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Amiga News and Community Announcements => Amiga News and Community Announcements => Amiga Software News => Topic started by: gnarly on March 07, 2002, 01:57:56 PM

Title: Linux for Playstation2 now available in North America
Post by: gnarly on March 07, 2002, 01:57:56 PM
Linux for the Playstation2 is now available for purchase.  Does anyone know if the CPU for the Playstation is TAO/AmigaDE compatible?

We are excited to let you know that this accessory is now available for pre-order in the United States and Canada* exclusively at
http://www.us.playstation.com/?refUrl=linux (http://www.us.playstation.com/?refUrl=linux), with an expected shipping date
of May 22, 2002.

http://www.us.playstation.com/product_detail/product_detail.jhtml?PRODID=337933&CATID=490&refUrl=linux

Combining the incredible technology of the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system (http://www.us.playstation.com/product_detail/product_detail.jhtml?PRODID=1&CATID=401&refUrl=linux)
with the endlessly versatile Linux operating system (http://www.linux.org), Linux enthusiasts and programmers can now use the same system they play their favorite PlayStation games on to run thousands of Linux applications! The LINUX (FOR PLAYSTATION 2) accessory kit allows you to utilize the PlayStation 2 console as a fully-functional desktop computer. Download a
wealth of Linux programs -- HTML editors, multimedia players, office solutions and more -- or program your own software to run in the
PlayStation 2 Linux environment.

Included with the LINUX (FOR PLAYSTATION 2) kit is the PlayStation 2 Linux software, an internal hard disc drive (40 GB), a 10/100 Base-T Ethernet Network Adaptor, and a USB mouse and keyboard. You will still need to purchase or supply a PlayStation 2 console, a 8MB memory card (for PlayStation 2) [preferably a new memory card -- once formatted for Linux
use, your game data will be erased and you will not be able to save new game data] and a VGA monitor with sync-on-green capability [check your monitor's user manual to see if it meets this requirement].

While it's exciting to see tremendous interest in this new PlayStation venture, there are a few things for you to note before purchasing. LINUX (FOR PLAYSTATION 2) is a tool for Linux enthusiasts and programming hobbyists. Basic understanding of the Linux operating system is strongly suggested for installation and use. Also, be advised that this accessory will NOT enhance your PlayStation 2 games. The hard disc drive formatted for Linux cannot be used with HDD-compatible PlayStation 2 games, and the included Network Adaptor (Ethernet) does not include a modem, which the upcoming standard Network Adaptor will. Be sure to consider all of these factors before making your decision to purchase.

For more information about LINUX (FOR PLAYSTATION 2), please visit the official PlayStation 2 Linux Community site FAQ at :

http://playstation2-linux.com/faq.php

Once you're ready to immerse yourself into the Linux world via the PlayStation 2 system, click in and pre-order exclusively from PlayStation.com. While supplies last.
Title: Re: Linux for Playstation2 now available in North America
Post by: Coder on March 07, 2002, 02:15:42 PM
Sure sounds great. But what about the term Game Computer. I mean this way you will have a normal computer. But I can understand the excitement.

Coder
Title: Re: Linux for Playstation2 now available in North America
Post by: Chathurawind on March 07, 2002, 04:13:31 PM
Hi
Sony use Toshiba's Emotion Engine CPU, some sort of "specialized" CPU with intergrated 128 bit high speed graphic engine and FP accelerator.

As long as the CPU documentation and instruction code documentation is available, it is possible to port AMIGA DE / INTENT to this CPU (approx. 3 months - 6 months). The main concern: cost & schedule.
 
Title: Re: Linux for Playstation2 now available in North America
Post by: Chathurawind on March 07, 2002, 04:26:41 PM
The basic design is MIPS R4000, but the CPU include 128 bit SIMD extension with speed of 6.2 GFlops. AMIGA DE / Intent is already compatible with MIPS (Zico), but to use the SIMD extension optimally, they should port DE / Intent to the CPU.

"It's based on a superscalar MIPS R4000 core, but it has a new set of 128-bit integer SIMD instructions. At its target frequency of 300 MHz, it packs a floating-point punch of 6.2 GFLOPS, three times that of Intel's 500-MHz Pentium III with SSE and 15 times that of a Celeron-400 (which lacks SSE). With the Emotion Engine pumping out 75 million polygons per second and the rendering chip drawing polygons at 2.4 billion pixels per second, the new PlayStation will have real-time graphics that rival the computer-generated animation in movies like Toy Story."

http://www.mdronline.com/publications/epw/issues/epw_48.html
Title: Re: Linux for Playstation2 now available in North America
Post by: Chathurawind on March 08, 2002, 01:24:09 AM
I would love to know if SHEEP will run on it.
Are there other programers out there like me
that aren't interested in c/c+, but want something really easy to use? Can the people who run this site contact amiga ? Find out?
Once again I'll mention ATARI AND AMIGA anounced multi-processer transputer systems---
NEVER DELIVERED... and died. I would love to buy a IMAC, but without BASIC, that's NOT A   PERSONAL COMPUTER to me. Who the F*%*
came up with the idea to sell computers without BASIC?  What is the status of SHEEP?
15 years ago my computer could do
1.  voice recognition
2. speech
3. control over all a/c (fans lights tv stereo)
4. programable interactive games
Now I can ONLY buy someone else's software.
Title: Re: Linux for Playstation2 now available in North America
Post by: Chathurawind on March 08, 2002, 01:54:35 AM
What do you think would have happened if both Atari and amiga came out(1987?) with a
multi-processing transputer based BASIC?
How about---it would have been BETTER THAN
ANYTHING IBM/APPLE had!! Where would we be
NOW if that happened. Can't change the past, but can I at least get some sort of basic?
Title: Re: Linux for Playstation2 now available in North America
Post by: JetFireDX on March 08, 2002, 09:00:07 AM
I agree, I love BASIC and learned to program in it. Moved to including 68k Assmbly for speed with Blitz on my Amiga. SHEEP with VP assembly in-line would be AWESOME. I too would like to hear some more about it and maybe see a demo.
Title: Re: Linux for Playstation2 now available in North America
Post by: Chathurawind on March 12, 2002, 02:21:45 AM
 Let's hear more about an Amiga with firewire.
Where's the stand-alone? What happened with Merlancia--no update in too long a time. Amiga should say SOMETHING!! Will the "set-top" box come with digital editing software? Will the box let you program in sheep? If SONY is somehow linked with Tao, what about Amiga and Sony delivering an ass kick'n computer system? Hello. Anybody out there? We NEED a NEW COMPUTER!!