5 things you can do in yellow dog linux with the PS3 Phat

[@ultraflash]

That's exactly what I did buddy. Works a treat! :) It was extremely simple to get my Logitech Mediaboard Pro working, I read that getting the SIXAXIS controllers working is a hell of a lot harder. Guess I'll have a go at this tonight. Can't wait to get it all configured real sweet like you have yours.

[@efaustus9]

Good for you. Most do not have such a set up. This is a nice perk for thoughts who already own the system and do not want to put a desktop tower in their living room or buy a special viedo card if their tv does not have a vga input. This costs nothing, declutters your entertainment center by consolidating a few consoles into one, and is a good way to get a little more bang out of your investment.

[@efaustus9]

1. here navigating you music catalog is akin to using itunes and is much more functional then the xmb interface (esp. true for ipod use). Linux supports more video formats then the xmb. 2. You can install java in linux and use firefox plugins to regain in browser video playback. 3. you CAN use wifi in linux 4. The ps3 controller works wired w no config and wirerlessly after a little config.

[@metsumilitia]

Dude!! Thanks a LOT!! I read your FAQ, and followed your every step... And I'm playing Donkey Kong using Snes and Street Fighter Alpha 2 with MAME, and... Sixaxis working FINE... Its awesome all the things that you can do with YDL... even if you have a SD TV like me :'(

[@efaustus9]

One of the nice things of YDL is its out of the box support for sony hardware. So yes audio will work on a fresh install. Out of the box performance leaves something to be desired, but that can be remedied by installing fluxbox.

[@efaustus9]

Yellow dog linux comes with the software suite Open office. This suite is akin to Microsoft Office and will even open and save Miscrosoft files. The word application is open office writer.

[@yazoo178]

Thanks I just found out something cool you might wanna try with VLC player, open it up click the view tab and go to playlist from there click the manage tab and press services discovery then tick the box that says shoutcast TV listings, and you can watch free tv on YDL using VLC

[@efaustus9]

yes, in fact both browsers are available on the PC as well. The default YDL browser is Firefox though I prefer Opera. youtube will not work out of the box and requires a good deal of futzing to enable that aspect. Other wise gmail, msnbc and such will load up just fine.

[@efaustus9]

Nine Inch Nails off of the Ghosts album set. The song is ghosts 13. Do a youtube search you will find a number of fan made videos for the NIN ghosts Film Festival.

[@efaustus9]

you can open edit and save files in Microsoft office doc format with open office. Many usb printers will work with ydl on the ps3.

[@efaustus9]

If you own both consoles and prefer the mame solution on the wii then use the wii version. There are a bunch of consoles, computers, and handhelds you can emulate using ps3 linux. PS3 Linux also has a bevy of other software in addition to mame that works quite well. Its not constrained to homebrew development for that specific console.

[@efaustus9]

glad to hear it helped and thanks for the accolades.

[@efaustus9]

The benefit of yellow dog on the ps3 is its out of the box support of the sony hardware. There are other distros with other benefits but require more tweaking in order to play nice with the sony hardware.

[@efaustus9]

there is no video acceleration in linux so 480p is about as high as you want to go for smooth playback. there are programs that use the cell spu's to help decode video streams which will let you play 720p streams somewhat smoothly.

[@efaustus9]

you can always back up your hard drive to a flash drive or external harddrive. You dont need to back up psn games or game data as you can always redownload/install them. just be sure to back up your save games.

[@efaustus9]

I use a DS3 in my other videos. If the wireless mouse and keyboard use a usb dongle then they should work just fine. If they are bluetooth then you will need a usb mouse and keyboard (wired or wireless) for instillation.

[@efaustus9]

wireless works. there are no drivers you need but you will need to configure it. My guide found in the video description has the necessary steps layed out.

[@efaustus9]

The os is yellow dog but the desktop environment is gnome. gnome is default desktop enviroment for ubuntu. at the log in screen you can chose between a few desktop environments the default is E17.

[@efaustus9]

you can install a number of torrent clients on the system. gimp is included in a default install.

[@efaustus9]

@cheezyness. you are correct in that you could get a virus if someone were to go through the trouble of writing one for this particular distro of a PPC based linux. Not to mention you would have to help said virus out by running it with root privileges. However even if these two unlikely things did occur it still would not mess up your ps3 as linux on the ps3 run under a hypervisor and is not permitted to access the main system. my point is that linux on your ps3 can not mess up your ps3.

