OT- Games, gamers, and gaming machines

[Al Gordon]

On 12/2/05, ulrich steffens <ulrich at barfuss-jerusalem.org> wrote:
> Am Freitag, den 02.12.2005, 10:09 -0500 schrieb Al Gordon:
> > On 12/2/05, ulrich steffens <ulrich at barfuss-jerusalem.org> wrote:
> > > though there is not much info about the ps3 to find, sony said you could
> > > upgrade the ps3 with a harddisk and this hdd would have linux on it.
> > > so a ps3 with keyboard, mouse AND linux could be a nice alternative to a
> > > pc, i think. but lets wait and see whats actually gonna happen.
> >
> > Since we're being off-topic and all:  I don't think I'm going to buy
> > anything from Sony again, after their recent spyware fiasco.  The PS3
> > might have Linux under the hood, or a magic genie - it'd make no
> > difference to me.
> >
> > Now, stepping off of *that* particular soap box -- why whould it
> > matter that it runs Linux?  It's an appliance - it's designed for
> > gaming, not for word processing or to be a file server.  And, if it's
> > going to be plugged into a TV instead of a computer monitor, it's
> > going to be crap as a PC, unless you like working at incredibly low
> > screen resolutions.
> >
> > (Apologies in advance if my tone seems adversarial - I don't really mean it to.)
> >
> > --
> >
> >   -- AL --
> >
> hi al,
> no problem at all :)
> i also read about that spywarethingy which was really surprising to see
> how reckless the industry is. (hope this sentence makes any sense :)
> BUT the interesting part of the ps3 is that sony states it wont be just
> a gaming console rather than a multimedia/whatever console. so if they
> choose linux to run on it, i think they can't do any mumbo jumbo to
> linux because of the license. and as i said, a console thats loaded with
> such specs (cell processors and all) this _might_ be an interesting
> option. cause if they provide linux for it, i believe they also must
> release their sources, so i think an ubuntu compiled for a ps3 wouldn't
> be just daydreaming. or am i completely wrong in this?
>
> ulrich

If they provide a Linux for it, then technically it may not be so
difficult to use the machine as a PC.  But again, I don't see why
someone would do that when you can get a Dell (or whatever) including
flat screen, that's perfect for running Linux for easily under $500.

The other aspect of it is non-technical, and more a matter of
principle.  It's not a matter of whether or not I think they could
repeat their antics on this particular platform, but rather, why
should I trust the company that's done this kind of thing in the past
to do the right thing in the future?  (That really sounds like it
could lead into a WAY off-topic discussion, so take it as rhetorical,
I guess.)

--

  -- AL --