"Desktop Environment" in "Linux Kit" looks awesome. Open Source alternative exists ?

[SkyNet]

Hi everyone. Lately I have seen some video on YouTube showing like one guy ran Linux Kit on his PS2.
To tell you truthfully I was amazed!!!!!!! Linux Kit on PS2 looks just awesome!!!!!!!
What I liked the most was the look of “Desktop Environment”.
I did not know that Desktop Environment could look so great on PlayStation 2.
It looks the same way as on PC (Personal Computer), I mean all the menus and choice of software it can run. It so shame that it is not allowed to attach any picture to this thread but if you could see it , you would be amazed.

I have couple of questions to people who can know this :

1.Which Desktop Environment is used in Linux Kit? I mean what is the name of it?

2.Does it have source code which is Open Source? I mean if there is source code which is freely distributable and accessible for the public use? And does it have license like GPL or similar?

3.What is the origin of Desktop Environment used in Linux Kit? I mean on Which Desktop Environment it is based?

4.Why sony split Linux Kit into two disks? Maybe it could be cleverer to issue Linux Kit on one disk ? Less trouble with changing disks if it could be all contained on one... Or size of DVD was not big enough at that time to contain all the media?

5.Why sony made it so complicated that if you want to run Linux Kit then you can run it only on fat ps2 equipped with Network Adapter? I mean why sony at all created Network Adapter? Would not that easier for customer if fat ps2 had at the back not PCMCIA connector , but IDE connection?
Network Adapter adds LAN and IDE ports to ps2. Maybe it could be better for ps2 just have at the back those ports ( LAN , IDE ) from the very beginning and not release Network adapter at all ?
Why make it so complicated?

If not this Network Adapter, then probably I could buy disks of Linux Kit on ebay and easily run it on my version 14 PS2 Slim.

6.If I would buy Linux Kit on ebay, could I run it on ps2 emulator on my PC?

I know that first Xbox had everything included from the very beginning ( LAN , IDE-HDD ) ,thats why it was so easy to install Linux to Xbox,

but why sony made things not the way microsoft did ? Or sony likes when things become complicated for customer?

Thanks to anyone who can answer my questions and clear things out.

[unclejun]

1, 2, 3:Window Maker http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Window_Maker wich you already found out => http://psx-scene.com/forums/showthread.php?t=66017 (Next LiveDVD(BlackRhino) with Windowmaker as Desktop Environment. Possible ?)

4: the beta version of the Linux kit came on only 1 DVD, the Release 1.0 on 2 DVDs, either as a security feature (when you swap the discs the PS2 has to recognize them as original disc) or to make it easier to deal with the licenses, all the GPL licensed softwares are on the second disc.

5:The Linux Kit (you could buy the Linux Discs alone in Europe a couple years later) contained the Linux disc(s), the Network Adapter, the official HDD, the VGA cable adapter, a keyboard and a mouse, so you wouldn't need to buy all the items separately.

The Network adapter was created for online gaming...If the PS2 had an HDD and a Ethernet adapter installed at launch, the PS2 would have been more expensive don't you think?

The Linux Kit was released 2 years before the PS2 Slim, it was designed for the Fat model only.

6: Probably not, look here http://forums.pcsx2.net/Thread-PS2LINUX

[averybomb1]

hiya, sorry for noobie question but um we run this with ulaunch elf right, and this will help us create our own elfs right?

[deba5er]

@averybomb1

PS2-Linux is typically not used to build the homebrew .ELF programs that run natively on the PS2. Instead it is used to compile and run programs known to work on Linux. Since it is a Linux variant, it can be used to compile and run just about any program that will work under the very limited hardware constraints of the PS2. The compilers/toolchain are very old however, and most newer programs do not compile properly, and require modification to compile properly. The experimental 2.6 kernel version of PS2-Linux that Mega Man created solves this particular problem, allowing download of newer Debian packages, and installation without compilation. This is still work in progress, but shows great promise.