How to Turn a PlayStation 3 Into a Linux PC

MahariBalzitch writes "Popular Mechanics shows step by step guide on how to install Ubuntu Linux on a PlayStation 3 and still keep the PS3 gaming functionality. Now I just need to get my hands on a PS3." Not bad specs for the price, either, since Blu-Ray players still aren't cheap. And though the article calls the procedure "somewhat complicated," it's a lot simpler than was installing Linux from floppies not so many years ago.

On what planet is this 'news'?

[iapetus (24050)]

This is a documented feature of the system and has been since day one. I installed Linux shortly after the UK launch, and it really isn't anything to write home about - no support for hardware accelerated 3D, and a processor that really isn't designed for general-purpose computing. Novelty value for a couple of minutes, sure, then back to gaming on the PS3 and Linuxing on a real PC.

Re:On what planet is this 'news'?

[Secret Rabbit (914973)]

You're right that this isn't news, but it actually does have a processor that is designed for general-purpose computing; it's called the PPU (64-bit PowerPC processor blah blah blah). There are 7 OTHER SPU's (6 available in Linux) that have been optimized for vector processing. *Those* aren't general-purpose. But, Linux doesn't even need to see those to work. It can just run on the PPU.

Re:On what planet is this 'news'?

[kestasjk (933987)]

I think he meant the processor isn't designed for general purpose computing like a 18-wheeler isn't designed for grocery shopping; you could do it but that's not what it's designed for so it's not the best idea

Re:On what planet is this 'news'?

[lord sibn (649162)]

The timing of this could not be more perfect. I work in a grocery store, which (unsurprisingly) is where I do all of my grocery shopping. I've been there for 5 years, but just yesterday, for the very first time ever, I got a ride to work (I normally walk).

Who gave me a ride? The guy driving the truck with all the stuff that I was going to unload and stock. He saw me on the sidewalk and pulled over.

Technically, I did not use an 18 wheeler for grocery shopping, but I *did* use one to go to the store once.

Re:On what planet is this 'news'?

[i_like_yogurt (1301449)]

You can grocery shop with an 18 wheeler just fine. You just have to put the tiny tires on.

Re:On what planet is this 'news'?

[robosmurf (33876)]

No, it really isn't.

The cell does have a PowerPC core in it, but it's not the same as the PowerPC that was used in Macs. It's considerably stripped down, and as such isn't that great for general-purpose computing.

I have been considering putting linux on my PS3, but only to tinker with the SPE cores. It's otherwise a really poor linux system.

Re:On what planet is this 'news'?

[bestinshow (985111)]

It's an in-order design, but it does have two threads and a full VMX128 vector processing unit.

This means it's probably about as powerful as a 3.2GHz Intel Atom CPU (maybe a bit stronger because it doesn't have that low-power design requirement) - therefore about as powerful as a 2 GHz Intel Dothan (+/- 25% depending on task and effectiveness of the threading capability), with stronger SIMD and 6 extra very powerful but limited co-processors.

Re:On what planet is this 'news'?

[by Anonymous Coward]

The news part of the article isn't so much that it's possible to install linux on a ps3, but that the how-to appeared in a relatively mainstream magazine. The sort of thing you might come across while waiting in a doctor's office. Never mind that a quick web search reveals the instructions - this is introducing the concepts to a wider audience who would otherwise never have even thought of the possibility, and might get some of them thinking.

And that is the news part.

It's News That It Works Now

[Doc Ruby (173196)]

What's "news" is that this isn't the release version of Linux on PS3 that you installed back then, and that now it actually works.

There is indeed now a X/MPlayer video driver [linux.yes.nu] that runs full 1080p HD right on the Cell CPU.

And I don't know why you think the Cell CPU "really isn't designed for general purpose computing". That Cell includes a 3.2GHz multithreaded PowerPC that runs all PPC distro Linux SW right out of the distro, as apt-get'able binaries. And there are drivers and apps that use the Cell's 200GFLOPS of onboard DSPs for real computing, like that driver to which I just linked. The Cell is being used by IBM as the CPU in its highest end workstations and blade servers, as well as some of the fastest supercomputers on the drawing board - all running Linux compatible with the one on the Cell.

Look, I understand that 2 years ago the PS3's initial Linux support was more of a novelty, when the PS3 itself had been rushed to market before even the HW was really ready. But the past 2 years has seen its Linux support pass the stage where it's just a "dancing poodle" to where it's more like a husky sleighdog or a border collie. And the reason is that interested people have helped upgrade its Linux support. Linux is open-source so that users can improve it. Which people have done. It still needs a lot of help, but mainly because its potential is so huge, with the onboard supercomputer and built-in WiFi/Bluetooth/Blu-Ray/HDMI/7.1-audio/Gb-ethernet, all for $500. And that chance for volunteers to continue to shape the platform is exciting news for a lot of people, many of whom are exactly the kinds of geeks who read Slashdot.

