Linus Torvalds on PS3

[version]

Name: Linus Torvalds (torvalds@osdl.org) 5/9/06

blah (blah@blah.com) on 5/9/06 wrote:
>
>BTW, I see very little difference in chucking out $600
>bucks every few years for a console verse $600 for a
>graphic card upgrade. Well other then the fact that the
>later is actually useful for something other then games.

Umm? A lot of people would spend $600 just to avoid
having to have to worry about the PC and games.

I realize that geeks are often totally anti-social and
unable to form any human relationships, but guys, even if
you can't relate to most humans around you, how about
spending five minutes looking at them?

Think of yourself as the Jane Goodall of geekdom - spend
a few minutes examining the stange life of people who do
things away from the computer. It's worth it.

One thing you'll find is that to most people, having "the
computer" be "the game machine" is actually an absolutely
enormous negative.

A lot of gamers do gaming socially, on a couch. Now, if
you're a geek, "socially" means that you're trash-talking
somebody over the internet, and that "couch" part makes
no sense, but out there, you'll find tons of people who
use a couch rather than a chair, because (gasp! Horror of
horrors!) it fits two or more people!

In other words, game machines are often used in settings
where a computer simply is not a bonus, or asked for.

Game machines are also often used at the same time the
computer is (teenager vs the person who actually uses the
computer for work).

Game machines are also often used by people who really do
not have a clue - and don't want to learn - about driver
installation, or even opening their machine to insert a
new graphics card.

Game machines also tend to be better off with a bigger
TV screen, while a big TV screen for a computer is often
totally inappropriate (a 30" monitor is huge as hell: a 30"
TV screen can be pretty damn small from the sofa).

Paying $600 for the ability to say "screw that piece of
sh*t windows machine" is a cheap price to pay for the
people who care.

>Anyone who would defend that price point for a freaking
>console is beyond me.

Hey, I probably wouldn't do it (I just don't play enough),
but at least I can see why people sure as hell don't want
to use the computer. You have to be a geek to want to
play on a computer. And most people aren't geeks.

(Yeah, yeah, I realize that some games do actually play
better with a keyboard. Not the common kinds of games,
though).

So I would rephrase your incredulity as

"Anybody who would bother to upgrade their work machine
to also play games - but more inconveniently than a
dedicated machine - is beyond me. Most people hate
their computer, and would prefer to stay as far away as
possible from it".

Linus

[version]

Paying $600 for the ability to say "screw that piece of
sh*t windows machine" is a cheap price to pay for the
people who care.

[julps31]

Huh...?

[Smokey]

Huh...?
me too?

[Smokey]

so this is a positive thread version :)

[julps31]

Locky, locky :locked:

[xbdestroya]

Version I just don't think people understood you were actually quoting Linus Torvalds on the PS3 price. :)

(remember to use the actual quote tabs!)

I deleted the link to the forum by the way, just because... I don't know, I just want to make sure that people don't go over there and start bugging/spamming him!

[julps31]

Okay..for one who is Linus Torvalds, and why do we care what he thinks? I don't really understand what hes saying. Is he for buying the PS3 or against it?

[stanDarsh]

Linus Torvald is the guy who made linux.

[julps31]

Linus Torvald is the guy who made linux.Alright..thanks. Version needs to make sure that he provides more info when he makes post like this.

[version]

Okay..for one who is Linus Torvalds, and why do we care what he thinks?

ehh, lol, sorry

[yoshaw]

It reads like the dying wish/will from someone who's about to get pwned for life!

[Gegenki]

He's sayin that thers no difference between upgrading a pc every few years or a console every few years

(but imo theres a huge difference. I spent £400 on my PC 4 months ago. It was only 2 years old. Semi conductor technology progresses greatly every 18 months. We expect the ps3 to be around for at 4 of those 18month cycles (6 years) that PC's go through)

and those who are slamming the PS3 don't seem to realise that the P stands for personal as in you play it on your own not with 4 buddies sittin next to ya throwin food about and makin jokes

[Garfunkel]

dammit! i thought it was something on linux, not linus's thoughts.

great slap in the face to windoze though

[xone_4]

Ammmm! Question

what do you think about the installed base of the Linux OS After releasing the ps3 in about 3 to 4 years ?

