Sony removed it, has a hacker put it back in?
Sony's original model PS3 launched with the ability of a Linux install to be installed onto the internal harddrive, giving buttloads of flexibility for users who wanted to use the box as anything from a basic PC to a single node in a supercomputing cluster.
This functionality, called OtherOS, was stripped out of the PS3 when the Slim model launched, though at the time the original models still retained it - but the v3.21 update that hit on April 1 removed the ability from all PS3 units.
Thankfully for those who like their devices retaining, not losing features, hacker George Hotz has supposedly created a workaround firmware based off v3.15 that restores the functionality; potentially even giving it to the Slim as well.
Though he claims to have worked a solution, he hasn't posted the firmware online, with a simple YouTube video being the only evidence that he's got.
Still, for those who have messed around with Linux on the PS3 and would like to continue to do so, it's a good sign that you might have an option in the future.
Head to Kotaku to read a little more about Hotz's hack.
Issue: 133 | February, 2012