Sony will pay $55 to users who can show they used Linux on their console.

If you bought an original "fat" PlayStation 3 before April of 2010, you can now claim some cash from Sony as part of the settlement of a long-litigated case over the removal of the system's "Other OS" feature.

Using an online claim form, all early PS3 owners in the United States can receive $9 from Sony (with proof of purchase or evidence of a PSN sign-in from the system). Users that can provide evidence that they actually used the "Other OS" feature to install Linux on their PS3 can receive $55. Claims are due by December 7, and payments should be sent out early next year pending final approval of the settlement.

The opening of claims comes after a long legal saga that began in March of 2010, when Sony announced it would be removing the "Other OS" feature from the PS3. Sony claimed it was a security concern, but many class-action lawsuits filed in 2010 alleged the company was more worried about software piracy.
While one lawsuit over the matter was dismissed by a judge in 2011, another worked its way through the courts until June, when Sony finally decided to settle. Though the company doesn't admit any wrongdoing, it puts itself on the hook for payments to up to 10 million PS3 owners.

For those still interested in getting Linux on their PS3, hackers have managed to restore the Other OS functionality by downgrading the system's firmware to a version from before that infamous 2010 feature removal. And despite any official support from Sony, hackers have also managed to get Linux installed on the PS4. Remember: If it has a microchip, someone will figure out how to get Linux on it.