Sony to remove Linux option from PS3s

Robert Hallock 29 Mar, 2010 at 10:34am ET Article published in Gaming

Sony announced yesterday that a firmware update coming on April 1 will remove the option to install Linux on the PlayStation 3, a feature initially highlighted by the company when the console launched.

It’s a matter of security, Sony said in a blog update outlining the company’s plan to throw the switch.

“This feature enabled users to install an operating system, but due to security concerns, Sony Computer Entertainment will remove the functionality through the 3.21 system software update,” said Posted by Patrick Seybold, Sr. Director, Corporate Communications & Social Media.

“In addition, disabling the “Other OS” feature will help ensure that PS3 owners will continue to have access to the broad range of gaming and entertainment content from SCE and its content partners on a more secure system.”

Though firmware update 3.21 will officially end Linux support, Seybold said that users can opt out of the upgrade at the expense of several key features:

Ability to sign in to PlayStation Network and use network features that require signing in to PlayStation Network, such as online features of PS3 games and chat.
Playback of PS3 software titles or Blu-ray Disc videos that require PS3 system software version 3.21 or later.
Playback of copyright-protected videos that are stored on a media server (when DTCP-IP is enabled under Settings).
Use of new features and improvements that are available on PS3 system software 3.21 or later.

Customers using the PS3’s “other OS” feature are advised to back up any important user data prior to applying the update as it will be inaccessible when the 3.21 upgrade is complete.

Comments

29 Mar 2010 ~ 10:43am Snarkasm Oh, so you can keep your "other OS" option at the expense of doing anything else the PS3 was originally intended to do.

After owning a 60GB model, I bought a Slim knowing full well that I could no longer install a Linux flavor on it, but for them to actively go back and patch it OUT of existing owners' consoles is just a big fucking slap in the face. What a shitty move, Sony. You should never remove options from an installed user base, especially when they paid for those features.

There's got to be some kind of legal action for this. You can't sell a piece of hardware with a full set of capabilities, then strip out major portions of it. This doesn't even affect me and it makes me absolutely livid.
29 Mar 2010 ~ 10:46am Cliff_Forster Chalk up another victory for PC gamers!
29 Mar 2010 ~ 10:48am mirage

Snarkasm wrote:

There's got to be some kind of legal action for this. You can't sell a piece of hardware with a full set of capabilities, then strip out major portions of it. This doesn't even affect me and it makes me absolutely livid.

Exactly! I don't use Linux on PS3 either but this can not be done. They might argue that firmware upgrades are optional but, actually, most of the new games come with firmware upgrade requirements. :shakehead

I am sure some group of hackers will come to the rescue soon.
29 Mar 2010 ~ 11:02am AlexDeGruven As Sony stated, you don't HAVE to get the firmware update, and can continue to run Linux as you want (researchers running Linux clusters, etc won't use any of the 'normal' PS3 functions, anyway).

I'm willing to be Sony's lawyers have been up and down the EULAs 100 times before they made this announcement, making sure that the language of the agreement covers them for this type of situation.

I'm not saying that I agree with the decision, as I'm all for open systems, but I understand where they're coming from (though the 'Security' angle is a bit of a red-herring, and probably should read "Copyright Protection").
29 Mar 2010 ~ 11:07am Spamps Holy wowsauce, here I thought it would just prevent you from installing it if you hadn't already, not remove functionality altogether. What the hell is this, Sony? And what sorts of "security concerns" are we talking about here?
29 Mar 2010 ~ 11:39am Thrax That is my curiosity as well. What sort of "security concerns" made this decision? Or does Sony actually mean "piracy," but didn't want to say it for fear of upsetting the natives?
29 Mar 2010 ~ 12:33pm ex-fan Damnit Sony! Why does every division of the company take one step step forward, two steps back? PS3 is a hot piece of hardware, a supercomputer for the home, and yet you keep crippling it. It seems as though every product line is making steps to be more like Apple (which, to me, means more like crap).
29 Mar 2010 ~ 1:30pm Garg There must be some vulnerability that allows for game piracy via the Other OS option that they're heading off at the pass. What a crappy move, though. How long will it be before they remove backwards compatibility from the release units?
29 Mar 2010 ~ 4:35pm djmeph Finger on the pulse.
29 Mar 2010 ~ 7:22pm drasnor The rumor I heard was that someone found a way to bypass the hypervisor and execute arbitrary code (basically what people have been doing on the PSP since forever.) What really sucks for the people running PS3 supercomputing clusters is that they're cut off from platform security updates. They'd better hope the same exploit Sony is trying to avoid can't be used to develop a supercomputing worm.

-drasnor
29 Mar 2010 ~ 8:05pm SPIKE09 RUMOURS i heard were here http://forum.micromart.co.uk/Topic394191-30-1.aspx
29 Mar 2010 ~ 8:06pm Jengo Geohot is not happy, lets see what happens...

http://geohotps3.blogspot.com/
29 Mar 2010 ~ 8:28pm Tim I hope to read soon that the new firmware update was hacked, and there's a fix to allow Linux installs again.

Just to show Sony that they are in fact NOT all that and a bag of potato chips.