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Sony Announces Version 1.0 Of Linux for Playstation 2
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."
This will be a neat kit, and I'll likely spring for it. The hardware is worth it alone...
But out of serious curiousity -- I wonder how hard it will be to get BSD running on it... Hmm.
"Everything you know is wrong. (And stupid.)"
Moderation Totals: Wrong=2, Stupid=3, Total=5.
Is this really useful? You need a monitor which supports Sync-on-green to use this. I guess we won't be able to use this as a set-top box.
Great, now I can port all those old arcade games from 10 and 20 years ago onto 21st century platform. Who woulda thunk it?
Considering there is a hard disk and a operation system that is developed by "hackers," what is stopping someone from creating a bootloader for Linux to boot PS2/PSX burns (let it be a DVD-R/CDR).
I don't see why it would not be possible to do so unless they have really done a good job putting protections into place.
Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. continues to redefine the entertainment lifestyle
I was actually excited about this neat-o deal until I read this phrase. Doesn't it seem a bit silly to praise and promote a life filled with entertainment? Or am I being a joykill?
On the other hand, if entertainment is being redefined as Linux hacking, maybe there's a great deal more progress being made than I realized...
.sig last updated Jan. 14, 2000
All of the hardware can be had for well under $100, and the software is Free as in GPL and can't legally be sold at a profit.
Huh? Why not?
W
-------------------
This is my SIG. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
So if it includes the Hard Drive and Ethernet adapter, does this mean those are going to be available in May instead of this summer? That's kind of exciting....
I'm not sure what Sony planned on selling the drive for, but I think the Network Adapter (which was suppose to be modem and ethernet) was going to go for around $40. Anyone know what the hard drive was going to sell for?
I'm wondering what the value-add price of Linux is in this case.
Looks like most(if not all) of the $199 goes to additional hardware and documentation, nothing unusual about that...
I can't believe people on Slashdot, of all places, still don't understand the GPL at all. If I wanted to, I could make my own Linux distro and charge you $1 million for it, the GPL only requires I provide you with the source code.
It doesn't matter whether you decide to believe Sony is profiting on the hardware or the software, it obviously took them some effort (more than making yet another x86 distro) to port this, so quit whining and don't buy it if you don't want it.
>software is Free as in GPL and can't legally be sold at a profit.
Umm, no. You can sell GPL software, and make it fairly big... ever hear of a little company called IBM, or perhaps Red Hat? Last time I checked they both sold Linux solutions. And Linux is free as in beer, go to www.gnu.org.
A MAME DVD would have enough space on it for all the most popular MAME's game ROMS
BUT, would Sony allow such a distribution ???
Checkout MAME here : http://www.mame.net
And for all your ROM needs here : http://www.mame.dk
Galaga,Outrun,Spy Hunter,Xevious,Rolling Thunder - ahh !! my childhood !
Darren Kruse CCNP CCDP
WAN/LAN Networking Consultant
mailto://darren_kruse@hotmail.com
www.geocities.com/darren_kruse
In the past, you had to have the development system to use the programs wrote by others. So you'd have to shell out the money for a development system just to play your pirated games. In the case of the PSX that was cost and unit prohibitive. There weren't enough units and they cost way to much to justify that.
In this case, though, some people may be more keen to paying $200 and pirate 50 games (of which, they'll play 4. Good thing they are saving money.).
It boils down to, even if you did come up with a bootloader, only those with a development system would benefit from it. If I had one of the development systems, I wouldn't be interested anyway. If a game is worth playing, I'll buy it.
So I can write a program that flashes the analog light on the controller in morse code.
This will only be of value if I can compile Nethack for PS2. This would have to be the only game to take full advantage of the PS2's graphics :-)
Alister
It looks like Linux (for PlayStation 2) may be a really popular item (for PlayStation 2), especially if Sony (for PlayStation 2) is releasing (for PlayStation 2) this into mainstream (for PlayStation 2) retail (for PlayStation 2) outlets (for PlayStation 2).
Just remember, it's for PlayStation (for Play(for PlayStat(for PlayStation 2)ion 2)Station 2) 2!
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
maybe just disable the god damn button altogether for those of us that don't want to have it bumped during those insane times when I bash the analog sticks against my forehead.
And I wonder why people ask if I have a "large" zit problem.