And I hear it plays games, too.

Re:It's News That It Works Now

[Ed Avis (5917)]

Bandying about GHz numbers and arguing about whether or not it's a real PowerPC processor doesn't get you anywhere. Let's see some results from the only benchmark that matters: the Linux kernel compile benchmark. (It can be accepted by all sides that the PS3 has some fairly monstrous floating point hardware, but sadly that doesn't speed up gcc.)

Actually

[Smeagel (682550)]

The SPU's can do integer math very fast, the problem is all software has to have SPU optimization (which is not trivial) written into it in order to utilize the SPU's. The odds of that happening to something like GCC is nonexistent...who cares enough to do that...nobody. But programs that are actually considered necessities to run fast (mplayer/mencoder, X11 driver) have already been ported and will run blazingly fast using the SPU's.

Re:On what planet is this 'news'?

[IsoRashi (556454)]

Also no access to built-in WiFi or Bluetooth hardware (VM doesn't export it)

Not true. Yellowdog has had wifi drivers in place for several months now, and I got wifi running on a Gentoo install on my PS3 as well. I haven't attempted it, but I've read that other people have accessed the bluetooth hardware as well and even gotten the PS3 controllers working in Linux. (Link [pabr.org], though I haven't tried it myself or even really read over it. ;))

Re:On what planet is this 'news'?

[philipgar (595691)]

It's actually a pretty smart way for Sony to prevent people from hacking the PS3. I'm sure part of this was at IBMs request, as IBM wants the CELL to be useful for other purposes than just gaming. By allowing Linux to easily run in a limited form, it means that people can play with the machine in Linux, but don't really have control over it. However, it also means fewer people are willing to spend the time required to hack the box and make a real linux media center machine out of it. I wouldn't doubt if this would already be available for the PS3, if not for the fact that it is so easy to get Linux installed on the device already.

As it stands, researchers already have access to play around with the Cell SPEs, and can do enough that there's no need to break it for their own needs. The general hobbyist who wants all the other stuff tend to not have the knowledge and resources to break in, and install linux, and thus no one has done it. Not a bad tradeoff, the research community gets to use the PS3 to play with Cell processors (helping IBMs goal of encouraging Cell development), and the hacking community has far fewer resources available to break the system, and less demand for it.

Phil

Re:On what planet is this 'news'?

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus (1223518)]

I think you have a good point there. Giving people an (actually pretty severely) crippled version of what they want right out of the gate does seem to have rather diminished the vehemence of some of the hackers(Though, it should be noted, there are some fighting the good fight and attempting to find holes in the VM). Sony has the right to design their hardware however they want; but the whole thing kinda creeps me out. I hope it doesn't become a model of what interacting with hardware in the future will look like. A big layer-o'-omnipotent-and-uninspectable-vender-binary running between you and the hardware at all times... It isn't a pleasant thought.

Re:

[Missing_dc (1074809)]

That it Microsoft's wet dream right there. Just look at the Zune and it's security model on the rockbox forums.

Re:On what planet is this 'news'?

[drinkypoo (153816)]

It's actually a pretty smart way for Sony to prevent people from hacking the PS3. I'm sure part of this was at IBMs request, as IBM wants the CELL to be useful for other purposes than just gaming.

I don't think so. I think it's all Sony. They just don't want you doing other things with their baby while you could be playing games, and buying games, and providing Sony with licensing revenue.

The PS3 is dramatically cheaper than any other Cell platform, so it's still interesting to "researchers", just not the ones at the best-funded and thus best-equipped universities. But out in the real world, without an ivory tower up one's ass, cheap supplies still spur private research.

The point is that the PS3 is an inherently limited platform and without graphics access it's just a strange-architecture PC with horribly slow graphics and 256MB RAM, which is just barely adequate for websurfing but which for example is really not enough to run OO.o smoothly, let alone Inkscape. Arguably the Xbox is more useful - neither the PS3 running Linux nor the Xbox will help anyone view HD video, but the XDK for the Xbox is running around and if you're willing to write or port Windows software you can put whatever you want on it... which is how we run XBMC.

Re:On what planet is this 'news'?

