At this point, the only thing the PS3 would have going for it is the inclusion of Linux. The console looks to be perpetually late and immensely expensive as well.

Ever since the announcement of the PlayStation 3’s November release date, the Internet has been abuzz with discussion over the promise of Ken Kutaragi’s brief mention of Linux. However, as Kutaragi has been known to make statements that were subsequently changed (for example, in 2005, he said that the hard drive for the PS3 would be optional) many people held off on assuming that their shiny new PS3 would come prepackaged with Penguin goodness.

Now, more recent comments at E3 by SCE network system development manager Izumi Kawanishi suggest that each new PS3 will likely come not only with Linux preinstalled, but also a compiler and a set of development tools. If this is true, the PS3 might become the system of choice for Linux enthusiasts and homebrew developers.

But how much of the PS3’s architecture will be accessible under Linux? Certainly anything to do with Digital Rights Management (DRM) or playing burned copies of protected games will be locked out. It’s also possible that Sony will reserve some of the more advanced graphics and sound features for the big-name PS3 game developers. However, this doesn’t mean that Linux on the PS3 will be no different from running it on any generic PC or Macintosh. IBM has made sure of that….. Source: Ars Technica

[tags]power,linux,drm,penguin,ps3,enthusiasts[/tags]