Next PS3 Firmware To Disable Linux Installs

Why they supported Linux in the first place if they never really cared about it? Just to remove the feature later? What is the point?
 
It's hackers thing doing this kind of stuff, always happened, and I'm impressed how they didn't realized it by the time of developing the plataform.
 
When launched they really thought it will just do everything, now it barely stands gaming.
 
I have a PS3 Slim and this will not affect me, but as an enthusiast of Linux I'm really caring about the bad impact of this, and really stunned about big enterprises taking dumb steps.

" Riiighhht..... April 1st... Why does that date rings a bell to me? Ohhhhh right. "

" The fake outrage, is funny. The majority of people who have a PS3 do not use Linux install. Its good that Sony may focus on games again. "

Not that I ever actually put Linux on my PS3, but I always liked being able to say that I could. Argh. I hate it when features are taken away from people. Maybe it's just an April Fools' joke...

I get it, they've got to make decisons for the bell curve.  
  
There just aren't enough people out there who are ever going to use this for the crazy home brew stuff that it's worth letting people open the system to piracy.  
 
Also, dear pirates,  
 Go to the nearest available fire and die in it.  

Who gives a fuck about Linux!? If you want that type of crap go play PC or MAc

I never installed Linux so I don't care.

I never used this function, so it's no loss to me but I get the feeling that the worst aspects of XBL are being adopted and integrated into Sony's platform.  I wouldn't be too surprised if they completely closed it off to modification and went "pay".

The only people who care about installing linux are also the people that are tech savy enough to bypass this system update.  I'm sure those people aren't too happy with Sony's decision, but if it's a backdoor way to piracy I can understand the move.  Doesn't bother me, as I don't really care for Linux or anything other than Windows (because I love to play games on a PC).

Blame people like "George Hotz" for this.

To the people saying this is an April Fools. It isn't, noone cares about linux on the ps3 and the people who do probably don't have the social skills to recognise a joke. Also a company would never have an April fools joke that was about them removing a feature from their system no matter how small and trivial it is.

" Does anybody actually use Linux on the PS3? Seems weird they claim its for a security concern,  "

Meh.

I installed it and played around with it.  Its a cool feature that never got realized.  Its bs that they are taking that out now. If just for the fact that i have to reformat my hd ALL over again

this is what i wrote at the Playstation blog where the nerd rage is going full force.  
 
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2010/03/28/ps3-firmware-v3-21-update/#comments

   "Sony has every right to protect their intellectual property how ever they see fit, and if that hacker dude wouldn’t of hacked the PS3 through the other OS feature they wouldn’t be disabling it.

Another thing who uses fucking Linux anyways? PC nerds, that’s who so if you want to use Linux use where it was meant to be used on a PC.

And no one is going to win a law suite in this matter because the EULA you answer yes too is i am sure iron clad in this department, Sony maintains the rights over their intellectual property and hardware.

Last but not least the people who are buying PS3’s today in the future PS4’s don’t give a crap about stuff like this.

So if you have to have a Linux distro running on something build a $300 PC download a copy of red hat and be happy."

 i had yellow dog linux installed for a good while. The desktop environment it came with was pretty snappy for the mundane tasks like using open office or emailing and IM, but sony never provided drivers for the RSX, so the UI was a little laggy when it came to opening a whole lot of windows at once or trying to stream high def video. I upgraded my hard drive to a 500 gig 7.2K seagate momentus so my install wwas wiped, but i was waiting for sony to provide the developmnet community with proper  drivers for the video subsystem. They never did. And now this. Assholes. 

This is a security breach in the making and Sony is just righting a wrong that they included in the original system. If you're going to bitch about them removing features, then you need to have actually used the feature. If you never did, then you can just go back to playing the games. Ya, those still work, they aren't removing them.

I think they removed it so that pirates will have a hard time craciking it, dunno.

>you'd be better off not upgrading when v3.21 hits on April 1

>when v3.21 hits on April 1

> hits on April 1

> April 1

Frankly I bought my PS3 as a piece of technology I use to watch Blu-Ray films and play video games. I did not buy it to install operating systems on to do things with that I can't comprehend the reason for. I mean why buy a PS3 and install an OS on it when arguably you'd be better off buying a cheaper computer and doing the same, surely?
 
Seems weird too my ignorant mind.

