The Official PS3 thread!

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » March 29, 2010, 2:32 pm

Sony sure does like to screw things up and move backwards!

Say good-bye to Linux on the PS3

Those who own an older PS3 version and currently run Linux on the console will want to listen up: a new firmware update coming down later this week will kill that installation.

According to Sony, it plans to release PlayStation 3 firmware version 3.21 on Thursday to achieve one goal: eliminate the "Other OS" option currently available in all pre-Slim models of the video game console. The feature allowed PS3 owners to install an operating system--in almost every case, Linux--onto the PlayStation 3.

Sony said that its decision to remove the Other OS option is based on security concerns. The company contends that after installing the update, users will have "a more secure system." Those who currently use the Other OS option and have an operating system running on the PS3 will loss all data (and, obviously, the OS installation) after installing the update.

Although Sony wants PS3 owners to download the software, it said that users won't be forced to do so. That said, if users don't install the firmware, they will lose access to the PlayStation Network and playback of games and Blu-ray movies that require the new software. The console will also stop playing copy-protected content from media servers.

Sony's decision to remove the Other OS option from the PS3 isn't all that surprising. When it started shipping last year, the PlayStation 3 Slim didn't have the Other OS option included in its software. It seems that Sony is simply catching up on old PS3 models.

Many of the folks who ran Linux on the PlayStation were quite happy with the PS3's performance, so it's rather unfortunate to see the PS3's Other OS option go.

Users running Linux on the PS3 will want to backup their data before installing the firmware update Thursday.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » March 29, 2010, 2:37 pm

Ha, you beat me to it Winnow.

Although I don't know why this matters really anyhow. It is being changed because of security risk, and wtf do you really need Linux on your PS3 for anyhow? I get the feeling anyone savvy enough to install and use Linux on their PS3 has a computer anyhow, and just did it as a novelty.

I can't find the article I read, but apparently some iPhone hacker dude (winnow?) had successfully hacked the PS3 and that's what caused the scare that initiated this change.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » March 29, 2010, 2:39 pm

Good time to pick up a phat for possible future hackage. I wonder where they could be found!

miir · Post by **miir** » March 29, 2010, 2:40 pm

Running Linux on the PS3 was one of those 'what's the fucking point' things.
A $300 Dell can run linux a fuck of a lot better than the PS3.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » March 29, 2010, 3:00 pm

miir wrote:Running Linux on the PS3 was one of those 'what's the fucking point' things.
A $300 Dell can run linux a fuck of a lot better than the PS3.

because Sony is lame and didn't allow linux access to the graphics card so it was slow as hell...just another gimmick from Sony to try and sell the overpriced, hard to program for console.

Add that to the backwards compatibility fiasco and rumble controller cheapskate move.

They really should allow their console to be hacked. They'd sell 100K the next day and continue toimprove their overall sales if the the PS3 was hacked and also ran decent homebrew software.

miir · Post by **miir** » March 29, 2010, 3:08 pm

Haha, you're still clinging to the moronic 'overpriced' bullshit?

If anything, the fucking 360 is overpriced.

No HD optical drive, you have to use ridiculously overpriced 'MS approved' hard drives, wireless is $100 extra, full featured online play is $50-60/year, you have to buy batteries for the controllers.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » March 29, 2010, 3:11 pm

miir wrote:Haha, you're still clinging to the moronic 'overpriced' bullshit?

If anything, the fucking 360 is overpriced.

No HD optical drive, you have to use ridiculously overpriced 'MS approved' hard drives, wireless is $100 extra, full featured online play is $50-60/year, you have to buy batteries for the controllers.

Well I'm glad it's easy to replace HD's on PS3's because mine failed! Poor quality control!

rrod

miir · Post by **miir** » March 29, 2010, 3:12 pm

Winnow wrote: rrod

Hehe

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » March 29, 2010, 3:13 pm

miir wrote:Haha, you're still clinging to the moronic 'overpriced' bullshit?

If anything, the fucking 360 is overpriced.

No HD optical drive, you have to use ridiculously overpriced 'MS approved' hard drives, wireless is $100 extra, full featured online play is $50-60/year, you have to buy batteries for the controllers.

