PlayStation 2 Linux Kit Reduced To $99

SyniK writes "After buying a PS2 Network Adapter 2 days ago and trying some unofficial media players, turns out I'll be getting a second adapter because the PlayStation 2 Linux kit is now $99 - half of its former price. The kits, which include an internal 40 GB hard drive, a Network Adapter, a monitor cable, a USB keyboard and Linux on 2 DVD-ROMs, are now 'slightly limited edition' as they will not be replenished in the future."

Comments

Go get it

[Kris_J]

I paid full price for the PS2 Linux kit and even though I don't boot to Linux all that often, it's great to have a 40Gig network device I can boot when I want. I've got Mozilla, xmms, moria and a bunch of other stuff on it. It holds my music collection backup (sure, I could re-rip it, but there's a lot of tagging work in my collection) and if I feel so inclined I can use it as a great music player. xmms even has a joystick plug-in and my DVD remote can be used to play/pause, FF, etc.

Re:A Real Solution?

[lvdrproject]

Definitely more of a fun hobbiest toy. The PS2 is about (or is about equivalent to) a 200-MHz system, so it's not exactly what you'd call blazing. You can't do a whole lot of desk-top stuff on it without getting pretty annoyed pretty quick. (The Browser Formerly Known As) Firebird takes a full minute to load up on my PS2.

As far as 'full support' goes, i'm not quite sure what you mean, or really how to answer what i think you mean. The graphics chips are about as fully supported as they can get, but the thing about PS2 Linux is that everything runs on top of Sony's run-time environment. That is to say, you can't program an actual game using Linux that runs on the PS2. You can program a game that runs on Linux, which runs on top of the RTE, which runs on the PS2. Other than that, though, it's pretty much open to whatever.

That said, i think i wish i'd waited for the price to drop. I haven't really done much of anything with my Linux kit. In fact, the part i love the most about it is the mouse and keyboard. Best mouse and keyboard ever. <3

It comes with a mouse

[servicepack158]

It comes with a USB mouse that connects to the keyboard also.

I'm the sucker who bought it for $200 when i came out a long time ago.

It's pretty cool, but the Ps2 only has 32MB ram so it sucks as a desktop. You could use it to check your emails on tv, but you would have to swap the video cable and the memory card (which acts as a boot disk) to play a game on it.

I honestly haven't touched it since i got it, it provided a week of entertainment.

Re:In light of FFXI...

[SyniK]

I doubt they will "unbundle" it. It's been out for a while and it seems like they have no intention of selling the individal components. They want to make sure whoever buys it can use Linux immediately (assuming they have a PS2 and memeory card).

Here's the link to the PS2 Linux FAQ discussing the HD and other games: PS2 Linux FAQ
IMHO, I think the HD will work for FFXI, but either PS2 Linux or FFXI at a time (requiring a format in between). Will we ever see FFXI without a harddrive? I dunno.

Re:$0.02 from an AC

[SyniK]

I suppose I'm just biased because the Net Yaroze (Playstation 1 hobbyist kit) was $800 and you had to sign your life, first born child, and all code you wrote to Sony to get your hands on it. For $99 you get the hardware and some crippled access to the real DVD drive (use a USB one instead...) -- Seems like a good exchange to me.