It's been kinda sorta available since mid-November, but it wasn't since the past week or two that Terra Soft's
Yellow Dog Linux 5.0 was freely available (i.e. you didn't have to pay $100 for the DVDs) to make all your
open-source PS3 dreams come true. Granted, they've made it pretty damned difficult to find the free version online, but supposedly it's a done deal. For the uninitiated, anyone looking for a more refined and
pre-packaged approach to getting Linux on their PlayStation 3 should look no further than the Yellow Dog for Sony's officially sanction build; so what we want to know is, for those lucky and brave enough to have a PS3 and try to install Linux on it (respectively), what have your experiences been like with the Dog? Has it been worth your while? We're still holding out until Ubuntu gives us the love we crave. Well, that or until the OSS community get started on making an XBMC-like PS3 interface, since Sony believes all of your home's media should live on the PS3, and not on a media server. Right.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Scott Farner @ Jan 1st 2007 8:27PM
"Matt @ Jan 1st 2007 5:22PM
haha YOUR a retard"
Who's retarded now???
Ben @ Jan 2nd 2007 6:08PM
YOU'RE a retard.
Jon @ Jan 1st 2007 5:22PM
Why is Sony doing this? Allowing Linux to run on their machine??? If folks purchase the PS3 just to make it into a computer...they probably won't be buying games or Blu-Ray movies which Sony desperately needs right now.a Linux on the PS3 also seems likely to introduce all sorts of potential exploits.
Just don't see how this helps the PS3 at all.
GiovanniMcAdoo @ Jan 1st 2007 5:33PM
Jon come on now; how many people do you know will purchase the PlayStation 3 just to use as a pc not buy games or Blu Ray movies for it? Probaly none if you even know someone who wants it. Its probaly around 1 to 4% of the buyers will used it as a PC/Blu Ray player only. Which does not hurt SONY.
lolec @ Jan 1st 2007 5:41PM
ps3 have a common processor that only administrate other 6 processors. Linux will only use the power of the base procesor that is , hmmm crap. the true power its about using all the processors. shure you can buy a ps3 as computer but you can get a pc as useful as the ps3 for 400 dls.
think about it, runing linux a lot of people will buy it. its simillar to the zune strategy. if you make something "hackeable" and keep it under control people will buy just because they can add a browser or program some stuff on it. i think linux will not help hackers to play backups but will help them to create a lot of homebrew stuff that will atract a lot of people to buy ps3.
number40one @ Jan 3rd 2007 3:12PM
Jon - Sony tries to classify the PS3 as a computer so it will get a significant tax break when they import it to Europe. The EU has very different tariffs for personal computers versus video game consoles.
...and at US$600 a pop, even a few percentage points can be a big deal.
Bagel @ Jan 1st 2007 5:30PM
ftp://mirror.mcs.anl.gov/pub/yellowdog/iso/yellowdog-5.0-phoenix-20061208-PS3.iso
there is the link
whiskey @ Jan 1st 2007 5:30PM
haha your a retard
And you don't know how to write!
They let you use this because they can patch their code even if people comes with a circumvention...
Also, even the ps2 could run linux, but it did not make any difference you needed the chip to exploit it.
And ultimately, they did it because with that price tag this better be more than just a console (even if it is, i know it's debatible, i'm a wii kind of person myself, the best out there).
It's cool that they made it available for free.
Zadillo @ Jan 1st 2007 6:08PM
Generally speaking, if you're going to tell someone they don't know how to write, and that they're a retard to boot, you should probably figure out the difference between your and you're.
Mike Jenkins @ Jan 1st 2007 10:40PM
The PS2 didn't need anything to run Linux except a hard drive, Sony sold a kit that had a hard drive, linux, and I think a keyboard and mouse too. It never needed a modchip to run Linux.
pyro @ Jan 1st 2007 10:53PM
"They let you use this because they can patch their code even if people comes with a circumvention..."
Ya, just like they did with the PSP, that stopped those hackers! Oh wait... nevermind.
RijilV @ Jan 1st 2007 7:30PM
Have you seen Linux on the PS3? What do you think, Linux doesn't support multi processor systems? puhleeeze. Even from the earliest boot vids of Linux on the PS3 we see all of the cores up and running. Have someone with one of these cat /proc/cpuinfo.
Anyhow, if you want to crunch some data, the PS3 is a decently affordable way of doing it.