Someone ripped you off if you paid 100 for wireless. Mine was MUCH cheaper. You do know that you were never limited to the Microsoft wireless adapter, right?

miir · Post by **miir** » March 29, 2010, 3:19 pm

Boogahz wrote:Someone ripped you off if you paid 100 for wireless. Mine was MUCH cheaper. You do know that you were never limited to the Microsoft wireless adapter, right?

I know they can be had for cheaper but the MSRP on them was $99 for years.
And I know you can kludge a cheap-ass router to act as the wireless connection but the average xbox owner is just going to buy the overpriced MS adapter.

It's still a fucking ripoff.
Even the Wii, DSi and PSP have built-in wireless for fuck sakes!

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » March 29, 2010, 3:19 pm

Boogahz wrote:
miir wrote:Haha, you're still clinging to the moronic 'overpriced' bullshit?

If anything, the fucking 360 is overpriced.

No HD optical drive, you have to use ridiculously overpriced 'MS approved' hard drives, wireless is $100 extra, full featured online play is $50-60/year, you have to buy batteries for the controllers.

Someone ripped you off if you paid 100 for wireless. Mine was MUCH cheaper. You do know that you were never limited to the Microsoft wireless adapter, right?

orly? I tried using my usb one and it didn't work

And miir, the 50 dollars a year for "full featured online" thing being a negative is teh dumb. Whether you prefer it or not, Xbox Live is much better, easier to use, has a shit ton more content, etc.. And if it is such a rip off/terrible idea, why is Sony in the process of coming up with a better (coughmorelikexboxlivecough) online service that will cost $$?

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » March 29, 2010, 3:20 pm

Boogahz wrote:
miir wrote:Haha, you're still clinging to the moronic 'overpriced' bullshit?

If anything, the fucking 360 is overpriced.

No HD optical drive, you have to use ridiculously overpriced 'MS approved' hard drives, wireless is $100 extra, full featured online play is $50-60/year, you have to buy batteries for the controllers.

Someone ripped you off if you paid 100 for wireless. Mine was MUCH cheaper. You do know that you were never limited to the Microsoft wireless adapter, right?

And please stop throwing around $50-60/year for Live. There are $35 deals constantly for a 12 month card so anyone who pays 50-60 is a moron. Or a Canadian if you can't get any discount on Live subscriptions.

As far as the batteries for controllers goes.. I bought the rechargable ones so didn't really see that as a problem. At least when the battery pack goes kaput you can easily just buy another unlike what you do with the PS3. Which is buy another controller. Not to mention Dualshock 3 controllers are 'ridiculously overpriced.'

miir · Post by **miir** » March 29, 2010, 4:13 pm

Funkmasterr wrote:Xbox Live is much better, easier to use, has a shit ton more content, etc..

More content?
Huh?
How so?

And how the hell is it easier to use?

And please stop throwing around $50-60/year for Live.

I'm not making it up!
I went to the xbox site and the price for 12 months is $49

As far as the batteries for controllers goes.. I bought the rechargable ones so didn't really see that as a problem. At least when the battery pack goes kaput you can easily just buy another unlike what you do with the PS3. Which is buy another controller. Not to mention Dualshock 3 controllers are 'ridiculously overpriced.'

You still have to pay up-front for the batteries... like $30 for a charger and 4 batteries that take longer to charge and probably won't even last as long as the Li-ion in the dualshock 3.
And you are mistaken about the battery pack on the Dual Shock 3. It is removable and you can purchase a replacement for like $5.

The MSRP for the 360 wireless controller is $49.99
The MSRP for the Dual Shock 3 is $54.99

Ridiculous!

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » March 29, 2010, 4:24 pm

miir wrote:
Boogahz wrote:Someone ripped you off if you paid 100 for wireless. Mine was MUCH cheaper. You do know that you were never limited to the Microsoft wireless adapter, right?
I know they can be had for cheaper but the MSRP on them was $99 for years.
And I know you can kludge a cheap-ass router to act as the wireless connection but the average xbox owner is just going to buy the overpriced MS adapter.

It's still a fucking ripoff.
Even the Wii, DSi and PSP have built-in wireless for fuck sakes!

