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Sony Announces Version 1.0 Of Linux for Playstation 2

Posted by timothy on from the uncrackable-web-server dept.

ResearchBuzz writes: "Sony has announced the May 2002 release of Linux (for Playstation 2) Release 1.0." He quotes from the press release: "The company expects the kit to sell for about $199 USD when it is made available in May 2002 exclusively through its website, http://www.us.playstation.com."

4 of 458 comments (clear)

  1. Sony maintains control � no ad-hoc DVD authoring by indaba · · Score: 4, Informative
    You'll notice that there's still no way for anyone to author a DVD and distribute it without the blessing of Sony.

    With my end-user hat on , I think this is a good thing, as I know that all commercial PS2 bootable DVD will have at least some sort of minimum quality control

    With my hacker/geek hat on, I'm kinda disappointed that this won't allow non Sony sanctioned s/w to be produced for the PS2

    I'm not sure which way to lean on this one, so it's just an observation at this stage !

    Darren Kruse CCNP CCDP
    WAN/LAN Networking Consultant
    mailto://darren_kruse@hotmail.com
    www.geocities.com/darren_kruse

  2. Something about this doesn't feel right. by Hal-kun · · Score: 5, Informative

    After I wrote my Playstation Documentation Project I have had to dance with Sony playing the intellectual property game with me and Connectix. I've taken up a hobby of watching Sony pretty closely when it comes to them protecting thier I.P. and tend to become even more intrested when they start becoming "generous" like this. It's hard to think that there are no strings attached. Allow me to give you a little history.

    When Sony released the "Net Yaroze" (A grey PSX painted black for hobbiests), there was a very restrictive licence in the contract you had to sign. This included a "all programs created with the Yaroze are property of Sony" clause. They also popped in an NDA for good mesure too. It was a little too resticting for me.

    When I was halfway though my Doc, I let my e-mail show up on a PSXDev mailing list informing them of the Doc I was working on. I almost immidiatly got an e-mail from Sony of Japan(!) asking if I spoke Japanese. When I answered that I did, I got a real nastygram in Japanese basicly saying that if I even think about publising any of the libary commands to the PSX I'd be up the proverbial estuary without means of locomotion. A few months later I published, had a little tussle about the BIOS hooks, and now I'm here.

    I haven't played with the Japanese Linux for PS2, but it still stinks. I used to live in Japan and know first hand that they have very restrictive intellectual property laws. (Like music CDs that are made for rental and others that you can buy, but they have to be at a sold at a particular price set by the company.) I can tell you right away, If you are thinking of doing anything that reqires accessing the CD/DVD-ROM, such as DVD Playback, reading files files from a disk, or even finding something in /dev you are going to be sorely disappointed. If you can access the CD-ROM, color me suprised.

    Be aware that were will probably going to be proprietary drives/libs that you will not be able to reverse without Sony calling the lawyers. I know you will have *ZERO* access to the bootloader. Once again, if this isn't the case, I'll be pleasently suprised again.

    Finally, I doubt that you will be able to play PS2 games/DVDs out of the moniter adapter. If you do, if I remeber, you will only get the green channel to show up.

    I'm also sure that if you make a copy of the Linux disk for some sap with a hacked harddrive and a modchip, Sony will be knocking.

    Just a heads up.

    -Joshua Walker

  3. Wrong. Once setup, you can use TV by ecampbel · · Score: 5, Informative

    Can I use a TV as my display ?

    Yes. However, it is necessary to install Linux (for PlayStation 2) for the first time using a compatible VESA Monitor that supports "sync on green". Once Linux has been installed, it is possible to configure it to boot using TV display from then on. Some digital TV (DTV) modes are also supported (separate cables may be required for DTV).

    Which Display Resolutions are supported ?

    NTSC/PAL interlaced and non-interlaced

    DTV 480P, 720P and 1080I modes

    VESA modes 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x1024 at 60/75 Hz

    More:
    Linux (for PlayStation®2) Version 1.0 FAQ

    --

    Sig goes here
  4. Re:Don't fret the $199 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    Hi... Someone with a clue here (NDA'd PS2 developer). Not only does Sony give out the source and all modifications for the toolchain, but they have the next version up in CVS on their support site for people to tinker with. Source is NOT provided for some original tools written by Sony that have no code in common with the toolchain, nor are they required to provide it.

    Your source doesn't sound very knowledgeable.