Installing YDL right now ...

[ADEX]

Fedora 5 I think is the 'safest' mainline route to go for Linux on PS3 - I wrote a guide to its installation actually at PS3 launch for the Linux newbie: http://linuxps3.net/index.php?option...33&Itemi d=32

I added a link to that in my PS3 OS page, hope you don't mind.

It's actually very easy to change your default window manager. There are GUI dialogs to set up the thing. Gnome comes pre installed. You just have to go to a simple dialog and switch to it.

Where? How?

I've installed YDL but it's a bit problematic to say the least.
I got VNC working (I am *not* using Linux on an SD TV). The desktop is very basic, the text editor didn't work and it's got a penchant for displaying black text on a black background. I reinstalled the text editor (gEdit) but it's decided I'm gonna use a black background and I have no choice in the matter. Grrrrr.

My memory is a bit fuzzy on Linux so I'm a bit lost about how to change things, reading up again though.

I've got the SDK 2.0 installed but still have some libraries to sort out.

 

[cthellis42]

....but I plan to ramp that up shortly with a new setup that will see my PS3 connected on a regular basis to my monitor (via component inputs).

On that note, I've been needing to update my monitor for some time, but have been holding off at the moment as I wait to see HDMI-enabled monitors hit the streets. At the moment, this BenQ seems pretty compelling, but I'm curious...

- Is HDCP rolled into anything that includes the HDMI standard, or does the monitor need to support it separately?
- What resolution would one end up playing at if plugging a PS3 into it? Would 720p display properly? Is there a way to get 1080p on it without culling?
- Do you need one more like this that has a native res over 1080p's to properly display it?
- Does one actually need an "LCD TV" which has different considerations, or a breakout box/conversion cable between PS3 and PC monitor to get things working neatly?
- Would any or all of this affect things if you were playing PS3 games versus running Linux at PC resolutions through the PS3 through the same route?

I'd be happy just with 720p, I suppose, as I'd mainly be getting it for the visual upgrade on the PC side, but I do like to keep all possible future considerations in mind so I don't have to buy something ELSE a year down the road that I could have been more intelligent about buying now.

 

[Xenus]

I pretty sure the answer is it natively supported but that monitor supports it anyway so if you want that one I guess it doesn't matter.

I have heard of people running monitors of similar resolution sending it a 1080P signal and the monitor down scaling but that might be a by monitor basis so you might want to check with people who have tried that specific model and either way I'd say the vast difference in those prices wouldn't make it worth it anyway.

 

[one]

On that note, I've been needing to update my monitor for some time, but have been holding off at the moment as I wait to see HDMI-enabled monitors hit the streets. At the moment, this BenQ seems pretty compelling, but I'm curious...

These BenQ monitors (and Dell monitors as BenQ OEM) may not support 1:1 aspect ratio in older firmwares so you have to check it can actually display 1080p/720p picture correctly via HDMI, i.e. not expanded to 1920x1200/1680x1050 which are not 16:9, if you intend to play games/movies on them. As that model has HDCP-enabled DVI too, it may be safer than HDMI in this respect.

 

[Carl B]

BTW, Carl, it was a nice guide you wrote there (I read it even though I already have YDL and I bookmarked it because it was a pretty nice painless reference) .

Thanks Pana, from you I take that as high praise.

I've in fact been in situations where I'm bogged down in YDL (because it won't take me to the game OS properly) and have referenced it myself to get the actual command text; always a little trippy and surreal when you're referencing your own work to figure out how to do things! Of course my blanking on something as simple as 'boot-game-os' is a whole 'nother matter altogether...

I do not have a monitor that accepts component or HDMI input (I use a laptop), so I plan to keep YDL on the PLAYSTATION 3 (E17 is not that ugly and it is quite light on resources as you also noticed, it is barebones, but it works), plus I do not like to use a TV for coding (even an HDTV... I would also have to buy a Desktop PC and get a new monitor to use the PS3 purely as a Linux workstation).

I was on Fedora for some time in part because TerraSoft's Anaconda graphical installer works only in 720p, and I was in one of those 1080i-only situations. Going text-install I felt defeated the entire purpose of truly getting a feel for a 'user friendly' experience, and so I've only now recently gone back via the monitor in my new setup (vs HDTV). Though the monitor itself is not HDMI or HDCP compliant... which is where the component inputs prove useful.

Fedora Core 6 or Fedora Core 7 (with GNOME 2.16/2.18) would be nice to have too, but you know... I suspect that in the long run (given the fact YDL is pretty much compatible with Fedora Core repositories) that YDL might be better optimized for PowerPC and CELL in particular compared to Fedora Core.

Of course if, when the Core and Extra repositories merge, YDL cannot take advantage of them anymore and remains isolated to its own repos... well, by then more and more people will have experience with installing and optimizing Linux for PLAYSTATION 3 so it will be even nicer using a wider used OS like Fedora Core.

I do think that in terms of community focus, YDL should prove to be the more Cell-centric/PS3-friendly distro going forward, as among other things Terra Soft seems commited to both the architecture itself and encouraging optimization through events like their coding contests. I'm wondering when they'll release a new version with some of these optimizations built in, so we can start getting a taste of what shape SPE-accelerated apps in packaged distributions might take.

Then again though, if a strong Cell-centered homebrew community develops around one of the other distros, all bets are off. But either way, we the user should win on one level or another.

@ADEX: Feel free, by all means.

 

[Sindre]

If you have (large) flash media or a USB harddrive, you can backup all your data to that to be safe. It's in "Settings"=>"System settings"=>"Backup" and is straight-forward to use. Use that, make a partition, then restore from the backup. The on-screen text may be misleading, so to clarify a bit: all your save games, ripped albums, demos are wiped by the format (but can be backed up and restored easily). Your user account information is preserved. You don't have to fill in your info again.

Ah, thanks for the info!
Will do.

Sindre

 

[inefficient]

This is where I pimp Xming (again) because I have found it very useful: http://freedesktop.org/wiki/Xming

It's an X server for your windows PC. It lets you remotely run your Linux apps and display them on your PC. This seems to be a hard concept for Windows users to understand - so I made a screenshot. See how I have several Windows and Linux apps running on my PC at the same time.
http://img360.imageshack.us/my.php?image=untitledym8.png

You can leave your PS3 in the living room connected to your TV and still have fun playing with it back at your desk infront of the PC.

 

[Nick Laslett]

I tried to install YDL onto a USB HDD connected to my PS3. This is something firmware 1.6 is supposed to enable.

The install process went fine, took about 1 hour, 30 minutes.

When I tried to reboot YDL at the end of the install, all I got was a black screen.

I assume the PS3 is looking for YDL but because it is on the USB HDD, it is not seeing it.

I took out the DVD with the YDL iso, was I mean't to leave it in the drive? I also took out the memory stick with the otheros.bld file.

I was too tired last night to play about much. The install process seemed to go fine.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Rolf N]

I tried to install YDL onto a USB HDD connected to my PS3. This is something firmware 1.6 is supposed to enable.

The install process went fine, took about 1 hour, 30 minutes.

When I tried to reboot YDL at the end of the install, all I got was a black screen.

I assume the PS3 is looking for YDL but because it is on the USB HDD, it is not seeing it.

I took out the DVD with the YDL iso, was I mean't to leave it in the drive? I also took out the memory stick with the otheros.bld file.

I was too tired last night to play about much. The install process seemed to go fine.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

None currently, but it's okay to remove the DVD and the memory stick with the bootloader. When the installation is done, it's done. However I imagine you might need a different bootloader, one that can continue the boot process off the USB drive.