3lement @ Jan 1st 2007 5:58PM
If I didnt have to reformat i would be down unless there is a way to transfer saves to SD card
Mark B @ Jan 1st 2007 11:20PM
you can save all of your files to a USB memory stick or SD
rektide @ Jan 1st 2007 6:10PM
There was always some minimal probability Sony might have released some kind of information on the graphics hardware, or more likely binary libraries for OpenGL acceleration. Without access to the graphics hardware, the PS3 is a worthless home computer. All the new linux desktop technologies are centered around utilizing the graphics hardware. The reason Yellow Dog 5 uses Enlightenmnet is because E is the only project under the sun attempting to do fancy graphics without graphical hardware.
Its outrageous that MS actually delivered something more viable with XNA. Sony's attempts to create some kind of enthusiast device have been aborted in its infancy.
GiovanniMcAdoo @ Jan 1st 2007 6:17PM
Kinda hard to say aborted dont you think? Especially since people are still talking about the PlayStation3 acting as a home pc. If it was "aborted in its infancy" as you state then Engadget would not be asking us how is YDL or would be seeing youtube vidoes of PS3's running Linux.
brian @ Jan 1st 2007 6:21PM
oops
brian @ Jan 1st 2007 6:21PM
i have yet to try it, mainly cause there is no real reason for me to go linux, i have my pc next to my ps3 for all PC functions. If however, there is someway to get mythtv running and working ith the PS3 and being able to use the PS3s xmb to view, then im all for it.
hemmy @ Jan 1st 2007 6:48PM
I only just installed it, so I've not spent enough time with it yet. But, it was easy to install, office and firefox seem to work quite well at least (no flash is a bit of a drag, but here's to hoping Adobe gets off its ass)
"ps3 have a common processor that only administrate other 6 processors. Linux will only use the power of the base procesor that is , hmmm crap. the true power its about using all the processors."
You are free to compile for and use all the free SPEs. There is room for improvements across the board, and we'll see them as time goes on.
Jess @ Jan 1st 2007 7:07PM
I tried to install Yellow Dog on my PS3, but I have an SD t.v.(hoping to upgrade sooner or later), and I couldn't get it to work, and couldn't be bothered to mess with it for hours.
3lement: there is a backup option under system settings, and it works beautifully.
Phil @ Jan 1st 2007 7:18PM
For an HDTV household with anyone in school, and a desire to have a nextgen gaming system, this really helps make the decision among the consoles easier in favor of PS3.
I don't have a PS3 yet but I have seen and used YellowDog running on one and it looks and runs great and is very usable for office apps (OpenOffice is included) and web browsing (Firefox) on a living room HDTV. Having the PS3 as your only living-room device is very possible, and telling the kids to do their homework on the device before being able to play a game is great.
It DOES NOT discourage purchasing games. It does encourage purchasing the PS3 as a family living room device. Oh, and on a non-Linux note, BluRay movies look great.
I can't see why anyone who just wants a Linux machine and no gaming would buy a PS3, because you can get a very fast Pentium4 machine for half the price of the PS3. I could see a BluRay movie enthusiast buying a PS3 only to play high-def movies, because the other BluRay players are ridiculously expensive monsters. But actually, all of the high-def movie enthusiasts I know will not be able to resist getting some games for their PS3's.
So this can only help to create and sustain PS3's eventual dominance over the other consoles.
LeonSyn @ Feb 6th 2007 8:06AM
Here are my PS3s CPU specs from Linux in regards to a previous post:
processor : 0
cpu : Cell Broadband Engine, altivec supported
clock : 3192.000000MHz
revision : 5.1 (pvr 0070 0501)
processor : 1
cpu : Cell Broadband Engine, altivec supported
clock : 3192.000000MHz
revision : 5.1 (pvr 0070 0501)
timebase : 79800000
machine : PS3PF
That was taken verbatim from the #cat /proc/cpuinfo command
I'm currently running Fedora Core 5
Pistachio @ Jan 1st 2007 7:52PM
Linux support is most likely so that Sony can back up claims that the PS3 is a "Computer" for tax purposes in Europe. See this article for more information: http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3175&Itemid=2
As noted in previous comments, it is unlikely this will detract from their income as few people will understand how to use linux. However, it can save them considerable amounts of money by avoiding the console tax found in European countries.
While the hobbyist/academic market is a nice bonus, I doubt they would go to all the trouble simply for this market. Most likely, Sony's trying to save some money through some tax wrangling.
Chris @ Jan 1st 2007 8:48PM
"If I didnt have to reformat i would be down unless there is a way to transfer saves to SD card"
You can, most game saves can be backed up.
