If you owned a 'fat' PlayStation 3 you could be entitled to $65 from Sony because of Linux option

Cast your mind back to when Sony released the original PlayStation 3, and you may well remember claims that the console was also a "computer". The claims were such that Sony suggested that owners could install Linux -- which, technically speaking, they could.

However, installing Linux on a PS3 also posed something of a security issue, and Sony backtracked on the "Other OS" feature, killing it will a firmware update. Unsurprisingly, a lawsuit followed, and the result of this is that you could in line for a pay-out.

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When the Linux option was removed, a number of PlayStation owners got together and filed a class action lawsuit against Sony. The result is that the company has agreed to pay out a total of $3.75 million as a settlement. The main parties involved in bringing the case will get $3,500 each, but the remainder is up for grabs -- but you'll have to move fast to get your share, and there are a couple of caveats.

Some of the left-over money will go to lawyers are those involved in the organization of the settlement, but you could still be in line for up to $65. To qualify, you need to have purchased an original PlayStation 3 (first generation model, aka the Fat PS3) from an authorized PlayStation retailer in the United States. Second-hand consoles are not covered. The purchase also needs to have been made between November 1, 2006, and April 1, 2010.

You need to have:

(1) used the Other OS functionality; (2) knew about the Other OS functionality; or (3) contend or believe that you lost value or desired functionality or were otherwise injured as a consequence of Firmware Update 3.21 and/or the disablement of Other OS functionality in the Fat PS3.

You will need to have over either your PS3 serial number, the PlayStation Network Sign-In ID you used to create a PlayStation account associated with your console, or the PlayStation Network Online ID associated with the PlayStation account you used with your console.

Oh... and you'll need to be pretty quick, as the deadline to make a claim is fast-approaching -- you have until April 15, 2018.

If you would like to file a claim, use this online form to do so.

Image credit:  Cesare Andrea Ferrari / Shutterstock