the marketplace. He started his new company, and focused on its product called Indrema. It was going to be an "Open Source" system designed to be a game machine, DVD player, Internet appliance and digital video recorder. The Indrema Entertainment System (a.k.a. L600) was to be based on common hardware (x86-style CPU, DVD drive, hard disk drive, Nvidia graphics chip, USB ports and Ethernet connector), and the Open Source operating system, DV Linux. DV Linux is an Open Source distribution of the Linux operating system specifically designed for consumer electronics or digital multimedia applications targeted at the television as the default view port. Indrema partnered up with Red Hat to initially manage the development of the DV Linux Distribution. |
 John Gildred, Creator of the Indrema L600 |
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The first Indrema console, the L600, was planned to initially ship in Spring 2001. It was to cost approximately $300. The Indrema
Entertainment System would have also been the first modern game console to allow free software to be developed for it, and made
available widely via Internet. However, this impressive machine never saw the light of day. The company ran out of money and was
unable to secure additional financing in a capital market that seemed to have grown hostile to Linux-related business. The demands of
the hardware market took their toll on the small California based company as it had done to even bigger companies such as Sega (Sega
left the hardware market after the Dreamcast). Nvidia sought more prosperous grounds with the Microsoft Xbox. Being an "Open Source"
system most likely contributed to the consoles demise. If software could be distributed for free then there could be no money made by
the company with licensing fees. The units would be sold at a loss. Software developers would have difficulty selling software since
users would prefer freely distributed games. Without strong software developer support, they had no hopes of competing with the
established Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft companies. In 2002, Indrema closed its doors to the hardware market. Its founder, John Gildred, still pursues the dream of making the console a reality. For now it remains a dream. |
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Prototype pictures of the Indrema L600 console  |
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