Rumor has it that royalty payments to nVidia (backward compatibility) are based off of 360 HD and Accessories, specifically the Hard Drives so that's why they were/are overpriced.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » March 29, 2010, 4:25 pm

More content:
-Netflix (without gay disc)
-Avatar stuff
-Tons of videos on strategies, and other shit like that right on the dash that isn't available on psn
-1 vs 100 (<3)
-Achievement rewards
-Party chat, not to mention all the other party features (ie: move from game to game as a party, watch movie in xbox live as a party, etc)
-Development kit and indie games created by them on market place

Off the top of my head. They may not all be features every individual cares about, but I am a big fan of most of them to be honest and those, along with the general fluidity of Xbox Live is leagues beyond the PS3 for me.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, though. There are things I like about the PS3/PSN more too, particularly the ability to share games with multiple people. This is something I would LOVE to have on Xbox Live, but I would bet against it ever happening. I'm by no means a PS3 hater, I just think the online support between the two consoles is night and day.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » March 29, 2010, 4:30 pm

Storage is also about to get cheaper on the 360 starting on Apr 6th. With this, they're replacing the 120GB HDD with a 250GB at the same price point and they're phasing out memory units altogether. It's still not PS3 level cheap but it's getting better.

(The phasing out of the MU's completely lends a lot of credence to a 360 redesign announcement at E3 that will ship at same time as Natal does.)

http://majornelson.com/archive/2010/03/ ... l-6th.aspx

USB Memory Support for the Xbox 360 coming April 6th

On April 6th, we will be releasing a system update over Xbox LIVE for your Xbox 360 that will allow USB flash drives to be used for storing profiles, game saves, demos and more. I’ve been testing this feature out for a few weeks, and I have to say it’s really great. Once you take the system update on April 6th, you’ll be able to connect your USB flash drives to your console and head over to the memory section to configure your new storage device. Once you do that, the system will conduct a one time performance and integrity check to confirm the drive is working properly. You will then be able to configure how much storage to use on the device, up to 16 GB. The remaining space on the flash drive will be accessible by your PC or Mac. USB Hard drives may work, but like flash memory, you’ll only be able to use up to 16GB of space. Since performance on flash based USB storage is usually better, I highly recommend using flash based instead of spinning media like a hard drive…it’s just going to give you a MUCH better experience.

We’ve also enhanced the memory management functions, so you’ll be able to have better control on what you want to copy or move between storage devices.

A couple of points:

You can have 2 devices connected to the console at a time, enabling up to 32GB of simultaneous storage.
The system won’t just configure the device once it is connected to the console. You’ll need to head to the memory area in system settings, select your USB Device, and choose from Configure Now (Format and Configure the Full Device), or Customize (you can choose how much memory you want configured for Xbox360 from the free space on the device.)
While any flash drive can be used, we are partnering with SanDisk to release an Xbox 360 branded USB flash drive in May that comes pre-configured out of the box and ready to go. I’ll provide links to those drives once they’re available. Until then, starting April 6th (when we release the system update) you can pop any flash drive over 1GB into your Xbox 360 and configure it as storage.

miir · Post by **miir** » March 29, 2010, 4:38 pm

Storage is also about to get cheaper on the 360 starting on Apr 6th. With this, they're replacing the 120GB HDD with a 250GB at the same price point

That's still fucking ridiculous.
A 250 gig drive costs $50 retail, a 120 gig can be found for less than $40.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » March 29, 2010, 4:57 pm

miir wrote:
And please stop throwing around $50-60/year for Live.
I'm not making it up!
I went to the xbox site and the price for 12 months is $49

No shit. That's the retail. As I said, and which you conveniently cut out of my quote, you can regularly find these offered for $35 at least once a month from a variety of sellers.

miir wrote:You still have to pay up-front for the batteries... like $30 for a charger and 4 batteries that take longer to charge and probably won't even last as long as the Li-ion in the dualshock 3.
And you are mistaken about the battery pack on the Dual Shock 3. It is removable and you can purchase a replacement for like $5.

It's not that removable in the same way the 360 packs are. You have to take the controller apart and good luck if you accidently pop off any of the trigger buttons. I have a PS3 controller that I can't figure out how to put back together. I would imagine this 'replacement' isn't a Sony officially endorsed product .

