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View Full Version : Linux on PS3 = great home media computer??



aleska
October 18th, 2006, 06:45 PM
I'm trying to get my mind around the implications of Yellow Dog Linux's announcement that it will run on Sony PS3. I've been interested in either buying or building a home media pc to attach to my HD big screen TV to play all the videos, etc. stored on our home network. I had been considering buying a small form factor pc and running Ubuntu for this (system76 sells one called the koala mini already loaded with ubuntu, starting at $599). But this Yellow Dog Linux news has me wondering whether the $600 price point for the PS3, which I initially thought was ludicrous for a gaming console, might be worthwhile if it provides me with the media pc I was hoping for as well.
BTW - obviously I know the PS3 doesn't have TV input and recording capabilities; that's not what I'm worried about, its the ability to play any and all the media stored on my network that I'm concerned about.
From this perspective, would that make the PS3 a worthwhile purchase as a combo gaming system, and linux powered "media pc"?
Curious as to what people think, and or if I'm misunderstanding what the YDL announcement really means in terms of PS3's capabilties as a pc.
Thanks!

dca
October 18th, 2006, 06:59 PM
Neat Groo avatar... Haven't seen him in a while...

If you're going for a kind of DVR dealie, I, too was toying around with the idea. However, my objectives are all based on price. I have a DVR system through the cable provider, the problem, it's severely crippled. SATA out disabled, USB out disabled, the only thing that works are the RCA outs... Now back to the topic. I'm leaning towards buying a barebone either 'Shuttle' cube PC or 'xCube' barebone system from BestBuy. I have all the spare toys & parts (ie: 180GB internal HDD, 512 - 1024 MB RAM, etc) except for the TV tuner which was the big thing based on compatibility w/ the distro I choose (probably KnoppMyth based on MythTV & Knoppix) to run on it...

aleska
October 18th, 2006, 08:10 PM
Thanks re: Groo. My next choice would have been crazy mel ;)

I'm not really going for the DVR concept, still have two series2 tivos for that (although I hate that I can't play my network videos through tivo).

I'm thinking along the lines of using the PS3 like a xbox-linux pc. I would play console games, DVDs, and all media files on my network, and maybe even use it for web browsing, etc. etc.

Anyway, does anyone know enough about how linux would run on the PS3 to form a reasonably educated guess on whether YDL on PS3 would make it a great home media pc?