I got my PS3 abt 4days after launch & fortunately am getting the free Casino Royale BR disk (albeit 45days from launch).
Anyway about 2weeks prior to launch i had been already going about getting whatever extra cables i'd need and pre-ordering games etc.
I didn't have & still do not have an HDTV & i knew i'd be in line for problems ito HD considering HDMI and the fact i had a VGA Samsung 17" LCD, 1280x1024. I bought the DVI to HDMI converter/adapter, got home and tested if everything would fit. HDMI -> DVI .. check, connects ... DVI to VGA ,,, nope, i was not aware that the standard had moved to DVI-D (without the two pins). Did some research on the net... Hell, HDCP!
After reading i concluded that unless i could get my hands on an x2vga box or anything of the same i was gonna have to use the component cables on my SD-Tv at best [this is not an option]. Considering i was abt to shell over 6grand on this thing i was not impressed at all with Sony's HDMI + HDTV only strategy. How was i gonna get an HDTV? i'm a student. Fortunately my brother was in the process of getting a new PC so i sold him my LCD monitor for R900 and got R600 off a bet from my other brother. Raised R500 and was fortunate to get a special (R1999)) on a 931BW Samsung 19" LCD monitor, 1400x900; 1xVGA + 1xDVI-D (HDCP). On this monitor i can play as high as 1080p so i'm obviously pleased with that.
Having had the PS3 for abt 2wks now, i must say it's an investment i'm happy to have made. From performance to asthetics to multimedia to blu-ray. Its features outside gaming are immpecable right out of the box, there's plenty to do with it. Unfortunately its gaming prospects currently are a bit drab imo. I have Motorstorm and VF5, Motorstorm is really a thing of beauty and really looks the biz. Looking at the titles arnd at the moment i'm really not interested. Resistance is probably the one title i do want but FPS + Gamepad r not 4 me. Sixaxis i actually like, i thought i'd hate it after previews mentioned how light it was but the tilting is a bit irrelevant as of now. Maybe its from my MS sidewinder background but i've never really cared for rumble outside driving simulators. I like rumble but i'm indifferent.
My brother has an X360 so i've played on it for a good 5 months and its a good console if all u wanna do is game, period. Its 20gig hardrive seems cumbersome in use. Compared to the ease i move media to the PS3, i'm not impressed with the fact you cannot connect a USB HDD and simply copy things to the X360. Further more his MPIO HD500 40gig is not even recognized (he even tried connecting it on different usb ports with the belief it'd appear

), so almost all of his MP3s aren't on his X360.
I envy him for the current titles ofcourse and Fight Night 3 is something else. However i know the great titles will come to the PS3 as was the case with PS2. Also have the PSP and i like where SONY is going with remote play, although its a bit of a let down than what i expected. I consider the PS3 an investment which will pay or itself later with better games/HD-media so i'm not so bothered with the current lack of good titles, i expected as much.
But i was angered that i had to shell out R2000 for a new LCD monitor just to be HDCP compliant. The fact that you need a TV/Monitor capable of 720p at least to enjoy HD games on the PS3 is unacceptable as most people have VGA Monitors as i did. Expecting someone to have an HDTV + PS3 is a bit much but there you go. But if you look at what the firmware updates have done to the PSP i am excited at what the future holds for the PS3. Sony need to work on the online aspect side but with HOME and Lilbigplanet i'm hopeful.
Yet to install Yellow Dog Linux as yet, but i've heard positive things. So yeah, call me a fanboy or not, i feel the PS3 is next-gen from every view point.