And $30 for a charger? I bought the plug and play thing (or whatever it's called) for $11 and that came with a battery. I'm not talking about AA rechargable batteries I'm talking about actual battery packs which I think are Li-ion. But I'm not at home to look at them so I could be mistaken and they are really NiMH. Regardless, it still wont cost you $30. They seemed to hold a charge longer than what I've seen from the DS3s.

miir wrote:The MSRP for the 360 wireless controller is $49.99
The MSRP for the Dual Shock 3 is $54.99

Ridiculous!

Same as for Live... You can regularly find 360 controllers on sale for $30 whereas DS3 sales aren't quite as common at least from what I've seen.

As someone who owns all three current consoles it's rather obvious your Sony love really has you blinded to reality.

miir · Post by **miir** » March 29, 2010, 5:00 pm

When I do a price comparison, I don't usually take into account sale prices.

But whatever.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » March 29, 2010, 5:03 pm

One thing that does suck, is you can't (unless people at Gamestop lied to me) buy the battery packs for the 360 separately anymore, you have to buy them with the charger. Although like Aslanna said I think to buy a charger cord plus a pack is like 12-15 dollars.

As far as battery life, I'd say to start the 360 batteries last longer. However, after a couple months of not using my 360 controllers, the battery packs don't seem to hold a charge at all anymore, and I haven't ran into that issue with the PS3 controllers (yet).

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » March 29, 2010, 5:06 pm

Just a quick comment about the whole cost thing that was pointed out in the last Cheap Ass Gamer podcast.
Game prices on the 360(used and older) seem to drop down a hell of a lot more quickly on the 360 than they do on the other platforms. Seems like used titles on the PS3 retain their value a lot longer than their 360 counterparts. I also frequently see sales where they're clearing 360 games for 10-15 bucks.

It's all pretty subjective but I had noticed the same now that I own both machines.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » March 29, 2010, 5:07 pm

miir wrote:When I do a price comparison, I don't usually take into account sale prices.

But whatever.

Obviously. If they were occassional sales I could see the point. However Live subscriptions and controllers are just about ALWAYS on sale. I have Slickdeal alerts set up for 360 and PS3 items and those are probably the two most common alerts I get an email on.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » April 29, 2010, 6:29 pm

Dropping PS3 Linux Support Lands Sony in Court
Wired News - David Kravets - ‎33 minutes ago‎

Sony's move to disable Linux on the PlayStation 3 is being met by a proposed class-action lawsuit accusing the company of unjustly enriching itself at the expense of its customers.

Sony sued for dropping Linux from PS3 Register

Linux on the console? Sony sued for removing PS3 support Ars Technica
Gamasutra - Neoseeker - TG Daily - NetworkWorld.com

find no surprise here
sony sucks sony sucks so
sony sucks sony

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » April 29, 2010, 6:40 pm

As we all know anyone can sue anyone else for just about anything. It's only news if they actually manage to win.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » May 5, 2010, 1:17 pm

Sony rocks

It used to do more: Sony's flip-flopping PS3 history

The news that Sony is being sued after removing support for Linux from the PlayStation 3 serves as a reminder that the console has changed quite a bit since its release. While we have a new, slimmer version of the PS3, many of these changes have come as a result of Sony removing features that were once heralded as selling points for the console. Sony doesn't seem to be able to make up its mind about what is important and what can go. Here's a look at how the company's stance has changed as features have been dropped.

Rumble

When Sony originally unveiled the Sixaxis—the original PS3 controller, which supported motion support but not rumble—Phil Harrison, former head of SCE worldwide studios dismissed the importance of rumble, saying:

"I believe that the Sixaxis controller offers game designers and developers far more opportunity for future innovation than rumble ever did. Now, rumble I think was the last generation feature; it's not the next-generation feature. I think motion sensitivity is. And we don't see the need to do that. Having said that, there will be specific game function controllers, potentially like steering wheels that do include vibration or feedback function—not from us but from third parties."

But when Sony settled its lawsuit with Immersion and released the Dual Shock 3, its stance on rumble was much different, as the company released a statement saying "The new controller will also benefit PS3 content creators, by giving them the ability to further expand their creative imagination."

