check this out...

"PLAYSTATION®3 allows any desired third-party system software to be installed on it besides its system software provided by Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Details will be posted on this site soon."

from http://www.playstation.com/ps3-openplatform/index.html


and Change the ps3 harddrive

http://www.maxconsole.net/?mode=news&newsid=11728


from maxconsole.net

Well, we already knew about the the install OS and HDD upgradeability. Right know the only option I am aware of is Yellow Dog Linux, we'll see how it pans out, but looks promising.

http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=562056

Wow, so all this stuff the PS3 can do out of the box defeats the whole purpose of having a modchip.

And with being able to remove HDD that means youll be able to take your HDD and play the saves from it on another friends PS3. Kool!

That's exactly what Sony was trying to avoid. If they gave linux to the hombrew community they, the community, no longer need to mess with trying to hack the console to run their software. You'll still have people trying to hack the security features to play backups, but not nearly as many if linux can be run from the get go.

Twisted had a nice long post on it in another thread.

well for me the point of having a modchip is for homebrew only, i'm a big fan of the xbox(1) BUT i bought it 'cause i knew back then of xbmc + customizable hdd... i think i'll wait a bit longer to see which console to buy... knowing this the ps3 is promising a lot ...

And the other angle...
-PS3 costs $4-500 less than most other BD players.
-It basically seems to be an open hard drive attached to a BD drive from a security point of view.
-Installing a simple copy program shouldn't be terribly hard to do.
-From there, a simple USB connection to a PC allows uploads to anywhere...

et voila!
The PS3 could become a BluRay pirating paradise. Considering Sony's banking a large part of their company on the success of BluRay, this could be a very dangerous business. Maybe there are some hidden security features that will prove harder to hack through, but it seems like every PS3 sold seems like a "pirate-in-a-box" kit.

...and just because Linux is running on a console doesn't mean it will do what people want. If you think Linux users aren't going to mod around their OS to get what they want, you don't know the Linux community. Using that OS to make the computer do whatever you want is the single most important feature to most Linux users.

It's like giving everyone Ferraris because you think that, if everyone owns one, breaking the law by driving too fast would no longer be the status symbol it is now. I don't think it works in practice.

Copying a game to the harddrive does not give you the ability to run it from the harddrive.

Throwingks is correct it won't be that simple, heck plenty of people had trouble getting retail BR movies to output with their HTPCs using Blu-Ray drives and using HDCP complient video cards. There were tons of software issues with security. As far as I know there isn't any Linux BR playback software....yet. You would still need to break the disc security to copy the data off to the HDD. BR security is very robust, not to say it can't be cracked, but I'm sure the PS3 is far from "a BluRay pirating paradise" as you put it.

Jimmy, read this first line
http://www.joystiq.com/media/2006/11/ps3manual_pg1.jpg

It says that the HDD might not need to be reformatted if installed in the original PS3 console. I'm guessing if you remove it and put it in a friends PS3 it might try to reformat it. Somebody needs to test that out.

They might still want to hack to gain access to the RSX...

Except that changing out your HDD in the ps3 will void your warranty, whereas whenever the 360 does get a larger HDD, changing it out will not void the warranty.

lol, I made that post before I knew that part. I'm sure there would still be home brew/"hacks", but less effort than if they didn't allow alternative OSes.


but hey I guess that helps justify the price on their HDD upgrades.

Ahh I see it doesn't viod your entire warranty right off the bat, but if it breaks from doing so they won't cover it. "Improper removal or installation may casue damage....and may void your warranty."

Not you "replace your HDD and 6 months later the cell catches fire you're SOL". Kind of like with SOA if I change my suspension and a header cracks they will cover the header, but if an LCA breaks they would argue it had something to due with aftermarket suspension components and not cover the work under warranty.

Well I'm starting to like $ony's approach........ If you cant beat'm, join'm.

But I think $ony's going to be kicking themselves in the arse later down the road.

A big argument modders have made in the past is that the reason they're bypassing security in some way is to unlock features, like all the Xbox Linux's. Since Sony is supporting Linux/homebrew stuff out of the box, it'll be easier to sue violators in court.

Also sort of on-topic: Anyone know what filesystems the PS3 supports? (FAT32, etc)

I'm betting it will take a very long time for us to break the BR, and unless we do that playing backups will be impossible. That is really all that Sony cares about that's why tehy are allowing you to almost use the entire machine as you wish.

From here on out I think it will be harder and harder for all the $ony and phony bashers to justify not joining in in the sheep heard. Seems even at launch its a much better multimedia and gaming console.

As much as most of you are right about PS3 being a potential "Pirating-Paradise", how many of actual PS3 owners will seriously cut into game sales? Consider the numbers: PS2 sold 111.25 million units worldwide. PS3 will surely come close in terms of sales. I am willing to bet that 97% of those sales will be strictly casual gamers/movie watchers/web junkies. So let's assume the PS3 will reach 100 millions units shipped. Now to be generous, let's say that 3 million PS3s are hacked. (that's quite a generous number too) Out of those 3 million, there is likely to be (my guess is) 20% of hackers performing illegal action. Whether it be emulation or backups.

However many do break the law (Breakin the law breaking the law DUN DUN!), I'm pretty sure that Sony has taken the necessary precautions to protect themselves from any major loss. Even if all 3 million gamers download every game in their PS3 library by IRCs or torrents, to be able to really exploit that would require an extreme dedication. (Similar to that of Xbox 1)

To sum it up, I'm pretty sure Sony has taken the necessary precautions to keep the small amount of hardcore hackers at bay for a while. They've created a powerful open-source console that can suffice the basic needs of "hacking" and developing. Obviously going much further than that would require extreme hard work, patience and ass-loads of time. (Which a surprising amount of people would be willing to give) However, the end result of their "hard work" won't be as catastrophic because the bulk of the community will be satiated already.

Excuse me if this dosen't make as much sense to you as it does to me, it's 3:47am here in NY and I just worked a full 8 hour shift in a factory so I'm a little tired but still very interested in this topic