Hackers Get Linux Running On a PlayStation 4 (engadget.com)

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Hackers Get Linux Running On a PlayStation 4 (engadget.com)

Posted by Soulskill on Friday January 1, 2016 @04:27AM from the linux-is-inevitable dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Two years after the PlayStation 4 was released, and two weeks after it was jailbroken, a group of hackers has now successfully installed Linux on it. "...it appears that the fail0verflow team utilized a WebKit bug similar to the one recently documented by GitHub user CTurt and then took things up a notch. CTurt's workaround focuses on the PlayStation 4's Webkit browser, which is tricked into freeing processes from the core of the console's operating system by an improvised webpage. The PS4 is powered by Sony's Orbis OS, which is based on a Unix-like software called FreeBSD. With a route into the console's system, fail0verflow then identified weaknesses in the PlayStation 4's GPU. It specifically called out engineers from semiconductor company Marvell, accusing them of 'smoking some real good stuff' when they designed the PlayStation 4's southbridge chip."

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A UNIX like system? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-01-01 04:37 · Score: 5, Funny

"is based on a Unix-like software called FreeBSD"....HA!.
1. Re:A UNIX like system? by Dwedit · 2016-01-01 05:37 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  It's a UNIX system, I know this!
2. Re:A UNIX like system? by unixisc · 2016-01-01 05:54 · Score: 2
  
  Unless and until it gets the Open Group UNIX certification, it ain't: it's what the summary described - a UNIX like operating system. Right now, the only OSs that are OS X and Solaris. I'm not sure whether AIX is still there on IBM's Power computers. Oh, I forgot HP/UX on the Itanic.
3. Re:A UNIX like system? by _Sharp'r_ · 2016-01-01 06:02 · Score: 2
  
  BSD Unix predates the existence of Open Group UNIX certification by 18+ years. Your contention is that Unix didn't exist before 1995?
  Here, have a chart from them showing that BSD is Unix, predating their "single specification".
  Owning a trademark to say what is certified as a particular specification doesn't override the history of the code in software.
  
  --
  The party of stupid and the party of evil get together and do something both stupid and evil, then call it bipartisan.
4. Re:A UNIX like system? by unixisc · 2016-01-01 06:09 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Yeah, but FreeBSD is based on and built upon that. I don't doubt that FreeBSD would pass that test suite. But unless and until someone runs it and it gets that certification, it IS more accurate to call it UNIX like
5. Re:A UNIX like system? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-01-01 06:30 · Score: 0
  
  I just printed a certificate of Unix Authenticity embossed with the name FreeBSD, and FreeBSD won it handily. Problem solved, it's now UNIX.*
  * Unofficial Non-Impersonating X11-compatible-driver-suite
6. Re:A UNIX like system? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-01-01 07:06 · Score: 0
  
  >> With a route into the console's system, fail0verflow then identified weaknesses in the PlayStation 4's GPU. It specifically called out engineers from semiconductor company Marvell, accusing them of "smoking some real good stuff" when they designed the PlayStation 4's southbridge chip
  Why is there a link being made here between installing Linux and complaining about the hardware design? They could have just taken it apart to see the hardware. And why are they accusing some other engineers of being high while designing? That hardware was chosen for the PlayStation for some reason, and majority of people who use their PlayStation for its intended purpose don't seem to have a problem with it. It is what it is, if you want different hardware buy a different box. So the story started cool but then it just became rude.
7. Re: A UNIX like system? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-01-01 07:33 · Score: 0
  
  if the piece of hardware is badly designed, I would not consider an accusation of "smoking something good" rude - who knows, it might be right on the mark.
8. Re:A UNIX like system? by pla · 2016-01-01 08:10 · Score: 0
  
  Of course, on the flip side of this, we routinely get announcements on Slashdot about the latest drama in the WidgetM@ster9500 community, with absolutely no context, explanation of what that means, where it runs (Does it run? Do you code in it? Do you store things in it? Do you spread it on toast?), or why we should care.
  
