To MikeB:
Just as many developers disagree about how easy the ps3 is to develop for either explicitly or in terms of the quality of their ports suffering. I also don't understand how programming 6 parallel processors with in order execution cores is "not that hard." It's hard enough with fewer processors and that's why we have processors that order the instructions for us! Honestly, if a dev of the caliber of valve complains, there's no way to claim the ps3 is easy to develop for.
Did you read that phrack quote I posted? The SPU memory is not protected and so stack overflows can overwrite the PROGRAM memory. And printf fails to debug this. In one stupid move they elimiinated the best debugging tool known to man when the all too common stack overflow occurs. The fact a stack overflow can overwrite the program itself is really all I have to say about how developer friendly the cell is.
It is suitable for gaming, military, and scientific development in terms of performance. In terms of cost and time the complexity of programming a 6 way parallel processing unit with in order execution cores on an entirely new architecture is a complete failure, as almost every multiplatform game attests to. The people who succeed with ps3 are funded by sony or need cheap high performance computing clusters, making the work to program a ps3 trivial compared to the costs of purchasing a traditional cluster.
Most of these organizations just needed parallel computing anyways and a cluster of traditional processors would have worked as well if they could afford them. The army and scientists who buy ps3s do so because Sony takes a loss on selling hardware and they can buy ultra-cheap clusters this way. That is why they disabled linux in the slims - if they don't buy games the loss leading strategy fails and sony ends up subsudizing parallel computing for the masses.
There is a reason people suggest writing ray tracers on a ps3 to spruce up a resume. The ps3 changed too much at once. It may be the future but when you consider cost, complexity, and the fact porting is essential in gaming, there is no reason why they couldn't have begun with x86 and moved on from there.
The cell is a radical new step, but there's no reason we couldn't move to parallel processing in x86 first. All sony did is unload the challenge onto the devs and they'd be morons not to react the way they did.