I keep thinking M$ Must start to get realy scared }:>

[woundingchaney]

Ammmm! Question

what do you think about the installed base of the Linux OS After releasing the ps3 in about 3 to 4 years ?

I keep thinking M$ Must start to get realy scared }:>
I think it will have no to extremely little affect on PCs or the home/office computing industry.

[PhYmon]

I thought the PS3 will come with Linux already! but whatever and I dont think that m$ is going to get scared cuz they already have an OS running on their machines and my guess is when sony get to put linux on the PS3 m$ will do the same, but remember linux is for pro ppl and even for geeks that can learn how to use it from internet :P is not that easy to use (but if u use a good distro of linux, it could make it kinda of easy)

[xone_4]

No think about it this way

linux is installed on ps3.
ps3 sell 100 million unit.
some people didnt even know about linux start using it on a daily basis.
programmers start to grasp the full power of ps3 combined with linux.
and with support from ibm and other linux supporters.
M$ domination start To Fall off ;)

just look at the psp homebrew community and you well see what the talented people can do with the power on there hands.
and even the power they even dont fully have :P
i mean is there a homebrow community for th DS?

and look at firefox and safari market share growth and you well feel the
need for change the people need From M$ OS and applications

[xbdestroya]

It's hard to say to what degree people will associate the PS3 XMB with Linux though; the PS3 may duplicate and/or supplant useage of a PC in some areas, in some instances, but I don't think people will walk away from it thinking 'Linux.'

The homebrew will take off with the savvier folk though, and in that sense it's certainly a good thing.

(guys refrain from the $ instead of S's)

I just think the quote's cool because it's basically Linus Torvalds saying: 'Stop whining about the price.'

[xone_4]

well i think the online capability and browsing throw the console it self going to accelerate the process on unimaginable manner download linux apps directly from web to you ps3 hard and run it without needing a PC

and the psp is already have a lot of interface remakes instead of the XMB
if you want i well show you some
and some of them is really cool

and tell me what do you mostly need a pc for and when you must go to your pc to do something and if you have it on the ps3 well you use the pc instead?

[xbdestroya]

Well... I mean you can game on a PC as well, but still console gaming is more popular. It's not just about what a system can or cannot do, it's about what a system sometimes does better.

I'm a big fan of multi-function, so I'll be surfing the web on PS3 no doubt, but at the same time, wouldn't it be easier to surf on a PC, to burn CDs/DVDs, to download codecs for unsupported formates, etc etc...?

I mean I don't MS is happy with this functionality in PS3, but at the same time it's not close to being the PCs death knell.

[PhYmon]

I get ur point XB! im looking forward to get a PS3 not in the short time, Im talking about in the long period of time, cuz I thinking on getting the high end one! cuz I want to post my stuff from the PS3 using my wifi router and I dont want feel cut off without the HDMI conector if someday im lucky enought to get a HDTV.. i know, i know offtopic sorry hehehe!

[xone_4]

i personally think the ps3 well cut the time i spend on my "quad 2.7 G5 16gb ram 30inch cinema display" by about 45% to 55% just thinking about the new ps3 only community and the comfort of leaving my offece room to the more relaxing sofa for doing more casual things like chatting and web browsing and of course nextgen gaming ;)

so what about this poor pc users?

[xbdestroya]

i personally think the ps3 well cut the time i spend on my "quad 2.7 G5 16gb ram 30inch cinema display" by about 45% to 55% just thinking about the new ps3 only community and the comfort of leaving my offece room to the more relaxing sofa for doing more casual things like chatting and web browsing and of course nextgen gaming ;)

so what about this poor pc users?