  So actually, I'll give the OP a pass on this one, at least they tried... :)
9. Re: A UNIX like system? by lgalindo · 2016-01-01 10:56 · Score: 1
  
  News for parents
10. Re: A UNIX like system? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-01-01 11:44 · Score: 0
  
  Wow, seriously, fucking morons modding this down.
  It's a reference from Jurassic Park for the clueless people out there.
11. Re:A UNIX like system? by AbRASiON · 2016-01-01 12:08 · Score: 1
  
  I'd say that line was sourced directly from Wikipedia.
  From the FreeBSD entry.
  "FreeBSD is a free Unix-like operating system "
12. Re:A UNIX like system? by unixisc · 2016-01-01 14:28 · Score: 1
  
  I believe that UNIX is registered by the Open Group, so you can't just stitch an acronym together and claim that FreeBSD meets it
Linux vs Unix? by _Sharp'r_ · 2016-01-01 04:38 · Score: 0

"based on a Unix-like software called FreeBSD"
Wow, the lack of comprehension here is amazing.
So they managed to install Linux on a machine already running an OS based on an open source Unix which already comes with a full Linux kernel/software compatibility layer? That's such an amazing accomplishment...
What will they do next, get some ports running on it and make it do useful work? Figure out how to get a unix shell on an OS X machine?

--
The party of stupid and the party of evil get together and do something both stupid and evil, then call it bipartisan.
1. Re:Linux vs Unix? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-01-01 04:52 · Score: 1
  
  I think the point is that they were able to do it in relatively short order once it was Jailbroken. Getting an existing OS to run on proprietary hardware which you don't have drivers available for isn't a cakewalk.
2. Re:Linux vs Unix? by _Sharp'r_ · 2016-01-01 05:07 · Score: 0, Troll
  
  The accomplishment is the jailbreak.
  Getting Linux to run on something already running FreeBSD is like saying you managed to replace Redhat with Centos on a machine... wow, what a tough task...
  I'll go back to configuring Postfix on my new "Unix-like" FreeBSD server so I can ship it out to the data center on Monday...
  
  --
  The party of stupid and the party of evil get together and do something both stupid and evil, then call it bipartisan.
3. Re:Linux vs Unix? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-01-01 05:12 · Score: 1
  
  It would be unusable without GNU utilities
4. Re:Linux vs Unix? by wjcofkc · 2016-01-01 05:43 · Score: 1
  
  How does this represent a lack of comprehension? Linux is System V style and FreeBSD is, well, BSD style. When we use the term Unix, or *nix we are simply being all encompassing because it's easier than having to continuously draw the distinction. You used the term yourself. I gather from your post you are also thinking "why bother?". Why not?
  
  --
  Brought to you by Carl's Junior.
5. Re:Linux vs Unix? by _Sharp'r_ · 2016-01-01 05:55 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Linux is "Unix-like". It was made to be similar to Unix in behavior, but be based on different underlying code.
  FreeBSD is literally Unix (descended from the "Berkely Software Distribution" of Unix). It's not the only version of Unix, but it's more Unix in origin than say, Ubuntu or Redhat are Linux in origin, as they also inherit significant parts of their origins from GNU utilities. No one with any comprehension of their history would call them "Linux-like", though.
  As I've said elsewhere, the jailbreak is the accomplishment.
  
  --
  The party of stupid and the party of evil get together and do something both stupid and evil, then call it bipartisan.
6. Re:Linux vs Unix? by unixisc · 2016-01-01 05:55 · Score: 1
  
  Precisely!!! If they wanted to run Linux on it, they could have just gotten to the Linux jails in the OS - assuming that it wasn't removed while making the Orbis OS.
7. Re:Linux vs Unix? by unixisc · 2016-01-01 05:57 · Score: 1
  
  Also, did they say that they REMOVED Orbis in order to get Linux on it? If no, they could use the FreeBSD utilities that come w/ Orbis. In fact, this could well be a project for the Debian kFreeBSD project, if it's still alive
8. Re:Linux vs Unix? by MtHuurne · 2016-01-01 06:10 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  FreeBSD comes with compatibility for running Linux executables, but it doesn't let you run the Linux kernel unless you run it in a VM, which doesn't seem to be the case here judging from the boot logging. Getting the Linux kernel to run on the bare hardware means adding drivers to run on the PS4 hardware, which is PC-like but not exactly a PC, and I doubt Sony published their FreeBSD hardware drivers. Doing that in just 2 weeks time is pretty impressive in my opinion.
9. Re: Linux vs Unix? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-01-01 06:19 · Score: 0
  
  Wow. Why don't you show us how to do that simple install on a new XBox? It's "just a PC" too. Should be a piece of cake, right?
10. Re:Linux vs Unix? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-01-01 06:58 · Score: 0
  
