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    Ubuntu 9.04 on a PS3??

    Discussion in 'Linux Compatibility and Software' started by v1k1ng1001, Jul 21, 2009.

  1. v1k1ng1001

    v1k1ng1001 Notebook Deity

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    Ladies and Gentlemen of NBR forums,

    I'm thinking about pulling the trigger on a PS3. I know that people have been running Linux on their consoles for a while, but I was wondering what the latest wisdom is. Basically I'd like to have a fully functioning OS that primarily handles media but would otherwise be capable of turning my entertainment system into a very large computer if necessary.

    Are any of you running Linux on your PS3? If so, what distribution are you running and why? What guides, tutorials, etc. did you find helpful.

    I've always been an ubuntu fan and would prefer to run some flavor of ubuntu on my PS3, but if there is a compelling reason to look at another distro, I'm all ears.
     
    v1k1ng1001, Jul 21, 2009
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  2. joeelmex

    joeelmex Notebook Evangelist

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    Well yellowdog Linux is the actual official distro for the ps3. If you google ubuntu on ps3 there are some versions of it. I tried it but it's very slow and not efficient for day to day use. Sony handicapped the processor and 3d gpu for the ps3. There is no 3d hardware for it and only thing you can play on it are 2d games on it. Overall i just removed it from the ps3.
     
    joeelmex, Jul 22, 2009
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  3. Ayle

    Ayle Trailblazer

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    It's not really the cpu or gpu's fault. The ps3 only has 256mb of ram which is the bare minimum you need to have to run ubuntu...
     
    Ayle, Jul 22, 2009
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  4. xedi

    xedi Notebook Guru

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    No, RAM is not the problem (remember that it is very fast RAM), Sony restricts the gpu usage for third party OS, however playing Monkey Island 1 on a big lcd tv is possible and kinda funny...

    I tried YDL, however Ubuntu, especially after 8.10, suits me far better, because of the comfortable packet managment. Many things work nowadays out of the box, however you might will still have issues configuring WLAN.

    To be honest, though, I use Linux on the PS3 just to play around, it is not a well desktop replacement, it is just too much hassle to find PowerPC software.

    BTW you'll find many helpful tutorials here for ubuntu: http://psubuntu.com/
     
    xedi, Jul 22, 2009
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  5. Pitabred

    Pitabred Linux geek con rat flail!

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    Linux on the PS3 is really only useful if you wanna play around with programming/using the Cell chip. Other than that, it's really not much use.
     
    Pitabred, Jul 22, 2009
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  6. v1k1ng1001

    v1k1ng1001 Notebook Deity

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    Ok, interesting. Thanks for the responses.

    I wonder how a distro like crunchbang would fair on the ps3?
     
    v1k1ng1001, Jul 22, 2009
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  7. mr_raider

    mr_raider Notebook Consultant

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    Doesn't the PS3 use an ARM processor and not x86?
     
    mr_raider, Jul 23, 2009
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  8. v1k1ng1001

    v1k1ng1001 Notebook Deity

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    no, i think it is a power pc architecture

    I've also read that the ps3 installs the OS into a virtual environment that restricts your access to 256 mb of ram. It seems like crunchbang might be the distro to run to maximize that ram usage but I wonder if it would work with wireless and such.

    Either way, my guess is that flash video is out of the question.
     
    v1k1ng1001, Jul 23, 2009
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