In an ill-timed system update, Sony announced it will patch the PlayStation 3 firmware Thursday to v3.21, which will remove the option to install another operating system (e.g., Linux) from older models that still supported it.
If you don't know the history of this feature, Sony seemed to think it could reduce import prices on its consoles in some markets by having them classified as PCs - and what better way to prove you were shipping PCs than to let you put a real OS on it. The governments didn't buy it, and now Sony is dropping it on the pretense that it's a security concern. (PS3 Slims already lack this feature.)
If you do have another OS installed and chose to accept the update, be sure to back up the PC partition before you lose access to it. If you prefer to keep your PS3 as a PC, you'll lose access to the PlayStation Network (including online game support) and any PS3 game or Blu-ray movie titles that require v3.21 or later.
Don't believe it? You can read the official news here. Naturally, the hacker community - already adept at circumventing homebrew restrictions on the PSP and iPhone - is already looking at workarounds, though chosing this route means you'll be unsupported if anything goes wrong...
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