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BlackRhino Linux Now Available for PlayStation 2
Mr. Spock writes "BlackRhino Linux has been released for the PlayStation 2. It's developed independently by xRhino, a middleware developer. Check out the details and download instructions on the official website. A Playstation 2 Linux kit is required to use BlackRhino."
What is BlackRhino GNU/Linux?
BlackRhino is a free Debian-based GNU/Linux software distribution for the Sony PlayStation 2. It contains over 1,200 software packages to aid in using and creating programs for the Sony PlayStation 2 Linux kit. The programs range in functionality from simple games, to text editors, compilers, web servers, windowing systems, database systems, graphics packages, mail servers and a variety of other tools and utilities.
Why was BlackRhino developed?
Initially, BlackRhino was created by xRhino in an effort to bring a commercial Debian-based GNU/Linux distribution to the Sony PlayStation 2 for hobbyists and developers alike. As events unfolded, BlackRhino became useful in other ways and it was finally apparent that a public release should be made. For more information, see the project history.
What are BlackRhino's vital statistics?
Package Count Breakdown by Section:
admin: 49
base: 55
comm: 9
deprecated: 94
devel: 258
doc: 49
editors: 31
games: 8
graphics: 40
interpreters: 106
libs: 169
mail: 21
main: 6
math: 6
misc: 8
net: 95
oldlibs: 7
otherosfs: 11
shells: 9
sound: 57
tex: 17
text: 50
utils: 46
web: 14
x11: 73
Package Count Total: 1,292
Total Size: 1.2 Gigabytes
Help! BlackRhino doesn't have a package I need!
Then you should consider becoming a package maintainer and submitting that package!
How may I contribute?
There are plenty of ways! To name a few...
Become a package maintainer and submit new packages (or maintain existing ones).
Generate discussion on the BlackRhino listserv.
Generate discussion on the BlackRhino forums.
Provide a repository mirror.
If you have other ideas, please feel free to contact xRhino.
What is a package maintainer?
The person who is responsible for maintaining a package. This can entail initial package creation from software source, keeping the package up-to-date with the latest software version, testing the package contents and verifying correct interaction with the BlackRhino system, and releasing an updated package into the official BlackRhino repository. For more information on the Debian packaging system (which BlackRhino uses), have a look at their FAQ.
How do I submit new packages?
There is no automated way of submitting packages at this time, so a small submission proposal must be sent to xRhino. Once the proposal is approved, binary and source packages will be accepted and added to the official repository.
May I provide a repository mirror?
Absolutely! We're always happy to give BlackRhino higher availability. Contact xRhino and all the arrangements will be made.
AWESOME!!! Now I can finally play games on my PS2!!!
Very popular slashdot journal for adul
You can still play games on your PlayStation 2, and you would have to switch HDDs if you wanted to play a HDD compatable game. None are yet availible however. The VGA moniter with Sync-on-green is need for the install, and you can use a tv as the display, but it's low resolution will not look pretty and you will have to do the install "blind". The 8Meg memory card is needed to contain the boot up info and Playstation configuration. If you already have one, look at it under the sony memory card manager. You should see a file that has Playstation 2 configuration info in it.
DRINK DUFF (responsibly) DRINK DUFF (responsibly) DRINK DUFF
Yes you can still play games. If a second harddrive was ever released, you might have to switch, but not neccessarily. Once installed, you can use a TV as the display. The memory card is needed to bootstrap the machine. They arent trying to screw you here, what you see is what you get. I bought it about a year ago, and am pretty happy. However, the first distro was Redhat 5.2 based, which sucked. This should give a big boost to the community, as a modern set of libraries makes it sooooo much easier to port applications.
-- the computer doesn't want any beer, no matter how much you think it does. NEVER, EVER feed your computer beer.
>> but what's the point of this past that?
You're a coder with an interest in running code against PS2 hardware, or anything other than an x86 for that matter.
It's neat to write some code and get it running on a Sega Genesis, Gameboy, SNES, TG16, or whatever.
This is the first time you've been officially sanctioned by the merciful corporate gods to be able to do so.