This flip-flop was even acknowledged by Sony. Phil Harrison played politics to try to downplay Sony's old stance about rumble. "As to previous statements that I made; we were in a lawsuit—what do you expect me to say? We were in a lawsuit. We were in litigation. Of course I have to defend our view. And actually, I still truly believe that having the Sixaxis controller the way it is is the best way to control games. And I think that we're looking forward to working with Immersion going forward, and who knows where that is leading us."

Backwards compatibility

The PS3's predecessor was an enormous success, and it boasted one of the largest libraries of any game console. So the ability to play all those games on the new PS3 was a big selling point. "PSone runs on the PlayStation 2 through emulation rather than actual hardware. PlayStation 3 will offer the same compatibility for PS2 software and the format will continue forever," Ken Kutaragi said back in 2003. Backwards compatibility has long been touted as a major selling point of PlayStation hardware, allowing gamers to enjoy their existing catalog of games.

"Backwards compatibility, as you know from PlayStation One and PlayStation 2, is a core value of what we believe we should offer," Phil Harrison said in 2006. "And access to the library of content people have created, bought for themselves, and accumulated over the years is necessary to create a format. PlayStation is a format, meaning that it transcends many devices—PSOne, PS2, and now PS3."

When the feature was dropped from new models starting in 2007, SCEA president Jack Tretton said "backward compatibility is a nice secondary consideration, but it's far from the number-one priority."

And there appears to be little possibility that it will return, as Sony's John Koller told Ars. "It's not coming back, so let me put that on the table. But it's all people ever talk about! It's not as big as a purchase intent driver as you may be hearing. We've got such a substantial lineup of titles on the PS3; most people are buying the PS3 for PS3 games. They've buying it for PS3 games and Blu-ray movies. That won't be returning."

Linux

Which brings us to the removal of Linux. While not necessarily a huge selling point, on several occasions Sony did boast about the feature. In 2006, Harrison said that combining Linux support with the PS3's other features essentially made the PC obsolete.

"We believe that the PS3 will be the place where our users play games, watch films, browse the Web, and use other computer functions. The PlayStation 3 is a computer. We do not need the PC."

That stance was repeated multiple times. Phil Harrison stated "One of the most powerful things about the PS3 is the 'Install Other OS' option." Sony engineer Geoffrey Levand wrote to a PS3 mailing list in August 2009, "Please be assured that SCE is committed to continue to support for previously sold models that have the 'Install Other OS' feature and that this feature will not be disabled in future firmware releases."

But once the PS3 was subject to "security concerns," presumably related to the console being hacked, Sony wasted no time in removing the feature.

"This feature enabled users to install an operating system, but due to security concerns, Sony Computer Entertainment will remove the functionality through the 3.21 system software update," the company stated. "In addition, disabling the 'Other OS' feature will help ensure that PS3 owners will continue to have access to the broad range of gaming and entertainment content from SCE and its content partners on a more secure system."

What's next?

What is most concerning about Sony's constantly changing stance is that it could be setting a dangerous precedent: features that once may have sold you on a console could no longer be available once you actually purchase it. Sony's history of making flat, declarative statements only to directly contradict themselves is troubling, and should be remembered. The PlayStation 3 has gained and lost many features, but the take-away is that all statements made by the company should be looked at critically, with the past flip-flops kept in the front of your mind.

miir · Post by **miir** » May 5, 2010, 1:46 pm

Wii has sold 4.9 million so far in 2010
PS3 has sold 3.4 million so far in 2010
360 has sold 2.5 million so far in 2010

Since last August, the 360 has been dead last except for two weeks in November.

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » May 5, 2010, 1:49 pm

I think that was also around the last time I even turned on my 360...

damn, Gamefly has been getting my money that long, and I have had Assassin's Creed 2 just sitting on my console.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » May 5, 2010, 1:52 pm

Wal-Mart has the highest sales of any store...are they the best? ...at sales I guess...grats!

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » May 5, 2010, 8:15 pm

Winnow comes in with sourceless PS3 slander, Miir posts sourceless sales numbers guesstimated by (I assume) VGChartz, my name is associated with this abortion of a thread and the circle of fail continues.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » May 6, 2010, 1:30 pm

I think it's great that Geohot (same guy that hacked the iPhone, hacks the PS3...Sony panics, removes Linux, which potentially will cause them billions and also bad press...they should have just left linux on...would have cost them less in the long run and given them a sliver of good press in the sea of crap they float in daily.

