Linux on PS2

[SolidSnake1298]

Dude Linux on PS2. The best OS on the best game system, SWEET!!! That makes PS2 twice as good.

[Merlin]

I can see plenty of uses for it :confused:

But that's because I'm a narrow-minded git who often only sees the other side of the coin if someone explains to me...

[DarkStar76]

Linux on PS2 does not make the system any 'better.' The PS2 is not anywhere near as powerful as a computer, and Linux will not run PS2 games w/o an emulator ... which we all know will slow down program execution, provided that one actually exists. So.... What does Linux on PS2 give you? Well, it gives you a very weak Linux box that can't connect to a TV and can't run PS2 games as well as the native PS2 OS.

If you ask me, Sony is a bit behind. The XBox runs a modified Win2K Kernel, and can output an HDTV signal. Besides which, the XBox runs DirectX software which means that PC games can simply be ported.

Somebody remind me again... What good in Linux on a PS2 without TV output and compatability with existing games??

...that's what I thought.

[SolidSnake1298]

How do you know it will make it worse, have you used it...NO! It may, but i doubt it. Sony wouldn't put linux on PS2 if they knew it would make it worse. It may make it even better and faster, which it should.

[Merlin]

Linux is less processor-intensive. Far less. The raw app speed could be similar. I dislike Microsoft because of their shabby operating systems of recent years, including this here WinMe( :mad: ).

[edit] stupid teh! changed it to 'the'.

[. - .... .- -. ....]

It's a hack, simple as that. Sure, it's cool to say that you can run linux on a PS2, but regarding how useful that is - it's not. It's simply a case of doing it just to se if it can be done, thats all.

[sub1zero]

Originally posted by SolidSnake1298
Dude Linux on PS2. The best OS on the best game system, SWEET!!! That makes PS2 twice as good.

heh, don't you mean the worst OS ;)

[Black_Night84]

Oh no is this the begining of an OS war? Well if it is Linux on PS2 would be great if, lets say, my PS2 was my webserver. I mean I love linux for serving and everything else. I run 3 servers and all of them are the newest version of red hat (well except the old crappy compaq server that runs Mandrake 6.1 but that's a long story and something I can just say that I did ^_^). But as for doing the other things that the user demands such as porting PC games to the PS2, surfing the web and typeing up things many users prefer the Windows OS. I can see why Sony won't use windows (it's their compedator duh!), and I beleve this is the test that will either put linux on the map in the User baised market or condem it forever to the complete geeks and nerds. I remeber IBM turning to Linux on their Notebooks but I never herd the follow up and it didn't really change the ammount of users that use linux. I wonder if IBM is still doing that... But yeah If linux rocks the house then I'll be happy to switch my main machine over but if it fails then I will be sad but still love my servers anyway. But as for Sony thoes peoples better not charge alot for what they got for free! If I said anything already said in ther article Im sorry but I have yet to read it ( = ( ) so ya that's my rant.

[jo873]

Originally posted by DarkStar76
Linux on PS2 does not make the system any 'better.' The PS2 is not anywhere near as powerful as a computer, and Linux will not run PS2 games w/o an emulator ... which we all know will slow down program execution, provided that one actually exists. So.... What does Linux on PS2 give you? Well, it gives you a very weak Linux box that can't connect to a TV and can't run PS2 games as well as the native PS2 OS.

If you ask me, Sony is a bit behind. The XBox runs a modified Win2K Kernel, and can output an HDTV signal. Besides which, the XBox runs DirectX software which means that PC games can simply be ported.

Somebody remind me again... What good in Linux on a PS2 without TV output and compatability with existing games??

...that's what I thought.

I think that Sony is not really trying to make the PS2 play games better. They are probably turning it into a PC by giving it some new capabilities. This will definitely benefit PS2 owners that have a slower outdated computer or no computer at all. Even though the Xbox is the fastest (for now at least until the PS3 comes out), the PS2 is still a very fast machine and would make a great PC. Games will probably still use Sony's OS and Linux will probably only be used to browse the net and run any other PC type applications. Remember how Windows CE and Sega's own OS both run on the Dreamcast? I've read that Microsoft doesn't intend to make the Xbox into a PC even though they easily could. But who knows, this Linux kit may change that.

[arashi]

jo873 got the point here. Not to run games, but for daily use.

RISC processors have plenty of raw power comparing to pc and mac MHz counts. SGI power-computers are still today using 400MHz RISC processors even as intel P4 has been overclocked pass the 3GHz limit. I'm not saying that PS2 is turning to be a super-computer, far from it, but if linux port is good, it'll run nice and smooth, giving those of PS2 users that have no computer, a good one. Not for playing games, but for surfing the net, reading e-mail, using office software and running multimedia. And as the PS2 Linux as delivered on TWO DVD's, i'm sure it's nice and complete package.

Only thig is that this package is going to be pretty expensive. 199$ for the Linux kit (tho it includes 40GB HDD, 100 Base T Ethernet, keyboard and mouse) and on top of that, a pc monitor. That triples the price of your PS2...

[sub1zero]

I first thought this would be a good thing cause you could probly turn your ps2 into a UT server or quake server but then i thought the ps2 doesn't have the power for that stuff and maybe doesn't have the power for a file-server eithir

any thoughts?

[Merlin]

No, none. Except that the PS2's 295MHz processor uses RISC technology, unlike the CISC-based Intel processor in the other console. This means it is, in real terms, potentially a faster/more powerful machine than it first appears.

This could mean it is ideal for Quake, once compatibility has been sorted.