There was never much of a PlayStation One homebrew or Linux scene though, was there? So it'd be hard to argue that the PS1 device had any useful purpose other than piracy.
Unlike with PS2&3, where for a while there Sony pretty much endorsed alternative uses of the console.
Also, there was the official Net Yaroze system - which had similar restrictions to ps3 Linux - no cd data, and no good access to the GPU: http://jum.pdroms.de/PSX/psxdevstart.html
Unlike with PS2&3, where for a while there Sony pretty much endorsed alternative uses of the console.