Yellow Dog Linux launches for PS3

The first stage of the "three-phase rollout" for the open-source operating system starts November 27.

Sony has been saying that it sees its new next-gen machine, the PlayStation 3, as more of a computer than a console. Terra Soft Solutions is now making Yellow Dog Linux 5.0 available for download for the PS3, taking that idea a step closer to reality.

The operating system will be rolling out in three stages. The first starts today, November 27, and users can obtain the software from YDL.net. The second starts December 11, when customers can buy DVDs from the Terra Soft store, priced at $99.99--the final phase is due sometime during the week of December 25, when downloads will be available via public mirrors. Once the software is released for download on the public mirrors, it will be free of charge.

To install Yellow Dog Linux, users must first split the PS3's drive into two partitions so that the GameOS and Linux can run on dual partitions. The gamer will also need a USB keyboard and mouse to run the operating system. The installation manual is available on Terra Soft's Web site.

According to the manual, when Sony Computer Entertainment designed the PS3, "it was fully intended that you, a PS3 owner, could play games, watch movies, view photos, listen to music, and run a full-featured Linux operating system that transforms your PS3 into a home computer."

The manual adds that Yellow Dog Linux would make available several new uses for the PS3. It reads, "Everything you need to browse the web, check and compose e-mail, do your school homework or take your office work home is included."

279 Comments

  • lilfrightmare

    Posted Sep 6, 2008 6:38 am PT

    Is it true that it will play any PC games once this is installed?
    Also could I use the PS3 pad to play the PC games with?
    Can you install XP on a PS3 and if so would it be the same answers to my other questions?

    If anyone can answere these questions it would be really appreciated,
    thanks

  • Draker696

    Posted Jun 10, 2008 1:21 am PT

    "can you view dvds using ydl?"

    obviously. It's like a normal pc, but with a hella'f processing power.

  • plaintruth123

    Posted Aug 25, 2007 6:17 pm PT

    can you view dvds using ydl?

  • nstanosheck

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 1:22 pm PT

    The public mirrors can be found at http://www.terrasoftsolutions.com/resources/ftp_mirrors.shtml and was available on December 24th for the Sony PS3. It will be available for the Apple PPC Macs (iBook, PowerBook, G5, G4, G3, etc.) first at YDL.net no later than March 1, 2007.

  • nstanosheck

    Posted Feb 24, 2007 1:18 pm PT

    This is great news. You can learn more about Yellow Dog Linux at http://www.TerraSoftSolutions.com and support can be found on their mailing lists, through http://www.YellowDog-Board.com, and http://www.SharpLabs.com:8668/space/start

  • mikeyrogers

    Posted Dec 26, 2006 8:22 pm PT

    Weird. It's already December 26th and it's still not available as a free download. I wonder where GS got their source about the free download on the 25th because I can't find anything about that on the YDL site.

  • RoC1909

    Posted Dec 24, 2006 8:39 pm PT

    Hell, i'll install it just to see how it works. I have "just" enough experience with Red Hat, SCO and a few other flavors hence, my intelligence with Linux is about nil but, i'll give it a go since it seems that even a moron like me can install it and I might learn a little something in the process.

  • xche78x

    Posted Dec 23, 2006 4:23 pm PT

    believe me i have read a thousand posts about these and come to a conclusion that a Lot of People are Very Narrow-Minded!
    the PS3 IS a game console, can play games like or better than xbox 360 and Wii. So You're fine with this.
    the PS3 IS a game console, but can play MP3/AAC/CD/DVD
    the PS3 IS a game console, but can show movies/pics
    the PS3 IS a game console, but can browse the internet.
    the PS3 IS a game console, but can be installed with Free Linux OS, which in turn makes the PS3 capable of doing some of PC abilities.
    But have you ever thought that besides playing games, the PS3 gave you the ability to do MORE things without the extra cost? No You're Narrow-Minded
    Sony can still getaway with PS3 $500/$600 WITHOUT those extras.
    Even with all those FREE stuff,

  • Proust

    Posted Dec 7, 2006 11:30 pm PT

    Installing Linux on this bad boy will be one of the first things I do.

  • HXCDEW

    Posted Dec 1, 2006 7:44 am PT

    LINUX on PS3 FTW! Take that M$, nowI have more reasons to get both PS3 and Linux It won't be long before more OS will work on PS3, hopefully in time for Euro launch!!

  • xche78x

    Posted Nov 29, 2006 5:37 am PT

    should i install ydl? can this OS even compare to windows xp? does it support yahoo messenger?

  • blade_deathhand

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 9:10 pm PT

    DiscGuru101- I guess so. But still, I just wish I had a PS3.

  • amurphy245

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 3:01 pm PT

    although it sounds nice its beginign to sound like another psp,the psps main focus was on multimedia and look where that is today,its a mere paperweight.screw linux give us more games.

  • cmhawk

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 2:44 pm PT

    nice!

  • markdep

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 2:24 pm PT

    I can see the benefits for users that want an all in one system, its a hell of an all rounder for the price, but surely this is going to open a whole bunch of opportunities for playing back-up/pirated games within the mod/hack communities. Is this really a wise move for Sony at such an early stage of the systems lifecycle??

