Slashdot Mirror
Installing Yellow Dog Linux on the PS3
johnnyb writes "A new series of articles is out on IBM DeveloperWorks on programming the PS3. The first article is up, discussing the installation of Yellow Dog Linux and first steps in programming the Cell BE Processor on this platform. From the article: ' It is unusual for gaming consoles to allow foreign operating systems to be installed on them. Since consoles are usually sold at a loss, they are usually locked down to prevent games from running on them without the publisher paying royalties to the console developer. Sony decided to open up the PS3 console a little bit, and allow third-party operating systems to be installed, with the caveat that they do not get accelerated graphics. Because of this, you can now install Linux on the PS3. You have to jump through a few hoops, but it definitely works.'"
No access to GPU at all; all you get is a framebuffer.
My blog: http://www.seebs.net/log/ --- My iPhone/iPad app: http://www.seebs.net/seebsfrac/
Here's an article at YDL with info on the PS3 video modes with tweaks, recco's, etc... This provides a little more info.
n s/ydl_5.0/video-config.shtml
http://www.terrasoftsolutions.com/support/solutio
Repant. Thy end is sheer.
From what I understand, the PS3 hypervisor actually blocks calls to the GPU, outside of framebuffer calls. Sony did this with the PS2 linux kit as well, and said it was to prevent piracy, and to keep people from just running free linux games on the console (because they sell the consoles at a loss, if a bunch of people buy them up and then play free games, it would be a money losing venture for sony)
That said, I think it's kinda dumb, especially since microsoft provides an extremely low cost way to develop Xbox360 games that use all the bells and whistles.
-Bucky
That's precisely what this YDL distribution is aimed at. (I submitted this story here multiple times back when it happened, figuring that eventually it would take priority over the day's Jack Thompson story, but no dice.)
What I'm listening to now on Pandora...
As far as I'm aware, while there is an addon CD available for Fedora for the PS3, it is not an officially-supported part of Fedora.
In addition, Sony hired YDL (actually TerraSoft) specifically to do this port, so the YDL developers have better support potential.
I would stick with YDL on the PS3 simply because they actually have a commitment to the platform.
Engineering and the Ultimate
Or most of the bells and whistles, anyway. Graphically, XNA gives you nearly as much power as a full dev kit since the graphical horsepower is harnessed via shaders. However you currently can't do any networking, nor do you have support for some peripherals like the Vision camera. All of that (and a way to properly distribute your games) should come along eventually, but it's a matter of the XNA guys being able to do it in a way that does not jeopardize the current revenue stream of retail and XBLA games while also making sure it's secure so that XNA won't end up as an enabler for Linux or pirated games.
That said, XNA vs. PS3 Linux is just another manifestation of the different strategies Microsoft and Sony have for their consoles. Microsoft has constantly pushed the 360 as a game machine first while Sony likes to claim the PS3 is a full-fledged computer. Thus Microsoft gives users a way to build their own games for the 360 and Sony provides a way for users to harness the generic power of the PS3 with Linux (and other operating systems in the future).