PlayStation 2 Linux Kit Reduced To $99 41
SyniK writes "After buying a PS2 Network Adapter 2 days ago and trying some unofficial media players, turns out I'll be getting a second adapter because the PlayStation 2 Linux kit is now $99 - half of its former price. The kits, which include an internal 40 GB hard drive, a Network Adapter, a monitor cable, a USB keyboard and Linux on 2 DVD-ROMs, are now 'slightly limited edition' as they will not be replenished in the future."
If they're discontinuing these... (Score:4, Interesting)
I wonder if Sony would mind enough not to DMCA them into oblivion?
Re:If they're discontinuing these... (Score:2, Interesting)
some ps2 hacker please correct me, but other than that, I think it would be pretty easy to put together a free linuxPS2 kit, now with xRhino about?
In light of FFXI... (Score:2)
Re:In light of FFXI... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:In light of FFXI... (Score:2)
Re:In light of FFXI... (Score:5, Informative)
Here's the link to the PS2 Linux FAQ discussing the HD and other games: PS2 Linux FAQ [playstation2-linux.com]
IMHO, I think the HD will work for FFXI, but either PS2 Linux or FFXI at a time (requiring a format in between). Will we ever see FFXI without a harddrive? I dunno.
A Real Solution? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:A Real Solution? (Score:5, Informative)
As far as 'full support' goes, i'm not quite sure what you mean, or really how to answer what i think you mean. The graphics chips are about as fully supported as they can get, but the thing about PS2 Linux is that everything runs on top of Sony's run-time environment. That is to say, you can't program an actual game using Linux that runs on the PS2. You can program a game that runs on Linux, which runs on top of the RTE, which runs on the PS2. Other than that, though, it's pretty much open to whatever.
That said, i think i wish i'd waited for the price to drop. I haven't really done much of anything with my Linux kit. In fact, the part i love the most about it is the mouse and keyboard. Best mouse and keyboard ever. <3
Re:A Real Solution? (Score:2, Insightful)
As an somewhat ironic aside, Since the keyboard that came with my ps2 linux kit is the only usb keyboard I have available, I use it as the input devices for my xbox running linux. now I need to get a Gamecube LCD hooked up to make the set complete
Re:A Real Solution? (Score:2)
Re:A Real Solution? (Score:2)
Re:A Real Solution? (Score:4, Informative)
It takes some memory card space and installs itself to the included harddrive. Other than that, it doesn't change the PS2 at all.
A supercomputing solution (Score:1)
Re:A Real Solution? (Score:1)
Go get it (Score:5, Informative)
It comes with a mouse (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm the sucker who bought it for $200 when i came out a long time ago.
It's pretty cool, but the Ps2 only has 32MB ram so it sucks as a desktop. You could use it to check your emails on tv, but you would have to swap the video cable and the memory card (which acts as a boot disk) to play a game on it.
I honestly haven't touched it since i got it, it provided a week of entertainment.
Re:It comes with a mouse (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:It comes with a mouse (Score:2, Informative)
You mean 32 megs of main ram. It has 40 megs total, including VRAM, SPU, and IOP memory.
Re:It comes with a mouse (Score:2)
This is not the case. You can run Linux in PAL or NTSC mode using a normal (I use S-Video) cable. Also, you don't need to swap the memory card, just put another one in the second slot. Actually, after Linux is installed there's still room on the card for savegames, it's just that they all get erased during the initial install.
I don't play (commericial) games on my PS2 anymore. It's either my
Is this a US only deal? (Score:2)
Re:Is this a US only deal? (Score:2)
Re:$0.02 from an AC (Score:5, Interesting)
Can it help you get into the games market? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Can it help you get into the games market? (Score:1)
Besides, there's much more to gaming than knowing how to tweak a shader on any particular chip. Do some stuff in DX9 that looks good (team up with an artist friend if you need to), and submit it all over the place with your CV that
Re:Can it help you get into the games market? (Score:2)
One other question, do game companies use the linux kit to make games? Or does the PS2 have a seperate dev kit?
Re:Can it help you get into the games market? (Score:2, Interesting)
If you were being hired for a PS2 project now you're unlikely to be the guy that writes the machine specific bits.
real PS2 dev kit (Score:2)
Re:Can it help you get into the games market? (Score:4, Informative)
You can't create CDs which run in an ordinary PS2, so I think that you can only run games on PS2s which also have the dev kit. But in terms of the code you are writing, I think it is comparable. You should be aware that is is very difficult to get the best out of the PS2 architecture. My feeling is that if you want to impress a would-be employer you should write a complete game using some simpler tools, for example SDL.
Re:hard drive (Score:2)
Love the Linux kit (Score:2, Interesting)
linux harddrive wont work on FF11 (Score:3, Informative)
vga cable (Score:1)
Re:vga cable (Score:1)
Re:vga cable (Score:1)
If you've ever owned a Dreamcast and have used the Dreamcast VGA cable to play on your monitor, it was significantly better than on TV in video quality despite only being able to display 640x480 resolution. Unfortunately, not all DC games supported this "high" VGA resolution; usually, only the older games lacked VGA support.
But going back to the grandparent post, here's the answer [playstation2-linux.com] which is listed in t
And, once again, Sony discriminates Europe. (Score:2, Insightful)
So why does the Linux kit cost double in Europe? According to the latest charts, there are more PS2s in Europe than in the USA (remember that, for Sony, Europe includes non-Japan Asia and Africa), yet games are always released later here. Sometimes they are released six months later, and sometimes they are