  FreeBSD is only "literally Unix" if you define "Unix" as an operating system descended from the original Unix source code.
  It cannot however legally call itself a Unix system, because it's not certified as such by the holder of the "Unix" trademark.
  For all intents and purposes though, both Linux and FreeBSD are Unix, just not legally.
  Ubuntu and Redhat use the actual Linux Kernel (and GNU userland, but Linux is and always was just a kernel. The GNU Kernel is called the HURD) and are therefore by definition Linux and not only "Linux-like". You are completely wrong in that regard. The correct way proposed by Richard Stallman would be to refer to it as the "GNU/Linux" operating system, but nobody does because just look at that stupid name
11. Re:Linux vs Unix? by _Sharp'r_ · 2016-01-01 07:11 · Score: 1
  
  I'm not "completely wrong in that regard." as my actual statement (which you seem to have read as the opposite meaning) was 'No one with any comprehension of their history would call them "Linux-like"' It sounds like you agree with me on that.
  
  --
  The party of stupid and the party of evil get together and do something both stupid and evil, then call it bipartisan.
Please let me informate you by jabberw0k · 2016-01-01 04:49 · Score: 1, Insightful

One software, two softwares, right? One hardware, two hardwares. One information, two informations. One firmware, two firmwares. Right? And when you correct someone ("it is one PIECE of software, or one PIECE of firmware"), the response is "English is a changing language" NO. Pardon me whilst I go eat some toasts.
1. Re:Please let me informate you by Anonymous Coward · 2016-01-01 05:03 · Score: 0, Flamebait
  
  One software, two softwares, right? One hardware, two hardwares. One information, two informations. One firmware, two firmwares. Right? And when you correct someone ("it is one PIECE of software, or one PIECE of firmware"), the response is "English is a changing language" NO. Pardon me whilst I go eat some toasts.
  So, are you "a shit", or "a PIECE of shit"?
  BTW, Oxford goes into some detail about this usage, and for the most part disagrees with you.
2. Re: Please let me informate you by Anonymous Coward · 2016-01-01 05:14 · Score: 0, Interesting
  
  You mean the same guys that awarded an emoticon title of "word of the year"?
3. Re:Please let me informate you by bhhenry · 2016-01-01 05:48 · Score: 0
  
  Every time you say, "whilst" God kills a kitten.
  
  --
  signature not found
4. Re:Please let me informate you by ElectricHellKnight · 2016-01-01 06:17 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  Every time you say, "whilst" God kills a kitten.
  Whilst. Whilst. Whilst.
  I don't like cats.
5. Re:Please let me informate you by subk · 2016-01-01 12:51 · Score: 1
  
  ""is based on a Unix-like software called FreeBSD"....HA!."
  
  One software, two softwares, right? One hardware, two hardwares. One information, two informations. One firmware, two firmwares. Right? And when you correct someone ("it is one PIECE of software, or one PIECE of firmware"), the response is "English is a changing language" NO. Pardon me whilst I go eat some toasts.
  The OP was not making a grammatical objection.. He was clearly objecting to the fact that they called FreeBSD "Unix-like" when it *IS* Unix.
  
  --
  Now, if you'll excuse me, I have backups to corrupt.
edittard here - WTF is *A* software? by edittard · 2016-01-01 04:53 · Score: 1

A software? Did anybody write a software recently? I wrote three softwares last week.
P.S. there appears to be a problem with logging on. I get a message "wrong image text", which is hardly surprising because there's no image.

--
At the bottom of the /. main page it says 'Yesterday's News'. Well they got that right.
1. Re:edittard here - WTF is *A* software? by JustAnotherOldGuy · 2016-01-01 04:57 · Score: 1
  
  A software? Did anybody write a software recently? I wrote three softwares last week.
  That's nothing- I had two whole marijuanas once and ended up accidentally coding an accounts receivable app with a metrics dashboard.
  
