Linux on PS3

[admin_exported]

I was chatting to a mate last night about the fact he has installed Linux on his PS3 allowing him to run any Linux software. This pretty much means I am going to buy a PS3 in the not too distant future, though I was just wondering if any one else has done this and has an opinion?

 

[PJPro]

A previous member of the forum said that he had done this but did not recommend that anyone other than those proficient with computers attempt it. Apparently, it was far from simple.

I haven't tried it myself, but would be interested to hear how you get on. A possible "How To" thread?

 

[Anonymous]

Looks as simple as partitioning the drive and running a Linux install disc! I probably won't be getting one for a couple of months so if anyone else wants to give it a blast and report back, otherwise I'll let you know my findings when the time comes.

 

[Anonymous]

It's easy to install, but you'll need your friend to advise you on compatible software etc - oh and a keyboard and mouse. Obviously!

It takes an hour to install but you can run it from a CD too.

Although Linux does turn your PS3 into a seemingly powerful pc, it's worth noting that any of the games created by fans aren't as spectacular as you may think because the PS3 is such a complex system to program and its power lies in hordes of specialised chips rather than one mega-processor.

Sony wanted to include Linux out of the box too, but the deal fell through for some reason...

 

[Anonymous]

Cheers for that Richard, shame about the deal falling through, I'm sure people interested in Linux should be capable of installing it though it would have been great for Linux.

 

[russ74]

The Linux distro developed for the PS3 is Yellow Dog and is a free live CD.Yellow Dog LinuxWith linux being free it's worth trying a few distros to see which works best (Gnome, KDE etc) with the PS3 & personally. Checkout distrowatch for links to lots of distributions.distrowatch.com

 

[Anonymous]

Although Linux does turn your PS3 into a seemingly powerful pc, it's
worth noting that any of the games created by fans aren't as
spectacular as you may think because the PS3 is such a complex system
to program and its power lies in hordes of specialised chips rather
than one mega-processor.

Richard, that's only partly true. The PS3 and its cell processor is complex to programme, but a large part of the reason does lie in the processor.

Without wishing to get too technical, the cell processor is basically a power pc chip managing 8 other processors. These processors are intended to speed the graphics content of any programme, in the PS3 implementation anyway, while the power pc part acts as manager/director. This means that a programmer must allocate and keep track not just of the powerpc calls, but also that for each of the other processors, which is way more complex than, for example, the powerpc chip alone and its instruction set.

It's this that makes the PS3 complex, but also blindingly fast when correctly implemented. Also, SDKs are not that commonly available - IBM produces one, not sure about what else is available - which means the programmer must create routines normally handled by an SDK. That said, if you're using a PS3 you're also using virtually the same chip used in some of the worlds fastest supercomputers.