PS3 Linux Lawsuit Could Cost Sony Billions

The scope of the class action lawsuit facing Sony over its removal of PS3 Linux support could include over 10 million consoles, potentially reaching billions of dollars in refunds if everything goes the lawyers’ way.

The law firm handling the case is claiming the console’s high price was due to the inclusion of Linux support, most probably in an effort to increase the size of the final settlement:

“This class definition reflects, in part, that Sony commanded a much higher price for the gaming console based on the functionality of the ‘Other OS’ feature at the time of its launch and trumpeted the ‘Other OS’ feature in its subsequent marketing.

As a result, consumers paid much more for a product than they should otherwise have been charged now that Sony has disabled the ‘Other OS’ feature.”

The firm is urging PS3 owners to hang onto consoles and receipts if they want in on the action.

With lawyers seeking an “everybody in the country who bought the PS3 from the time of launch until March 27, 2010” scope, some 13 million PS3s would be included in the suit.

Even restricting the scope to pre-Slim PS3s, 9 million PS3s could easily be included. Successful suits in less litigious nations seem less likely, but over 30 million PS3s worldwide presents a huge potential liability.

Amazon’s discretionary refund of $100 for lost Linux support sets a threatening precedent for Sony – presumably a court enforced refund would be much less.

A substantial success for such a suit would probably spell doom for the PlayStation – billions of dollars in additional liability would be a huge blow to Sony’s struggling financial position, and in the boardroom would have an even worse effect on the perceived importance of SCE to Sony as a whole.

However much the final lawsuit comes to, it seems unlikely any console will ever officially support a third party OS again after such a fiasco.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » May 6, 2010, 1:37 pm

I doubt the initial cost of the PS3 had anything to do with OtherOS being there.

I don't think the Sony lawyers will be defeated on this issue. The worst that I could see possibly happening is they might be ordered to readd OtherOS support but even that would be a surprise to me.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » May 6, 2010, 1:45 pm

Aslanna wrote:I doubt the initial cost of the PS3 had anything to do with OtherOS being there.

I don't think the Sony lawyers will be defeated on this issue. The worst that I could see possibly happening is they might be ordered to readd OtherOS support but even that would be a surprise to me.

Oh something will come of this.

I'm personally heartbroken the PS3 no longer has Linux support! I bought it for that reason. I SWEAR TO GOD!

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » May 6, 2010, 1:48 pm

'Something' may happen but I doubt it will "cost Sony billions".

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » May 6, 2010, 1:52 pm

billions of pennies

miir · Post by **miir** » May 6, 2010, 2:04 pm

Maybe a couple million in lawers fees for Sony and we'll see yet another frivolous class action suit that never even makes it to a court of law.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » May 6, 2010, 2:19 pm

miir wrote:Maybe a couple million in lawers fees for Sony and we'll see yet another frivolous class action suit that never even makes it to a court of law.

quoting this for future use!

miir · Post by **miir** » May 6, 2010, 2:32 pm

Shouldn't you be more worried about all the class action and anti-trust suits piling up against Apple?

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » May 6, 2010, 2:33 pm

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the people that bought a PS3 for Linux are very few and far between and everyone with a PS3 slim don't qualify for this at all cause we've hever had the feature in the first place.

Didn't Geohoot decide to look at the PS3 exactly because this got removed and he wanted to re-add it?

miir · Post by **miir** » May 6, 2010, 2:36 pm

I'm sure Sony can pull an audit to see how many people were actually running Linux on their PS3s...

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » May 6, 2010, 2:40 pm

Animalor wrote:Didn't Geohoot decide to look at the PS3 exactly because this got removed and he wanted to re-add it?

No. OtherrOS got removed after his hacking efforts. I think there was mention of him thinking about writing a custom firmware or something to take it's place.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » May 6, 2010, 2:55 pm

miir wrote:Shouldn't you be more worried about all the class action and anti-trust suits piling up against Apple?

I'm not worried. I encourage them. They're being asshats about flash among other things. Apple deserves to take a beating in the legal department.

miir wrote:I'm sure Sony can pull an audit to see how many people were actually running Linux on their PS3s...