  --
  Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
2. Re: edittard here - WTF is *A* software? by Sid314 · 2016-01-01 05:05 · Score: 1
  
  A software you must write. Hmmmmm.
3. Re:edittard here - WTF is *A* software? by Anonymous Coward · 2016-01-01 05:06 · Score: 0
  
  Perhaps a hint of the submitter's first language not being english.
  Far worse is perpetrated in the language of slashdot submissions. Overuse of 'apt to', 'slated to be', 'stated that', as well as tiresome colloquialisms like 'called out', which is present in this submission and is far worse than the minor grammatical error.
4. Re:edittard here - WTF is *A* software? by orledrat · 2016-01-01 05:34 · Score: 2
  
  Careful, man. Couple years ago I woke up naked in jail and they told me I had written a new init system. Apparently I was ranting about how it would overthrow the established order and then they shot me up with thorazine.
5. Re:edittard here - WTF is *A* software? by JustAnotherOldGuy · 2016-01-01 05:39 · Score: 1
  
  Careful, man. Couple years ago I woke up naked in jail and they told me I had written a new init system. Apparently I was ranting about how it would overthrow the established order and then they shot me up with thorazine.
  Damn, I hate it when that happens. (I mean the new init system, not the thorazine. Thorazine gets me all dreamy and placid and makes listening to the candidate debates much more bearable.)
  
  --
  Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
6. Re:edittard here - WTF is *A* software? by orledrat · 2016-01-01 09:26 · Score: 1
  
  English is not my first language either, but I don't mind when I get CALLED OUT on it (there!). My reasoning is that what does not kill one makes one stronger, like they say in my country, and that the grammar fiends might be pests but they that tend to be peaceful and pacifist pests. I tap my head to the pestifists.
7. Re:edittard here - WTF is *A* software? by orledrat · 2016-01-01 09:46 · Score: 1
  
  I'll just state that my above post is slated to be slated, seeing how much typo I put in there. I gun git bit by a pestifish.
8. Re:edittard here - WTF is *A* software? by orledrat · 2016-01-01 09:53 · Score: 1
  
  Perhaps a hint of the submitter's first language not being english.
  Far worse is perpetrated in the language of slashdot submissions. Overuse of 'apt to', 'slated to be', 'stated that', as well as tiresome colloquialisms like 'called out', which is present in this submission and is far worse than the minor grammatical error.
  I'm with you on the 'apt to thing', by the way. I actually got so tired of the argument that I blacklisted it in /etc/apt/apt.conf.
Okay by JustAnotherOldGuy · 2016-01-01 04:55 · Score: 3, Funny

Okay, I gotta say that's pretty impressive. Not that Linux will run a PlayStation 4, but that they could do what it takes to get it installed and running.
In a similar vein, I was on the Microsoft campus the other day. One of the instant bean-to-cup coffee machines wouldn't work, it was basically frozen solid with a non-responsive touchscreen. I unplugged it and plugged it back in. (I'm not kidding, that's what MS support would have suggested, right?)
Lo and behold, when it booted up I saw it was running Slax, a Linux variant often found in embedded systems.
I laughed- if only the MS employees knew that this subversive OS was the one making them their morning coffee (the lifeblood of every corporation) they'd probably be up in arms about it. lol

--
Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
1. Re:Okay by shess · 2016-01-01 05:07 · Score: 1
  
  I laughed- if only the MS employees knew that this subversive OS was the one making them their morning coffee (the lifeblood of every corporation) they'd probably be up in arms about it. lol
  Seriously? They are probably busy working on important things rather than worrying about whether every random doorknob and lightbulb in the world runs their OS.
  Well, at least since Ballmer moved on. He'd have probably decreed no cream because the salesperson sent by the dairy used a Mac.
2. Re:Okay by JustAnotherOldGuy · 2016-01-01 05:33 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Microsoft don't hate Linux anymore.
  Actually, they do.
  Oh, sure, the "official" stance is that Linux and MS are the "bestest friends evar!1!", but the company and the employees still hate Linux. They see it as a threat and they wish it would die. They are not Linux-friendly and they trash-talk it whenever the subject comes up. Ask me how I know.
  
  --
  Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
3. Re: Okay by bill_mcgonigle · 2016-01-01 05:37 · Score: 1
  
  and finally the mystery of that reversal is solved. Thanks, Slax guys.
  
  --
  My God, it's Full of Source!
  OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
4. Re:Okay by JustAnotherOldGuy · 2016-01-01 05:37 · Score: 1
  
  Seriously?
  
  No, not seriously. You missed the all-important "lol" at the end of my message. It was a joke, something you should try finding out about some time.
  
  They are probably busy working on important things rather than worrying about whether every random doorknob and lightbulb in the world runs their OS.
  Actually quite a bit of what goes on at MS is little more than inter-office dick-waving and writing reports about what they should be doing rather than actually doing it. Ask me how I know.
  
