This is very misleading. I have a lot of personal experience with both the PS3 as a gaming device (one of my unwinding aids) and as a computing platform. I still have a maintained PS3 running Linux.
What the firmware update did (v3.21) was remove support for the “Other OS” option within the PS3’s XMB, which allows you to use, logically, another operating system. It did not affect those units already running Linux. In fact, every single of Sony’s updates have been to affect the functionality of the PS3’s functionality as a gaming console, which is totally independent of its use as a computing platform. I should know because I don’t even have a clue what PS3 firmware I’m running on the one that runs Linux. There’s no need to really ever go back into the PS3 operating system.
Other articles have correctly pointed out that the only real problem would come if the system needed to be serviced or replaced for some reason as a new unit would come with a version of the firmware that does not allow Linux. It’s also worth noting that Sony is being sued for this decision, which they claim was based on security.
Probably more bc they sell the system at a loss.
There must be more to this story. Why would sony change the firmware so new systems will not operate in this manner?
If this really came to a point where the military was “stuck” (which I doubt), I’m sure that Sony would provide a special version of firmware for them, under an NDA. I’d hate to venture a guess as to the dollars of Sony products the military buys. Letting such a special version “out in the wild” wouldn’t be much of a concern, because as I recall, software piracy in the military might not just get someone fired, it might put them in Leavenworth. Still, Sony wasn’t terribly enthused about non-gaming usage of the product because they were and are probably selling them at a small loss and then making it up in game licensing fees.