RSSOne of the interesting aspects of the "otheros" aspect of the PS3 is that Sony do not provide any information on the hypervisor security. In fact, Sony provide no developer information regarding the "otheros" facility, other than the fact it is there. Homebrew developers have had to look through open source code and experiment with the hypervisor to discover its bounds. Many people have already documented many of the hypervisor calls in the wiki here.
The Playstation "otheros" facility is a fantastic and innovative part of the PS3 capabilities. It gives Sony the opportunity to expand the knowledge of how to program the power of the cell architecture to universities and other homebrew developers. The more developers that can develop for and exploit the true power of the cell architecture, the better the industry will be at developing new and innovative software. I believe the "otheros" facility is an important aspect for ensuring the long term success of the platform. Importantly, the "otheros" facility and hypervisor security mechanism has been positively accepted by users of forums like ours.
The advantage of the "otheros", is that it is the first platform to provide controlled access to a game platform's hardware through a controlled API. This is something I have wanted from the first day I created this web site over six years ago. I am impressed by how Sony have been able to provide homebrew and universities access to the hardware without jeopardising its investment in the software and hardware. I personally do not want to see developers on this site trying to hack the hypervisor to gain deeper access to the hardware than what is supplied. Of course I can only discuss this with other moderators and decide on what is considered on topic. In particular, we have always disallowed discussions on hacking commercial games or hacking for the purpose of circumventing security (for the purpose of playing copied games). We can't stop these from happening, but we can stop it in our forums.
The main reason for this post is that I am concerned that it is Sony's intention to block access to the 3D aspects of the GPU entirely. I believe this is extremely short sighted. The level of access provided by the firmware prior to 2.10 has been accepted and understood by developers. By blocking access to 3D aspects of the GPU, Sony will encourage developers to find exploits that bypass the hypervisor security. These exploits once found may lead the way for further bypassing of security mechanisms. I understand that Sony might want to keep access to the 3D aspects of the hardware for exclusive use by PS3 commercial games. However, what is the danger of allowing homebrew developers access this hardware? Is Sony concerned a developer will create a great homebrew game and sell it through a different channel? The market for "otheros" developers is so tiny that it would not be worth while. It would actually be an opportunity for Sony to potentially pick up and improve some small games ready for the Playstation Network. The reasons to allow access are numerous. Developers will create a better experience when using Linux, create great demos that explore the hardware?s capabilities and maybe create some basic games. None of these things are threatening to Sony's core business.
Another reason for this post is that I believe it will be beneficial to have a contact point with Sony so that we can understand what aspects of the hypervisor Sony does not want investigated. Discussing these will help me and other moderators develop the right forums rules for the PS3. I believe that by having some communication between "otheros" developers and Sony will ensure that the facility is used for what was intended; to create a thriving innovative knowledgeable community.
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