A History of The SpaceStar, SonySat, Ultrastar - Does it Run Linux?
To understand where the rumors come from its important to understand the background of the SonySat and its predecessor the SpaceStar.
The SpaceStar was orginally manufactured by DGStation, at the time DGStation was primarily focused on the European market. The motherboard design was loosely based on the PowerPC reference Set-Top-Box Motherboard from IBM.
The SpaceStar did not (and does not run Linux). Shortly after the release of the SpaceStar, Dreambox built there own STB based on the same reference platform, changing the OS for their own flavor of linux - and adding memory, ethernet, and an IDE connection. At this time the SpaceStar was "discontinued" by DGStation, and SpaceStar USA resourced the manufacture and support of the SpaceStar 500 and later models on their own. DGStation switched focused to boxes they hoped would compete with the DreamBox.
The Linux based Mutant Relook was launched by DGStation. The Mutant Relook used mostly the parts and design of the SpaceStar (same case, similiar motherboard, same tuner, etc.), but was made binary compatible with the DreamBox 500's.
There was a long period after this transition where support for the SpaceStars was lacking. Many developers failed to deliver, and their was significant conflict within the management and ownership of the company.
As a result, the rights to the RTOS (RealTime OS) based SpaceStars were sold to SonySat in early 2007. The current support team is volunteer based and is significantly stronger than the past teams.
The code inside the current SilverSurfer bins is not based on the Dreambox or any other solution. It does use some publicly available libraries for math (the OpenSSL library, the RSAREF library, etc.), but so does every other STB on the market.
I honestly wish I had access to the current DreamBox sources, their current support group (also volunteer based) is excellent. Sadly, I do not have access to their code, so we (the group and I) do our best with our own heads, and the information we find on the World Wide Web. I have nothing but respect for the OpenCam developers and would collaberate with them in a heartbeat - but the current bins are in no way currently associated with the OpenCam project.
The linux based DGStation Mutant Relook on the other hand, does run OpenCam (an older release usually), and is generally a few months behind the DreamBox 500 in fixes. X and team have absolutely NO involvement in the Mutant Relook.
As for being first. I don't pound that drum. We are fast, and we are never last. As it turns out - we've been "first" a few times this last year. We've also been 2nd, 3rd, 6th etc - I lose track. That said, we've NEVER been last (we all know who that is - but I ain't starting a war by saying it in the open).
I hope you enjoy the support and features of your SonySat. It took a long time for us to get here, but I firmly believe the days of the SonySat/SpaceStar being the underdog are behind us.
First off I thought I'd give a status update on AKS/IKS. The client and server software for AKS/IKS has been written, tested, and is ready to go. We are currently busy arranging the deployment of the server software - we expect this to be finished this week.
What is AKS/IKS? To understand what AKS/IKS is I must first explain a bit about how DVB works. DVB (Digital Video Broadcasting) is a international standard used by many sattelite providers world wide. Its a system that uses "Control Words" which change every 15 seconds to decrypt video. Currently most FTA's use a 'card emulator' which is a complicated peice of software that emulates the actual card to produce these code words.
AKS/IKS takes the emulator out of the equation and uses a internet connection to hand off that task to a central server. This server typically uses a combination of software and the actual card to generate the codewords for you and returns the results. Given that a card is involved IKS/AKS systems rarely go down (and almost never have extended downtime).
IKS is a term first coined by nFusion, and stands for Internet Key System. AKS stands for Anonymous Key System - and is a type of IKS developed by the X Team.
Sounds Great - whats the catch? All IKS systems have the same fundamental flaw - communication between your home and the central server can be logged - this exposes your personal identifying information in the event of legal action. Its sort of like the lawsuits against file sharers you've heard so much about.
The solution to this problem is to use a proxy or anonymizing service to protect your identity. AKS is just such a solution. AKS uses the TOR network - a free anonymizing service provided by the Electronic Freedom Foundation (EFF) . Tor was developed to protect the identities of disidents in repressive regimes - and I highly recommend you donate something to their efforts. More information on tor can be found at http://tor.eff.org - they have a paypal link for donations.
How does it work on SonySat and SpaceStar Receivers? AKS on SonySat and SpaceStar receivers requires a few basic prequisites:
1) You need a X1 Dongle 2) You need a Windows 98 (or higher) PC, with a internet connection, and bluetooth. 3) OPTIONAL: we highly recommend you install the tor client from tor.eff.org. 4) Download and install the soon to be released AKS Client (it will be posted on this site within the next week).
AKS uses the dongle to establish wireless connectivity between your PC and the STB using bluetooth. The AKS client uses that connectivity to call the AKS server to provide you with the code words required for the channel you are viewing. Once setup, your STB will operate just as it does now - but will have the advantage of a more long lasting/stable fix.
Our more technical users will also be pleased to hear the the AKS Client supports using private NewCS 1.50 card servers. This is similiar to using the provided AKS Server (in that it uses a card to generate code words), but has the advantage of fewer users and the added security of a private server.
This is part one of my AKS/IKS primer - as the week progresses I'll post more information, including install instructions and screenshots.
