PS3 port thread

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eniac wrote:
one thing that im not reading here is that sony have restricted access to graphical hardware under a different OS. with no graphics acceleration its not going to be a very powerful computer....and what about perihperals?
keyboard, mouse, game pads? what about a blu-ray burner?
people here have been saying - things like "people will be able to DO SOMETHING"....like what? and one person even said "it will be a powerful new amiga with a 3.5 ghz processer",  but with no graphics acceleration, whats the point....

I love when people with no technical background make posts like this (NOT).   First of all, Keyboard and mouse (and for that matter external Blu-Ray burner) plug in just fine, all of them are running on Linux on the PS3.  Graphics acceleration.  If you understand nothing else after this post, learn this.  Because of the direct tie between the cell and the RSX, the graphics (even through the hypervisor) are faster then its possible to do an Amiga One, Samantha, Panda or Megetherium.   Linux isnt running slow graphics on it, its pushing around HD video and full speed, something that can only be dreamed about on the other current contenders for OS4.  The Cell is a 3.2 Ghz G5 quality PPC, even without any enhancements, it will still run all the PPC code they have now 5-6X faster then the fastest AmigaOne and much much faster then Samantha.

if the PS3 port supporters can give me a SOLID reason for installing it on a PS3 then ill jump aboard. if you cant then you should start realizing how much more effective a x86 port would be....

I've been the advocate for x86 since McFleecy bought it, but the time to port to the PS3 (a month for someone competant, 3 months or so for the Frieden brothers) vs a port to x86 (several man years for competant people, infinite time for psuedo twins in there parents basement) isnt a good comparision.   Do you have a better PPC based option or not, because Hyperion isnt interested in porting to x86 and right now they have the source code.
    -Tig

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koaftder wrote:
The ps3 makes for a crappy computer, 128mb ram and chock full of lockdown. Xbox and wii, no better. High performance computers already exist, they are called pcs and macs.

Actually it runs linux pretty damn well, and oh yeah its alot faster then the current or proposed other PPC solutions for OS4.   It doesnt have 128mb ram, and even through hypervisor, the graphics are faster then any other PPC amiga by a huge margin no matter what graphic card they have.  
    -Tig

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JoannaK wrote:

Edit.. A thought just hit me.. Why aren't there any group of Amigians (not necessarely from *that* forum) who want AmigaOS ported to Nintendo Wii? ... IIRC it also has PPC and (as a bonus) Ati Gfx chip, so it should be even easier target than PS3 or Xbox360 At least it would be decetly priced  ;-)

Actually there are a group that think it should be posted to all 3, and you are correct the WII is cheaper, but the issue is no HD, and no real support other OSs.  The big push for PS3 is based on boot alternate OS being an option built into the system, plus it comes with a HD.  The Linux folks already have the SPEs doing parts of Mesa for their system.  Its not a perfect system, but linux sure went on it easy, and hardware you can buy at the local store and run Amiga OS natively on has been away for a long time.
   -Tig

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bloodline wrote:

That's true the PS3, as cripped by the Hypervisor as it is, is still much faster than an other PPC solution we could buy, exacpt perhaps the XBox (but we wouldn't want to be seen with a Microsoft product now would we...)

A least two of the Xbox360 updates have killed linux on purpose, I dont think advocating a hardware platform that works to ban you from running on it, isn't a good plan, it might be even dumber then choosing the Teron.

But do we really want to be limited to a system that is just a bit better than the Amiga One? Or do we want a nice open system that we can expand and upgrade as far as our funds and devoted devs can take us?

There isnt a better PPC option.   The only thing you might want to update that you cant easily is the memory.

I really don't think an x86 port would take that long, there is simply too much example code and documentation... not to mention AROS... to not get a well written (in nice C) OS ported from the PPC to the x86 in a very short space of time...

I'll make it simple for you, you're wrong.  8 people for 6 months and thats good people with the code and the tools they need, I do alot more of this then you do, and thats in the neighborhood of what we would bid to do the job.  If you are implying that we have nice PPC code easy to port to x86, I think thats hilarious.   What comment from the Friedens has made you think that they have followed best software practices (or even any software practices).

If anything I would expect the PS3 port to take longer, how many examples and documentations exists to build a brand new OS for it?

At this point there are 9 linux ports, I got 20K that says I can get OS4 running on it in 30 days with the source code.

-Edit- And lets not forget that the PS3 is a games console with a design life. Sony may support it for 3 perphaps 4 years... by which time it's going to look VERY old and slow... then they may decide to use a new CPU, perhpas even an x86! Throwing AmigaOS 4 right back to square one...

The Terons were made for about 2 years (they've been out of production now longer then they were made) so I'm not sure being worried about the PS3 being dropped from production in 7 or 8 years is an issue.  I doubt any 2 year old x86 board is still being manufactured, the PS3 will have a longer life then a normal computer.

Games consoles are nothin but games consoles, they are always behind the Technology curve

PS3 runs linux pretty well, it graphics are very fast, its cheaper then the other PPC options, and its got a good warranty and high availability, thats alot of the reasons we pushed for x86 in the first place, hardware you can get in town and hardware you can replace if you system dies.
    -Tig

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jorkany wrote:

Sure, Sony has provisions to use the PS3 like a computer if you really, really want to. But nearly every major game console from the Intellivision to the Dreamcast has had some sort of computer expansion option, and none were very successful. Heck, the PS2 even had an official version of Linux, but you don't see a community of people using PS2s as Linux boxen. How is that any different than the PS3?

One of the differences is, that its the first console to come standard with a Harddrive and with the built in ability to boot another OS.  In addition, lets be honest here, in modern terms, the PS3 is much more a computer then an a500.  It connects to the web, it can use modern moniters, it comes with a HD, it has USB ports, it has ethernet, etc.  

I'm sure it's also more than a coincidence that the people on these forums who most want to see the PS3 as a computer are also people who want to use OS4. I bet if affordable, reliable hardware had ever become available for OS4, none of those people would give the PS3 a second glance; they just see the PS3 as a last chance for OS4 because it has a PPC architecture. If a digital camera based on PPC came out, they'd be all over that as a "computer" too.

Oh come on Jorkany, you are way too smart to believe the digital camera crap you just posted.  The PS3 is an interesting idea, because its fast, cheap, easy to get one, and is PPC based because porting OS4 to x86 is way beyond the wonder twins powers.  In addition, if OS4 never gets another update, or you decide you dont want to play with it anymore, you can always use it to play Blu-Ray movies or play games on it or even run linux pretty damn well, unlike the Teron boards which without OS4 are pretty much worthless for doing anything but slow and poorly running linux.
    -Tig