Re: Linux and the Sony Playstation 2

[Carsten Langgaard <carstenl@mips.com>]

The DVDs you get with the linux kit, contain all necessary hardware
documentation.

/Carsten


David Christensen wrote:

> Kevin:
>
> Kevin D. Kissell <kevink@mips.com> wrote on linux-mips@oss.sgi.com:
> > The Sony PS2 Linux kit has been shipping for nearly...
>
> If the PS2 is an open source platform, I would like to know that.
> However, I do not see Sony on the OSI approved license list:
>
>     http://www.opensource.org/licenses/index.php
>
> So, let me get out my soap box...
>
> When people say "Open Source", the first thing that comes to mind is
> software.  But, this is only one half of the equation.  The hardware
> must also be "open", or the concept doesn't work.  First, because
> attempting to write systems software without complete and accurate
> hardware documentation is an exercise in reverse engineering.  The
> community can better spend its time on documented hardware.  Second, and
> more importantly, because any intellectual property (IP) encumbrance
> will make the results pointless in the marketplace.
>
> Closed hardware breaks the community development model.  Vendors who
> provide a Linux distribution but keep their hardware proprietary cannot
> honestly claim "Open Source".  Vendors who fully disclose and freely
> license both their hardware and software have embraced "Open Source".
> As consumers, we vote with our dollars. As engineers, we further one
> cause or the other by our education, employment, and personal project
> choices.
>
> David Christensen
> dpchrist@holgerdanske.com

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