Seriously that button always gets turned on and next thing I know the fucking Detriot Lions sack Warner. Umm, no.
Has anyone ran linux on a PS2 run any Benchmarks yet? I'd like to know just how fast the CPU really is.
He was quoting retail prices for those items, and estimating that $117 retail is $60 actual cost. I think that's pretty close. So they're charging you approx $140 for Linux... Windows upgrades are cheaper than that. :)
Yeah. Considering Playstation 2 is MIPS based.
For those who are interested, this is the place to go. Every 'community' like /. stated as one or two guys with an idea...
In other words, the site is kinda small right now.
It helps if you, like, smoke a lot of weed.
Sapere Aude - Homer
the software is Free as in GPL and can't legally be sold at a profit.
Actually, the under the GPL license, you can make all the money you want. It's free as in speech, not beer. You just have to make it available to others, including source code.
Yeah, but remember that Mame Ass Mot an Emulator too
Just wondering...
========================================
Death will come, and will have your eyes
-- Pavese
All of the hardware can be had for well under $100
And this is exactly why Linux won't make it bigtime,- there's no money in it. I'm sorry to be so negative (but I'm sure the Karma Police will fix that) but here's a company that's actually doing something kewl, and what do they get? People bitching about 2 hundred fucking dollars.
Have you looked a M$ XP license recently?
I mean, what do you expect? Sony people preparing each individual kit by purchasing used gear from eBay???
Show me an other company selling an add-on kit including harddrive, keyboard, mouse and network adaptor AND an OS for $200,-
Back when this story last hit /. I observed the dump of dmesg from the thing and the DVD drive was conspiciously absent. Without that we can't build up a DVD/DiVX;)/MP3/OGG/etc player very easy.
Democrat delenda est
If you'd have read the article you'd have seen that it comes with a 40GB harddisk (for the internal bay) and 100 Mb/s ethernet adaptor, a usb keyboard and mouse, a vga output adaptor *and* the software. I don't know about you, but that looks like it could be about $200 worth of hardware alone if it's quality stuff.
I wil be able to watch DivXs and listem to mp3s throught my PS2 !JOY!
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This is my sig.
If I am not incorrect, the hacked-up version of Debian has newer versions of the above software.
If you really want to, you could just go the NetBSD route.
Nope.. sorry. too slow and windows is way to bloated for the memory spec of that machine , especially as a guest OS.
Also, VMWARE is i386 only (binary remember).
Only the GPL'ed software is freely redistributable.
Anything they've made on their own may be legally kept propritary. No doubt, what they've done is necessary for Linux to work on the Playstation2. As for the Debian CD, I'll believe it when I see it.
Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
Do we hate Sony today?
Last week, we hated Sony for its DRM copy-protection on Sony Memory sticks.
The week before that, we loved Sony because they were releasing a PS2 Linux kit in Japan.
The week before that, we hated Sony because they were a key proponent in creating the DMCA.
The week before that, we liked Sony because of the PS2.
The week before that, we hated Sony because they shutdown an AIBO hack site.
Do we like or hate Sony this week?
XP will run on a shitload faster and more machines than Linux for the PS2.
I think what Sony is doing is great, don't get me wrong, but what the hell does XP have to do w/it?
I can only run it on a PS2, I need to get a ton of other hardware, and other than "dork value" even as an avid supporter of Linux I don't see the point.
Sorry, but Wine only works on x86 boxes, not anything running Linux. You could run Bochs, but from the performance I've seen it put out on a 500MHz G4 system, I wouldn't recommend it.
Unfortunately, you're going to have a hard time with a lot of normal Linux apps on one of these bad boys, given the extremely limited (and poorly expandable) RAM.
According to the press release, ``The graphics output requires a high-resolution computer display, with standard output set as XGA (1024 x 768 resolution); home televisions cannot be used as monitors."
This is the only thing that bugs me (well, aside from the fact that I live in Japan and this won't run on my Japanese PS/2, and the Japanese version of the kit is high near impossible to obtain). I don't really _need_ a monitor (I'd just ssh in from my main workstation) but I would really like to be able to, say, watch streaming video on my TV. (Example: Star Trek Enterprise won't be showing in Japan for like, another 2 years. I have been grabbing eps from the 'net and watching them on my crappy 17" LCD monitor, while my 24" TV sits there idle.)
