10 Generation Defining Elements of the PlayStation 3

Linux and Unix

One of the selling points for the more inventive people was the ability of installing Linux or Unix on the powerful system using OtherOS. This allowed users access to 6 of the 7 available Cell processor cores, but not to the RSX 'Reality Synthesizer' graphics chip. Even so, it was novel to have the ability of introducing an open source operating system on a console – a traditionally closed system.

At least that was the case until 2010, when Sony introduced an update on April 1st discontinuing support of the feature (which wasn’t available at all on the Slim version). People were mad about it, seeing it as the removal of a feature which was previously advertised, but nothing really came of it.