Despite its beginnings as a video game console, the Sony PlayStation 3 has emerged as a force to be reckoned with in building Linux-based supercomputing clusters on the cheap, attracting users like the Folding@Home project and the U.S. Air Force.
Now, however, Sony has moved to block users from installing alternative OSes like Linux on the PS3, citing security worries. And users aren’t happy, slapping the consumer electronics giant with a class-action lawsuit. LinuxPlanet takes a look.
Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) faces a class action lawsuit following a recent an update to its PlayStation 3 console that removes the ability to put alternate operating systems on the console.
The late March update for the PlayStation 3 restricts the installation of an alternative operating system to the console’s native OS. The feature, called ‘Install Other OS,’ has been removed, three years after the console’s introduction, “due to security concerns,” the company said in a blog post.