Well actually as PS3 is based on the Cell CPU it is reasonable to see a Linux version developed for it, as probably IBM has plans to put it into production of future pc/server systems as well....
they'll get tax relieve this way... and we might get a realy interesting system.... i wonder if users will be able to install and do whaterver they wish....
That's what i'm wondering too. The article is about Yellowdog Linux. Its not Sony-Linux, so i wonder how its supposed to boot/install on the PS3. I cant imagine it booting unsigned discs, and i cant really imagine Sony licensing a third-party to make bootabl/installable OS discs either.
reading the article gives the impression that the .iso u download to install linux on PS3 is freely available online.
I''ll be suprised if Sony will let you run code. I think everyone is assuming you can because Sony has stated "It's a computar!!!11". So, i'll make my predictions now. 1)The end user will never 'see' the Linux running the PS3. All we'll ever see is the XMB menu, and linux will be doing its own thing in the background, unseen by mortals. 2) Yellow Dog Linux, etc, will probably only run on development / debug PlayStation 3's and not consumer hardware. 3) Sony may release a 'consumer' PS3 Linux kit like they did on the PS2, but it will likely be crippled the same way the PS2 Linux Kit was (ie, no direct hardware access, everything is hidden behind 'wrappers', poor support from Sony, etc). 4) To reiterate, I do not believe the end user will be given the ability to code the thing.
I have not yet seen PS3 hardware, but my impression was that it also uses the hypervisor technology, which is also used to protect the xbox360 stuff and virtual machines inside "POWER"-servers. If they trust this cage enough (and the xbox360 pretty much proves that it works, though this is a bit simplified), they can let us run linux. Just not gain total hardware access. It seems quite normal for today's consoles to not let the programmer get full hardware access. So why don't go one step further and allow the enduser to get limited hardware access? If they do it good, it will work. If they fail implementing it properly, it will fail. It's like having a remote shell on some big server. Can you become root? Not automatically. And hardware attacks are pretty much ruled out by today's technologies like encryption. (Which does not mean that it isn't risky. The smallest implementation error will render it hacked.)