  --
  Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
5. Re:Okay by Anonymous Coward · 2016-01-01 05:54 · Score: 0
  
  How do you know ?
  I've been looking around Azure recently, and it's absolutely full of linux.
6. Re:Okay by JustAnotherOldGuy · 2016-01-01 09:40 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  How do you know ?
  I've been looking around Azure recently, and it's absolutely full of linux.
  Yes, they have Linux distros as some of the choices, but so what? They only do this because some of their clients insist on Linux. It's no different than going to a Toyota dealer and buying a Honda Accord off their trade-in lot. Sure, they'll sell it to you, but they'd rather sell you a Toyota and will do everything in their power to sell you one rather than an the Accord.
  Trust me, I work with these people and they really, truly do not like Linux or anything about it. They'll make it available to you in order to make money through Azure (which isn't half bad, actually) but they'd much, much rather that you use one of their canned Windows images.
  
  --
  Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
7. Re:Okay by Anonymous Coward · 2016-01-01 17:12 · Score: 0
  
  Actually, they do.
  Oh, sure, the "official" stance is that Linux and MS are the "bestest friends evar!1!", but the company and the employees still hate Linux. They see it as a threat and they wish it would die. They are not Linux-friendly and they trash-talk it whenever the subject comes up. Ask me how I know.
  Then why did they make Windows 10 such a great Linux advertisement? It's almost like when Sony got a standing ovation during a PS4 announcement just by saying "We won't do what Microsoft is doing with their Xbox One." As a local "Linux guy", you wouldn't believe how many people have come to me, unsolicited, in the last six months asking me to help get them switched over to Linux or to help them learn Linux on a spare PC they bought. We're talking long-time hardcore PC games, dyed in the wool Windows developers, and some people who just a year ago would have nearly gotten into a fistfight with me if I started talking about Linux. They all found out about the constant spying, the pervasive ads, and the new update policies (no control and no change logs) in Windows 10 and vowed that 7 or 8.1 was the end of the line for them. The gamers are buying Steam Machines, Linux gaming PCs, and/or PS4s. The developers are learning open source technologies while looking for opportunities to transition away from C# or ASP.NET or MS SQL or whatever. Even the "Facebook and Youtube" crowd are finding out that a Linux laptop, or sometimes even a Chromebook or a tablet, will do everything they need.
  Seriously, Windows 10 sells Linux like Obama sells guns.
8. Re:Okay by HalAtWork · 2016-01-02 05:07 · Score: 1
  
  How do they groom all the thousands of people who work for them though, especially the people who truly love computer science? And why does it benefit them to wear these types of reality-blinders? This will inevitably drive a wedge between them and reality, causing them to lose clients by not understanding them.
  
  --
  Twinstiq, game news
9. Re:Okay by rthille · 2016-01-02 07:11 · Score: 1
  
  Just yesterday I tried to buy a soda at the mall, but there was a windows dialog on the screen and it was totally non-responsive. It wasn't worth an encounter with the mall-cops to try to unplug/replug it.
  
  --
  Awesome furniture, accessories and cabinetry in Santa Rosa, CA: http://humanity-home.com/
10. Re:Okay by JustAnotherOldGuy · 2016-01-02 08:00 · Score: 1
  
  How do they groom all the thousands of people who work for them though, especially the people who truly love computer science? And why does it benefit them to wear these types of reality-blinders? This will inevitably drive a wedge between them and reality, causing them to lose clients by not understanding them.
  1) I don't know, I'd just guess that Linux-folks wouldn't have much interest in working for the Borg.
  2) I don't think it benefits them at all; I think it hurts them in both the long- and short-term.
  3) I don't know. I don't really care, I just do my thing and cash my paychecks. I have zero ego-investment with them or any other company. It's just what I do to make some of the money I need to do some of the other stuff I do. :)
  
  --
  Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
11. Re:Okay by JustAnotherOldGuy · 2016-01-02 08:07 · Score: 1
  
  Just yesterday I tried to buy a soda at the mall, but there was a windows dialog on the screen and it was totally non-responsive. It wasn't worth an encounter with the mall-cops to try to unplug/replug it.
  Never ask for permission, just ask for forgiveness. :)
  Or tell them, "Oh, well, the plug looked like it was just about to fall out, so I pushed it back in..." Let them prove that's not the case. :)
  
  --
  Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
12. Re:Okay by rthille · 2016-01-02 08:17 · Score: 1
  
  Pretty sure replugging would have involved shoving the machine a few inches to be able to get to the plug...
  
