According to Eurogamer, a company called Terra Soft will be releasing their version of Linux called 'Yellow Dog' on the Playstation 3 for free after two weeks of exclusive availability to subscribers of their pay online service and another two weeks of selling pre-made install discs online.

Linux for free on your PS 3. "This sounds too good to be true" is the first thought that comes to mind, but it appears that this has Sony's blessing which is somewhat baffling. Normally the reason behind having a closed platform is so that a group of people doesn't come along and freely produce something to rival the things you sink money and development time into working on.

That being said, Sony has a track record of being progressive with letting its users develop things having started the Net Yaroze program to let people develop for the playstation for $750 and then there was even limited linux development on the Playstation 2. For the longest time, independent application development has been a major piece of ammunition for the legal use of modchips in consoles; maybe this is the next step in not only letting users get the most from their console, but stopping piracy as well. The downside to all of this being that if you open your platform, you run the risk of it being easier for someone to figure out to hack your system.

Having dependent developers on your side could end up being a great boon too. Look at Alien Hominid , it was a flash game on the internet that got retooled as full home console game and now the developers are working on a new XBox Live Arcade game. Who knows where the next mega blockbuster hit will come from? It just might end up being something someone develops in their garage. Speaking of which, this may also be an effort to help counter Microsoft's new $100 game development kit for XBox Live Arcade...

Personally, I'm wondering how long it'll take someone to get an NES emulator running on the PS3 after Yellow Dog is released. (Yes, I'll be interested in playing Super Mario Bros. on my PS3 just for the irony factor) Depending on the limitations here, this could actually end up being the best reason to own a PS3 for a while considering how many creative independent developers there are out there.

Does this change anyone's mind about the PS3? What types of applications would you like to see developed for your PS3? Does it sound too good to be true?

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Must run Day of the Tentacle on PS3...