Ok now how does you spending less time on your Mac hurt Microsoft? :smoke:

[Viano]

Paying $600 for the ability to say "screw that piece of
sh*t windows machine" is a cheap price to pay for the
people who care.

thyt this is tooo funny...

[xone_4]

no i leaved my pc for about 5 months now already but im talking about the need of change i mean if im willing to leave the more elegant Os for the new ps3 experience
what the other pc users do.

im sure the next years will be critical for MS

[Gegenki]

Some research taht I did for some work about a month or two ago showed that Linux had ( I think it was ) 3% (if not less) market share. Windows was at 90%
Windows will never be taken down by linux for the simple fact that it's way to hard to do simple things like install a program.
I doubt the PS3 will have the kind of functionallity a computer would have because it would be too risky in terms of system safesty.
The psp homebrew guys, know how to program, I gotta give them that, but theres nothing really amazing. Their ability to find holes in the firmware is good but as far as useful apps go they aren't all that far. Probably the best thing I have seen is IR Shell, which has loads of hex codes to make the psp remotes for all different things, and it also allows for the running of psp games while playing music off of the memory stick. The majority of PSP apps are used for illegal purposes. The rest are just rip offs of old games, and operating system shells that make no sense (by the time you open the os shell you coulda done what you were gonna do in XMB)

[xone_4]

well what im saying it is not gonna happen over night but if you add 100 million users to the market share you get alot of possibilitys here, and i don't say the homebrow psp apps have something useful as i look for the power of the ps3 combined to that effort (consider the psp power + sony anti-homebrow policy).
but ps3 well be open from day 1 and the power is amazing
and lastly if ther is enough linux users in the market the big software houses well ba interested and the the fun well begin.

and for the shell and XMB i mean we well not be sock with it and we well see other options supposedly.

and i have a question how many windows users out there?

[Infernal]

I use Windows. Mainly because I HATE macs, the way they work just pisses me off. I have never tried Linux but ill give it a shot on PS3. However do you really think me using Linux on my PS3 will change anything about my computer. No it wont, simply because even if I suddenly think "ZOMG Linux is TEH PWNZORS!!111one!!11". Ill still end up using Windows on my PC simply because every program on PC is designed for Windows (well most). MS really has nothing to worry about when it comes to the PC market and PS3 isnt going to change that.

[jumbo]

What I find funny here is that the guy who made Linux calls people who play on computers, geeks, anti-socials.. Imagine that. The guy prolly spend 10 years in his mom's basement writin the damn thing..

[cpiasminc]

The guy prolly spend 10 years in his mom's basement writin the damn thing..
Ummm... Linux happens to be Torvald's undergrad senior project. Most schools won't allow you without some sort of formal petition to set aside more than 4 semesters for that (not including summers).

And when I was living out here 2 years ago, Torvald's home was about a 15-minute walk from my place (of course, he's in Seattle now, and I'm living in the bay again). I've had this same discussion with him many times before. It's actually not unusual for him to deride people even if he's self-inclusive in his statement -- and neither am I really. Hell, I happen to be a massive geek, and I'm more than willing to admit that we really don't enjoy being around other people, and we're all anti-social.

[Domination]

i personally think the ps3 well cut the time i spend on my "quad 2.7 G5 16gb ram 30inch cinema display" by about 45% to 55% just thinking about the new ps3 only community and the comfort of leaving my offece room to the more relaxing sofa for doing more casual things like chatting and web browsing and of course nextgen gaming ;)

so what about this poor pc users?

I SO agree. At times, i found myself wanting to get a footstool for the PC room, but not anymore. I, too, believe I'll be in that same boat.

[xone_4]

Domination
i realy wish the ps3 adoption of many pc features softens the geeky life of some people a bit.

ummm i... wishhhh

[Garfunkel]

people should try some distros now, so that you know what linux is all about before ps3

[lshian]

Linux is just another operatin system, do you how sux is when MSDOS out and Window 3.1. It just 100 million users created nowaday windows. Think guys.