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How To: Get Some Use From Your PS3

Author	Hugo Jobling
Published	20th Nov 2007

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The most important question to ask when you decide you want to join the open source community (we don't bite, honest) is which flavour of Linux you want to use. Personally I have a fair bit of experience running various distros (I'm down with the lingo) and got a couple of versions of Ubuntu and Fedora among others up and running. For the purposes of this article, I used the latest Ubuntu PS3 specific install available, simply because it offered a Live CD.

For those who don't know, a Live distro is a small, cut-down version of a Linux OS designed to fit on a CD and which contains everything needed to run the system without the requisite of being installed. The big advantage of this is that you can test everything without wasting time installing.

Anyway, installing Ubuntu is a relatively simple process if you don't want to boot to the live desktop. Once you burn the CD you downloaded simply shove it in the PS3, select Install Other OS from the menu and select whether you want to give 10GB to the new OS or the PS3 itself with the remaining space goes to the other. Personally I'd choose the latter because anything the PS3 system can do Linux can do better - honest.

You'll need a keyboard and preferably a mouse installed for the next step, which primarily involves following the GUI-assisted installer. The process is well documented on Sony's website so I wont bore you with the details, but within half an hour or so you'll be greeted with your shiny new Linux desktop and be ready to rock and roll, quite literally should you so wish.

By now you're probably wondering just what you can do in this strange new Open Source world, and rightly so. Well you could use your console as a mail server, or even a web server if you were so inclined; perhaps you want to run a Counter-Strike game server? You really can run just about any server you choose. If none of those options float your boat you could even boot up Firefox, or any web browser, and check out the latest news and reviews at TrustedReviews.

As long as you don't choose anything too graphically demanding you can even play a few games, a personal favourite is Open Arena, which is built on the now freely available Quake engine. Unfortunately despite the presence of an nVidia 7800 the RSX graphics chip, there isn't any way to offload video processing to it. Because the secondary OS actually runs under the control of the PS3 (technically a hypervisor OS for those interested), so as to govern what the user can do with the console, sacrifices have to be made. However, even with this in mind, the best is yet to come.

Having criticised Sony not two pages ago for the rather small supported codec list, I suppose I had to point out that by allowing Linux installs on the PS3, the company has gone some way towards mooting that complaint. Because of the fantastic community support for all popular Linux distros, if you can name a file format, there is a codec available for your OS of choice that can play it. There are many video and audio players available, but in my opinion the best of the bunch has to be VLC, partly I'll admit because its logo is a traffic cone - I love a good traffic cone.

So there you have it, the PlayStation 3 nine months after UK launch. In the same time as it takes to turn a few strands of DNA into a human being, has Sony managed to turn the PS3 into a decent purchase? Well yes and no, there are still some fundamental problems. Not least is the lack of stand-out titles and even greater lack of exclusives - I'm sorry but Ratchet and Clank is the only exception to that rule. When DivX support finally hits the console there will be yet another box ticked on the plus side, and as I've already said, the PlayStation Network is fantastic and when Home becomes available the social aspects could really take off. My advice? Wait until Q2 next year when Metal Gear Solid 4, GTA IV and Enchanted: Drakes Fortune have arrived and the price may well have dropped even further. Until then, you have to be prepared to put in a little effort in order for the purchase to be a worthwhile one. If I have one hope, it's that I can look back this time next year and say to Sony: yes, this is living!

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