[ps2hacking-devel] Re: PS2 Linux for US press release

[<hw...@sy...>]

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA - Sony Computer Entertainment Inc will launch a =
Linux-enabled version of its PlayStation 2 in the U.S. market, an =
executive from the company said Monday.

Is it just bad wording and did they mean to say that Sony
will launch a version of Linux for it's PS2? What they actually
said was that they will launch a ~version~ of PS2 for the US
market which will be Linux enabled, whatever that means!
Does that imply that existing US versions of PS2's won't run it?

Notice that it doesn't say they will release the PS2 linux kit for
US PS2's... so this could mean an cdrom/dvdrom only version of a
product or an entirely new PS2 variant, perhaps with a built-in HD
to compete with X-box.... A hard-diskless PS2 Linux doesn't make
sense, and as most of the world's PS's don't have hard drives, they=20
will have to address that issue, probably by bundling a HD with
the kit. Early PS2's with PCMCIA slots would require the slower
PCMCIA-IDE interface (non 32 bit cardbus) ext HDs. In any case this puts
it in the 200-300$ price point, well above Microsoft's offering ($300US)
which includes now a 20 Gb HD (downgraded from 40 Gb)...
assuming no pre-Christmas price drops, ie ~$300USPS2+~$200US HD.
For that price range, I'd rather see a 128Mb ram machine=20
(32 Mb is really too little!) with a GS containing >4Mb video RAM.

I'm not sure how the wording was for the announced German=20
release...but it might be similarly deceptive. Any have a link?

Interesting will be if Sony actually fully "productizes" a Linux=20
distribution with upgrades and support, instead of "as-is" like
the buggy Japanese PS2-Linux  Kit which sold for $207US (but
was widely scalped for $300-$800US on Ebay and Chinese stores.)

The major issue you will have to deal with for the Australian machine
will be the region code.  A US region code 1 DVD disk may not work
on a region code 4 machine. In addition to the usual Sony proprietary
authenication scheme on all legit PS2 CDs and DVDs, the Japanese=20
PS2 Linux does not work on a US PS2. I don't know if any of the
many bogus modchips (int or ext) or swap trick will work around this.


  im worried about shelling out for the kit and it not being compatible =
at all with my machine. its a scph-30002 its australian, what do you guy =
think?