Marcan of Team Twiizers fame has delivered on his promise to deliver a fully-functional, open-source Linux solution for those on firmware 3.41. Bare in mind, it’s still in the preliminary stages, meaning it’s not quite ready for the average end-user yet. The implementation calls for a programmable USB device capable of storing at least 40KB or so to house the loader. Devices like the Teensy++ and TI-84+ will get the job done.

Unlike Sony’s heavily-restricted OtherOS, the AsbestOS payload completely takes over the GameOS operational mode through a string of RAM patches, granting access to a seventh SPE (provided a kernel patch is applied). Additionally, Marcan notes that leveraging the PS3’s RSX GPU is now technically feasible, however, further research is required before it’s usable.

You can check out a video clip of AsbestOS running a Linux distro — Gentoo in this case — above. For those daring enough, Marcan has shared tips on how to set this up over on his blog. Just keep in mind it’s not intended for the masses yet. A less crude approach will come in time.

AsbestOS: Running Linux as GameOS [Marcan’s Blog]

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