[by Anonymous Coward]

Informative? You've been modded +4 Informative at this point, but a fair chunk of what you say is outright wrong. To whit:
1) Wifi access is not only available but works out-of-the-box with Yellow Dog Linux
2) Bluetooth access works fine and with only a tiny amount of work the Sixaxis controllers work as Bluetooth joysticks, and get picked up and used for stuff like Dosbox (old two-player dos games with Sixaxis joysticks sitting on the couch with your 47" LCD, anyone?)
3) Full access to the six special coprocessors, only access to the RSX chip is restricted

It runs fine at 720p and I have had Age of Empires II running just fine via the wireless connection to a Win98 harddrive image loaded up with qemu.

It's great.

Re:

[Doc Ruby (173196)]

The Cell's SPUs are used as video accelerators by the X/MPlayer video driver [linux.yes.nu], while Linux and other apps run on the Cell's 3.2GHz PPC core without slowing for the video.

The WiFi, Bluetooth and all the other snappy onboard HW is also now running under Ubunuto.

You are judging the platform on its initial Linux support from 2 years ago, when the machine was released (rushed to market). Since then, the platform has come of age. It still needs testing and packaging help to be "grandma ready", but that's why geeks

Re:On what planet is this 'news'?

[Idimmu Xul (204345)]

Wait, does the PS3 have two main processing cores? Or are you counting the same core twice: once inside the VM, and once outside?

According to this [howstuffworks.com] the Playstation 3 has 1 3.2Ghz power pc core that manages 8 of the vector processors. Apparently only 7 of the vector processors are used, the 8th is redundant in case one fails?

Free Playstation 3, XBox 360 and Nintendo Wii [free-toys.co.uk]

Re:

[nschubach (922175)]

I think it's like how Hyperthreading CPUs are counted as two processors if I'm not mistaken. There is one core, but it's seen by the OS as a dual core. Again, I could be totally wrong on this as I haven't had Linux installed on my PS3 in over a year.

Re:On what planet is this 'news'?

[Ethan Allison (904983)]

So if you ported it yourself would that count as masturbation?

Re:

[Nasser (80677)]

Yes, you can play movies in VLC in Linux on the PS3.... as long as they are NOT High Definition. without 3d hardware acceleration and low ram, running Linux on the PS3 is painfully slow and sluggish. I tried to play the open source, open movie Elephant's Dream in HD with VLC on the PS3 and it barely ran. it was so choppy it was unwatchable.

I love linux and use it as my Primary Operating system, but I feel sorry for people trying out linux for the first time on the PS3 because its just frustrating. Not o

Re:On what planet is this 'news'?

[Doc Ruby (173196)]

There is an X/MPlayer video driver [linux.yes.nu] that plays 1080p HD video on the Cell's SPUs quite nicely, while the Cell's PPC core runs the Linux kernel without distraction.

To use PPC apps, you don't have to "compile them yourself". This is Ubuntu. All you do is apt-get install them from a source package.

Re:

[lucas teh geek (714343)]

are you aware of the linux and osx ports of xbmc that are underway? while they're not quite to the standard of xbmc on the xbox just yet, they've come a long way in the year they've been working on it. I think I'll be swapping my xbox for a much quieter linux pc with specs actually capable of playing back HD videos, just as soon as they get the tv and movie library modes working the way they do on the xbox.

Re:

[RiotingPacifist (1228016)]

1) XBMC does not play anything.
2) if VLC isn't playing something your not doing it right or try mplayer.
3) using that much caps for a completely pointless post makes you a retard.
4) being an 1337 XBOX gaming 14 y/o should take up enough of your time, if not spend more time using your 1337 halo skillz.
5) come back to slashdot when your balls drop.
6) if you choose to ignore 5 remember to remove your finger from the shift key sometimes.

Re:On what planet is this 'news'?

[nawcom (941663)]

Thank god I'm not the only one who finds spelling errors a complete turn off when fapping to dirty stories. That and un-needed product placement. I'm talking to you, Astroglide!

Re:On what planet is this 'news'?

[Doc Ruby (173196)]

Yes, the X/MPlayer video driver [linux.yes.nu] works now, playing 1080p HD video right out of the builtin HDMI port.

You might find yourself leaving your PC on just to play a game once in a while.

Re:On what planet is this 'news'?

[Bootarn (970788)]

Here at Uppsala University, Sweden, we have a PS3 that is currently computing molecular dynamics. I'd say the PS3 is not perfect for desktop computing, since most desktop software is poorly written in respect to parallelisation. It is, however, quite good for scientific applications which are designed to run on a cluster. (GROMACS for instance)

But, but...

[Facetious (710885)]

How do you get rootkits for it if it runs Ubuntu?

Re:But, but...

[wizardforce (1005805)]

compile them yourself I guess...

Re:But, but...

