Goodbye, PS3 Clusters for Research?

It seems that researchers using the Sony PS3 for research purposes might have to start looking for other possible machines that are going to be cost effective. When Sony has stripped the Other OS option in the new generation of PS3’s it is the mark of the end of using them in research. After all, a business aimed towards gaming and entertainment might not prioritize their needs for research. During these times, one can’t help but wonder if Sony will ever bring back the support for the Other OS option or if it will become optional or something else altogether.

Sony Play Station 3. Photo by drdemento via Flickr. Click to view the original.

Right now Sony’s selling it cheaper than before, as some bloggers have predicted. Some gamers are happy, those who want to ‘upgrade’ to it are happy. But not all. What about those who want to tinker around with their gaming consoles? What about those who want to do research?

Someday maybe when Sony releases a new generation of consoles, former owners could possibly donate them to researchers who need them? That would imply that the researchers need to raise an awareness for their causes. Like the Stanford research for protein folding which uses Folding@home. Another example is the Air Force which bought the gaming consoles to researchon cell processors. Well, some who might not be too well-off to donate them could consider selling them for a really low price, to help researchers who will eventually help mankind. And whether or not Sony will get good press for the contribution to research — somehow — well, it offsets what they have recently decided on regarding the removal of the Other OS option.

Who knows what Sony will come up with. Maybe there’d be other consoles with similar capabilities as the first generation of PS3’s. Researchers could cross their fingers for that or just look for alternatives now.