News like this bums me out simply because it's a sign of things to come. I'm sure the actual percentage of people who use Linux on the PS3 is small enough that this isn't affecting a huge number of people. However, that doesn't change the fact that going back and deliberately removing a feature just seems wrong, and this is especially true when this was something of a selling point when the system was released. If Sony wasn't going to stand by the use of Linux then they shouldn't have made it an option in the first place.

" Read that a few hours ago, I think it's just stupid that sony would do something like this. I have a 60gb ps3, and wouldn't put linux on it, but why take away functionality for people who are considering doing so. "

also, what's up with all these comments? 
 

Oh yeah Sony? Why don't you also include something easy to implement, like cross game chat?! I've been waiting FOREVER and it's bugging the hell out of me that we STILL don't have it. 
 
You're quick to disable shit though.

If people were using it to hack the system then removing it is a good idea as it's not really that purposeful anyway.

Yes I used Ubuntu linux on the PS3, and as a result of this announcement, have decided to take my PS3 off the PSN network.  The only regret I have is that I didn't do it earlier, because ever since the 3.0 firmware update the machine is a lot noisier.  I hope this hack leads to the ability to roll the firmware back to 2.8, because otherwise I'm worried my phat PS3 is going to blow up any day now.     
 
Also this has nothing to do with piracy, no-one is even close to running games off of an iso.  I hope they are pressed for a lawsuit for this, because they are disabling features that they used to advertise as part of their product.

The ability to install Linux onto a PS3 is a major factor in the wider hacking community not taking better aim at the PS3 in regards to running unsigned code. There never was nor will there ever be a truce between the two sides but this could very well be a call to arms for the more talented of hacking individuals.
 
I fully expect this to be a lightning rod for any black/gray hat interested in such things.

This is a bullshit feature that Sony shouldn't have put in there in the first place. Any fucking idiot could have seen that it will be a security risk. Such an insignificent portion of the userbase would ever use this and those that do probebly would have found another way to do the same things the Linux install made possible.
 
I couldn't really care less if they dissable it or not since all I use my PS3 for is games and blu-ray movies. I dont need computer like funktions on my PS3 because you know what? I use my PC for that, and its connected to my HDTV.

This is shit. You know, I sort of hate that Sony and Microsoft can actually take features away from you. If you bought a PS3, thinking it can run Linux, then you should not have this ability removed.

April Fools....

Never used it, don't care. I will update on Thursday just like with every other update. meh to the haters

 I used it for about half a year while my PC was suffering from a catastrophic hardware kaboom. It was nice to have the backup.

I don't use this feature anyway, never wound so i don't care. I run computer OS's on computers... game consoles are for games.

I really couldn't care less.  If I wanted to have Linux installed on something, I'd just install it on my PC.  I see absolutely zero reason to install a computer operating system on a video game console.

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuckk no even tho i wouldn't use it.

I use the linux partition as a snes emulator.

Meh sucks for those that use Linux on the PS3 but for me its no big deal.  By the way how many people actually use the other OS systems?  I am not knocking Linux, its just that Sony really isn't ostracizing many of its owners by doing this. Also if that is the way hackers and pirates can manipulate a PS3 it makes sense to tie up those loose ends, at least from a business stand point.

Tried it, but saw no point to it since it runs quite badly and I might as well just use my Ubuntu laptop to get my linux fix. The only reason in the first place I hooked up linux to the PS3 was to play Emulator games and get a good browser.
 
After that I bought I new PC, hooked it up to the HDTV and presto everything I want in the press of a button. I feels bad to have a function removed tho...

I'm curious how the organizations that bought a ton of PS3s for number crunching feel about this.

i dunno why they created an option to install computer-OS's on the PS3 in the first place.

The jump from 3.15 to 3.21 just to remove one feature seems a little too odd, even for sony.  It really seems like they are setting up an April Fools joke, but this is the kind of dick move that I could see them make.  Sony would do it, and honestly have no clue why people angry.

This feature will only be missed by a super-minority and is a legitimate security concern.  A good business decision by Sony.

Sony can no longer make claims that their gaming platform is being used as a science platform.  But that fact should be met with a simple who cares.  Both ATI and Nvidia's cards have been able to crank out more flops with a friendlier architecture for the last year or two.

" Sony can no longer make claims that their gaming platform is being used as a science platform.  "