[@efaustus9]

you will need a usb enabled keyboard either wired or wireless (via dongle) to install. once installed you can configure it to recognize your bluetooth keyboard.

[@efaustus9]

true, though in the xmb all the files are sorted with out any discernable order in numerous F folders. So finding a specific track can be difficult. In linux the application Rhythmbox works like itunes where you plug in your ipod search for an artist or album and play it back.

[@efaustus9]

The point is that linux will give your system extra functionality at no additional cost. you can do all of the above on a desktop PC. However its rare that a persons desktop screen is larger then their living room tv screen. Further its rare that their desktop pc is hooked up to a surround sound system. So you can do the above on a nice large screen from your couch. Its also more conducive to old school multiplayer. do ur friends want to crowd around your desktop to play mariokart? doubt it

[@efaustus9]

I haven't tried running Mame on the wii but many roms play just fine. wii can only handle ED if you purchase component cables. Thus games on the wii are running on a much lower resolution. Emulators on the ps3 are being scaled to HD resolutions. This can eat up a lot of processing power when you have no video acceleration. you can of course run the os at wii like ED resolutions or use spe scaler to improve performance.

[@efaustus9]

Go to Nine Inch Nails home page they are giving that album (the slip) away. The album is released under creative commons. Trent supports bittorrent and personally put the album up on torrent trackers.

[@efaustus9]

yes, using pidgin you can log on to your msn account and chat with your friends.

[@charliebell01]

i think the best thing is that you can play almost any video format on your PS3 now, and see flash content on the web besides youtube, like streams from Justin Tv and stuff like that, something the Wii and 360 cant do, i wonder if we could play PC games using WINE.

[@efaustus9]

yes, linux does not replace the xmb they coexist. see my video ps3 and ydl coexisting.

[@efaustus9]

yes, linux and the xmb coexist. I made a video where I switch between the two check it out.

[@efaustus9]

my guide references a walk through to gain that functionality. Though its much easier installing the mediapirate plug in for firefox, downloading the videos then playing them back.

[@efaustus9]

first question: yes as long as they are compatible with YDL. Second Question: Nero works fine. Download and double click the ydl iso to burn.

[@efaustus9]

pidgin requires the internet so yea internet works with ydl. wired works with no config and wireless requires a little configuration. ydl comes with the firefox internet browser.

[@efaustus9]

@TAMPATLBLACK flash support is wanting, but there are alternatives to the default gnash configuration. check the yellowdog boards for the most up to dates and optimal solution.

[@hypermetalsonic]

ok, thanks for the vids by the way. :) I'll be sure to give this a try

[@templecharas]

thnx for posting these videos..its gonna be very helpful to thousands of ppl...but i have one question....do u have to download the ydl on to a dvd-r?cant i do it on a simple cd-r?

[@efaustus9]

most web pages use flash for video playback. adobe has made no version of flash for PPC linux. thus you need to employ a work around or use 3rd party alternatives for that functionality.

[@sonypsp05]

i like the ipod feature it looks cool

[@efaustus9]

did you remember to disconnect all usb devices except the keyboard and mouse when you installed ydl? If you have the headset or pseye pluged in when installing ydl you will run into audio issues. try disconnecting such devices and restarting.

[@efaustus9]

You can use the spe's its just that you need to find or make apps to utilize them. The cell sdk comes with ydl but im not a programmer so its of little use to me. There are applications that use the spe's so they are available for use.

[@efaustus9]

only after you install with a usb keyboard and mouse. after which you can configure it to recognize the bluetooth keyboard and mouse.

[@efaustus9]

You can install limewire. utorrent is a windows application so no but a number of other torrent clients work such as Ktorrent, transmission, and azureus. You log on to your MSN, YIM, AIM account's using pigdin. Firefox add on's and themes work fine. Yes you can install more programs.

[@efaustus9]

its possible I suppose, though its not really necessary due to the fact that open office works just as well.

[@efaustus9]

yes. you dont replace the xmb with this. you can switch between the two. see my ydl xmb coexisting video.

[@efaustus9]

you can still play ps3 games if you install linux. Linux does not replace the xmb but instead is an additional os you can boot into if you so chose. See my video "ps3 and linux coexisting w FAQ" video, it shows me booting into linux from the xmb then back to the xmb from linux.

[@efaustus9]

as for ps3 games not that I am aware. as for PC games yes, but only ones that support software rendering will work in linux on the ps3.

