Dear Sam, First, I'll share a link to a thread on the YDL Board discussing this same topic: http://www.yellowdog-board.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=7266&p=38471#p38471
Next, I'll address the points you raised regarding the exploit created by Geohot by attempting to clarify the background issues. The problem is essentially one of perception regarding to whose "right of property" we are talking about when one creates or purchases any electronic device. First a tiny bit of history, Geohot reached fame by creating software/hardware modifications to the iPhone which allowed consumers who purchased it to use the full range of it's potential within any phone service the consumer used. This was great for the consumer as in the consumer's view s/he purchased the device to use as s/he saw fit to service the essential functions valued by the consumer. There is also behind this effort (and I'm sure Geohot is quite aware of this) the older tradition/view regarding the design purpose of Unix itself which always included the capacity to control every aspect of hardware; in that period of course these systems were owned by institutions and government agencies; it was critical for the Engineering/IT departments of that era to have and maintain full control. It was also common practice of that era, which continues today, for both manufacturers and IT departments share control of services and systems. Technology moved forward such that Linux incorporates, as we know, many, if not all the features of Unix, which allows anyone to have control over the hardware a consumer owns. However, as a society we have not exactly defined the relationship between an individual consumer and the manufacturer of the product that consumer purchased/owns. Does the consumer have the right to expect the same control and freedom to implement services the consumer finds advantageous to the consumer's interests although the manufacturer may not agree or have originally designed their product to address that task? Apple designed the iPhone to be a tool to be used exclusively with AT&T expecting consumers to abide by that restriction. Apple also years earlier also designed the first Macintosh with only a floppy drive and without an internal hard drive whose 68000 PowerPC CPU only could access 128K of RAM. What moved Apple forward then was the consumer's insistence that more was necessary to meet the consumer's vision of how to implement Apple's creation. An argument supported by the experience of other companies with their respective consumers is that this trend is not unknown and that a company's growth is related to how that company responds or addresses the demands of their consumers. Sometimes there are a convergence of ideas, services and new products -- sometimes nothing useful happens, markets change and companies die. It is not always clear what direction is best, but it is usually always the case that a series of direct interactions occur between manufacturers and consumers. There is a clear distinction and understanding of moving a product towards greater utility matching how the consumer envisions usage of the manufacturer's product versus the theft of concepts and inventions. If history is any guide of what creates a resolution usually such convergence is the result of market and technological factors, not legal maneuvering alone. Technological and market forces influence daily reality much faster as a rule. For instance, last year IBM announced that no further development on the Cell would occur and work instead had proceed ahead to a new CPU architecture which incorporates aspects of the Cell design integrated with Intel. This means that exclusively PowerPC based code programming has ended and has moved to code processed for x86 based systems. The introduction of the newer design was evidenced in the Toshiba SpursEngine which was avaiable in the Qosimo and Leadtek WinFast device which then sold for $150-$160; the current price for the Leadtek WinFast ranges between $20-$28. Access to the Leadtek WinFast requires the Leadtek SDK which is x86 based source which runs on x86 based Linux which is offered by the way by Fixstars as well. What is interesting however is that as advanced beyond the Cell as the WinFast is, newer CPU architectures will be coming to market very soon which are even better. Considering that IBM supplied the Cell to Microsoft (Xbox), Nintendo (Wii) and Sony (PS3) the new CPU architecture will be employed by these companies to replace the Cell, unless of course Sony is forced to stay with an antiquated architecture. The new CPU has more varied uses than being relegated to a game computer, so it should become more prevalent in the consumer marketplace than the Cell or any PowerPC system ever achieved. It will support however only x86 based operating systems and Linux. Regarding the question will Geohot's exploit, or any other similarly illegal violation, be supported by any commercial entity such as Fixstars - my guess is no. YDL, nor any of the related family of products were never haphazard hastily designed hacks which many exploits tend to be. Therefore any Linux (maybe Slackware or Debian or something else) which supports the exploit will not have the reliability which had been established by the YDL family produced by TSS or now Fixstars. There will be people who don't care one way or the other. However I believe Fixstars will very much care as they have a vested interest in maintaining the pristine name of YDL and related family of products as high quality product engineering which maintains dependable functionality. All the best... On Sun, 9 May 2010 22:54:52 +1200 Sam Lummis <[email protected]> wrote: > I agree to an extent. However I understand from Sonys perspective > their console was not made as a cheap alternative for Cell > programmers to use but as a piece of consumer electronics which > they sell at a loss in order to make money off software and in my > opinion this allows greater control over their hardware opposed to > a PC. I initially bought my launch PS3 instead of an Xbox simply > because it had the OtherOS functionality and I enjoy programming > and the Linux OS. Essentially I don't feel abused by Sony by the > update, they'd already taken the functionality out of the new PS3's > and if I you want to continue using the feature you can simply not > update to the new feature and you can continue using the old > firmware along with a proxy to access the PSN if you still use it. > > My question about YDL's continued support is if a relatively easy > softmod is released at some point if they will exploit the new > found hardware access? > > > On Sat, May 8, 2010 at 2:25 AM, Mike Birlew <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > I whole heartedly agree with you. I don't see how anyone on > > this thread could disagree, yld is why were here. If they get > > away with this, I fear as others do, that this will allow a wave > > of abuse by companies downgrading your product after they have > > advertised it as something else. All in the name of Intellectual > > Property and unconscionable EUA's. I'm seriously expecting to > > see a "power of attorney" clause in one of these someday. > > > > > > On Sat, May 1, 2010 at 4:46 PM, Mike Erwin > > <[email protected]>wrote: > > > >> Normally I wish people well... but I hope Sony has to pay for > >> their bait & switch. The PS3 has been fantastic for games and > >> movies, but its main appeal (for geeks like me) was as a Cell > >> programming workstation. My army of PowerMacs is no longer > >> supported, but at least Apple didn't remotely disable them! Or > >> turn them into iTunes Music Store kiosks. That's essentially > >> what Sony has done. > >> > >> Mike Erwin > >> musician, naturalist, pixel pusher, hacker extraordinaire > >> > >> On Thu, Apr 29, 2010 at 6:48 PM, Kai Staats <[email protected]> > >> wrote: > >> > http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/04/playstation-linux/
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