Linux on the PlayStation 3

Yeah, you can run Linux on the PlayStation 3 (http://www.playstation.com/ps3-openplatform/). And not just some distro created by Sony. No, theoretically you can install any distro that has a PowerPC build. I already submitted a spec for Ubuntu: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/PS3Compatibility How do you do this? Well, Sony has put instructions up here: http://www.playstation.com/ps3-openplatform/manual.html It basically comes down to this, you need your distro's install CD/DVD, a patched Linux kernel image for you distro, a patched kboot image specific for you distro and a tool provided by Sony that will install the kboot bootloader to the PS3's Flash ROM. I guess it will be up to the distro developers to make this as easy to install as possible. So why is Sony doing this? Well, I guess the primary reason is to distract the homebrew community. Let me explain: The homebrew community is currently the PSP's biggest problem from a business perspective. Sure, if their goal was to only actually create normal homebrew apps Sony wouldn't have any problems with it. However, the PSP homebrew scene goes hand in hand with the PSP's piracy scene. You see, whenever a homebrew dev manages to crack a newer version of the PSP firmware, other devs are quickly to follow releasing various tools that only serve to be able to run ISO's from your Memory Stick. And the PSP homebrew (and piracy) scene has come to a new level now that Dark Alex (http://dax.lan.st/) has released his custom firmware, which will run almost all game ISO's on the Memory Stick directly from the Game menu. The problem is firmware. The PSP is the first Sony gaming hardware that is upgradeable through firmware. This has lots of advantages, such as being able to introduce new features after the PSP is released. But the major problem is that it's near impossible to create a firmware that isn't crackable. And now the PS3 also has upgradeable firmware. But where normally the homebrew scene would start hacking right away, trying to figure out how to circumvent the system and get their homebrew to work, Sony has now given them their own sandbox: They will be able to install any PowerPC-compatible Linux distro they like and develop on that, with only a few restrictions. It will distract them, and take some of the pressure of the firmware. (Not that the piracy scene will stop trying to crack the PS3 firmware, but with the majority of the homebrew devs now fiddling with Linux, it will take them much more time, which will give Sony a better opportunity to stay ahead of the game with new firmware upgrades.) Of course that's not the only reason. For example, Sony also wants to increase adoption of the Cell in servers and other hardware like TV's and DVD players, and working together with the Linux kernel developers to include Cell support in the Linux kernel tree is one big step in that direction. Having the major Linux distros prepare for the PS3, and PS3 owners use Linux, actually means they will have a well tested platform. Anyway, the possibility might actually have another side-effect that Sony isn't completely planning on: The dawn of open-source game development. Many people will quickly discover a new range of free and very creative games that they can now run on their PS3. Games like Warsow, Tremulous, PlaneShift and FlighGear. In this age where propriety game development is a do-or-die business, and publishers are to scared to try new things, free and open source game development is the future. If a large enough community helps out with a game, it can easily reach the same quality as commercial games. The only problem right now is that the majority of gamers has no idea about open source games. But the PS3 now offers the potential to change that...