Web browsers on Consoles

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DeathCloud

Gawd
Joined
Jul 21, 2005
Messages
1,004
So I was just wondering why mobile browers like the one on the PS3 are so lackluster. Why cant they run a full version of say firefox? A browser cant be that intensive on hardware can it?
 
Believe it all comes down to the cell processor and the fact that it requires specific coding by those at firefox to be able to make it compatible / optimized for the cell to use.

For a very long time only an old version of Flash was working on the PS3 browser. So if you went to websites like Pandora.com the page wouldn't load as its written in a newer version of flash. Well now those sites load but the music plays off speed. Again I assume the issue is with the Cell processor and it having a compatibility issue.
 
I guess it has to do with how much they can fit in the firmware?

As Jr. Woodchuck says, Firefox would have to be programmed for the PS3 specifically.

To run Firefox, you have to install Linux so it isn't a hardware issue.
 
I'd be shocked if the browser on the PS3 used the SPEs at all. The PS3's problem with browsing is that it only has 256mb of system RAM, and that gets filled up _really fast_ by modern websites with Flash and such. What makes modern web browsers seem so fast is the amount that they cache - but caching takes RAM. Lots of RAM.
 
I would love to one day see a full fleged browser on a console not these cheap imitadors :D
 
erwos said:
I'd be shocked if the browser on the PS3 used the SPEs at all. The PS3's problem with browsing is that it only has 256mb of system RAM, and that gets filled up _really fast_ by modern websites with Flash and such. What makes modern web browsers seem so fast is the amount that they cache - but caching takes RAM. Lots of RAM.
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yeah this, try going to youtube and seeing how bad it sucks on the ps3 sometime.
 
PC = X86 (64 bit extension sometimes called X64)
XBox 360 and PS3 =! X86

Xbox 360 and PS3 = IBM's Power 6. Fundimental difference in the underlaying architecture.

That + no demand means no firefox on the PS3, but yes, without a doubt, it could be done.
 
MrWizard6600 said:
That + no demand means no firefox on the PS3, but yes, without a doubt, it could be done.
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You have _no idea_ what you're talking about. Firefox runs fine on PPC architectures. If you don't believe me, try installing Linux on your PS3 and then running Firefox. It works.
 
As a PS3 owner this is one of the things that bugs me. Sony wants to make the Playstation 3 more then simply a gameing console right? I mean thats what Home is suppose to be a place for a virtual community to meet and (sure play games, but it is an example of it trying to be more then just a console).

So I dont understand why they dont add more functionality to the PS3. For example:
1) More functionality for video codec's. The PS3 is very finiky about what it will and will not play.
2) Why can't I listen to music I want to in game. Sony says the game has to be programmed for it. No it doesn't, why can't I listen to the mp3's I want to listen to and turn down the in game music/sound?
3) Why can't I have more adjustment over power saving features like the "turn the controller off" option. It has 2 option 10min or off. Why can't I make it 20, 30 or even 5?

Sony could do so much to make this system more functional by giving us more options. A real web browser that has full support of all of the web's latest toys should be used, or dont implement a web browser at all. Firefox shouldn't be responsible for coding it, Sony should be refining their own in house web brower for this purpose.
 
erwos said:
You have _no idea_ what you're talking about. Firefox runs fine on PPC architectures. If you don't believe me, try installing Linux on your PS3 and then running Firefox. It works.
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if you want to install lunix on your PS3, tweak the bejesus out of it to get it to function, install firefox, and go online sure. If you wanna do it it Sony's environment, not happening.

I was simply trying to adress everyone calling consoles computers. Yes they are very powerful processing machines, but they are a farcry from a PC. Why doesnt my PC stuff work on a console? well it does if you wanna jump through the lunix hoop (the linux hoop works on everything), but if you dont, you gotta understand the fundimental differences.
 
i think at the end of the day firefox on ps3 xmb would open up too many ways to hack the ps3 and open it up for piracy. They gotta be careful and make sure everything they do stops the hackers, the ps3 web browser is getting better, more for casual entertainment use, which imo is what sony wants it to be.
 
Rash said:
i think at the end of the day firefox on ps3 xmb would open up too many ways to hack the ps3 and open it up for piracy. They gotta be careful and make sure everything they do stops the hackers, the ps3 web browser is getting better, more for casual entertainment use, which imo is what sony wants it to be.
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Pretty much. If they came pre-installed with Windows or something how many people do you think would buy games instead of just going to piratebay and mount them up right away?

You can run Firefox through Linux, and pretty much anything else. It's just that Sony won't let you do it through XMB for various reasons, piracy, homebrew and licensing issues being the main ones, I'd guess.
 
Technoob said:
yeah this, try going to youtube and seeing how bad it sucks on the ps3 sometime.
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Ever since the last firmware update where they updated flash, youtube has run perfect. Hulu is what sucks, it works now but its choppy. Fancast for some reason doesnt work at all.
 
MrWizard6600 said:
if you want to install lunix on your PS3, tweak the bejesus out of it to get it to function, install firefox, and go online sure. If you wanna do it it Sony's environment, not happening.

I was simply trying to adress everyone calling consoles computers. Yes they are very powerful processing machines, but they are a farcry from a PC. Why doesnt my PC stuff work on a console? well it does if you wanna jump through the lunix hoop (the linux hoop works on everything), but if you dont, you gotta understand the fundimental differences.
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His point is your comment on the hardware architecture of X86 vs PPC being the issue is false and not the problem. Linux also isn't hard to get working on the PS3 since Sony allows you to install it and there are PS3 specific distros so there's not much tweaking required. Does it run well? No, but it runs as well as 256mbs of ram can.

Consoles are also 100% computers. They are simple closed systems with proprietary operating systems design to only run signed code, but they are still computers. Look at XBOX 1 it used off the shelf parts and X360 used Apple G5's as early dev boxs.
 
idividebyzero said:
Ever since the last firmware update where they updated flash, youtube has run perfect. Hulu is what sucks, it works now but its choppy. Fancast for some reason doesnt work at all.
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you think thats bad, try looking at some free porn. ITS TERRIBLE :p
 
MrWizard6600 said:
PC = X86 (64 bit extension sometimes called X64)
XBox 360 and PS3 =! X86

Xbox 360 and PS3 = IBM's Power 6. Fundimental difference in the underlaying architecture.
Click to expand...

While this IS true, that's not the problem. First off, firefox is OPEN SOURCE which means that the code is available to be compiled for any architecture. That's right, even IBM's Power 6!

No, the problem is the lack of proper system integration to run firefox. If you can compile it for the system, the console's OS should take care of the architecture. While I don't know a lot about the PS3 or 360's ability to run custom code, I'd imagine that Sony and MS have it pretty locked down.

Your example only shows why you can't drop a firefox EXE into your PS3 and expect it to run. But who would expect that to work?
 
MrWizard6600 said:
if you want to install lunix on your PS3, tweak the bejesus out of it to get it to function, install firefox, and go online sure. If you wanna do it it Sony's environment, not happening.
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I'm guessing you don't realize that Sony has _explicitly and officially_ allowed for this to happen. Poke around in your PS3 for the "Other OS" functionality. There's no tweaking to be done - you install Linux, and Firefox _just works_.

The only thing worse than being wrong is not being able to admit you were wrong.
 
I have been mulling this around in my head. I need to do a little research as to what it will look like and how it all works.
 
its up to the developers, whether Mozilla Firefox (or other browser companies) wants to rewrite new code just to work on the ps3 or 360, it also depends if the console companies offer a reasonable price.

Linux on the ps3 opens more functionality (if you want to go that route).
 
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