On Tue, Jul 17, 2007 at 10:19:30AM -0700, Mark_Danks@PlayStation.Sony.Com wrote:
I can say that Sony has no plans to open up the PSP to homebrew apps.
The Nintendo DS on the other hand is wonderful to homebrew for if people are looking for a handheld console (with a touchscreen!) to develop for, and people have ported Linux to it already. The Gp2x is also great, being a totally open, Linux based system. If mobile phones are your thing then the Openmoko is looking pretty cool - looking forward to Pd based ringtones on that one!
As Alberto wrote, I ported PDa to the Gp2x and I am waiting for some time to finish my Nintendo DS port of Pd/PDa.
On the PS2 and PS3, there is Linux, which gives you close to full access to the box (although on the PS3, the RSX is still locked out).
Running Linux on the PS2 requires a package to be purchased from Sony that costs more than a PS2 and is unavailable in most places these days (all the links to resellers are broken on Sony's playstation2 linux website). This is a markedly different situation from running Linux on PCs and some other consoles where you can just download the binary, whack it on some media, and boot. But hats off to Sony for doing the port anyway, I guess.
I saw Yellowdog Linux running on the PS3 at Linux.conf.au earlier this year, but as you say it was crippled pretty severely in the graphics department without accelerated 3d.
To my mind, this makes the running Linux and other FOSS on the Playstation pretty unattractive; why would I make the effort only to be crippled by Sony's restrictions? But then I'm just a small-fry one-man developer and Sony are a megacorporation, so surely they know best.
I am starting up a program for North American universities to have access to full PSP dev kits. Once the program is in place, I will let people know. The program is already running in the UK (contact me if you want to know which universities are currently participating).
Great! Congratulations on the neat job sir, glad to see that you are having a positive effect already.
Best,
Chris.