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Way to go Sony, bravo. It's crap like this that makes me want to move away from console gaming and stick purely with my PC.
New PS3 firmware to remove Other OS feature
- Thread starter richb93
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Way to go Sony, bravo. It's crap like this that makes me want to move away from console gaming and stick purely with my PC.
It's just completely stupid considering how Sony said after the release of the Slim (which omitted the Other OS):
Not only does this annoy me but a lot of scientific places use PS3 clusters for number crunching as they are a lot cheaper to supercomputers with a smaller price tag. Whilst they can continue this, any new places that buy new machines with 3.21 pre-installed are screwed. Poor move Sony.
Not only does this annoy me but a lot of scientific places use PS3 clusters for number crunching as they are a lot cheaper to supercomputers with a smaller price tag. Whilst they can continue this, any new places that buy new machines with 3.21 pre-installed are screwed. Poor move Sony.
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Soldato
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i'd blame xbox360 users
Why? Did you use a gimped Linux install on your PS3?
I put the blame entirely on GeoHot
It's just annoying cause Linux is a useful feature. I have used it to back up my Blu-Rays and Ubuntu is pretty neat. I guess it's not a huge issue for myself but I still see it as a dick move on Sony's behalf.
Sony makes a loss per console doesnt it?
Why do you think the ps3 is cheaper than supercomputers? Because its being subsidised, its unfair to expect sony to allow it to happen like this.
Soldato
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It was gimped as the ps3 doesnt have a lot of ramz.
Soldato
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maybe, but wasn't it the reason that the real proper hackers never bothered with the PS3 because at the time it had the capability to install and use linux anyway?
I think places that were using the PS3 fatties did exactly this when the slim came out to make sure they would have spares.
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All new machines are slims and have had the OtherOS function removed anyway, so the pre-installed firmware is irrelevant for new machines.
As much as it's only going to affect a tiny number of the PS3 users, I think it's still a crappy thing to do, especially seeing as they said in an official statement after the slim launch that the OtherOS feature would never be removed from the phat systems.
They could have at least softened the blow by also including some new features with the firmware in question, or at least offered a fair explanation as to why they are having to do this, instead of the catch-all 'Security Issues'.
Why did they ever include it then?
AFAIK this wouldn't effect the research clusters as they tend not to use linux installs as the PS3 limits the access to the hardware, and reduces the computational power available. Most will develop a native PS3 OS client with Sony, allowing full access to the cell's power.
Taking Folding@Home as an example, running the research client on a PS3 linux install is about 8 times slower than the native PS3 client due to the limitations imposed by the PS3's firmware.
Taking Folding@Home as an example, running the research client on a PS3 linux install is about 8 times slower than the native PS3 client due to the limitations imposed by the PS3's firmware.
This is Geohot's fault. The guy who hacked the OtherOS feature to access all of the system's memory and thus raising the possibility of pirating PS3 games. He released the exploit online - Sony was simply responding to the possible threat.
Granted it is pretty lame that they have removed an advertised feature - but it was a necessary evil.
The 'security feature' is specifically to do with the possibility of access to the system's memory and then exploiting it to run illegal copies of games. Sony would not be doing this if Geohot never flaunted and posed such a massive threat to the fortunes and sales of Playstation 3 games. 360 games are pirated by the millions every year and it would be a nightmare scenario for Sony if it happened to them.
Blame Geohot. Not Sony, whom I believe took a perfectly reasonable course of action in order to save millions of dollars and livelihoods of PS3 game developers.
Granted it is pretty lame that they have removed an advertised feature - but it was a necessary evil.
The 'security feature' is specifically to do with the possibility of access to the system's memory and then exploiting it to run illegal copies of games. Sony would not be doing this if Geohot never flaunted and posed such a massive threat to the fortunes and sales of Playstation 3 games. 360 games are pirated by the millions every year and it would be a nightmare scenario for Sony if it happened to them.
Blame Geohot. Not Sony, whom I believe took a perfectly reasonable course of action in order to save millions of dollars and livelihoods of PS3 game developers.
If this is in response to Geohot's activities it's pretty poor that they've just resorted to shutting it up completely rather than attempting to fix whatever he is exploiting... I guess they were just waiting for an excuse to do it as no doubt those who pushed for otherOS support to be included with PS3 have long since left the company... Geohot will get a nice ego boost out of this, "hacking" the PS3 and causing Sony to panic and remove the feature.
So what happens to my 10gb partition I've assigned to the Other OS... I hope they at least release a tool to allow me to remove it and merge it back into the Game OS without having to format the entire hard disc.
So what happens to my 10gb partition I've assigned to the Other OS... I hope they at least release a tool to allow me to remove it and merge it back into the Game OS without having to format the entire hard disc.