PS3 Linux Official

When one looks at the PlayStation 3, it becomes very difficult to justify the machine's price if you look at it as a gaming machine. But if you look at it as a cheap computer, things become a little easier to comprehend. If you get the urge to grab a PS3 for use as a computer as well as a console, AND you happen to like Linux, you're in luck. Yellow Dog Linux 5.0, the latest version of the popular PowerPC-based distribution, has announced the availability of a PS3 edition of their distribution, just in time to see the first 500,000 users receive their consoles.

The distribution is based on Fedora Core, with YDL 5.0 taking its cues from Fedora Core 5. The package includes:

  • Linux 2.6.16
  • GCC 3.4.4
  • Cell SDK 1.1
  • OpenOffice.org 2.0.2
  • Mozilla Firefox/Thunderbird 1.5
  • YDL is also designed to accommodate both new and power users, with both a single-click install and a more in-depth advanced install. So if you're lucky enough to have gotten a hold of the PS3, and you want to make the world's shiniest personal computer, now you can. Just don't tell Microsoft.

    [via IGN]