PS2 Web Browser?

[noiseredux]

I've heard rumors, etc of a couple of homebrew or import PS2 web browsers, but can't seem to find any proof of any that successfully work on US units. Anyone had any experience messing with em?

I have an un-modded, but exploited fat model with a 40GB HD installed.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

I've heard rumors, etc of a couple of homebrew or import PS2 web browsers, but can't seem to find any proof of any that successfully work on US units. Anyone had any experience messing with em?

I have an un-modded, but exploited fat model with a 40GB HD installed.

why would you want to?

[noiseredux]

I've heard rumors, etc of a couple of homebrew or import PS2 web browsers, but can't seem to find any proof of any that successfully work on US units. Anyone had any experience messing with em?

I have an un-modded, but exploited fat model with a 40GB HD installed.

why would you want to?

Somehow I knew that this would be the response I'd get. I think that pushing a console to see what it can do is a fun hobby. Why does it matter WHY?

[GSZX1337]

There's a Linux PS2 kit. Maybe you can run Firefox on it.

[d123456]

I've heard rumors, etc of a couple of homebrew or import PS2 web browsers, but can't seem to find any proof of any that successfully work on US units. Anyone had any experience messing with em?

I have an un-modded, but exploited fat model with a 40GB HD installed.

why would you want to?

Somehow I knew that this would be the response I'd get. I think that pushing a console to see what it can do is a fun hobby. Why does it matter WHY?

I too hate these remarks. Sometimes somebody might be overlooking something and you can give an alternative, but this is very clear. Offcourse you can browse the web with a pc or ps3, but I'm curious too even if it's uses aren't really beneficial.
-bump anybody?

[elvis]

There's a Linux PS2 kit. Maybe you can run Firefox on it.

That was going to be my response. With a light weight window manager (XFCE, OpenBox, etc) it would run well enough on the PS2's 32MB RAM. Firefox is pretty fat, so maybe a lighter browser as well (there are plenty to choose from).

Adobe Flash will be a no-go as it's proprietary and architecture-specific (and there's no release for Linux/MIPS). Gnash and other open-source flash players are still young, but might give you some compatibility with a a subset of flash sites.

Essentially you're boiling your PS2 down to a general-purpose MIPS workstation. But I can't think of another way to do it. I don't know of anyone who's released a "standalone" browser for PS2 - commercial, homebrew or otherwise.

[noiseredux]

d123456 and elvis, thanks for yr thoughts. I wanted to add that besides Linux I've heard of two other routes, but again not sure if they work:

There was supposedly a way you could point setup the network adapter to go to an isp that would add a browser around any pages you went to. The things I've read about it always mentioned that it only seemed to work in the UK, though. So that's maybe no help.

Also, there was EGBrowserBB released in Japan. This was an officially sanctioned Sony web browser for PS2 that worked with the broadband adapter. But it was never released in the US, and it was in Japanese. But it does spell out proof-of-concept.

I'm surprised there's no homebrew elf browser. Not even a simple one I can find.

Has anyone here had any luck running linux on PS2? What's the experience been like?

[Mozgus]

http://sksapps.com/index.php?page=bbnaviwhat.html

[noiseredux]

I've done a little research on the PS2 Linux kit. The official kit sold out, and pops up on ebay sometimes for a few hundred bucks. Psh.

I'm sure there's a build of (non-Sony-made) Linux that could be booted from a usb drive. Anyone know anything?

[Pulsar_t]

Is it legal to download the Linux ISOs? I think with the network adapter, a suitable IDE hard disk and a bootable Linux ISO you can install Linux on the PS2 and get an outdated Firefox 2 build from playstation2-linux.com. But then it would be too much trouble.

The PS2 homebrew scene wasn't that strong, mainly due to the existence of Xbox and Dreamcast which were far easier to develop for.