The PlayStation brand has been very loyal to the Linux operating system since the days of the PlayStation 2 and even now on the PlayStation 3. Sony has allowed the installation and running of the open source operating system and Yellow Dog has been very generous offering PS3 users the ability to download and install the software free of charge on Sony’s console.
Now it seems that Yellow Dog will continue this great partnership as the company has made it public that the newest version of Linux will come preinstalled on future versions of the PlayStation 3. Yellow Dog Linux 6.0 was just released a few days ago and the TerraSoft website revealed that Yellow Dog Linux 6.0 would be "Available from YDL.net Enhanced accounts and pre-installed with Sony PS3s — Tuesday, February 5, 2008."
Yellow Dog Linux 6.0 brings new features to the operating system such as:
* E17 & Gnome installed by default, KDE included.
* Gnash, the Flash work-alike.
* Ekiga VoIP, Pidgin IM/IRC, and Fluendo codec installer.
* kernel v2.6.23, gcc v4.1.1, gblic v2.5, and Eclipse v3.2.2
* The only Linux distribution to include by default Cell SDK v3.0.
* IBM iRT (interactive raytrace) demo available via YDL.net Enhanced.
Although famous for being user-friendly and providing the most in terms of flexibility, it is difficult to predict if this is a feature that all PS3 owners would appreciate. It is also interesting to see this announcement leaking out and whether the could mean that the pre-installed version of Linux 6.0 will be featured on a new PS3 SKU that could possibly be on the way.
Source: QJ.net