I'll introduce this thread by saying I'm a huge linux and opensource advocate. Linux is on every single piece of hardware at my home.


Every? No... not on my PS3...

When I first bought my PS3, I was very excited about the ability to run Linux on it.

Then I tried the PS3 OS, and thought that most of the things I would have done on a comp, I could do it on PS3.

Then I read the reviews about the available distros for the PS3, and realised most of the interesting things about the PS3 were crippled. Due to the cell being a different architecture, you have to wait for your distro to package programs for you. If you can't find a package for a program you need, you have to compile it, which is not so simple on an architecture like the cell. So all in all, I thought it wasn't worth the effort and the gigabytes.

So I stopped using it as a good point for the PS3, I actually stopped talking about it, but remained interested in it, and was glad it was available yet for scientists.


Now, why do I write this thread?

I thought it was funny that PS3 fanboys used to praise the ability to install Linux on the PS3, and 360 fanboys were like "meh, useless". And now that it's been removed its "meh, nobody used it anyway" and "what? no more linux? deal breaker!"

Fanboyism is fun.

Definitely not a deal breaker, but I'm a little sad they removed it though, anyone knows why they did? It's not like it costs anything.

They have to pay licensing fees to use it, I believe. If you really want a PS3 that runs Linux, you can just get a PS3 Phat.

What licensing fees ???

It did actually cost them some money to keep the hypervisor updated, but apparently it was not a license issue, see this thread

Shoulsn't have to pay to use it, it's free for whatever use.

Though on the fanboys matter, I've seen the Linux argument only very rarely persist through a couple of posts. And often gets shot down by any normal person, whichever console they prefer, simply because it wasn't anything special using it on the PS3.

I never really saw the point of installing Linux on a PS3.
You have your console for gaming and entertainment, you have a PC for whatever else.

Yeah sounds like Gnu+Linux on PS3 was a tough nut to crack, but isn't that just the sort of challenge the FSM likes? That nut would have been shattered some time, but now it never will. Personally I'd like the PS4 to come with a Gnu+Linux OS, OpenOffice and Firefox pre-loaded. If some FSM folks are still keen on cracking this nut then they might just get Sony to think about making it available again next gen.

I can but hope. I like what the FSM has to offer, but I'm no computer geek so I can't really do a lot to help move things along.

Installing Linux onto PS3 is not an easy task to perform. I could not not be bothered doing it. I have heard Linux does not offer much to the PS3 besides allowing you to use the PS3 as a PC. 256MB is not much memory to run OS on it.

Linux is free there is no Fee, you can download it from their site.