  • MrSiko

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 1:09 pm PT

    Woah, some people certainly do seem to leap before they look...

    As has been said here before, this is ONLY GOOD NEWS.

    Some replies tho.
    1) ANY OS is open to viral attack.
    2) The possibilities of what the PS3/Cell is capable of are now defined by US not Sony.
    3) Sure Hackers will use it (toolkits everywhere before I finish writing this post I wager), as the Cell is one hell of a data processor, in the hands of the right coder. And as someone who regularly writes multi-threaded x86 code, it aint gonna be easypeasy to write heavilty optimised code for Cell, but the potential rewards are now available to anyone who wishes to have a go.
    4) No-one ever did a system harm by opening up the creative side...
    5) 360 emulator on PS3? LOL. You should know, with any knowledge of CPUs/Architecture/Low-Level Coding that emulating a 360 on a PS3 is quite literally impossible. And if someone did it, you would be looking at, at most given huge investment in coding , somethig that ran 360 games at 1/3 the speeds/fps. TOPS. And before I get flames by a bunch of PS3 fanboys, you a9int gonna find a PS3 emu on 360 either...

    PS... One thing I dont quite get... Sure there is a (very slight I imagine) increase in potential user-base due to the availabillity of a supported Linux disrto, hence some revenue But that must be severely (and possibly fataly) outweighed by the fact that Sony is selling each unit at a massive LOSS, and must make up the shortfall/investent from game/media sales. Selling a PS3 that only runs the linux distro, and never plays a Blu-Ray movie or PS3 Game is money down the drain for Sony... Dunno, I tracked down a number, then rang em, but apparently teh Jury is still out...

  • TooCool

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 12:44 pm PT

    Actually, yes, it IS good for the PS3 to do other things besides gaming. Just so long as it does not detract from it's core purpose of being a game system. After all, the purpose of a car is to get you from point A to point B, but no one complains about cars having air conditioning, air bags, a radio, etc. If, however, the PS3's gaming suffers as a result of these additions... then I would agree that it is a problem. But if indeed the system was built with the Linux operating system in mind, I doubt that will be the case. But here's the thing... I don't know, and neither do any of you. Perhaps we should all reserve judgement until we actually see the thing in action. Eh?

    -TooCool

  • Kurtis99

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 11:46 am PT

    Kingdomofdragon, I'm afraid I'll have to disagree. You have made the point that PS3 will be able to do all kinds of things besides playing games. But is that a good thing?

    Think about it. Sony have said thing slike "PS3 will be more like a computer" and "PS3 is not just a gaming console, its soo much more". HELLO! The whole idea of playstation is for it to be a gaming console, to play games. Hence the name? PLAYstation? PLAY?

    You have made the point that PS3 is much cheaper than a PC. WRONG! In case people havent noticed, PS3 costs €600 and a middle-of-the-range PC cost €700. Remember how you said that PC came equipped with things people wouldn't use that just pushed the price up? Well isnt it the exact same with the PS3? It can do lots of things we dont need and this pushes the price tag up to a whopping €600. So gamers are paying for a bloody computer system when all they want is a gaming console? Where's the sense?

    Finally, I'd like to respond to this point you made:
    "People just want it to work who cares if a company or group wants to share the source code or not. As long as I can run the program and perform the task I ask it to do who cares."
    You say people just want it to work. The point that other were making was that it may not work. They explained carefully how the system could be prone to viruses and the like (which i should point out have never been a problem with good ol' games consoles) and you've responded by calling them "dumb, ignorant, and just plain stupid gamers". Wasn't that how you put it?

    So there you have it. And one last tip: you made some valid points, but if you call others ignorant and stupid, it destroys the credibility of your comment and wrecks your very good argument (not to mention it makes you look like a prat in the community's eyes).

  • FriendOfFoe

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 11:41 am PT

    Technically this means that someone could build a 360 emulator and let you play 360 games on it...Of course it would be unlikely that you would get good peformance, but technically you could emulate any console (except for the Wii). You could probably play PC FPS using Mouse and KB.

    sounds good, there is no limit what people will come up with.

  • SolidSnake35

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 11:07 am PT

    I don't think that will be a selling point, but it sure is a great addition to the PS3.

  • cjcr_alexandru

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 11:00 am PT

    So PS3 is really a "computer". Does this means that PCs will disappear? No. So? If you don't have a PC (highly unlikely, especially if you are reading this post), you could buy a PS3 instead.

    So what do you prefer? A PC or a PS3? I prefer the PC for one simple reason: it is upgradeable.

  • CrapfullyCrap

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 11:00 am PT

    Wow. That's a daring, attractive move by Sony.

  • DiscGuru101

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 10:52 am PT

    blade_deathhand - Ohhhh. Yeah. Free download on the 25th. My bad. So you still need a PC.

  • Cloud737

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 10:41 am PT

    Yeah, like I would pay for this OS. There are other free distros of linux for the ps3, so no thanks.

  • bluemonkeyuk

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 10:39 am PT

    As a Linux user all I have to say is that it will be hilarious to see all the teens and non computer scientists trying to use it.

