PS3 and Linux

[Strongbow]

I've just read that Sony will be releasing a product called "LinuxWorld" for the PS3 that obviously gives you Linux to play with and allows you to develop your own programs.

Let's see how long it takes for someone to simply port over BOINC to it! ...would be interesting to see how well the Cell processor benchmarks against x64 processors!

[NeoGen]

Nice! The 7... (or is it 9? not sure anymore) cores that the Cell has should make quite a damage. :)

[Electabots]

Nice! I was hoping they would continue to do this, they did the same thing for the ps2. Google it for details :P

[AMD-USR_JL]

The PS3's Cell processor has 1 64-bit PPC core @ 3.2Ghz and it kind of tells the other 7 SPEs what to do. In 32-bit it has an estimated 256GFLOPS if all resources are used. If just the SPEs are used it something like 218. The bad thing is it isn't IEEE747 compliant in 32-bit, but recently akosf said he can make an app in single precision so we can use the PS3 for Einstein.

Can you imagine getting 256GFLOPS for $500 US? Thats freakin awesome dude, i can't wait till Christmas. It also has an exclusive Blu-Ray drive and it has a wireless network card built in. Of course it can hook up to a tv, so you don't need to buy a monitor. Again, you get all that for $500 US. Oh yea and an 80GB hdd.

[AMD-USR_JL]

I forgot to mention that its GPU can crunch at 1.8TERAFLOPS. It will be pure SwEEtNeSS when we can use our GPUs to crunch.

I found a site that sums it all up (http://ps3land.com/article-356.php).

[gamer007]

Looks great. I love the technical specs about it. But the only thing is the price and what happens if Blu-Ray loses the format war.

I do want a PS3, just that it's too pricey.

But I would love to run BOINC on that machine. :twisted:

[AMD-USR_JL]

2.18 Teraflops for $500 is too pricey? Sounds like a great deal since my $1800 dually only does 3.5Gigaflops. I do think that Blu-ray will win the format war. Its the better format, not by a litte like betamax/vhs, but by a lot like 25GB vs 50GB. Its gonna be in every ps3 too, so that's gonna give it a huge customer base. M$ doesn't have the HD-DVD drive in every 360 right now, its an add-on, i think a $150 add-on. I was an Xbox fan though, but the PS3 is such an awesome machine that i just can't resist.

[gamer007]

When I look at it as a game console point it's pricey compared to the Wii and X360. But in a technical standpoint it looks cheap. So far, the only game I want for the PS3 if I get one is Metal Gear Solid 4. One thing I would like to see is games taking the Cell processor to it's fullest. :) But it's not just games, it's a next-gen multimedia system with a blu-ray player (It's also a lot cheaper here in Canada, 13k for a blu-ray player).

But if somehow they port BOINC to linux on the PS3..... you know the rest. :twisted: All that power immensed into a small chip.

I don't really care about who wins at the moment since I don't have a HDTV. But if I were to choose, I'll go with blu-ray as well.

[Electabots]

A blu-ray burner was released today for computers @ $999.00 http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2148778&CatId=4
And the media isn't cheap either http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2149651&CatId=2305
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2149652&CatId=2305

Not very cheap >.> Oh and even if blu-ray loses the format war blu-way might just become playstation 3 specific media. It would help with copy protection and all that good stuff

[gamer007]

Sweet jesus.. Price: $1269.99 Canadian! Almost the price of a blu-ray player for the TV.
And I don't think I want to pay almost a dollar a gigabyte.

Were DVDs this pricey when it 1st came out? I'm too young to remember. :P