UK High Court Rules Modchips Illegal

PhotoBoy writes "The Register has an article about the UK's High Court ruling PlayStation 2 modchips to be illegal. This means all homebrew and hobbyist coders in the UK can no longer modify their consoles to run games they have written. Gamers who like to mod their consoles to play games on import early are also out of luck. It's like saying you can't modify your car or your house or your clothes! Would Ford sue you for removing the rev limiter from your Focus?"

Comments

Inane, asinine ruling from the governance? Get out

[Emot]

As a bit of an amateur gunsmith and arms designer, I can attest as to how FUCKING FRUSTRATING rulings just like this are. Sitting on my desk right now as I type this are 1 (One) Sten Reciever Tube, all channels and holes cut, and 1 (One) Sten Mk III Parts Kit.

I can own these objects, I can buy these objects. I can do whatever I want with these objects, even assembling them to 99% functionality. But if you manufacture a 100% operational Machine Gun, we're looking at ten-to-fifteen in Federal, Pound-Me-In-the-Ass Prison.

This reasoning is absurd, especially on the part of the BATF. See, they make it easy to purchase the parts, but you can't do anything with them.

What's the fucking point? BATF won't issue a Special Tax Stamp on any Machine Gun made after or the initial paperwork filed on after 1986. So why do they allow me to buy the parts? I'm just trying to build a blank-only Sten for use with my WWII Re-enacting group.

Rulings like this are simultaneously inane and frustrating. You can own the parts, you can sell the parts, you can buy the parts but you can't USE the parts. Much like my suppressor and the damned collapsible stock I bought for my HK91.

Here's hoping that September 13th goes the way we all want it to, not that it'd solve my quandary with my dumb Sten that I've wasted a hundred bucks on so far (let alone the damned HK stock I've wasted a hundred and a half on)

Re:Wait, the description of the decision is wrong

[IgnoramusMaximus]

Another problem with the analogy is the fact that tinkering with your car doesn't give you free gas!

You bet your ass it does! If I install my new fuel-injection-cleaner-and-fuel-saver-o-matic-gizm o I will save 15% on fuel. Ergo 15% of the gas for which I had to pay before is now free to me! Whoopie!

Re:_Slight_ difference?

[Emot]

While I can appreciate the frustration you must feel, you have to realize that there's no chance someone can mow down a crowd of people with a modded PS2 box. At least, not yet.

I can see your point, but there is a more-than-likely chance that the Federal Government can use the U.S. Military to use their machine guns to mow down a crowd of U.S. Citizens and us in the populace will have absolutely nothing to defend ourselves with.

Now where the frustration sets in is that I'm trying to comply with the assholes in the BATF, I'm doing my Very Goddamned Best to conform to all their rules and regulations and still end up having to cede my BLANK-FIRING machine gun to them for destruction, losing all the money I sunk into it because it didn't meet one of the ten thousand little tiny regulations that they place upon BLANK-FIRING MACHINE GUNS, thus leaving us with a hatred of the beauracracy AND a functioning knowledge on how to manufacture and assemble machine guns. Even a dullard can see how this only breeds contempt for the BATF.

If they'd just ISSUE THE STAMPS to those of us willing to go through the legitimate channels rather than just infurating us and breeding still more contempt and hatred for this particular organization.