On the xmb go to "Games" scroll to the folder "Game Saves" then go to the game save you wish to back up and hit triangle. Then click "Copy." If you have a flash card inserted it should give you a choice to save it on the card or hdd.
Dan @ Jan 1st 2007 9:41PM
Hey hey. Got the YDL5 ISO from one of the website's mirrors and installed it last night with no problems. For familiarity with Linux, I'm a 2 on a scale of 10 but I got it up and running with absolutely no setbacks. It took about an hour to get it installed into the "Other OS" partition on my 60G PS3. When YDL boots, I can see the peripherals hooked up the PS3 being recognized including the controller (when USB'ed) but I haven't found much of an actual use for it. The only thing I've noticed so far is I can't adjust the resolution of the display of E15, which I believe is the GUI I'm running on it now... but again, I'm a 2. It's nice that any moment during YDL use, you can pound "boot-game-os" into the Terminal and you're back into the Game OS in about 30-40 seconds.
My primary use for the system (once I get my penguin-legs) is to get a complete codec pack on the thing and use it as a media center. I'm currently converting my stuff to MP4 and burning DVD's full of them. I'd rather just get good DivX codecs into YDL and away we go!
Re: Jess,
The instructions for installing YDL say that if you're not running a TV capable of rendering at least 720i, you need to run the text-only version of the installer called "installtext" instead of "install" at the kboot terminal from the bootloader. Maybe you tried that though. I don't know.
Jared C. @ Jan 1st 2007 9:46PM
Because Sony is now able to claim this as a computer, does it change any of the legal issues in Australia? I don't think that's what Sony had in mind, but if you are going to claim it is a computer you have to be willing to take the bad too. I am a US user...but I still find it interesting.
Erwin @ Jan 1st 2007 9:46PM
YDL Linux runs surprisingly well, just using the PPU of the CELL. The real horsepower of 6 SPU's is available to developers, see http://www.cellperformance.com/
Let's hope Sony&Nvidia will make hardware acceleration available! However, 3D OpenGL applications like Blender 3D run fairly nice, even with lack of hardware acceleration.
See a screenshot (image of the 1080p Bravia) of YDL running Blender on PS3:
http://www.bulletphysics.com/blender_on_ps3.jpg
Chris @ Jan 1st 2007 10:25PM
Does Beryl work? :P
rektide @ Jan 2nd 2007 1:40PM
no the fuckers didnt provide hardware acceleration
MuDoggy @ Jan 1st 2007 10:43PM
I have had linux on my ps3 for a while... I can't figure out why they give you a media player that can't play ANYTHING, or a music player that can't play mp3's. The web browser can't do flash, and its yellowdog so its not as easy as this "slackware" I've heard so much about.
Sony needs to get some automated installs or good links going to help us interested but confused.
Utsav @ Jan 2nd 2007 12:52AM
Well, they'd have to pay license fees to play mp3s, or those proprietary files, and thus, you could not make a copy of that disc and just give it to anyone.
There should be an automated installer in Yellow Dog linux in form of a "package manager" perhaps?
-Look for a prepackaged mplayer, vlc, and flashplayer packages for Yellow Dog.
Usually in linux, I run mplayer with Windows DLLs to play back movies, however, on a ps3, you are on a different processor that will not support this trick. so you are stuck using reverse engineered formats. Fortunately, between mplayer and VLC, you've got your bases covered usually.
-Slackware is not necessarily easier
-Try linux on a PC first, making use of a guide to help you install software that you "must have". I like ubuntu, maybe try that one.
hemmy @ Jan 1st 2007 11:47PM
For those trying to get this running properly on an SD tv, check out:
http://www.terrasoftsolutions.com/support/solutions/ydl_5.0/video-config-3-to-5.shtml
Charl3z523 @ Jan 2nd 2007 12:08AM
Is it possible to run AOL Instant messenger or other Instant messaging programs besides ICQ?
CaptCaveman @ Jan 2nd 2007 1:20AM
I installed it way back in November. Kinda slow, compared to the computer I run every day. But the thing that made me "boot game_os"(I think that's the command iirc). Was there wasn't any support for the wireless connection.
So just when I was about to start digging into the OS and start setting things I was stopped because I had no internet connection. I searched for solutions for a couple of days and haven't been back since.
Also I don't know if this was fixed in a later firmware or not. But you have a choice when formatting the drive. Either give all of the drive to the game os, give 10 gigs to the game os and the rest to the "other" os, or or 10 gig to the "other" os and the rest to the game os.
If I only give 10 gig to the "other" os I don't have much left over after installing Linux. I think a "half" option would have been great. There's enough room to play around with 30 gigs. But 10 is pretty crappy.
