A customized version of Yellow Dog Linux

May 29, 2007 18:23 GMT  ·  By

Under a basic agreement with Terra Soft Solutions (the creators of Yellow Dog Linux), HELIOS Software GmbH, leading developer of cross-platform networking, PDF and image server solutions for Linux, Mac and Windows systems, released today a Linux distribution for the Sony PlayStation3 gaming console. The distribution is a modified version of the Yellow Dog Linux (YDL) and it's optimized to use the PS3 as a test-drive server.

Highlights of HELIOS PS3 Linux:

■ Free download from HELIOS web site ■ Easy installation, ready to run in a few minutes ■ Excellent Linux on PS3 documentation from HELIOS ■ Dedicated server operating system with optimized performance (40% more memory available) ■ Java 1.5 runtime is pre-installed ■ Easy maintenance shell from CD ■ HELIOS services are pre-installed as a test-drive

I wanted to install and test the HELIOS Linux distribution, so I downloaded the ISO image from their servers, burned it on a blank CD and quickly headed over to our PS3. Here are the installation instructions and first impressions about HELIOS PS3 Linux Server.

HELIOS Installation

The installation process took almost 6-7 minutes (not including the PS3 hard drive format and Other OS installation).

Things needed:

1. USB flash drive or a Memory Card (PS3 can read only SD/miniSD Memory Card, Memory Stick PRO (Duo) and CompactFlash). Or as an alternative, you can use a portable hard disk, like I did.

2. USB keyboard and mouse so you can navigate through your HELIOS PS3 Linux, and to be able to go back to the PS3 OS.

3. Last but not least the HELIOS PS3 Linux ISO image, which you can always download from Softpedia. You actually have to login to the HELIOS server http://webshare.helios.de with the user tools and password tools, then you need to go the "HELIOS Linux for PS3" folder, select the "HELIOS Linux for PS3 v1.iso" file and click the 'Download' button.

Prepare your PS3 for Other OS installation:

WARNING: All the data from your PS3 console will be erased (saved games and/or game demos). Back up all the important data before you continue. The PS3 operating system will NOT be affected.

You will need to partition the PS3 hard drive, otherwise you will not be able to install HELIOS. Open your PS3, Log in and go to "Settings -> System Settings", scroll down until you find the "Format Utility", press X on it and go to "Format Hard Disk" (last option). You'll be asked if you want to format your hard disk, so press Yes and then you must choose a partition setting for the hard drive. Select the "Custom" option, then select "Allot 10GB to the Other OS" option and do a "Quick Format". When it's done, reboot your PS3 and you will be back on the XMB (PS3's operating system).

The KBoot installation:

As I don't have a USB flash drive, I used my Western Digital portable hard drive, and created a folder called PS3 and inside this folder I created another one called OTHEROS. Then, I put the otheros.bld file, that you can download from Softpedia (choose the "otheros.bld for HELIOS PS3 Linux"), inside the "OTHEROS" folder. Go to "Settings -> System Settings -> Install Other Os" and hit X to detect and install the Kboot bootloader.

Boot the HELIOS PS3 Linux and install it

Go to "Settings -> System Settings -> Default System" (press X) and select Other OS. You'll be asked if you want to quit your PS3 system and start the other OS. Choose Yes and wait for the PS3 to reboot. In a few seconds you will see two cute penguins on top of your TV screen and a lot of text will scroll. Insert the HELIOS Linux CD in your PS3, wait for the kboot prompt to appear and type sh to get a shell.

Type:

mount -r /dev/cdrom /root

Hit enter, then type:

/root/installer

and hit enter. You will see the "HELIOS PS3 Installer v1.0". Choose the first option: I (hit enter and the installer will begin). That's all you have to do! Now get a cup of coffee and wait about 5 minutes for the installer to finish. When it is over, all the text will disappear and you'll see:

Yellow Dog Linux release 5.0 (Phoenix) Kernel 2.6.16 on an ppc64

localhost login:

Use the user root and password ps3 to login into the HELIOS system.

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The Desktop and Applications

To get into the X environment, type startx and hit enter. In 2 seconds you'll see a very nice Yellow Dog Linux splash screen and after it, the desktop will appear. X11 is powered by the very popular Enlightenment desktop environment, development version E17 (0.16.999.036). You must have a few knowledge about Enlightenment, in order to use it, but I bet you're a fast learner if you managed to get this far. The menu can be accessed from the blue icon situated on the left side of the taskbar or by left clicking (no right click) anywhere on the desktop area.

Among the installed applications (which are very few in this first version), I noticed the Mozilla Firefox web browser, GIMP image editor, Xpad sticky notes, VNC viewer, a dictionary, a calculator and the Gnome terminal. Also, for programmers there is VIM - Vi IMproved software installed.

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All in all, the system is superb, Enlightenment E17 is a beauty and the whole system is pretty damn fast. And I have to admit that it's faster than Ubuntu 7.04 on PS3.

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Go back to the PS3 OS

You will probably want to go back to your PS3's operating system at some point. How do you do it? Just open the start menu and go to Applications -> System Tools -> Boot PS3 Game OS (PS3 Game OS). That's all, the system will reboot and the PS3 OS will start.

There is a nice video below with the HELIOS PS3 Linux operating system that we've recorded here at Softpedia. The video has an alternate ending, as we wanted to show how simple and fast you can switch between HELIOS Linux and the PS3 OS. Enjoy!