Miir, how did Sony know I was running Linux on my PS3?

miir · Post by **miir** » May 6, 2010, 3:04 pm

Winnow wrote:Miir, how did Sony know I was running Linux on my PS3?

I know you're not that stupid.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » May 6, 2010, 5:23 pm

miir wrote:
Winnow wrote:Miir, how did Sony know I was running Linux on my PS3?
I know you're not that stupid.

I'm curious if it isn't connected to the internet how they know. It must be assumed that 100% of PS3s not connected to the internet were using Linux. I had dreams of using my PS3 for all of my computing needs, Sony advertised that we wouldn't need a PC anymore. I'll dig up the Sony Executive quotes if needed...or save them to use against you later!

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » May 6, 2010, 6:09 pm

Well, what companies in general need to realize.. I'm talking the recording/film industry, video games, other computer shit, etc. Is that the people that they are trying to stop from stealing their shit always have been, are now, and always will be smarter and more determined than them. They can do whatever the hell they want to try to slow down piracy but it_never_works.

Honestly, it hurts them more than anything, cause the more they try to fight it the more people fight back. What they need to do is totally re think what they price this shit at, that would do more to combat piracy than any of their efforts thus far have done.

miir · Post by **miir** » May 6, 2010, 6:35 pm

It must be assumed that 100% of PS3s not connected to the internet were using Linux

100% of those PS3s not connected to the internet can still run linux.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » May 6, 2010, 6:57 pm

miir wrote:
It must be assumed that 100% of PS3s not connected to the internet were using Linux
100% of those PS3s not connected to the internet can still run linux.

yah, the lawsuits come when they unwittingly connect to internet to see if Sony's crappy online presence has change and their Linux gets wiped.

miir · Post by **miir** » May 6, 2010, 9:17 pm

Winnow wrote:
miir wrote:
It must be assumed that 100% of PS3s not connected to the internet were using Linux
100% of those PS3s not connected to the internet can still run linux.
yah, the lawsuits come when they unwittingly connect to internet to see if Sony's crappy online presence has change and their Linux gets wiped.

Do those come after the person clicks "i agree" after reading through the notice that the firmware upgrade disables the OtherOS option?

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » May 6, 2010, 9:26 pm

Who reads those things?

miir · Post by **miir** » May 6, 2010, 10:03 pm

Winnow wrote:Who reads those things?

Lawyers.

Kwonryu DragonFist · Post by **Kwonryu DragonFist** » May 8, 2010, 9:26 pm

http://nexus404.com/Blog/2010/05/07/son ... -clusters/

Apparently Sony caused the US Air Forces Supercomputer cluster of 2,000 PS3 to go bad all at once. The funny thing it seems like they did the upgrade not knowing that Sony was going to pull a fast one.

"Sony recently patched-out the “OtherOS” feature that allowed users to run Linux installations on their first-gen PlayStation 3 consoles. The Linux crowd hasn’t taken kindly, sending moronic commentators to our blog and filing a class action lawsuit. Sony allegedly did it to preserve the security and DRM environment on the PS3, but they’ve inadvertently hampered the growing scene of clustered-PS3 supercomputers.
The PlayStation 3 uses the “Cell” processor, a powerful microprocessor which was codeveloped by IBM, Sony and Toshiba. The PlayStation 3 (even when it launched at $600) was vastly cheaper than any Cell-powered custom supercomputer could hope to be, so some universities, research institutions and even the US Air Force have created cheap Cell supercomputer clusters by networking thousands of PS3s together.

It was a cheap (and awesome) way for budget-strapped universities (and US military branches, apparently) to get their hands on a Cell-powered supercomputer. Unfortunately, these clusters all used the OtherOS feature and when Sony removed them from the PS3’s firmware, that destroyed the future of any PS3 supercomputers, according to experts who spoke to Hot Hardware.

Hot Hardware spoke to several researchers and computer scientists, including Dr. Frank Mueller, the first man to build a PS3 supercomputer cluster. A majority of them believe that the PS3 Supercomputer era is dead. Not only did Sony hamper it by removing the “OtherOS” feature, but the second-gen “PlayStation 3 Slim” never had the firmware to use the OtherOS feature."