[@MasonF123]

Correct, there is no version for linux, but with WINE, you can get linux to run windows applications. (Including games) and you might just be able to get itunes working.

[@efaustus9]

you do not lose the ability to play games by doing this. these additional functions go on a separate partition on the ps3 harddrive. you switch between the two depending on what you want to do.

[@efaustus9]

when you say themes I think you mean alternate desktop environments, like fluxbox and gnome. By default you have a few to chose from at the boot screen just click session and chose gnome to get the desktop you see me using in the above video. See my guide on how to install fluxbox for a nice performance improvement.

[@efaustus9]

yes you can use a printer. you wil need to format the ps3 to install linux. this means if you do not back up your data before doing so you will lose it.

[@efaustus9]

a couple of reasons. 1st and foremost is that sony restricts access to the GPU when using linux on the ps3. 2nd I believe WOW requires a x86 CPU where as the ps3 has a PPC CPU.

[@efaustus9]

you can run pidgin. It will connect to the msn messenger service. you will not be able to install the official msn messenger as it is a windows application.

[@efaustus9]

there is no version of adobe flash for any version of linux on the ps3. means you have to employ work arounds. the best solution I found was integrating vlc into firefox. I have a video showing the method and my guide in the description will walk you through the process.

[@efaustus9]

That is implemented to compensate for overscan. you can implement a different resolution which will turn it off. however it might cut off some of your screen. you can manually tweak the over scan too see youtube user ID jaybps3 he has a video tutorial.

[@efaustus9]

you can have it embedded. my guide covers that. if you check the reference link in my guide embedding VLC works better still.

[@efaustus9]

you will not be able to install .exe's unless you install windows through an emulator on top of your linux install. This is far from ideal, YD and Ubuntu both come with open office which can open modify and save ms office files. As for which distro to select I would recommend YDL for the ps3 as it is better tailored to the systems hardware. Out of the box its a bit slow but if you install fluxbox the system will be come a good bit faster.

[@efaustus9]

as long as it not a bluetooth wireless keyboard and mouse you'll be fine. bluetooth works after some configuration but will not work for installation.

[@efaustus9]

you cant use the program but you can connect to the service using a pre-bundled app called pidgin.

[@efaustus9]

The old larger shinny model. Sony has just released a newer slimmer matted model of the ps3. It does not support otheros however.

[@efaustus9]

the partition is 10GB of that the install will take about 3 - 4GB of that.

[@VideoDemons]

If the version of Linux you are running supports it yes.

[@efaustus9]

It doesn't cost any additional money. Linux is free and is a sony supported feature. Installing linux gives the ps3 additional functionality of a PC at no additional cost. Its nice having a PC in the living room w a 40" screen thats virtually impervious to viruses and malware.

[@efaustus9]

I don't know haven't tried it. I doubt it would have smooth playback however. This limitation may be resolved once programmers create decoders that utilize the Cell's SPE's. Linux and most programs available currently do not utilize the cell's full potential so unless code is written for the SPE's they sit idle waiting to be put to use.

[@efaustus9]

That only applies to the x86 PC version. Other versions you will have to download the iso or find another way of getting it on a disk.

[@efaustus9]

each have its own advantages and drawbacks. For the ps3 I prefer ydl. my guide in the description is for ydl.

[@BSzili]

is that a shining quote in OOo Writer?

[@minibikedude04]

no its up there, im downloading it right now.

[@SunnyBoey]

hey what is that song that you open at the end of the video?? plz tell me i really like it!!!

[@efaustus9]

yup you see that in part 3 of the 5 things.

[@efaustus9]

you should have the same results if you follow my guide. you will get better performance if you run at either 720p (video mode 3) or 480p/i (video mode 2/1 respectively). If you installed linux on the ps3 at a higher resolution i.e. 1080i/p that may be the source of some of your performance issues. If you want to use 1080i/p resolutions with mame then check out the spe scaler.

[@efaustus9]

depends on what window manager you use. Using the default E17 manager not so good. Using Gnome its ok. Using Fluxbox its good. In fact check out my fluxbox video that demos multi tasking on the ps3.

[@alexville3203]

@hedoesntlikeyou New York Hacker Geohot is actually making a way to update without losing the Other OS feature. If you wait and not update for a little bit and wait for his patch it might be worth it.

[@efaustus9]

pidgin comes with a default install of yellow dog linux. you see me open it at the end of this video.

[@Kayz1mega]

woah that is sooo awesome!!!!!!!

