PS2 Linux Kit heading for the US?
By Daniel Foster
The official PS2 Linux Kit website for Sony Computer Entertainment America consists of the following lines of text: "PS2 Linux Kit is only available in Japan" "The Linux Kit is designed exclusively for the Japanese model of "PS2", SCPH-10000, SCPH-15000 and SCPH-18000. Since these models are for domestic use in Japan, the Linux Kit is only available in Japan." "At this point, there is no plan to release the Linux Kit for non-Japanese model of 'PS2'" "Delivery outside of Japan is not available." Not a terribly warm welcome for prospective clients. Given the tone of the pitch in fact, one would assume that the company has zero plans to migrate the Linux Kit to the USA or anywhere else for that matter. However, lurking toward the bottom of that page is an eerie blue link that reads, "Please click here to register your interest in a US release of Linux for PlayStation 2". If you click the link, you are presented with a form, which demands your email address, your interest in the system and any brief additional comments you may have. It all looks like a bit of an amateur effort, not a patch on our beloved SCEE's wonderful PS2 registration form, which asks for your first born in the small print. We don't know how much credence Sony will give the results of this form, but a little link on Slashdot or some other Linux e-vangelists' and it could take them by storm. The kit sold out in seconds in Japan as it was. If you find yourself interested in the PS2 Linux Kit, the official (Japanese) website is here. They're not keen on Western visitors so there's no translation, but you can see some images of the thing. The basic kit is outlined here, and the Linux desktop apparently looks like this. If any of our American readers would like to register their interest in the PS2 Linux Kit, they can do so here.
Source - FGN
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