PS3 and Linux

[Grimal]

I read someplace I thought that you could load Linux onto PS3.
If this is true I will Buy one before the 60 gig Models go out of stock.

I saw a video to a lot of the games coming out for this coming year, and was said that there was slated to be 120 new games total to be out this coming year for it.

This would make a nice Linux PC watching it on a Big high Def screen as long as I could load it to a separate Drive and still be able to use all the other features of the PS3.

After the Price Drops or they come out with a cooler CPU on the Xbox 360 I could buy it to take up what ever games they don't offer on the PS3 and have the Best of bot the Console worlds.

 

[mlm]

Yes, it's true. The only drawback at the moment is you can only partition it to 10 GB.

 

[Crizza]

Yellow Dog Linux is a distro specific to the PS3. You just have to make sure you repartition the hard drive before you do anything on the PS3.

http://www.terrasoftsolutions.com/resources/

 

[erwos]

Originally posted by: mlm
Yes, it's true. The only drawback at the moment is you can only partition it to 10 GB.

Um... other than the almost total lack of access to the graphics hardware and being limited to 256mb of system RAM, you mean.

 

[mlm]

Originally posted by: erwos

Originally posted by: mlm
Yes, it's true. The only drawback at the moment is you can only partition it to 10 GB.

Um... other than the almost total lack of access to the graphics hardware and being limited to 256mb of system RAM, you mean.

From the impressions I've seen so far, people seem to be getting along just fine with those limitations.

 

[tatteredpotato]

Originally posted by: erwos

Originally posted by: mlm
Yes, it's true. The only drawback at the moment is you can only partition it to 10 GB.

Um... other than the almost total lack of access to the graphics hardware and being limited to 256mb of system RAM, you mean.

They did that so you don't make games on linux and sell them w/o the Sony Tax. Really only like .05% of PS3 owners will know how to do it, but oh well.

 

[randay]

Originally posted by: mlm
Yes, it's true. The only drawback at the moment is you can only partition it to 10 GB.

this is half true, and there are also lots of ways to get around it. you can only partition 10gb and "the rest of the drive" so you can still choose if you want linux on 10gb or 50gb(if you have the 60gb drive. you can also hook up a usb external, or simply swap internals and not partition at all. there is third party addon for the ps3 that lets you use 3.5 inch drives as your internal ps3 drive, although it does turn it into an external drive technically.

 

[Grimal]

Nice then I should get it next pay check. A external Drive big enough for linux should not cost a lot and it will be a good way for me to get use to Linux.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: Crizza
Yellow Dog Linux is a distro specific to the PS3. You just have to make sure you repartition the hard drive before you do anything on the PS3.

http://www.terrasoftsolutions.com/resources/

Oooooh, so partitioning the hard drive will cause you to lose saved data? My brother wants me to help him put Linux on his PS3, I need to read up on this stuff.

 

[randay]

Originally posted by: Crizza
Yellow Dog Linux is a distro specific to the PS3. You just have to make sure you repartition the hard drive before you do anything on the PS3.

http://www.terrasoftsolutions.com/resources/

technically YDL is not specific to PS3, they are just officially supporting it. that means drivers, etc... any ppc(power pc) distro will work on the PS3, minus drivers for things, although there are a few distros that have already come out with PS3 drivers.

 

[randay]

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: Crizza
Yellow Dog Linux is a distro specific to the PS3. You just have to make sure you repartition the hard drive before you do anything on the PS3.

http://www.terrasoftsolutions.com/resources/

Oooooh, so partitioning the hard drive will cause you to lose saved data? My brother wants me to help him put Linux on his PS3, I need to read up on this stuff.

yep itll wipe any save data, but i believe you can back that stuff up and then restore it after the partition. if you dont want to waste time on it, go with the latest YDL build, should be the most hassle free distro out there.

 

[TheUnk]

why?

 

[Randum]

Originally posted by: TheUnk
why?

If its set up in a living room or basement, or den, you can use it as a regular PC quickly if you want to surf on a nice huge HD system.

Works well but I wish they would support the built in wireless....

 

[mlm]

Originally posted by: Randum
Works well but I wish they would support the built in wireless....

I thought that was added a couple of months ago.

 

[TheUnk]

Does the browser the PS3 comes with suck that bad?

 

[exdeath]

No graphics access? Why the hell not? The Sony official PS2 home brew SDK gave you everything including hardware level register and FIFO specs so you could go at it in assembly with no OS if you wanted to. The only thing they didn't document was the IOP due to it's role in copy protection in PS2 mode and interfacing with the DVD drive.

I wonder if it's an nVidia mandate... that on top of their recent monopoly abuse would be enough for me to second guess any future nVidia purchases even though thats all I've had since the TNT.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: exdeath
No graphics access? Why the hell not? The Sony official PS2 home brew SDK gave you everything including hardware level register and FIFO specs so you could go at it in assembly with no OS if you wanted to. The only thing they didn't document was the IOP due to it's role in copy protection in PS2 mode and interfacing with the DVD drive.

I wonder if it's an nVidia mandate... that on top of their recent monopoly abuse would be enough for me to second guess any future nVidia purchases even though thats all I've had since the TNT.

Just a shot in the dark - to prevent people from running PS1/PS2 emulators via Linux?

 

[DanTMWTMP]

I have YDL running on it. I should've partitioned the hdd from another computer, then install it, since I find the 10 gigs to be small. For basic computing, it works well, but you have to do quite a bit of changes in the conf files and such still. Since you have no access to the graphics portion, everything feels very very sluggish. Nothing looks too sharp, and everything looks a bit wierd. I don't like E17, and would much prefer GNOME and/or XGL. Too bad we can't since the graphics are locked. I have a 400 gig hdd on my ps3 (using that xecuter HDD xtender mod thing)


It's also a bit of a hassle to switch between the PS3 game OS and YDL, but that is to be expected.

 

[ponyo]

Any easy way to play Divx files on Linux on the PS3? Something so easy that even clueless like myself can set it up?

 

[Grimal]

I am just going to have to do a lot of research on this I really am hoping to find a good way to do this, and was hoping to be able to use ubuntu or Debin on the PS3 on a separate Hardrive. I don't have the time to get into MROPS RPGS online games anymore. I need a way to stay up though at night just before I go on a Night Shift and look for a way to have fun at night when I am off and there are no good movies on.
With the games that are coming to the PS3, the way it can display media and the blue ray player that still is not a certain format but I can pick up a HDVD player later if it goes that way. With what Paramont just stated about going All HDVD the pot just got stirred more

 

[exdeath]

Meh I'll just do the same thing I did with my PS2 and wait for a self booting mod chip, an IP boot loader, and the GNU dev kit and go raw to the metal. Hopefully the RSX uses the familiar TNT/GeForce register set.

 

[randay]

Originally posted by: Naustica
Any easy way to play Divx files on Linux on the PS3? Something so easy that even clueless like myself can set it up?

no chance, unfortunately. not yet at least.