[@efaustus9]

its the screen refresh. its imperceptible by the human eye but the camera picks it up.

[@efaustus9]

In this video I demonstrate what you can do, but not how to do it. So this video is not a how to but in effect a why. There are plenty of videos similar to this. A person sees the features and then decides whether its worth their while. Based upon your circumstances it is not worth your while. For interested individuals there is a guide in the description that serves as the how-to.

[@feki122]

One question, do you really need a keyboard and mouse? or can you work with the controller?

[@efaustus9]

as I said most do not have your set up. evidently your set up gives you little incentive to explore this feature. The reasons I have provided might entice some to give this a try. So while it may be pointless to you it is not pointless to all.

[@efaustus9]

yes sir see the guide in the description

[@efaustus9]

the linux partition can not see the files on the xmb nor can the xmb see the file on the linux partition. I suggest using an external harddrive for your files this way both the linux and the xmb have access to them.

[@efaustus9]

to use windows on the ps3 you need to use an emulator on top of linux. windows xp is too slow to be practical. windows 95 however runs well enough. you can play some windows games provided they are quite old and have little to no 3d.

[@efaustus9]

Adobe has not made a version of flash for PPC linux which is why you can not play back you tube videos. You can gain playback by installing swf 0.6.6 but its not a simple process. In most ps3 linux install guides, mine included, it is suggested that you back up game saves, and media before you format. There is a good amount of software available to you in linux, what I have shown in the video is a sampling. What I did not show in the video is youtube playback besides the ps3 browser can do it.

[@patchinator6]

ITS THE FINALL COUNTDOWNNNNNN

[@subc666]

you can playback ipod music on the xmb anyway

[@efaustus9]

you can not use wine on the ps3 due to the fact that wine requires a x86 processor and the ps3 has a ppc processor. If you want to run windows you need to use the emulator known as qemu.

[@yazoo178]

No you can only have 10gb for one and the rest for the other. Give the other OS 10gb and the rest for the ps3 OS you can use an external HDD for more space if you need it

[@Kayz1mega]

wait so can it print those text words you were putting into it if you have a usb printer?

[@efaustus9]

pidgin covers aim and it comes preinstalled in the distro.

[@TAMPATLBLACK]

I was thinking of trying to install mplayer. I think that sounds much easier than rewriting/updating gnash. Also I heard about totem but I want fullscreen access. Is mplayer the way to go?

[@efaustus9]

only if you emulate a windows box with qemu. the preformance is rather poor and thus you are better off using open office. open office can read and write office files.

[@efaustus9]

you can but only very old ones. sony locks out access to the gpu while in linux.

[@plopthepspking]

geohot is fixing to put out a simple cfw that will allow other OS of phats and slims!

[@efaustus9]

you dont need a computer to do it. you can buy a yellow dog linux disk or ubuntu disk off ebay for less then 10 bucks. If you have a computer then you can just download the iso for free and burn it to a disk. Its not intended to replace your pc. Having another PC in the house hooked up to a large HDTV and a decent sound system doesn't hurt.

[@efaustus9]

Not really. The 2TB HD may have all you ipod songs however its not your ipod. Futher finding a specific song or making a laylist to lay in all thoughs songs is quite difficult or impossible in the xmb. not so in linux. You can surf the web with the xmb browser but it is lacking compared to firefox or opera. You can play certain video formats in the xmb but not as many as you can with linux. also you neglected to mention bittorrent and work (open office) neither of which can be done in the xmb.

[@TexasLeverGunner]

I've been thinking about attempting linux on my ps3. I can still play my ps3 games if running linux on there correct? Hoping to run something along the lines of debian, or fedora.

[@efaustus9]

one does not install over the other, they coexist. In fact I have a video switching between the two called ps3 and yellow dog linux coexisting.

[@efaustus9]

I havent tried ares but limewire will work after you install java.

[@efaustus9]

a virus needs to be written specifically for the os. Relative to windows there is not enough ps3's out their to make it worth the malicious coders while to code viruses for the hardware. So finding a virus that has been coded for the ps3 xmb would be quite a feat. Same goes for YDL. I would not worry about viruses for either aspect.

[@efaustus9]

no its the tv tray I am using as a make shift tripod.

[@efaustus9]

yes I show a multi-client instant messenger in the video. yes you can play some PC games but only real old ones.

[@QrafTee]

Is the lag in the video from the video itself or is it from the Other OS?