Anybody know more about this? Surely the development of a driver to push video through the RCA video hookup wouldn't be too difficult?
>this kit wouldn't be horribly out of date.
>glibc 2.2.2?
Since when is glibc 2.2.2 horribly out of date? I can see the kernel being mentioned as out of date (2.2.1 from what I saw), but the C library? Sure, it's been out for a year, but there have only been 2 point releases since then, nothing more.
>gcc 2.95.2?
Uhm. What does 2.95.3, or 2.95.4 offer that 2.95.2 doesn't? (And don't even try telling me about 3.0.x.) And how often to you use those features?
>XFree86 3.3.6?
OK, so that might be just a little out of date. But it works. And I really doubt that you'll be doing a whole hell of a lot of 3D on it to begin with; if that were the case, I wouldn't doubt that Sony would release a new version with XFree 4 or something like that in it.
So... what exactly was this about completely out of date software?
Dogma: Dead (mostly because your Karma ran it over)
"But of course I am a idiot."
A sage signature considering WINE (thus Lindows) require an x86 processor.
Bochs would work, but very slowly. Cheaper to make a real PC for the $$ of a PS2 and get more performance to boot.
--
Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
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.
/dev you are going to be sorely disappointed. If you can access the CD-ROM, color me suprised.
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
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
Sure you can.
It has a NIC. It has a Hard Drive. What more do you neeD?
Why Linux? It's PLAYstation !
Umm...they do provide all the hardware except the TV or monitor.
It comes with a 40 GB hard drive, network card, 2 Linux DVDs, a VGA interface adapter, a mouse, and a keyboard. This is a competitive rate for all of this stuff. Plus, you have the guarantee of compatibility.
What else were you planning on putting into your playstation? A floppy drive?
This is a competitive product; most applications don't need a powerful processor, and it really is a full fledged computer which even has an edge for gaming with the built-in hardware. Is $300 too much to pay for a fully loaded computer?
I gotta tell you, I'd never buy a playstation for just the games. But I'd buy one that I could use to run games AND a mature operating system.
Mod me down and I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine!
The PS2 boots off the second layer of dual-layer DVD-ROMs. Such DVD's can't be produced by Apple's or anyone else's drives since producing dual-layered disks requires fusing two single-layer disks together, which can only be done in a factory.
Sig goes here
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
Oh, pull the GPL out of your ass. Sony has gone out of it's way to put this together; they even had a petition to gauge interest, meaning they gave two shits about consumer demand. They can impose restrictions if they want.
As we all know, the big-console makers expect to make up for the money lost in hardware sales with software sale royalties from developers. There's no way you can even expect them to allow people to burn/distribute their own works.
python -c "x='python -c %sx=%s; print x%%(chr(34),repr(x),chr(34))%s'; print x%(chr(34),repr(x),chr(34))"
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
>> I wonder if Wine or lindows
>> would efficiently run on this now.
Nope.
Wine only runs on x86 CPU's, Wine does not provide a CPU emulator.
Below is quoted from the Wine FAQ:
>> Wine is being developed specifically to run
>> on the Intel x86 class of CPUs under certain
>> UNIXes that run on the x86 platform.
Wine will most certainly not run properly. This is a totally different architecture from x86, which is the only architecture Wine currently runs any good on.
Even if it was ported to PS 2, you would probably have trouble running existing Windows-binaries.
The press release nor either of the PS2 web sites appeared to mention source code, as far as I could see. So I asked for a clarification.
Color me impressed. Not only did I receive a reply within minutes, but they are indeed fully abiding by the GPL.
This forum message contains the reply with a bit more info.
Thanks, Sony!
I've been contributing to open source projects for 15 years and now these jokers want to sell me that code back?
I don't think thats quite right.
Given the recent modchip and regional liscencing case, this leaves Europe (SCEEurope's teritorry) as the only region you can't run Linux on the PS2.
So can Alan Cox be arrested for running Linux on his PS2 in the UK? Hmm. Also, you will note, Blokman Trading the guys who did the "privateer" Linux port to the Playstation have appeare to have dissapeared off the web. What happened to them?
Sony are in the same class as Microsoft: they seek to create a monopoly by proprietary lock - in, and regional liscencing, so this is the equivalent of MS Linux coming out.
