Linux Distro Comparison Thread

[604Da]

I've got YDL on my PS3, and I'm wondering what advantages there are to switching to Gentoo, Ubuntu, or other distros.

Maybe a boot time, memory usage, app compatibility comparison would help myself and others pick a distro that's right for them.

[Zoned]

Thats a good question and it will take some further experimentation to find out how Ubuntu is going to perform. There are some advantages to YDL supposedly being the official Linux contractor from Sony, they should have the best technical information about the PS3.

However many think that because of this, YDL will be limited in any "breakthroughs" unless Sony authorizes them, which is increasingly doubtful regarding Linux access to the accelerated graphics processor.

That is why you see some of the RSX graphics functionality effort that is being pioneered within an Ubuntu distro for the PS3, its totally hacked and shows the excellent development going on.

For my requirements, I have the basic functionality checklist :

1. Can i run my apps like firefox, bittorrent, amarok no problem?

2. Can I compile Java and then run java apps imbedded in web pages in firefox?

3. Can I access the wireless internet adaptor without problem?

4. Does the distro implement the video players like Mplayer, VLC, and the various codecs ok?

5. Is there a chance that we may break through to accessing accelerated graphics with the distro's community effort?


The last one may be a holy grail, but I want to feel that I have a shot at it in the future. This to me rules out YDL.

Don't get me wrong, YDL was my first PS3 Linux back in December 2006, and it has a nice desktop manager, software manager, runs very well, and is relatively easy to implement.

Gentoo is just plain cool and has its unique characteristics on how it implements new software updates and packages.

Ubuntu has some attractive developmental potential. But all of these and Fedora Core 7 have basically the same general capabilities on the PS3.

my $.02