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>Before Sony stripped Linux from the PS3, they were being used to build super computers. Heck, my undergrad program tried getting on that hype train and we got

by prvit 4y ago

>Before Sony stripped Linux from the PS3, they were being used to build super computers. Heck, my undergrad program tried getting on that hype train and we got two PS3s running YellowDog linux and were starting to put together a grant proposal for a small compute cluster when Sony broke the news. The PS3 was built on very exotic hardware, PS5 is just a regular x86 computer. Playing with Linux on a PS3 at least had a bit of a novelty factor, with PS5 there’s none. Did those PS3 supercomputers end up being a good investment? Probably not. > If you've ever used Kodi, it started as the "XBox Media Center" project. So Kodi would probably not be what it is today without people jailbreaking the OG XBox so they could use it for a media "PC". The market has moved long past that. The OG Xbox had something to offer that you couldn’t easily get elsewhere, that’s not the case anymore. > People are still playing Quake Arena, Doom, and other og XBox games on real hw A handful of hardcore enthusiasts.

ajford 4y ago
> Did those PS3 supercomputers end up being a good investment? Probably not. In our analysis at the time, it was an economical supercomputer that could hit our needs. It doesn't have to be the best investment, just a decent one at the time. You seem to entirely discount the fact that sometimes the journey is just as important. In this case, half the purpose behind the grant proposal was education and outreach engagement. The novelty of using PS3s was enough to get some traction with local highschool students and introduce them to computing topics in new ways. > The market has moved long past that. The OG Xbox had something to offer that you couldn’t easily get elsewhere, that’s not the case anymore. And who's to say people experimenting with the PS5 won't be creating something new we'll be talking about in 10 years? These are powerful machines, why artificially restrict what they can do? Homebrew alone gives people ways to play with hardware they wouldn't normally be able to experiment with. > A handful of hardcore enthusiasts. ~5k active participants in the Insignia community is more than a handful. Sure, it's not hundreds of thousands but it's not exactly public yet either. And there are thousands in similar communities for the PS Vita, Nintendo 3DS, and Wii to name a few. Either way, these communities directly demonstrate that jailbreaking hardware does indeed extend a console's lifetime.
- prvit 4y ago
  >You seem to entirely discount the fact that sometimes the journey is just as important. I don't. I very much acknowledge that the PS3 was a very novel piece of hardware, but the same doesn't apply to consoles in general. >And who's to say people experimenting with the PS5 won't be creating something new we'll be talking about in 10 years? These are powerful machines, why artificially restrict what they can do? They might, no doubt. But there's nothing novel about developing on a PS5, at least the original Xbox offered a unique form factor in its price bracket. >Homebrew alone gives people ways to play with hardware they wouldn't normally be able to experiment with. Yes, but PS5 hardware is just regular PC hardware. It's not exotic and exciting like the PS3 or Xbox were. >~5k active participants in the Insignia community is more than a handful. Sure, it's not hundreds of thousands but it's not exactly public yet either. And there are thousands in similar communities for the PS Vita, Nintendo 3DS, and Wii to name a few. Either way, these communities directly demonstrate that jailbreaking hardware does indeed extend a console's lifetime. These are communities consisting of some thousands of people, but we're talking about hardware that sells 100+ million units.

by prvit 4y ago

ajford 4y ago

> Did those PS3 supercomputers end up being a good investment? Probably not. In our analysis at the time, it was an economical supercomputer that could hit our needs. It doesn't have to be the best investment, just a decent one at the time. You seem to entirely discount the fact that sometimes the journey is just as important. In this case, half the purpose behind the grant proposal was education and outreach engagement. The novelty of using PS3s was enough to get some traction with local highschool students and introduce them to computing topics in new ways. > The market has moved long past that. The OG Xbox had something to offer that you couldn’t easily get elsewhere, that’s not the case anymore. And who's to say people experimenting with the PS5 won't be creating something new we'll be talking about in 10 years? These are powerful machines, why artificially restrict what they can do? Homebrew alone gives people ways to play with hardware they wouldn't normally be able to experiment with. > A handful of hardcore enthusiasts. ~5k active participants in the Insignia community is more than a handful. Sure, it's not hundreds of thousands but it's not exactly public yet either. And there are thousands in similar communities for the PS Vita, Nintendo 3DS, and Wii to name a few. Either way, these communities directly demonstrate that jailbreaking hardware does indeed extend a console's lifetime.

prvit 4y ago
>You seem to entirely discount the fact that sometimes the journey is just as important. I don't. I very much acknowledge that the PS3 was a very novel piece of hardware, but the same doesn't apply to consoles in general. >And who's to say people experimenting with the PS5 won't be creating something new we'll be talking about in 10 years? These are powerful machines, why artificially restrict what they can do? They might, no doubt. But there's nothing novel about developing on a PS5, at least the original Xbox offered a unique form factor in its price bracket. >Homebrew alone gives people ways to play with hardware they wouldn't normally be able to experiment with. Yes, but PS5 hardware is just regular PC hardware. It's not exotic and exciting like the PS3 or Xbox were. >~5k active participants in the Insignia community is more than a handful. Sure, it's not hundreds of thousands but it's not exactly public yet either. And there are thousands in similar communities for the PS Vita, Nintendo 3DS, and Wii to name a few. Either way, these communities directly demonstrate that jailbreaking hardware does indeed extend a console's lifetime. These are communities consisting of some thousands of people, but we're talking about hardware that sells 100+ million units.