Playstation II draait Linux

Nospam schrijft: "Ik kwam bij een interessant artikeltje over een samenwerking tussen "Linux" en Sony. De PlaySstation 2 zal namelijk een vorm vanLinux als OS hebben! Dit vanwege de grote hoeveelheid beschikbare programmeurs en het feit dat men van Microsoft helemaal geen hulp hoefde te verwachten, sinds men daar ook bezig is met het ontwikkelen van een console":

The console game arena is big business. PlayStation game console sales, for example, currently exceed 60 million units per year. In hopes of building on that base, Sony will be launching its long-awaited PlayStation2 "computer entertainment system" in the U.S. this fall, following a March 4 launch in Japan — and it features a version of Linux as its OS.

According to Sony, PlayStation2 will combine movies, games, music, and Net access in one console, and is expecting to ship one million units in the first week. The system will support both audio CD and DVD-video formats, and will even be backward-compatible with the original PlayStation. The unit is expected to have more graphics power than PCs and to cost less, as well.

The lack of licensing fees and large numbers of Linux developers were, in part, what convinced Sony to use Linux in Playstation2. And since then, Linux has been encroaching on territory that Microsoft hoped to own with its grand plans for family entertainment.