Editing PlayStation 3 (section)

=== Use in supercomputing ===
{{Main|PlayStation 3 cluster}}

Beyond gaming, the PlayStation 3’s hardware was embraced by researchers for [[high-performance computing]] applications.<ref name="scientistpc">{{cite web |date=August 28, 2006 |title=Building Supercomputer Using PlayStation 3 |url=http://www.consolewatcher.com/2006/08/building-supercomputer-using-playstation-3/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070206135040/http://www.consolewatcher.com/2006/08/building-supercomputer-using-playstation-3/ |archive-date=February 6, 2007 |access-date=August 28, 2006 |publisher=Console Watcher.com}}</ref> Thanks in part to Sony’s early support for third-party operating systems, the PS3 was repurposed for tasks ranging from academic research to [[Distributed computing project|distributed computing]]. Dr. Frank Mueller of [[North Carolina State University]] clustered eight PS3s in 2007 using [[Fedora Linux]] and open-source toolsets. Although limited by the console's 256 MB of RAM, he called the system a cost-effective entry point into [[parallel computing]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Engineer Creates First Academic PlayStation 3 Computing Cluster |url=http://www.physorg.com/news92674403.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070319223403/http://www.physorg.com/news92674403.html |archive-date=March 19, 2007 |publisher=PhysOrg.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=NC State Engineer Creates First Academic PlayStation 3 Computing Cluster |url=http://moss.csc.ncsu.edu/~mueller/cluster/ps3/coe.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012191214/http://moss.csc.ncsu.edu/~mueller/cluster/ps3/coe.html |archive-date=October 12, 2007 |publisher=College of Engineering, North Carolina State University}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Sony PS3 Cluster (IBM Cell BE) |url=http://moss.csc.ncsu.edu/~mueller/cluster/ps3/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070212140713/http://moss.csc.ncsu.edu/~mueller/cluster/ps3/ |archive-date=February 12, 2007 |publisher=Frank Mueller, Associate Professor, College of Engineering, North Carolina State University}}</ref> Sony and [[Stanford University]] also launched the [[Folding@home]] client, allowing PS3 owners to contribute processing power to study [[protein folding]] for disease research.<ref>{{cite web |title=Folding@home |url=http://www.scei.co.jp/folding/en/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070318042916/https://www.scei.co.jp/folding/en/ |archive-date=March 18, 2007 |access-date=March 18, 2007 |publisher=Sony Computer Entertainment}}</ref>

The U.S. military recognized the PS3’s computing eventually potential as well.<ref>{{cite web |last=Stokes |first=Jon |date=November 28, 2009 |title=Sony still subsidizing US military supercomputer efforts |url=https://arstechnica.com/security/news/2009/11/sony-still-subsidizing-us-supercomputer-efforts.ars |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091212213628/http://arstechnica.com/security/news/2009/11/sony-still-subsidizing-us-supercomputer-efforts.ars |archive-date=December 12, 2009 |access-date=December 18, 2009 |website=Ars Technica}}</ref> In 2010, the [[Air Force Research Laboratory]] built the Condor Cluster using 1,760 PS3 consoles, achieving 500&nbsp;trillion [[Floating point operations per second|floating-point operations per second]].<ref name="Sony PlayStation supercomputer">{{cite web |date=November 17, 2010 |title=AFRL to hold ribbon cutting for Condor supercomputer |url=https://www.wpafb.af.mil/News/story/id/123231285/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101209141211/https://www.wpafb.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123231285 |archive-date=December 9, 2010 |access-date=December 15, 2010 |website=www.wpafb.af.mil |publisher=The Official Web Site of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base}}</ref> At the time, it was the 33rd [[TOP500|most powerful supercomputer]] in the world and was used for analyzing high-resolution satellite imagery.<ref name="Defense Department discusses new Sony PlayStation supercomputer">{{cite web |last=Koff |first=Stephen |date=November 30, 2010 |title=Defense Department discusses new Sony PlayStation supercomputer |url=http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/11/defense_department_discusses_n.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110223183448/http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/11/defense_department_discusses_n.html |archive-date=February 23, 2011 |access-date=March 28, 2011 |work=blog.cleveland.com}}</ref> The PS3 was also employed in cybersecurity research; in 2008, a group of researchers used a 200-console cluster to crack [[Transport Layer Security|SSL]] encryption.<ref>{{cite web |date=December 30, 2008 |title=PlayStation 3 used to hack SSL |url=https://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hackers-playstation-3-make-ssl-much-less-secure/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090706212858/http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/30/hackers-playstation-3-make-ssl-much-less-secure/ |archive-date=July 6, 2009 |access-date=October 31, 2009 |publisher=Engadget}}</ref> These unconventional applications were curtailed by later hardware revisions that removed support for third-party operating systems.