Mercury Computer Systems looses MultiCore Plus SDK for PS3

Those looking to squeeze a bit more utility out of their PS3 need look no further than Mercury Computer Systems, which has just released its MultiCore Plus SDK for Sony's latest console. The kit aims to enable application developers to harness the power of the Cell (relatively) inexpensively, and the firm is marketing the product to research labs, universities, and other businesses that delve into electronic data automation, video compression, and biotechnology. Apparently, the software was designed to work hand-in-hand with Terra Soft's Yellow Dog Linux operating system, and it can be snapped up now for slightly less than a PS3 itself (in other words, $399 per seat).

[Via TGDaily]

[SneezyPorcupine @ Aug 7th 2007 3:41AM]

So wait a minute, what this is saying is one needs to spend an additional $399, i'm assuming american dollars to be able to develop decent code to run on the PS3?

I thought thats what the point of a programming engine was...to program the code efficiently and in a universal manner such that the hardware in question would be able to interpret it into floating point and polygonal calculations...

There would absolutely be no need for this if Sony began to gave better developer support rather than haug it all for their own games...

I understand that they are attempting to set an example of what PS3 games SHOULD look like but providing better developer support will go a much longer way. Because as far as I am concerned, any game coming out of the bowels of SONY ENTERTAINMENT damn better look its best! after all, they should know their own hardware better than a third party company who is now providing add-ons to developers for better support!!!

If they simply support their larger American clients such as EA, Ubisoft etc. etc. better then we won't be having problems like all the new (2008) EA sports games coming out running 30fps slower than they do on the 360. I mean sure, they say they don't buy exclusivity...but could someone please explain what is wrong with that?!?! Althought my ideology of business is at best rudimentary, I would assume that the basics is that you invest your funds in long term projects such as EXCLUSIVES and reap the benefits upon having solid sales. The only reason I can see as to why exclusivity is a non-issue for them currently, is simply because they are being cheap and are using "pride" as an excuse! Well guess what, its business, and Microsoft has deep pockets and thats how they work. If they fail the first few attempts, they continue to throw money into it until it becomes profitable. Just look at their transition from Xbox to Xbox 360.

Not that I do want exclusives to all go to the PS3 seeing as how I also own a 360, but they are just not putting up a fight. I have several friends who were very loyal PS fans...and they have all since transferred over to 360...its sad to see a product line slip so far in a matter of a few years because it lessens competition and hence makes everyone in the developer circles that much lazier as they no longer have to exemplify any major features.

Sorry for the extra long post.

/end rant.

[oGMo @ Aug 7th 2007 4:10AM]

"So wait a minute, what this is saying is one needs to spend an additional $399, i'm assuming american dollars to be able to develop decent code to run on the PS3?"

No, that's not what this is saying. Where does it say that? What it's saying is that some company is offering a Cell SDK. A set of libraries that claims, in this case, to ease development for a relatively low cost. It's not even primarily for games.

Obviously, you can come up with your own code, your own libraries, hell your own compiler---you can for free go download a cell simulator and compiler from IBM right now that will run on a Linux box.

This has absolutely nothing to do with what Sony offers, what they provide to develop on the PS3, the myriads of other libraries and (often highly expensive) yet oft-used engines one can license (for *any* platform), or the ability of anyone to "develop decent code" for any price.

In short, you're an idiot, and your rant is as meaningless as the straw man you prop up in your first paragraph.

[Phil @ Aug 7th 2007 6:08AM]

You are wrong on just about everything you say.

This does not concern games for a start.....and for your information, Playstation Edge is the set of tools that Sony ships FREE to developers.

Also, I have NEVER known so many people being so sure that any console would fail so early in it's life cycle.....Playstation 3 certainly is'nt failing at the moment that's for sure! What planet are you on? Hmmmm me thinks planet Microsoft huh? Let's all enjoy ALL the great consoles that are out right now and stop making stupid, pointless posts about which is better.....that stuff belongs on the playground.

Ta.