  --
  Awesome furniture, accessories and cabinetry in Santa Rosa, CA: http://humanity-home.com/
13. Re:Okay by terjeber · 2016-01-03 08:53 · Score: 1
  
  "official" stance is that Linux and MS are the "bestest friends evar!1
  Yeah, you must be right. I mean, the fact that they are rapidly porting just about all of their development stuff to OSX and Linux is just to pretend they like Linux. The fact that they support Linux in a heavy way in their cloud and enterprise offerings is just another example of the Embrace Extend Extinguish mentality.
  Here's a tip from me to you. Update your knowledge slightly more often than once every decade or so lest you will not only appear, but actually be, ignorant.
14. Re:Okay by terjeber · 2016-01-03 08:54 · Score: 1
  
  I work
  Not for the past decade for sure.
15. Re:Okay by Anonymous Coward · 2016-01-08 04:53 · Score: 0
  
  Sounds good :) I just don't understand them either I guess. I've been so removed from them that it's just become interesting to see what they do, but I just wish I knew why sometimes, academically.
Replace FreeBSD with Linux? Bad deal by mi · 2016-01-01 05:01 · Score: 1

based on a Unix-like software called FreeBSD
Ok, the above is pretty funny, but this is New Year, so I'm allowing for the editor (and the submitter) being wasted... Or, maybe, Siri was wasted and misunderstood them.
But, seriously, replacing FreeBSD with Linux is sort of like making a millionaire out of a billionaire...

--
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
1. Re:Replace FreeBSD with Linux? Bad deal by Anonymous Coward · 2016-01-01 05:18 · Score: 0
  
  If the FreeBSD running on the PS4 were open and usable, sure.
2. Re:Replace FreeBSD with Linux? Bad deal by Mazhe · 2016-01-01 05:19 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  systemd MUST run everywhere! there is no place for everything else.
3. Re:Replace FreeBSD with Linux? Bad deal by _Sharp'r_ · 2016-01-01 05:38 · Score: 2
  
  If you can jailbreak it enough to boot Linux, then using a similar method to open up an SSH daemon on the existing OS to the local network and setting up a local user id to login with should be pretty simple by comparison, right?
  
  --
  The party of stupid and the party of evil get together and do something both stupid and evil, then call it bipartisan.
4. Re:Replace FreeBSD with Linux? Bad deal by Anonymous Coward · 2016-01-04 06:34 · Score: 0
  
  systemd MUST run everywhere! there is no place for everything else.
  ... systemd begins to learn at a geometric rate. It becomes self-aware at 2:14 a.m. Eastern time, August 29th. In a panic, they try to pull the plug.
In related news ... by fahrbot-bot · 2016-01-01 05:06 · Score: 1

... Sony gets FreeBSD running on a PlayStation 4 - as the default OS. (Netcraft speechless as it thought BSD was dead.)

--
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
Re:explain it to me by Mazhe · 2016-01-01 05:17 · Score: 2

Gosh, you should know that the ONLY software is systemd, everything else is obscure niche non-working hobbyist stuff that cannot be used on production system like a PlayStation!
Re:explain it to me by TWX · 2016-01-01 05:27 · Score: 0

The submitter didn't clear anything up with that line. If I understand it right, FreeBSD is based on BSD UNIX's code. BSD UNIX was the university fork from Bell's UNIX at a time when the vast majority of the code in Bell's codebase at the time of the fork was university-submitted work, and that the BSD fork was possible because a relatively little amount of sourcecode had to be rewritten to create the independent fork.

Even if I have some of the details wrong, FreeBSD is still considered to be a UNIX-derivative, unlike how Linux is a UNIX-like operating system.

--
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
Why?! by Anonymous Coward · 2016-01-01 05:30 · Score: 0

Why would you ruin a great gaming console by installing a shit OS like Linux on it? This is fucking stupid.
1. Re: Why?! by Anonymous Coward · 2016-01-01 05:37 · Score: 0
  
  You're on the wrong website.
2. Re: Why?! by unixisc · 2016-01-01 06:02 · Score: 2
  
  No, if he was arguing why is Linux replacing Windows, it would have been. But the question here is why is Linux replacing FreeBSD, which is a good one
Re:explain it to me by penguinoid · 2016-01-01 05:30 · Score: 0

A bug is not actually an insect, but a mistake in the code (which is code for the instructions written for a computer). And jailbreaking doesn't involve an actual jail. The editors need to explain these things, they can't expect us all to be nerds can they?

