Firmware 3.21: Destroyer of "Other OS"

Sorry for this quick update of blog here on my profile, but I felt this was going to be interesting for some people. Not only does it make me quickly update my blog, but it also pushes further my next updates which I had planned earlier this morning.

On April 1st, 2010, Sony is due to release the Firmware 3.21 as an update for PlayStation 3. Usually, under normal circumstances, FirmWare updates on Sony's side are something that are widely awaited for by fans of the system and this time was no different.. that is, until they found out the purpose of the update in question.

Based on the recent news on PlayStation.Blog, Firmware 3.21 adds absolutely nothing, but instead surpresses the ability to install an additional Operating System (Linux, to be more precise) on the systems that were previously supporting the feature, being every systems prior to the Slim models. As far as it goes Slim users, this update does absolutely nothing. Fans of PlayStation 3 have been awaiting a new update impatiently in order to enjoy and experience new features as most updates succeed in delivering to the customers. One with an older model can only be disappointed by this move, as despite not being the most used feature, it is still used nonetheless. While I am a supporter and user of Linux, I never did find the feature useful and I have never used it on my personal system since afterall, I own a personal computer on which both Windows 7 and Ubuntu 9.10 are installed on seperate hard drives. I do, however, understand why people would still want to attempt installing Linux on their PS3 system, especially if these people in question do not own a PC.

Back to more serious business, users will have two choices concerning the 3.21 Firmware update: Install or not to install. If you decide to not install the update, you can keep the ability to install an additonal OS, but by the same time will lose the following features, which are the usual features that are at loss when refusing to install a "forced" update:

- The ability to sign in to PlayStation Network and use of its features.
- Playback of PlayStation 3 software or other Blu-Ray media requiring Firmware 3.21.
- Playback of copyright-protected videos stored on a media server.
- Use of new features and improvements that are avilable with update 3.21 or later.

In otherwords, to ensure that you are able to keep up with the release of future games and movies, along with ensuring your ability to sign in to PSN, you will need to install the update. Be warned though, as some precautions might need to be taken if the "Install Other OS" feature is currently being used. They suggest doing a full back-up of any media content stored on the partition currently used by Linux in order to prevent loss of data since the partition in question will be inaccessible following the update.

Let's hope that Sony has something in store for us with the next update, as removing a feature usually means people will be waiting for something that will surpass what has been removed. Alongside this permanent removal, one can only wonder if this is only an April's Fool, as strangely enough, the exact date of the Firmware update happens to be April 1st, afterall.