Dave @ Jan 2nd 2007 5:46AM
Perfect.
Mark @ Jan 2nd 2007 9:44AM
"lolec @ Jan 1st 2007 5:40PM
ps3 have a common processor that only administrate other 6 processors. Linux will only use the power of the base procesor that is , hmmm crap. the true power its about using all the processors.
"
Actually YDL uses all 8 cores 1x PPE, 7xSPE(the 7th is freed up I believe, as XMB is not running). Anyone that says otherwise is full of it. Software does need to be written to be fully aware of the Cell BBE however.
"shure you can buy a ps3 as computer but you can get a pc as useful as the ps3 for 400 dls."
Can you buy a Gaming PC as powerful as the PS3 for $500? Nope not a hope, infact nowhere close. Talk $1200+
Ryan @ Jan 2nd 2007 10:11AM
This is pretty impressive stuff. My only complaint (outside of lack of flash support) was not being able to play MP3's and other basic video formats out of the chute. This was fixed after installing mplayer. With the ability to VNC or use its true Remote Desktop support it is great having access to my other PC's or my machine in the office from yet another location in the house!
The PS3 is the gift that keeps on giving!
Rick wilson @ Jan 2nd 2007 4:33PM
Ryan: Do you have a tutorial for getting mplayer to work on the ps3 linux? I have read about mplayer and it is so confusing!! Do you have links, or a site for reference? The standard sites on how to get mplayer up and running are confusing to me.
uNext @ Jan 2nd 2007 1:02PM
USELESS-INSTALL MAC OS X and then it will be worth your while.
I tried linux and overall i dont see nothing spectacular about it.
I rather stay with mac os x or windows xp.
Yes i know all the benefits linux have but overall it feels like the operating system still stuck in the 90's no breakthrough applications.
Nothing mac or windows cant handle.
James @ Jan 2nd 2007 1:30PM
I have already installed Linux on my PlayStation 3. It's perfectly acceptable to use as a Linux box. Boot times leave a lot to be desired, and a decent boot menu would be nice. I really don't care for yellow dog, so I would wait for an Ubuntu build for PS3.
Installing Linux on the PS3 allows me to tell my mom that I bought to to use for school...even though I didn't :P.
Installation was fairly easy once you find the Sony bootloader installer. You just burn that to a CD and choose "Install other OS" on the PS3 menu and it works away for a few seconds, automatically sets the system to boot off a CD/DVD, then you reboot...that simple. After that you just follow the YDL installer's instructions and you'll be up and running in about an hour and a half since the system is incredibly slow at copying files. Boot time sits at around a minute which isn't terrible, but it certainly isn't good. Launching and running apps isn't exactly optimized, and takes a bit of time. About 20 seconds to get Firefox open. Once you're in the apps though, the PS3 is quite fast.
Overall, worth the time, but i think waiting for Ubuntu will yield better results.
andy @ Jan 2nd 2007 4:42PM
I don't own an xbox 360 or ps3 yet.
That said, I love my xbmc on xbox 1.
The first new console to get an HD version of XBMC up and running on it will probably be my new console. YOU LISTENING MICROSOFT?
and no, this media center extender/ wmv only/ drm crap won't cut the cheese. I want a MEDIA player, as in ALLLL media.
PS: it looks like the ps3 supply problems are over. There are pallets of 60gb ps3's sitting the floor of best buy now.
MacGyver @ Jan 2nd 2007 6:32PM
I second that one andy.
If any XBMC devs read this, I just want to say thank you very much.
Frank @ Jan 2nd 2007 5:27PM
I waited in line on the night of the 30th waiting for best buy to open the 31st in Brooklyn, NY. They had 41 consoles and I took one home. Only about 10 people left unhappy. I have -never- used linux before, but I consider myself a quick learner with new stuff. For anyone considering doing this, there are a few things you need to know right off the bat.
1. It looks like crap on a 480i screen. I'm waiting for my HDMI-DVI cable to come in from monoprice, and thankfully my 720p computer monitor is HDCP. But it looks really bad on a 32 inch tv with the standard sony cables (RCA A/V multi-out). Text is very difficult to read even up close.
2. The login to localhost is root. Yeah, it might sound pretty basic to everyone, but I didn't know and went through quite a few forums last night before I found the answer.
3. If you are doing this in 480i, you need a direct connection. The reason for this is if you type "startx" after logging in you will get a blank screen. Very clear instructions to fix this can be found at: http://ps3wiki.qj.net/index.php/YDL_on_SDTV
Now, I have a few questions.