[rodgerd (402)]

Install Ubuntu's openssl build.

"Somewhat Complicated"

[cp.tar (871488)]

And though the article calls the procedure "somewhat complicated," it's a lot simpler than was installing Linux from floppies not so many years ago.

In some respects, it seems exactly like installing Linux from floppies.
In the olden days, you swapped the boot and root floppies; here you swap the hard drives, which indeed is somewhat complicated, as in "I wouldn't trust my grandmother to do it right" (not grandfather, though!).

As for the rest... OK, I am one of the few people in the universe who actually read documentation, but nevertheless... a page-long manual, illustrations included, makes the procedure somewhat complicated?
Indeed, Linux has come a long way if not being able to simply pop a CD and install on anything, incuding a toaster, makes the install procedure "somewhat complicated".

Re:"Somewhat Complicated"

[cp.tar (871488)]

Whoosh.

Ubuntu Installation Instructions

[by Anonymous Coward]

http://psubuntu.com/wiki/InstallationInstructions/

This is a good Ubuntu installation wiki for PS3.

PSUbuntu

[pegasustonans (589396)]

The PSUbuntu website is a good resource for anyone who wants to run Ubuntu on their PS3:

http://psubuntu.com/ [psubuntu.com]

Not Impressed

[INeededALogin (771371)]

Redhat on PS3 at release [slashdot.org]

Exactly what was accomplished here except writing an article about an obvious installation. Sony basically added support to the Linux kernel(their was a /. article on that too).

It ain't News for Nerds unless code or a soldering gun was required.

Not bad specs, with one exception:

[nobodyman (90587)]

You only have 256mb RAM. The other 256 is video RAM, and Sony prohibits direct access to it. Unfortunately that means no hardware accelerated graphics either. Kindof a shame, but I imagine it's still neat to play around with, and I doubt you'll find a cheaper Cell dev platform.

On the 360 side, hobbyist developers have a different set of trade-offs. You can write games C# using XNA Game Studio, 512mb shared memory, and even get hardware acceleration (some of the demos are quite impressive). On the flipside, there's a $100/year membership and fat chance of ever running linux (in any official capacity at least)

Re:Not bad specs, with one exception:

[frieko (855745)]

Actually with a bit of coaxing [xbox-scene.com] you can get Linux onto the 360.

It's kind of ironic (suspicious?) that you can pirate 360 games way easier then you can run homebrew/Linux on it.

PS3 Linux Media Center

[manekineko2 (1052430)]

One of my dreams as soon as the PS3 was released was to install Linux on it and turn it into a media center hub without any of the DRM restrictions of pre-packaged solutions.

I currently use an Xbox 1 with Xbox Media Center installed, but it's starting to get long in the tooth since it doesn't support HD resolutions.

Although the GPU is restricted from access when in Linux , the CPU on the PS3 is plenty strong still as I understand it. Is there a way to install Linux easily on a PS3 so that it can be an easy to use media center comparable to XBMC?

I've seen reference to the fact that such a thing is possible, but is there an ISO I can just burn or install and have it work? If not, why not?

Capt. Obvious day

[atari2600 (545988)]

Must be another CO day here. While we are at it, let me add my totally obvious comments. Instead of spending atleast 400-450$ on a PS3, you can build yourself a proper PC with components from newegg and download Ubuntu and install it for a superior Linux experience. What's that you say? You want a Blu-ray drive? Here's one that's not so expensive. [newegg.com]

You don't want a BDROM and you can't be bothered to put together a PC? Say hello to Zonbu and their line of line of cheaper [zonbu.com]machines [zonbu.com].

Zonbu not upto your taste? Perhaps Madtux [madtux.org] might help.

That was from 3mins of Googling - you get my drift. Linux on PS3 is almost as old as Linux on PS2 (one with HDD). Anyone remember Linux on xbox [xbox-linux.org]?

I am not sure who or what I should be insulting here - the selection of this story or Popular Mechanics. Oh and 129$ from newegg for a BDROM drive is cheap enough for me (HTPC and all) - Give it a couple of months and you will get sub 100$ BDROM drives and as any serious gamer knows, it's not the console price that will get ya - it's the games as they come out but I digress. Back to watching Monty Python on Hulu...

Some problems with the article and Ubuntu

[by Anonymous Coward]

If you follow the instructions at PM's website you should be aware that the command to return to the PS3's native OS is not as the article has it. The correct command is "boot-game-os". Several folks made comments to that effect but for some reason PM is acting as if the error is cast in concrete and can't be corrected.

