Indrema L600

2001 was to be the year where the world would see a open-source Linux-based console that would do everything from play games, DVDs, CDs and even record TV shows on the built-in hard-drive.

John Gildred was the man behind this mighty machine, planned to launch at $300 featuring all the above mentioned features and lots more, and based on the open-source operating system DV Linux and common hardware (standard x86 CPU, standard CD- and DVDdrive, harddisk drives,nVidia graphics chip, USB ports and Ethernet connector)

The starting point of the Indrema L600 - the open source approach - was, however, to prove fatal for the system. The L600 was to have been the first modern console to allow free software to be developed for it, but along with the lack of support from established developers, the company had no real way of actually making money. Licensing fees was to be completely free, at least for small-time-developers. The units would, as every console in its generation, have been sold at a loss, and since software developers would have had a hard time competing with freely distributed software, no strong software developers would support the project, and the company soon ran out of money, leaving it an even lesser chance to go up against the mighty Sega, Nintendo and Sony. (as time has shown Sega has however been replaced by Microsoft as a competitor, should the Indrema have come through)