9
Ubuntu On Your PS3 – Ready Made Games Emulation!
Category: How To, PS3
Earlier in the year, the guys at Gizmodo put together a fantastic guide to get your PS3 running Ubuntu. With the release of the new Slim model and inevitable rush to dust off our old consoles, it is a good time to revisit the article. In the words of John Mahoney….
It still kind of surprises me (in a good way) that Sony was, from the start, very OK with PS3 owners tinkering with Linux on their PS3s. A modified release of Yellow Dog Linux is available and some very handy hard drive partitioning and dual-boot utilities are baked right into the PS3′s XMB;
There is a flipside to this coin, however. Since the PS3′s Cell Processor is PowerPC based, you won’t be able to use any Linux software that’s compiled for x86, which is, unfortunately, most of it. However, Ubuntu has always had a PPC distro, and most of the basic stuff will work just fine. You can even load up a PPC-compiled Super Nintendo Emulator, SNES9X, and play some classic games pretty easily on your Sixaxis controller paired via Bluetooth. Also, doing web browsing and other basic computing is a lot more natural and elegant on Ubuntu running on your TV than in the PS3′s somewhat gimped browser.
Another downside is performance—the PS3 obviously has a lot of hardware muscle, but there are no Linux drivers to take full advantage of the Cell processor’s multi-core architecture, or the PS3′s hardware graphics acceleration. Plus, Ubuntu can only see and use 221.7 MB of the PS3′s 512MB of RAM for some reason. So it won’t be a speed demon (and you won’t be able to play HD videos or anything), but it’s definitely functional for the basics.
And, even over two years into the PS3′s life, doing all of this still requires a fair amount of Linux geek forum sifting, which I have humbly take upon myself to do so you don’t have to. And believe me, you don’t.
To get started, read the full article at Gizmodo
Related posts:
Ubuntu is nice and friendly and all, but the YDL distro is far superior in terms on getting the most out of the hardware. It’s supported by Fixstars who are experts on using the CBE and it’s using both the 256MB banks for RAM. So it’s faster and well sued for the console.
Yet, the horror…
A nice piece but bringing the Slim into the equation in the introduction is a little off the mark, since the new PS3 Slim doesn’t allow Linux to be installed…
http://www.ps3attitude.com/new/2009/09/why-ps3-slim-owners-cannot-use-linux/
.-= DolphGB´s last blog ..SplitFish SplitFest; Dual SFX Evolution hands-on and FragFX v2 review =-.
There is no Linux on the slim. The option to install an alternative OS was removed.
Thanks for correcting me, there is still plenty to look at for PS3 owners dusting off their original PS3′s.
It always make me wonder why people want to emulate old games. They may have been amazing at the time but best leave them to nostalga. They wont be the same 10 years later, with advances in technology!