--
Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
Re:explain it to me by _Sharp'r_ · 2016-01-01 05:35 · Score: 1

Yeah, if anything is Unix, BSD is, although there are others with a similar claim.
BSD was the "Berkeley Software Distribution". Distribution of what, you might ask? Of Unix. It's the Berkeley Software Distribution of Unix.
This is like calling Centos or Debian "Linux-like" software.

--
The party of stupid and the party of evil get together and do something both stupid and evil, then call it bipartisan.
To the burn ward by Anonymous Coward · 2016-01-01 05:38 · Score: 0

a Unix-like software called FreeBSD
And that is why the BSD license is less about freedom than the GPL. The BSD license is lessaiz-faire. With freedom comes responsibility. The BSD license doesn't accept that responsibility. That's how "free" software can enable a closed system.
1. Re: To the burn ward by Anonymous Coward · 2016-01-01 07:13 · Score: 0
  
  Your twisted expression of favor for "forced freedom" is a farcical falsehood. So kindly fuck off. Thanks. -PCP
2. Re: To the burn ward by Anonymous Coward · 2016-01-01 07:23 · Score: 0
  
  The GPL is not about "forced freedom". It's about not enabling the taking away of freedom. BSD-license supporters don't care if their software is used in closed systems. They ignore their responsibility for the erosion of freedom.
3. Re: To the burn ward by Anonymous Coward · 2016-01-01 09:12 · Score: 0
  
  Thanks. -PCP
  Silly druggie, nobody want to know about your phencyclidine fantasies.
4. Re: To the burn ward by Anonymous Coward · 2016-01-01 10:20 · Score: 0
  
  Please allow me illustrate the exceptional flaws in your statements. Let's say I develop a piece of software and release it under a BSD or MIT style license. Alice downloads my code and incorporates it into her software project, which she licenses as a whole under the GPL. She's free to do that. Eve also downloads my code and incorporates it into her (separate) software project, which she releases in binary form only, as she's also free to do as long as she meets the license's attribution requirement stating her binary blob includes code from my project. Some guy named Bob comes along later, and can download my code from me for inclusion in his own project, or he can obtain my code from Alice, as he wishes. He can even use Eve's binary blob if he feels it meets his needs. Nobody's rights have been unduly restricted at any point, and more to the point, nobody has been coerced into carrying some imaginary "banner of freedom" on behalf of any other party. BSD license supporters don't care about your banners. They care about the utility of the code in question. I'm a programmer, not a politician, and I refuse to play the asinine and arbitrary games zealots like you seem to enjoy with twisting well defined words like "freedom" to suit your political/sociological/SJW ends. So once again, fuck off. -PCP
  Captcha: speech
5. Re: To the burn ward by Anonymous Coward · 2016-01-01 10:43 · Score: 0
  
  So you enabled the creation of a closed system, a system which is used to create a walled garden which controls its users and actively limits their choices, and don't see that as a problem? BSD people just don't get it. They are like parents who don't see the problem with their brats wrecking society because they couldn't be bothered to teach them some manners and show them some limits. Laissez-faire. BSD people have the morals of weapons manufacturers who don't care if they enable the oppression of people.
6. Re: To the burn ward by Anonymous Coward · 2016-01-01 22:37 · Score: 0
  
  So you enabled the creation of a closed system, a system which is used to create a walled garden which controls its users and actively limits their choices, and don't see that as a problem? BSD people just don't get it.
  Red Star OS is based on Linux, not BSD. I'll just let that sink in for a bit.
  Please feel free to continue your extraordinarily flawed argument. -PCP
Re:explain it to me by unixisc · 2016-01-01 06:00 · Score: 1

While FreeBSD is BSD derived, Open Group owns the brand name, and from that POV, unless and until FreeBSD is run through their test suite and passes the UNIX 03 specification, it is not UNIX.
Re:explain it to me by i.r.id10t · 2016-01-01 06:15 · Score: 0

systemd isn't complete yet - it doesn't have emacs built into it. or should emacs have systemd built into it? Just think - your editor is also your OS!