Secondly, the wireless adapter isn't supported yet so if you want Internet, you'll need to run a cable to your PS3 or plan on doing some compiling to get wireless support. For those of you who are old hands at Linux, this may be no big deal but for someone like myself who hasn't used Linux, it's an opportunity to learn a lot of new things. It reminds me a lot of decades ago when I first read K&R's C.

one of the most energy inefficient "PC's"...

[marcushnk (90744)]

The PS3 is an absolute power hog...
http://www.choice.com.au/viewArticle.aspx?id=106346&catId=100245&tid=100008&p=5&title=Computers'+energy+costs [choice.com.au]

PSUbuntu.com

[Doc Ruby (173196)]

There is an entire community dedicated to running Ubuntu on a PS3, at PSUbuntu.com [psubuntu.com]. And you don't have to upgrade your HD from whatever size your PS3 came with, although of course it's easy and you can do it. The PS3 HW works right out of the box.

Right now is a good time to join the PSUbuntu.com community, because a new wave of developers on the ubuntu-cell [ubuntu.com] maillist have just joined, and are uniting with the users at PSUbuntu.com to test and smooth out the PS3/Ubuntu distro.

And there is also a fairly new X/MPlayer driver [linux.yes.nu] that will render full 1080p HD video on the PS3's Cell CPU, that also needs just a little testing and integration.

What I really want to see is a PS3 running Ubuntu using the PlayTV [wikipedia.org] PVR device that Sony is releasing this year. With Ubuntu running it, the PS3 could be quite the killer platform for all home entertainment.

And I hear it plays games, too.

Why Ubuntu? They dropped PPC support

[chriseh (220654)]

I don't get it. Ubuntu officially dropped PPC support last year. [ubuntu.com]

So, why would Popular Mechanics recommend Ubuntu when you could download Yellow Dog Linux [ydl.net] (for free as well from public mirrors [terrasoftsolutions.com]), which is developed by the company hired by Sony to develop linux for the PS3. This sounds somewhat odd.

Disclaimer: I work for Terra Soft Solutions [terrasoftsolutions.com], so I've clearly got a bias here.

Does it ?

[Kingston (1256054)]

Yes but does it run Li... Oh yes I see right, ah

Imagine a Beow.. Oh what, they have [engadget.com] er

First Post, yes, no, Ok I'm off then.

Re:LOLWUT

[brindleboar (1154019)]

"It's sad to see that this is what has become of PopMech." Oh come on now. What about that "How to Convert your Vacuum Cleaner into a Fully Automatic Rifle" article? That wasn't so bad was it?

Re:Blu-Ray Players not Cheap? WTF?

[by Anonymous Coward]

Dude, are you on crack?

1. There is only one sku for the ps3 currently, and it's only 399. There will be a new one soon for 100, but it's basically the same.

2. While you can use a bluray drive for reading bluray discs, you can't actually play movies with it, as per a couple of months ago, or at the very least, not without serious time investment converting the video.

3. Uncharted, Ratchet and Clank, Pixel Junkies Monsters, Warhawk, Folklore, Gran Turismo, Resistance: Fall of Man. All of these are exclusive to the PS3, all of these are highly rated, and there's most likely at least one game in this set that would appeal to you as a gamer, as this largely covers the spectrum of genres available today. AND I hadn't even mentioned Metal Gear, which comes out this month (IIRC).

It's clear that either you're (a. retarded or (b. simply bashing the PS3 because it's cool to do so. But guess what? It's not really cool to do so anymore because it's starting to become a solid system.

Re:

[TrancePhreak (576593)]

Or you could just, u know, play the PS1 games on your PS3. Pretty sure all models support PS1 through software. Whereas you may or may not get PS2 support.

Re:

[Doc Ruby (173196)]

There is an X/MPlayer video driver [linux.yes.nu] that runs 2D on the Cell's SPUs, while the Cell's PPC core runs Linux and regular Linux apps. It needs some more work, and 3D functions are yet to be added to the Cell SW. But although the PS3 GPU is indeed a 1.8TFLOPS nVidia chip, I'd say that the 204GFLOPS Cell is "where all the power is" now, and several times as fast as your PC.

BTW, the PS3 runs PS1 games under the Sony GameOS in SW emulation at full (or greater) speed, without using Linux.

Re:

[sqldr (838964)]

I've answered this before, but I'll do it again - I regularly have lunch with a tools programmer at Sony, and to dispel any rumours, Sony aren't against providing an opengl implementation to linux. I can't say too much, but there is work going on on this, but with no urgency and there are technical hurdles. Firstly, the PS3 doesn't come with opengl - the 3D api is called RSX. They won't be releasing this technology, and it wouldn't allow immediate compilation of 3D linux games anyway. An opengl implemen