Yellow Dog Linux

I want to buy a PS3 figuring it would be great fun to play games and such. However I want to install linux to use it as an HTPC also. I only will buy it if I can be sure i can run linux... Will the next firmware update restore the feature or is it permanently removed?

nooladno wrote:I want to buy a PS3 figuring it would be great fun to play games and such. However I want to install linux to use it as an HTPC also. I only will buy it if I can be sure i can run linux... Will the next firmware update restore the feature or is it permanently removed?

Sony has no plans to restore OtherOS. Even if the pending lawsuits are successful, Sony won't restore the feature, IMHO. At this point in time, the most I'm expecting is some form of monetary restitution.

Also - the new PS3 "slim" models were never capable of running OtherOS - only the original "phat" models. So - any new PS3 that you can buy won't support OtherOS anyway - even if they do bring it back.

In addition - due to the OtherOS hypervisor lockout of the nVidia RSX chip, only a simple framebuffer display is available to Linux. This framebuffer display is not capable of HTPC performance.

Cheers,
Paul

"Phat" PS3s with FW 3.15 (the last firmware update to support the OtherOS option) can still be found easily on eBay:

http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=ps3+3. ... 86.c0.m359
(some are a bit high priced, though -- I don't think I'd pay more than $200 for one)

For media playback, I use the GameOS and TVersity running on a local Windows machine. I mostly use Linux for the browser, minitube, and games/emulators.