1. Does anybody know a good site that has a comparison of all the different distros of linux? I installed Yellow Dog because it seemed like a big deal that it was out, but if there are quite a few distro's available for ps3, I'd like to research which is right for me.
2. I found a sight which had Mplayer at about 6.15mb but when I tried to install it I couldn't because it said there was a network failure. How did you get it to work?
3. When installing mplayer, does it install typical codecs, ie xvid, mp3 etc.?
Thanks in advance to anybody who replies!
macbeach @ Jan 2nd 2007 8:14PM
Why does the original article express a desire to wait for Ubuntu? The folk at Yellowdog have been supporting the PowerPC architecture longer than anyone else. Their installer was geared toward Apple computers when that was the primary platform for it and it worked very well. Ubuntu on the other hand is largely Debian Linux with tweaks. Hard to say whether Shuttleworth's contributions of money to make Ubuntu will be good or bad in the long run. If he suddenly decides to pull the plug and the Debian infrastructure has been destroyed in the process it will obviously be bad.
Is Ubuntu a good distribution for newbies? Yes. Is it the best distribution overall? I don't think so. I've tried it and had problems with it once a few weeks have past after the initial install things start to go haywire. I think they have had at least one upgrade that rendered users machines unusable.
Anyway, I think Yellowdog deserves a bit more respect for what they have done over the years. They established an above board relationship with Sony that will probably pay off in terms of Sony's continue support of Linux on the PS3. They did the same thing with Apple by the way and has Apples full suport as a business partner... at least up until the point Apple pulled the plug on the PowerPC... but you can bet Apple is glad to get the revenue and good PR that came from the YDL clustering applications that ran circles around anything Apple's OS X can do.
Brent @ Jan 3rd 2007 11:48AM
I'll be receiving a PS3 by the end of the week, and I am planning on installing some YDL goodness. I have a decent amount of experience with Linux, so I'll try to give a review in a couple weeks (although everybody will have forgotten about this thread by then) :-)
Fred @ Jan 3rd 2007 5:51PM
One easy reason Sony would have to allow Linux on their console is publicly revealed, by looking at their past attempts at classifying the PS2 and PSP as computer hardware. This would allow them to get around certain international tax and tariff requirements, that are waived for "computer" equipment, but still apply to other similar types of consumer electronic equipment (if I remember right the EU gave them the most problems with this classification). Avoiding these taxes would lower their console distribution costs significantly in affected countries. They should be successful in avoiding these costs with the PS3, by showing a usable desktop Linux distro running on it, to any regulators who care to look.
Has anyone seen anything about progress towards an nVidia RSX accelerated OpenGL driver yet? I know it's tough to reverse-engineer custom hardware like this, but it's close enough to the nVidia 7800 hardware that hacking those drivers to work on RSX should be doable. This is the one way I could ever see this move backfiring on Sony -- if the Linux community sees this as the chance "in a lifetime" that it is, and puts all their reverse-engineering and optimizing power into turning PS3 into THE Linux games console. Then the "downloadable games" everyone will be talking about on the PS3 will be the free and low-cost Linux downloads, not the Sony Network downloads. PS3-Linux MAME is the first software I want to install, when I buy a PS3, next year.
sony1978a @ Jan 7th 2007 4:35AM
I am going for linux on PS3 ONLY just for one reason.
And that is playing allot of AUDIO and VIDEO formats on your TV using you PS3.Many DVD players don't play RMV RMA WMA WMV OGM 3GP and many more other formats,Thanks to CODEC PACK for LINUX :)
Say good bye to converting,now i can watch and listen to my videos and audios without converting on my TV :)
http://www.mrfreefree.com/free/codec/1/
John @ Jan 7th 2007 12:20PM
can someone please explain why sony will not put a hard drive in the psp. i would certainly buy a psp with a hard drive
Brent @ Jan 9th 2007 1:00AM
So I just installed YDL and briefly played around with it. It was pretty easy to install and get running. After a couple hours of using it, I was able to get an SNES emulator up and running using the PS3 controller as the game pad (with legal roms, of course). I was also able to Remote Desktop to my PC, which was pretty handy as well. I didn't have time to do much else with it, but it worked fine as a PC. There is definitely a lot of potential here.
Josue Marte @ Jan 21st 2007 10:08AM
You said you've installed an SNES emulator. I've been trying to do it ever since I installed it. I don't what to do. Can you help me with a step by step tutorial? I would really appreciate that? Thanks.