Yet everyone celebrates...
/usr/games/fortune > ~/.signature
Or perhaps someone could write a DeCSS program that would run under it:-)
;)
The PS2 already plays DVD's. Maybe someone could do a DeCSS "port" that uses the tables and functions already built into the firmware.
The first-ever twenty-byte DeCSS binary. Heh.
Actually, I have to apologize for my price misunderstanding... I thought it will be 199$, however it seems as if it is going to sell for 299$ in USA.
/., and that everything with the name linux in it is extremly usable and cool, but still.... its over priced, it doesnt work on TV's...it is unclear if it will work as upcoming Net & hardrive pack as well... too many unclears in order to call it a good value for 299 (or 199 for that matter).
Reuters article on News.com http://news.com.com/2100-1040-825762.html
As to comment on pricing, sony purchases in huge quantities for their computers as it is... those prices are significantly lower than what we pay in retail... how else would xbox cost $300-$320 to produce? If 199$ (or 299$) is right for sony addon, then XBOX should cost 799$ by any means since it has much more hardware in it...
(keep in mind that I dont own XBOX or plan to own one)
I understand this is
I know that certain demoscene types have knocked off a demo or two for Linux over the last few years. Good ones, too. Since console demos have been so popular for so long (there's tons for the Dreamcast and Playstation -- people were even hacking up intros for the SNES), this could lead to a very cool cross-over.
The idea of perhaps running Bleem or some other emulators on the PS 2 would be great.
Hmmm. Bleem is a PS1 emulator. The PS2 actually runs PS1 games in HARDWARE. So, while it might win you some geek-points to run a PS1 emulator, on top of a windows emulator, on top of linux on your PS2, those of us who like playing games at more than 5fps will probably just insert the PS1 CD in the drive before we power up our PS2s ;-)
But then... since when has Linux been about doing things the easy way?
What can you do on a game console that you can't do on a formal PC?
You can code for fun. Coding on an PC has become boring. The machine ist not interesting, you have to take care to be "compatible" with all sorts of crap hardware, etc. Game consoles are interesting: powerful small processors, where coding in assembly pays, interesting graphics hardware where you can do cool effects with skill istead of brute force. It's fun.
That said, I doubt, Sony will ever release information about the interesting bits. The vector processors of the emotion engine are top secret, and so ist the graphics processor. That makes it kind of pointless.
Does anybody know if Sony has any plans to release the kit for European Playstations ?
I'd definately be up for buying one if they did.
Well, seeing as how I already hook my Playstation through my stereo, with this it can be an MP3 server/TIVO. I can network it with other computers that store music, video, etc. I can pause to check the rest of my network while I'm playing games or watching TV.
I was planning on using a computer for DVD/MP3 playback anyway - this would just be cheaper and cooler than what I had planned for in the first place.
If only the mouse and keyboard were wireless. Damn!
No, Thursday's out. How about never - is never good for you?
The main processor of the Dreamcast runs at 200 mHz. The main processor of the PS2 runs at 300. The main processor of the Gamecube runs at 405, I think. And the xbox at 733. I'm not getting into the differences between graphics chips.
11 was a racehorse
12 was 12
1111 Race
12112
Have you not seen my rants aboutSony blatently [slashdot.org] and knowingly [advogato.org] being in direct violation [advogato.org] of the GPL
Perhaps Sony f****d up with respect to POSE, but not in this case. All the source code for the included GNU/Linux software comes right on the disc.
Will I retire or break 10K?
Now that this is no longer merely a game console, but rather an OFFICIAL "general Purpose Computing Device" because the vendor is offering Linux or allowing linux to be used on it, it is LEGAL TO MAKE BACKUPS OF GAME MEDIA you own!
But it also makes it unlawful to rent PS2 games in the US without the permission of each game publisher. According to 17 USC 109(b)(1), it's an infringement of copyright to rent computer software that's not designed for a "video game console" without permission of the copyright holder. This could add up to a lot of red tape for each independent rental shop.
Will I retire or break 10K?
You haven't been to http://www.otakunozoku.com then, have you? Every dev console he gets he ports MAME to. I highly doubt Linux on the PS2 would fare much better than native code, though.
