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Okay with the coming of the next generation video game consoles (XBOX 360 and Playsation 3) a lot of noise has been made about interactivity between the desktop and the console.

Case in point, Windows Vista will work with XBOX 360 by allowing streaming of video and audio from a pc to your xbox 360. So lets say you download that latest anime from japan and you want to watch it on that nice 42 in Sony Wega you bought last month? Well with Windows Vista you will be able to do that.

Next lets look at messeging, you will be able to messege people on your friends list in Xbox live via your cell phone or via your MSN messenger. You will also be able to send cars that you have in say Forza motorsports and send it to your pc, in your pc you will be able to use photoshop to make nice designs on your car and you will also be able to make maps in games and such and send it back to your xbox 360. You will also be able to play against friends in the same game regardless of platform. So lets say your playing half life 3 on the xbox 360 and your friend has it on the PC you two will be able to play against each other.

So what does all this have to do with Linux? Well in comes Sony PS3 which will be using Linux as its core Operating System, I should also mention that Sony will be using OpenGL for the PS3.

So now if a distro and or desktop environment such as KDE were to partner with Sony or ask them for info on how to design the same cross compatibility that windows vista will have with xbox 360 and do the same for Linux distros. I would also say this is a GREAT chance to bring gaming full scale to Linux. Reason being developers now will be developing some of the best games using OpenGL for Sonys PS3, so converting games to Linux will be far easier than it has in the past.

Even if it could be worked out where Sony has in each PS3 box a free live cd distro to try out with this functionality using KDE 4, it would allow for all the above while at the same time easing potiential KDE users into the Linux foray. Sony has become a huge conributor to the linux cause and this would really help to push Linux as well as make KDE a defacto desktop environment for the huge among of people who would be exposed to linux via the ps3 cross compatibility.

I go to the playstation forums and there are already 25 to 50 posts of people asking what is linux, how does it work and which distro should they try out.

If taken advantage of this could really put KDE in a leadership position on the desktop front.


You can read about the Microsoft plans here

You can also read more indepth about the streaming multi media ie movies and such here