  • j00n_

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 10:32 am PT

    Cool! Linux FTW

  • JimmeyBurrows

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 10:30 am PT

    wow 3d software would run great on that!!!

  • blade_deathhand

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 10:21 am PT

    It's only $99 until Dec. 25, after which when it is released via public mirrors it will be free. Read the whole article carefully DiscGuru101.

  • anamnawshad

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 10:12 am PT

    Is this good news for hackers/modders ?

  • esrix

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 10:05 am PT

    Why would I buy a console to do something I already have a PC for?

  • freakykidd

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 9:59 am PT

    I forsee hacks in online games and PS3 viruses... should be a riot this.

  • brandontek

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 9:53 am PT

    i have T3 internet. and i wont get the virus's cuz when i can get the internet broswer to work im install Norton Internet Secrity 2007

  • DiscGuru101

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 9:44 am PT

    $99.99 for Linux is not going to fly very high or very far... Only the ultra-nerdy people of the world hate MS so much they use Linux. -Enslave yourself to MS like the other 97% of devs, and be real. -On the other hand, this is a huge win for Mod's

  • SmittyIsTheBest

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 9:38 am PT

    Hold on, would having the web and an OS on a playstation mean that it would be possible (once some are made) to get a virus on it? I don't know if this could actually happen, but it seems a possibility.

  • Wakasenshi

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 9:36 am PT

    Linux on A PS3 sounds good to me.

  • BladeofImmortal

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 9:31 am PT

    Why is almost everyone an ass about this? There is no downside to being able to run Linux on the PS3, none whatsoever. Quit trying to make one up. It costs you no extra money(unless you are too impatient) to run another OS on the PS3. The only problem is that someone might release a virus and you'll DL it, but that isn't Sony's problem.

  • GKBeetle

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 9:25 am PT

    jon1233
    How can the average gamer be 30? People on here are acting like 3 year olds...Some good posts scattered around here...particularly cloud987's.
    I personally think having something like this couldn't have a downside...It's optional...It would be very interesting to say the least... ----------------------------------------

    Actually, it's just that the kind of people who play games at thirty are the same ones who are living at home with their moms and have not grown up yet. Older age does not necesarily mean more maturity. I'm 29, and I've moved out, but I definetly don't think I'm as mature as some of my non-gamer friends around my age. Oh well.

  • legol1

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 9:08 am PT

    first of all you cant compare a pc processor with a console processor because of the nature of the application a pc must exel with many kind of task it is why the processor is call out of order type that mean he can process instruction from many application in the same time that kind of processor is way more expensive than console in order type who need a really tight programmation to perform but its a lot cheaper and is just for gamming right ? this is why the ps3 dont perform well with the web browser and this is why microsoft dont making pc application for the 360. ps3 will never be a good pc this is just a gadget for the ps geek

  • Andron666

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 9:08 am PT

    This is great. No more money for MS.

  • iblamegod

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 8:51 am PT

    Linux + Cell processor = greatest hacking machine ever.

  • andytabor99

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 8:32 am PT

    wow fantastic, ive always wanted to be able to create spreadsheets and do homework on my PLAYstation.

  • infestedcyborg1

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 8:30 am PT

    well this sounds fun, i would love to see what the ps3 will be able to do with this.

  • jtye2000

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 7:42 am PT

    holy crap, kingdomofdragon!!!!!! that was amazing!!!!!! u have ponts well taken and no fan boy can ruin. for that, i bow to your knowledge.

  • jonaldinho10

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 7:26 am PT

    I don't think many people care about operating systems. They should focus on making better games because the launch titles were weak. It is cool that there is so much power they should use it towards game developement though. i mean who doesn't already have a pc or mac that they do their business or personal stuff on.

  • Sidivan

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 7:22 am PT

    I just have one thing too say about this:

    52" HD Downloadable Pr0n

  • jhunte99

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 7:03 am PT

    KingdomofDragon, that is quite possibly the most intelligent post I have ever read. Hopefully fanboys will read that and their eyes will be opened.

  • zero_snake99

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 6:55 am PT

    Umm..it's an OS...so you CAN download stuff. If you know anything about linux. YDL (yellow dog linux) has one of the easiest gui's, right next to Gnome (compared to MS Windows) YDL V5.0 E 17 has auto recovery if the system, in which everything is recovered, if it were to crash (which windows does NOT support). 144 deskots are available at your disposal (yes a waste but it just shows how custom you can make this). Modules are REAL easy to install and use. Not to mention how much space and memory the OS uses, which is EXTREMELY minimal. Oh another thing you CAN install games onto it, if you know how to. I dont know if they will dumb it down for people like you. But yeah. I expect to be playing my HL series on the PS3 in some point in time in the future. Obviously you don't know anything about linux...so yeah...shut up k thanks.

  • chiefmegadeth

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 6:42 am PT

    Well its surfs the net,but you cant download nothing so whats the point when your pc does everything.
    Man sony are dieing this time around,its a gaming console????
    remember games HELLO!
    1good game on launch how terrible the rest trash!

  • V_Zarnold_N

    Posted Nov 28, 2006 6:11 am PT

    Yes but can i play pc games?

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