I agree that lack of TV output is my only complaint with their package.
I somehow doubt that X can't run on interlaced NTSC, but rather that text is ugly and difficult to read at typical font sizes.
The option of running at 640x480 or even less if necessary would increase acceptance even if a monitor were recommended.
Another cool application would be dual monitor support (including TV plus RGB). I have no idea how the connectors work, and this is more viable if VGA is a seperate connector rather than an adapter for s-video or something.
Virtual desktops in X window managers would let you direct apps to monitors of your choice (say TV displays desktop 2 and 4, and VGA 1 and 3).
A lot of people are miffed that Sony's asking $200 this and so and and so forth, but I think it's an okay deal - think how much a 40 gig hd costs (~$100) and an ethernet card (~30). Throw in a great os that has been ported for the first time to a completely foreign architecture (~ $$ who knows?), coupled with the fact that this stuff is not off-the-shelf but has to be tested and repackaged to fit the exacting specs of the PS2 and I think you've got a pretty good deal. Add the $300 for a PS2 plus the $200 for this kit and maybe another $200 for a decent monitor (if you don't have one already), and you've got yourself an incredibly compact, inexpensive graphics workstation with the added bonus of being able to play PS/PS2 games! Everyone who reads slashdot knows that it won't be long before people start writing stuff - utlilities, games, workarounds - and you've got a new platform. So Sony says the PS2 can't read anything but PS/PS2/DVD discs. Then get a usb CD drive and go to town. I think this is a great opportunity to get another big company behind Linux and actually foster support towards the whole user-empowerment idea. Of course they don't want to release the source code, but we'll stick RMS on 'em. Heh. Njord
Use the PS2 Hard drive to store the ROMs and MAME.
Men believe what they want. - Caesar
$200 would have been very steep if all it came with was the software, but it doesn't seem so bad when you throw in the 40 GB HDD, the NIC, and the keyboard and such. Heck, might be worth it just for the hardware (finally get my PS2 on my LAN, just like my Dreamcast).
Also, the kit includes two DVDs. One of the DVDs is supposedly source code, so that still leaves one full DVD for executable code. So either DVDs are now cheaper to make than CDs, or there could be a !#@%$-load of stuff on this disk.
Third, while Sony has a history of fighting for control of their IP tooth and nail, they aren't so stupid as to believe that they're going to have a strangle-hold on development for PS2 software after the release of this OS. If they wanted to avoid, say, Bleem! being played on the PS2, the only way to avoid that is to just not release Linux (no matter how much they think they've crippled it). So either Sony is being really stupid by releasing the software and trying to lock it down as bes they could, or they're acknowledging the inevitable and letting programmers pretty much do as they will.
I'm a little miffed by the requirement for a monitor (as if I didn't have too little desk space already), but I'd consider buying it for the ability to play emulators alone. Mark my words: By this time next year you'll have most Linux-based emulators (including even maybe an N64 emulator) ready for use on a PS2 running Linux, complete with full controller port support. And then finally my PS2 will be able to play my PSX Final Fantasy games with the picture quality they were supposed to have...
I can't wait to get my PS2 linux kit. I'll be porting my TombRaider 1-5 ( PC ) engines reimplmentation to PS2 linux. I don't want to buy another monitor right now, so I prob use VNC.
Yay!
"Where do you think this $199.00 really goes?
"
Um, gee, let me think... maybe perhaps to the 40 GB HDD, keyboard, VGA adapter and 100BaseTx NIC that comes with the software? Maybe just a little bit?
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.
Playstation II: $90 ?
Linux: $190 ?
From fireboy1919:
Is $300 too much to pay for a fully loaded computer?
Methinks one or both of you is confusing the PS2 with the PSX's successor, the PSone. A New PS2 is still 300 bucks and used they're like $225. The Linux kit is still $200.
The real beauty of this plan is that Sony has ALREADY sold a few million PS2's in North America alone (20 mil worldwide as of a couple months ago). They're still selling like crazy.
For any mon-owner that balks at $500 for a Linux computer/game system/DVD player, there's a hundred or so owners who might consider ponying up 2 C-notes just to play around with something more enlightening than GTA3.
Not that there's anything wrong with GTA3, mind you...
GTRacer
- Where do I send the preorder check?
