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"Install Other OS" Feature Removed From the PS3

Posted by timothy on from the security-huh dept.

Hann1bal writes "The next system software update for the PlayStation 3 system will be released on April 1, 2010 (JST), and will disable the 'Install Other OS' feature that was available on the PS3 systems prior to the current slimmer models, launched in September 2009. This feature enabled users to install an operating system, but due to security concerns, Sony Computer Entertainment will remove the functionality through the 3.21 system software update." Updated 3:49 GMT by timothy: An anonymous reader writes "This comes as something of a surprise. Particularly because only a month ago Sony Computer Entertainment management seemed committed to the continued support of the Other OS option on the PS3."

15 of 739 comments (clear)

  1. Sorry kids by piripiri · · Score: 5, Informative

    It doesn't run linux anymore.

    1. Re:Sorry kids by ShadowRangerRIT · · Score: 3, Informative

      Yeah, I mean, it only got the best reviews of any game ever released for the current crop of consoles. Clearly the fact that it doesn't suit your idea of what GTA "should be" means it's a train wreck.

      --
      $_ = "wftedskaebjgdpjgidbsmnjgcdwatb"; tr/a-z/oh, turtleneck Phrase Jar!/; print
    2. Re:Sorry kids by Khyber · · Score: 5, Informative

      By the way, for those of you wanting to join me in the class-action I'm gong to form - just look up Finkelstein and Thompson if you're in the state of CA - they helped me out with Spore and they'll most certainly come in handy for this nonsense NOW.

      100 Bush Street
      San Francisco, CA 94104-3954
      (415) 398-8700

      Ask for Mr. Punzalan.

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    3. Re:Sorry kids by ElKry · · Score: 4, Informative

      You do realize that songs on iTunes are DRM-free, right?

    4. Re:Sorry kids by Zephiris · · Score: 5, Informative

      Given the mention of PC...there's a good reason why it's #86 on PC (4 times lower than San Adreas), instead of #1.

      The PC port was just unjustifiably buggy and lame, with Rockstar withholding fixes for months at a time.

      Given that it's based on critic (not popular) review, you could even say that the 86 position is too damn good for it, especially since USERS give it a mere 4.6/10. http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/grandtheftauto4
        That, is a freaking trainwreck, especially given that it used particularly invasive form of SecuROM DRM which was the principle reason generally agreed upon (perhaps wayback has archives of the GTA4 forums just after release) for it performing so slow. http://www.pcgamefuntime.com/2008/12/grand-theft-auto-iv-drm-debacle/

      You could throw a monster machine at it, and get 14-20FPS, even on low detail and low resolution.

      If you point to how well received console versions were when somebody references the PC port, you clearly don't know what the hell you're talking about.

      --

      "A Goddess rarely smiles for she is forced by others to be an island unto herself." - Zephiris
    5. Re:Sorry kids by somersault · · Score: 4, Informative

      If you want Linux so badly, install it on a PC. I installed Linux on my PS3 for fun. It worked. I got bored after a couple of minutes (I already use Ubuntu 100% on my machines at home and work, apart from when I need to remote desktop into Windows servers). It's meant to be faster these days, but still it's rather pointless unless you're writing multicore research programs, or don't have a PC with Linux.

      If they had included access to the 3D graphics capabilities then I'd be saying something completely different here, but the capabilities that they built in are pretty worthless, and only having 256MB (I think?) of RAM limits what apps you can run usefully.

      I suspect there will be a crack soon anyway, that's why Sony are currently trying to lock things down. Maybe they will succeed. I don't really care either way. I probably wouldn't risk bricking my PS3. It's too useful to me as a games and multimedia machine. We'll soon be at the stage where you will be able to build a faster PC for less money anyway. Hopefully they will include a decent "Other OS" setup for PS4, but I doubt it. Especially considering they were making a loss on the early units and thousands of them were being bought up just for Linux based research projects..

      --
      which is totally what she said
    6. Re:Sorry kids by Aceticon · · Score: 3, Informative

      I don't like pirates... they suck profit out of a tough field and generally make the world a worse place out of their selfishness... but I pirate games all the time just as a demo, and buy the ones that don't suck.

      I guess it's okay if you do it.

      I quote: "just as a demo, and buy the ones that don't suck"

      I do exactly the same as the GP, so I'm really interested to know how exactly can we otherwise evaluate if a game is good enough to buy. Please let us know.

      We're past the time when demos were freely available and representative of the game as a whole, commercial game review sites and magazines are pretty much in the pocket of the industry (two words: "grade inflaction") and will hype POSes harder than anybody else and "user review" sites are full of fanboys and "grassroots marketing".

      [How often have you seen a game review which actually heavilly criticized a game from a major publisher due to bugs?]

      To add insult to injury, consumer legislation is such that in many countries you'll be hard pressed to get a refund if a game doesn't at all work in your system. As a mater of fact, pirating games before buying them has saved me lots of problem with games that wouldn't work at all or were just too buggy: try getting a refund from any game store (especially an online one) on a game because it crashes every 10 minutes and see how far you get.

      The day when I can go back to the store and get my money back on a game because it's buggy and/or sucks is the day I'll stop downloading games before buying them.

  2. Re:Install before update ok? by Trepidity · · Score: 3, Informative

    No, the other OS will become inaccessible after the firmware update (the linked article warns users to back up any data on their "Other OS" partition prior to the firmware update).

    You could just not install the firmware update, but then you can't use a lot of online features that check for current firmware.

    --
    10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
  3. Re:Install before update ok? by adamstew · · Score: 4, Informative

    from TFA:

    For those PS3 users who are currently using the “Other OS” feature but choose to install the system software update, to avoid data loss they first need to back-up any data stored within the hard drive partition used by the “Other OS,” as they will not be able to access that data following the update.

    It looks like if you have an OS installed and do the update, the OS gets zapped as a part of the update.

  4. Re:Install before update ok? by Nunavut · · Score: 3, Informative

    As per TFA: "For those PS3 users who are currently using the “Other OS” feature but choose to install the system software update, to avoid data loss they first need to back-up any data stored within the hard drive partition used by the “Other OS,” as they will not be able to access that data following the update." They'll also prevent older versions from signing in to PSN; which totally sucks as I do have Linux installed on my PS3 and love to play MAG!

  5. Backlash? by nukem996 · · Score: 5, Informative

    I bought my PS3 for two things, cell development and games. So to play games I need the latest firmware but the latest firmware makes it impossible for me to do cell development. This was an advertised feature when I bought it(a few months after launch) so I don't see how Sony can do this without facing a class action suite.

  6. Re:what are the security concerns? by TheKidWho · · Score: 3, Informative

    No, that's not true. The "Other OS" feature runs through a hypervisor which limits full access to the cell processor and restricts access to the GPU.

  7. They're still advertising the feature by acid06 · · Score: 4, Informative

    They're still advertising the "Open Platform" feature on their website:
    http://www.playstation.com/ps3-openplatform/index.html

    "There is more to the PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3(TM)) computer entertainment system than you may have assumed. In addition to playing games, watching movies, listening to music, and viewing photos, you can use the PS3(TM) system to run the Linux operating system."

    Let's see how long that page lasts...

  8. Re:I'll take my full refund now sony... Shipping i by badasscat · · Score: 5, Informative

    How can they sell something with a certain set of features and then just take it away? I know, it didn't really work all that well....

    1 Because the feature was never advertised

    Wrong.

  9. Grammar Nazi time... by Lifyre · · Score: 3, Informative

    Their not They're....

    --
    I'll meet you at the intersection of "Should be" and "Reality"