[Loon @ Aug 7th 2007 4:47AM]

@oGMo: I'm very happy that you took the time to point out the stupidity of that post, so that I didn't have to do it myself. It is important to realize that this SDK is not aimed at game developers for PS3, but for linux developers on PS3! Game developers are generally large companies that get good SDKs to develop for the game-os on PS3. The article refers to a third party, completely unrelated to Sony, that tries to sell a product to hobbyists programming on linux on their PS3:s! There are free tools to develop for Linux for PS3. I'm pretty sure that IBM provides a build of gcc that is optimized for cell. Sony does not provide SDK's for linux for PS3, they provide (well, sell or licence) SDKs for the game-os. And believe me, they do not cost $399!

So, SneezyPorcupine, if you want to be able to develop decent code for (linux for) PS3, you can do it for free! But don't forget about the cost of all those books on programming you have to buy when you learn how to program. Perhaps you have paid for a good education as well (well, I guess there's a chance)! You might even have paid for a car to take you to school, or for some sort of public transportation! Just think of the costs that have been forced upon you to be able to develop decent code for (linux for) PS3!

Don't worry, you dont have to apologize for the length of your post. The content is another matter.

:P

[Andir3.0 @ Aug 7th 2007 7:02AM]

You do know that the Cell is in other things besides the PS3, right?

[Andir3.0 @ Aug 7th 2007 7:05AM]

Sorry, the SDK is for the PS3, but this is really no different than other SDKs like for instance, the Unreal Engine, iD's engines, or the like. You don't have to buy it, but it might make your life easier.

[ethana2 @ Aug 7th 2007 7:00AM]

I say that if I had to buy a console, it would be the ps3. If you can't run Linux on it, you don't really own it. Buy one of these, and make an open source clone. Problem solved.

And yes, that would make the company take a hit. Look at the big picture: means to an end. The end of the console as a locked down device, and the end of the graphics card.

Let the age of the stream coprocessor with soft OpenGL implementation begin. It can't happen soon enough for me.

[momo @ Aug 7th 2007 9:44AM]

"looses"

come on, guys.

[Andir3.0 @ Aug 7th 2007 10:40AM]

I think it's because saying "released" is sooo last season.

[vlad_curtean @ Aug 9th 2007 2:34AM]

