Thanks Nathan for the heads up on this news. Sony today announced plans to release the first supported version of its "Linux (for PlayStation 2)," dubbed Release 1.0. A beta Linux kit was made available in Japan last July in response to requests by the Japanese Linux society. After an overwhelming positive response from the community, Sony decided to publicly release and support the development kit. Release 1.0 will go on sale beginning in May for Japanese customers and debut in June for the United States and Europe.
The Linux (for PlayStation 2) kit will retail for $199 USD ($215 in Europe) and include a 40GB hard disk, 100 Base T Ethernet interface, Linux Kernel 2.2.1, XFree86 3.3.6, USB keyboard and mouse, and a computer monitor adaptor. The kit will only work when connected to a monitor - not a television.
According to Sony, more than 28,000 people have expressed interest in the PlayStation 2 add-on. "The company responded to feedback received from the beta test program in Japan and modifications were incorporated," Sony stated in a press release. The kit will be exclusively available for purchase from us.playstation.com and support will be handled at playstation2-linux.com.