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
You can buy the PS2 Linux kit online at:
http://www.us.playstation.com/purchase/hardware/
Buy PS2 Linux Kit
Manu Sporny (skype: msporny, twitter: manusporny, G+: +Manu Sporny)
Founder/CEO - Digital Bazaar, Inc.
i have seen alot of people buying the PS2 Linux Kit as altenative to a linux based PC, sure you can do it but whats the point?
the reason to play around with a PS2 Linux Development kit is _not_ as an alternative to a PC running Linux. If you want that, go buy a PC. Also, its not really an appropiate setup for learning about 3D graphics, once again a PC is cheaper and easier with DirectX and OpenGL etc.
what it is appropiate for;
1. another 'embedded' platform for hardcore kernel hackers to get intimate with the exotic hardware porting etc. These ppl. may find the black xRhino of interest.
2. the number one reason, is for up and coming game developers to have a better chance getting a foot in the gaming industry. it is a chance to understand and develop for a modern and relevant console...anyone who wants to take it on, should already have a strong grasp of low level C, assembler, 3D graphics etc. for these ppl, the release of the black xrhino is not really so important, as they are already trying to cut the OS out as much as possible ( or using special OS modules eg. SPS2, which open up the hardware to user space) to get as low and and dirty to the hardware as possible.
remove NOT from email.
...is that this is NOT about the cool things you can do with linux. It's about a tool for people who are interested in learning how to develop games for console systems.
I agree, if you just like playing games on your PS2 and working with linux in general, then the PS2 linux kit is a HUGE waste of money.
HOWEVER: For the people out there who would like to someday make a living actually developing games for the PS2, it's a VERY inexpensive way to come really close to Sony's actual Playstation DevKit (last time I looked, the prices for a DTL-10K from Sony was WAAAYYYY more than the price of the linux kit.)
Remember, it's just a matter of the right tool for the job. If you're coding for AMD, use an AMD system. If you're coding for the PS2.....
The PS2 Linux kit lets an aspiring developer get to grips with the most popular console in the world. The coding experience gained on this kit is in many cases identical to that which you would gain using the T10k pro dev kit. There's some fascinating hardware in there, including the two Vector Units that give the PS2 its power. These are custom parallel vector processors with dual pipelines and can perform four floating-point multiply-adds plus an integer op per cycle.
There's nowhere you can get your hands on this kind of vector hardware outside of your local supercomputing facility. There's no compiler for these either, so it's asm all the way - a real challenge.
The kit is available worldwide, online only:
US
Europe, Africa, Middle East
Japan
Australia
New Zealand
The kit is 200.00 usd. What you get. Black usb keyboard, and mouse that say ps2 on it, a 40gb hd, ethernet adapter (ethernet only not ethernet/modem combo). I recently playtested the everquest online game and used the keyboard instead of the game controller to comunicate. I could have used any usb keyboard really. I used the network adaptor that came with the linux kit instead of buying one. So almost all the items you get from the kit can be used in your normal gaming. I'm using the kits ethernet adapter to play SOCOM, atv rage 2, and all of sony's other online stuff. Also the only thing that stops you from using the hd as a hd for your other games is you don't have any utility to partion it and format it. If you friend bought the hd kit and loans you his setup cd your in business. You don't need all 40gb to run linux anyway. So all in all I could have bought the parts seperatly and saved some 50 dollars but wouldn't have been able to play with linux on my ps2. Just cool to play around with. All these add-ons I want for my ps2 plus it runs linux. FYI the additional 8mb memory card is basically the holder for your lilo install. Check out the forums in the /. artical and read all about it. TONS of info there.
-Cho
I use my PS2 Linux kit as a set-top embedded device. It makes a very nice home MP3 player (I have a cherry GTK GUI going on it), and I can play old NES games on it. These are things you could do with a cheap PC, but if you already have a PS2, I think it's better to go with the Linux kit.
Oh, and that 40G hard drive it came with is by far the biggest one I have outside my TiVo, so I sometimes use it as a file server, though it's not great for that.
I've been a PS2 Linux kit owner/user from day 1. Some people think that owning and using this kit is silly unless you're a game developer, but I dismiss those allegations as quite incorrect :).
I see two excellent uses of the PS2 with Linux installed on it in my home:
When the PS3 comes along, chances are good that, like the PS2, it will be backward compatible. If this is the case, and I buy one, I normally wouldn't have any use for my PS2 anymore. However, with the PS2 Linux kit installed, I can continue to make use of my hardware investment by dedicating the system exclusively to Linux, running network tasks. The system is more than fast enough to act as a mail server, a personal webserver, a file server, or any number of other tasks.
I initially bought my PS2 for games. But they won't be making PS2 games forever. Linux, OTOH, will be around forever, making the hardware investment more useful for a longer amount of time.
Yaztromo.