Man yall need to shut the hell up man cuz I've got all 3 systems.
LISTEN HERE'S THE FACTS:
-I got the Wii on the day of release and honestly it's got no competition because of the way you can play the game. It's a fun system to play and something that's new to all. I like how you can download some of the old classics which BTW WE ALL GREW UP ON (I did anyways cuz I'm 23). I'm not too impressed with the graphics on it and the limited storage. The Wii menu is very easy to use and it's got some neat features you can download. I'm a bit disappointed with the fact that you need to buy a Nintendo adaptor to connect it through USB Ethernet for internet unless you want to use it with the built-in wireless. The browser is very easy to use and also very fun if you're just browsing the net or watching youtube. You can also use all Game Cube games on the Wii as well but you got to buy a separate controller though. Not that there's too many good games for that console though. I'm a little disappointed in the fact that you can't charge the controller through USB like the PS3 or the 360. It uses AAs which I've got rechargeable for anyways. I also like the fact that you've got a SD slot which you can back up and store virtual games and saved Wii games. All in all I think Nintendo's brought out a cool new toy at an affordable price that's very fun to use and also unique gameplay.
-I got my 360 about 4 months ago. I've already got the 'Dreaded Red Ring of Death' on it. The warranty was the best investment I've ever made. I hate the fact that you have to pay extra for everything you get on the damn thing though. If you want the USB rechargeable battery pack you got to pay extra. If you want TO PLAY GAMES ONLINE!!! You got to pay extra? That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard but I guess it is Microsoft and Bill doesn't faille to amaze me one bit. If you want wireless Ethernet, you guessed it, you got to pay extra. I also don't like how you can't browse the internet on the 360. I thought the internet was the thing of the future! I guess Bill's next gen system requires you to buy a computer with it as well to get the full package. On the flip side, I like the loading time on the 360. I also like in-game music playing capability from a USB device or the HDD. 20 GB for a next gen especially from the worlds biggest player when it comes to computers I think is a little weak not to mention for those that bought the basic where you have no HDD. I like the fact that you can use the 360 to record TV. I think that's really cool and Sony's got to get on that. It's a little stupid how you can't use all XBOX games on the 360 either. The fact that there's so many games out for it is very cool but it stops there. Game play I don't think isn't smooth at all on this console compare to the PS3. Honestly the main reason I got the 360 is because I got it almost free and most of my friends have it. I would never pay the money for it. REMEMBER!!! BUY THE WARRANTY FOR THIS CONSOLE BECAUSE YOU'LL REGRET IT LATER.
-And now for the best over all console ever made. I got mine 2 weeks after it came out. Let's just say that when you have 3 giants in the computer industry (IBM, Toshiba, and Sony) spend a billion dollars developing a processor for the system and you have Nvidia put out the best graphics card yet, you are bound to get some unreal graphics and game play in 1080p. Games like Gran Turismo look absolutely unbelievable. I've played the demo and it's unreal how good it looks. There's a reason why the man behind Gran Turismo was named one of the top 50 most influential people on the automotive industry. Look that up if you don't believe me. He placed higher then Enzo himself. Backwards compatibility is awesome on the PS3 as it works very well with PS2 and 1 games. You can also download PS1 games from the Playstation store for the PS3 and your PSP. You can download full movie and game trailers in 1080p, game demos and other cool stuff. Blu Ray I think is an awesome invention. Movies and games on my 1080p 50" look unbelievable with my HDMI cable. Very very crisp image and fast frame rate. I'm a little disappointed that Sony didn't include the HDMI cable with the package though. Another very cool thing with Sony is how they really do listen to their customers and have so many cool software updates which btw are all free. They are currently working in-game XMB access for music etc. A few real neat things are remote play for your PSP through the wifi connection directly to the PS3 or through wireless internet from anywhere in the world (yes the PSP does connect to a wireless internet connection and it does come with a browser as well). What this means is that I can have access to and control my PS3 XMB from virtually anywhere in the world if I have my PSP and a wireless internet connection. I can listen to music, watch any trailers, videos, or movies saved on my PS3 HDD and look at any pictures as well. This feature also gives me access to all the saved information I have on my SD and SD mini, MS Pro Duo, or CF which are all plugged into the front of the console. Yes, you have access to video, music or photos from all 3 and also any USB devices such as and ipod or a USB stick or even some cell phones connected through USB. Folder management right from the XMB is also in the works. I can easily move things back and forth between the storage devices and the PS3 HDD using a mouse and keyboard or a PS3 controller including saved game data if I want to back everything up (kind of like a memory card) and format the HDD. Another cool feature is the up scaling of PS2 and DVDs to 1080p. All PS2 games and DVDs are upscale to the highest possible frame rate available through one of the earlier firmware updates. This is a feature that only high end DVD players can achieve. It truly does make a difference in picture quality. This also works for those that aren't fortunate enough to own a 1080p TV. Hook up your console with the best possible cables (component for 1080i and HDMI for 1080p) and you will see the difference even on just a regular HDTV with max 1080i resolution. The down side to developing for the PS3 is that it takes longer to do it. That's why games are taking a little longer to come out. Resistance (btw the best most fluent first person shooter game yet with the smartest AI) for example is a 22GB game where a 360 game like Gears of war is only 8GB which is max capacity for a DVD. This is also why it takes a bit longer to load the game unless you got the games that you can put right onto the HDD. You still need the disk to play the game, but the loading time is almost instantaneous. The downside is that this is not available with all PS3 games yet. You can hook up the PS3 wirelessly without having to buy extra hardware for it and NO you don't have to pay to play online. There is also a feature which was added onto one of the earlier firmware updates which allows you search for media servers to stream video and music right from your computer wirelessly kind of like the 360. I like this because it saves me from connecting my computer to my home theatre to use it for music throughout the house since my PS# is already connected to it. Remember remote play? Well you can stream media from your computer directly to your PSP through remote play to anywhere if you got the wireless internet access. The remote play feature, btw can also be used with a lot of the PS3 games as an extra map or rear view mirror etc. I don't know how easy this is to to on the 360 or even if it's possible but on the PS3 you can take a 200GB laptop (2.5") HDD and replace it with the 20 or the 60 that the system comes with. It's as easy as swapping them That's it the HDD That's stock is only a 5400RPM if im not mistaking but the PS3 can handle up to a 7200RPM. As far as Linux is concerned, I really like it. I have Yellow Dog partitioned on my PS3 (which btw is a joke for anyone to install just google it) and it is a very easy OS to use. I'm actually using it right now. It's very basic and that's it's biggest downside but you can still browse the net with Firefox (full fecebook access, email, etc). It's biggest drawback is compatibility. You can't get flash for it yet and it doesn't unzip some folders. It's definitely not a gaming OS by any means but I find it so in handy when I want to do this sort of stuff right from my couch. another drawback is that you can only use it if you have a 720p TV or higher. You have access to all the media drives on it though which is kind of cool for emailing photos, video, or just facebook use. It does not however use the full power of the processor and it can't take advantage of Blu Ray or Blue Tooth either. You got to switch back to the PS3 for that and if you need to view something in Flash. The coolest thing about it is that it's almost impossible to get a virus on it. Another cool thing with it is that you have what they call Gaim on it. This allows you to use your msn, Yahoo, ICQ, etc messengers. It's very easy to use and you have almost all the bells and whistles that you get with live messenger except of course you cant get a virus ex: one of my friends had a virus that sent you this link as soon as they logged in and they told me after I had opened the link that it's a virus and not too open it but of course it was too late and Linux of course is still running fine. Going back and forth between PS3 and the other OS is very quick and easy. It's like starting a computer. There is also another version of Linux called Fedora Core 5 which has much better compatibility then Yellow Dog and is used on regular computers more as well but I couldn't get it to work and it bothers me because I've seen it done. You can get both for free again just by digging through a few forums or even just going through Linux for the Yellow Dog version which they offer as a free download. To sum it up, the PS3 is an unbelievable home entertainment package and with sony actually listening to what we have to say, they are coming out with free awesome firmware updates to improve the system even more and they've got much more of them then the Wii and 360 put together. It can do everything that the 360 can but better and much more. As far as Playstation Home goes, I personally am not part of the bata trial so I don't know how it works but I have looked it up and it's due for release this fall. I think the concept is cool, just don't want it to end up like a geek central. It can't really be compared to the Wii since that's a console all by itself but never the less a fun machine as well. If anyone's debating which on to go for the decision should just be that much easier to make now. I apologies if I missed something important and let me know if you catch it. The same goes for the grammar or spelling errors since it is 3am here.

Personal Rating out of 10:

1.)PS3 *********
2.)Wii ******
3.)360 *****

[monark @ Aug 25th 2007 5:48PM]

Mercury Computers is a triple A company building Medical and Research Computer equipment. Every Hospital and Research Facility has at least something made by them. Their Units can cost ten of thousands of dollars ($70-80,000.00) and are based on IBM Cell Blade Servers.

What they did here is a very noble deed. They adapted their own SDK development libraries with Yellow Dog Linux, to be used on the PS3 Hardware so that almost anyone can be capable of developing programs that can run on a PS3. They can be used in the Medical field and life simulation research anywhere in the world at a fraction of the cost of buying their own equipment. It opens a door to even more PS3 sales. Maybe not to gamers, but a whole new untapped market in the medical field!

The power of the Cell BE processor in conjunction with Yellow Dog Linux on the PS3, now has another way to bring more bang for the buck than any single piece of computing or gaming hardware in the World. For Universities and small labs this will a boon in helping save life's in the World tomorrow!