Defending IP by destroying access to it? That makes sense, RIAA/MPAA. Go to the corner until you can play nice!
Why do we want this again?
I wonder how well emulation would work on a PS2 for systems like the N64,dreamcast, and or an X86 based PC?
.
I am not flaming just trying to understand after having read most of the feedbacks on /.
Why being so excited about Sony putting up with Linux on PS2. Granted this will probably bring some visibility and increased credibility to the Linux OS (is it good and does it need that really?) The only positive thing is for Sony to get the eggs out of the golden goose, the same way as Red Hat does.
They are the people behing DRM, DMCA, MPAA, and all the ugly things that EFF and other great folks (some of them slashdot readers) are fighting against. Come on, the company is evil, so why are the replies so enthusiastic about this?
If some people just decide to turn to Linux because Sony supports it on their PS2, does the community really needs these people?
I want to understand.
PPA, the girl next door.
-- I feel better now. Thanks for asking.
Ever look at a PS game case, and see the under the Playstation logo two boxes that say "NTSC" and "U/C"? As far as Sony's concerned, Canada is in the same software/hardware region as the US. Admittedly, you probably wouldn't see it on store shelves there, but seeing as it's direct-order anyway... =P
OK, tell you what, why not take your $199 go buy your own hard disk, ethernet card, USB keyboard, USB mouse and VGA adaptor, then with all your spare change maybe you can hire someone to port XFree86 to the PS2 graphics chip, and someone else to assemble a GNU/linux distribution for you and burn it onto DVD. You did remember to add USB support to the 2.2 kernel didn't you?
If I were a Sony marketing executive reading all this whining, I'd say next time let's just offer them the hardware for $199 and tell them to port Linux themselves.
Why fux0r around with PS2 when Dreamcast is $50 (if you can still find one!) and unless you get a machine made after September 2000 is totally and completely CD-R bootable? The ethernet adapter is expen$$$ive on eBay but it's not a must, particularly considering that the thing comes with a standard v90 Conexant controllerless modem. I suspect that the code at linmodems.org might kick it over.
The main weakness of the DC is lack of hard drive. And of course that's a big weakness. However, there are tons of people playing around with not only Linux on DC but a new, open source OS specifically designed for DC game development called Kallisti!OS.
Why support the Sony 3v1L 3mp1r3? Join Team Dreamcast!
http://mc.pp.se/dc/
http://dev.dcemulation.com/
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
I have a [USB] wireless keyboard (and optical mouse) from Logitech that works fine with the PS2. All USB mice/keyboards are the same as far as the driver is concerned.
My other car is first.
Some people need to relax and get the flamethrowers off their ass.
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Death will come, and will have your eyes
-- Pavese
The "entertainment lifestyle" phrase is a very common one in Japanese marketing. It doesn't translate well into US marketing speak, so it feels a bit disengenous to non-Japanese.
Just one of those things people take for granted, since cultural identity has long been substituted by marketing techniques... not just in the US, but everywhere.
Did you consider that perhaps they simply didn't have the time to do any of the above with the release? I wouldn't doubt that Sony made numerous patches to all of the packages listed to make them work on the PS2. If they were releasing an x86 distribution, I might go complaining to them asking why they didn't include, at the very least, glibc 2.2.4, XFree 4.0.3, kernel 2.4.14 or such, a newer version of gcc, and the like. But, keep in mind, this is a highly targeted distribution, probably with a lot of bugfixes and support issues that they did themselves, given the architecture, so it's not worth even bitching about anyway.
Dogma: Dead (mostly because your Karma ran it over)
You may have missed it, but the kit includes two DVD's, one of which is all the sources.
I don't know about you, but I don't recall hearing about Windows shipping with a source CD.
The fact that Sony's charging for it is not the point of the GPL. The point is that even though they're charging for it, they still have to release the source. The GPL has never been against selling software.
Good game BTW. You finished it yet?
-- SIGFPE
Nice for numerical solutions to problems, i.e. Computational Fluid Dynamics. Hmm seem to recall seeing a Cray YMP was 2 GFLOPS, gives a contrast doesn't it. :)
"Because we are not employing at entry level, offshoring will kill our industry stone dead."
A better translation would be "redefining entertainment."
"Reactionaries must be deprived of the right to voice their opinions; only the people have that right." - Mao