Sony Has Begun Accelerating Their Contributions To Open-Source / Linux

[Linuxxx]

Here's an interesting Sony & PlayStation related history piece that also provides some comedic value:

20 Years Later: How Concerns About Weaponized Consoles Almost Sunk the PS2


Before the PlayStation 5 arrives, let's remember the time gamers almost didn't experience the Sony PlayStation 2 because Japan felt it had military applications.

https://www.pcmag.com/news/20-years-...t-sunk-the-ps2

Now it finally makes sense why it's called Sony Computer Entertainment!

[shmerl]

Many Playstation exclusive titles are said to be eventually released for PC in order to compete with Microsoft on this additional platform. This change in direction was announced some time last year IIRC. Personally, I am hoping for Bloodborne.

I think Sony execs came to realization that exclusives tactics they were strongly using is only limiting their audience and in result they get less profits. Exclusives were always a stupid idea.

[shmerl]

I'd like to see Sony start using Vulkan. Linux on PS6 would be a good bonus too.

[kiffmet]

Gaming? PS6?

Many Playstation exclusive titles are said to be eventually released for PC in order to compete with Microsoft on this additional platform. This change in direction was announced some time last year IIRC. Personally, I am hoping for Bloodborne.

[You-]

I would be happy if my SONY XM4 headphones reported battery status for GNOME to show in power panel. Any chance of that, Sony?

Are you using Pipewire or pulseaudio?

Not specific to this but i have read about users posting that battery percentage for some products started to be reported once they moved to pipewire.

[MadeUpName]

I was surprised to see that they use Linux in their cameras. Any contributions to getting color management working better in Linux would be much appreciated.

[brad0]

It would be cool if they started using Linux on the playstation

Not in the slightest.

[holunder]

Any chance we could get some upstream FreeBSD support? PS3, PS4, and PS5 all run modified versions of FreeBSD I think but may be wrong version 10 with the PS4 and version 12 with the PS5. Would love to see better gaming support on a *BSD.

They use FreeBSD solely *because* its license doesn’t force them to open up their code. Sony is a *BSD parasite (but BSD folks seem to like it nonetheless).

[skeevy420]

The license. BSD licenses allow all the DRM they can heap upon their platforms and keep it closed source and harder to circumvent. GPL type licenses are DRM hostile and rightfully so. Has anyone forgotten Sony's gaming division's root kits? Anyone else tried that they'd have ended up in jail.

Yeah, but OpenZFS throws all that right out the window. They can throw all that stuff into the ClosedPS module.

[Michael_S]

The license. BSD licenses allow all the DRM they can heap upon their platforms and keep it closed source and harder to circumvent. GPL type licenses are DRM hostile and rightfully so. Has anyone forgotten Sony's gaming division's root kits? Anyone else tried that they'd have ended up in jail.

I suspect Sony is looking to borrow from Google. Google's got DRM working just fine (just evil, really) on Android and Chromebooks despite the GPL. So Sony realized all their extra work on *BSD platforms isn't necessary, they can use the same workarounds to GPLv2 that Google is using.