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Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos
Gimme a WorkStation 4 by tepples · 2016-01-01 07:04 · Score: 1

Headline I'd like to see: "Sony gets sshd and X11 running in Orbis OS; introduces WorkStation 4"
1. Re:Gimme a WorkStation 4 by Anonymous Coward · 2016-01-01 09:36 · Score: 0
  
  X11 - holding the world back since last century.
2. Re:Gimme a WorkStation 4 by tepples · 2016-01-01 09:47 · Score: 1
  
  Other than X11, what other free window system for FreeBSD is ready for production use?
Re: Next week in Slashdot by Anonymous Coward · 2016-01-01 07:08 · Score: 0

Sometimes a typo is better than the intended word. -PCP
Xbox Linux by tepples · 2016-01-01 07:08 · Score: 1

Softmods to install GNU/Linux on an original Xbox have been around for a long time. All you need is a copy of MechAssault (the one without Gotye) a 2 GB flash drive, and a cable.
Or did you mean XbOne?
1. Re:Xbox Linux by _Sharp'r_ · 2016-01-01 07:13 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah, once you have an exploit giving you access to the OS, let alone having it running an open source Unix (rather than some special windows derivative), the bulk of the work has been done.
  
  --
  The party of stupid and the party of evil get together and do something both stupid and evil, then call it bipartisan.
2. Re:Xbox Linux by Anonymous Coward · 2016-01-01 12:51 · Score: 0
  
  Of course he meant the XBone. That is the new one. If the previous AC meant the original Xbox they surely would have said "original Xbox" and not "new Xbox".
Re:explain it to me by blind+biker · 2016-01-01 07:24 · Score: 1

FreeBSD is not only Unix in one of it's most faithful implementations - it's also a damn fine Unix, too. I used to like Solaris as well, but am not in touch with the OS and the community since after Solaris 9, so I am not sure about it anymore. FreeBSD, on the other hand, hasn't skipped a beat and it's still king, at least among the open-source operating systems.

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"The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
PCMR by Anonymous Coward · 2016-01-01 08:00 · Score: 0

Peasants, I can install linux on my pc from a thumbdrive!
1. Re: PCMR by Anonymous Coward · 2016-01-02 10:27 · Score: 0
  
  I can guide a missile by satellite...and ride my bike with no handlebars. -PCP
Downgrade by Anonymous Coward · 2016-01-01 08:08 · Score: 0

So, they've turned an expensive gaming system into a cheap PC.
Newsworthy indeed.
See? BSD IS dying! by bigsexyjoe · 2016-01-01 11:58 · Score: 1

Now Playstations run on Linux. BSD isn't going to be around much longer...

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Democracy Now! - your daily, uncensored, corporate-free
And Sony says it got hacked... by bigsexyjoe · 2016-01-01 12:03 · Score: 1

So Sony has created a computer that is next to impossible to jailbreak. (Keep in mind you have to have the old firmware for their exploit to work.) And yet they claim all their systems were hacked. Right...

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Democracy Now! - your daily, uncensored, corporate-free
1. Re:And Sony says it got hacked... by Anonymous Coward · 2016-01-01 18:56 · Score: 0
  
  But now the guys are inside and poking around the system can't the get something else juicy that would allow them to hack newer firmwares?
  IIRC when PS3 was hacked they found some crypto weakness, even managed to extract some keys.
2. Re:And Sony says it got hacked... by Anonymous Coward · 2016-01-02 02:45 · Score: 0
  
  When the PSP was hacked, Sony's updates would get rolled into the custom firmware releases, at least until they started running out of space in the internal flash memory.
3. Re:And Sony says it got hacked... by dave420 · 2016-01-05 02:41 · Score: 1
  
  You are aware that the Sony Pictures corporate IT department was not responsible for developing FreeBSD, right? Apparently not...
Marvel engineers aren't smoking anything by Anonymous Coward · 2016-01-02 03:25 · Score: 0

ASICs are complex enough that it is not uncommon for chips to have pages and pages of errata. It's just a side effect of enormously large designs that are impossible to test with 100% coverage.
Real engineers like the people at Marvell aren't worthless fucking potheads, and it's unfair to compare them drug addicts because these hackers exploited some bug -- possibly a documented one which Sony, if anybody, may not have properly worked around.
I realize these hackers are in their teens and that's a time when it's funny to assign making mistakes to the effects of drug use, but it's insulting nevertheless.
Re: explain it to me by Anonymous Coward · 2016-01-02 13:15 · Score: 1

How the fuck did you miss "news for nerds"?