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California Student Arrested For Console Hacking
jhoger writes "Matthew Crippen was arrested yesterday for hacking game consoles (for profit) in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. He was released on a $5,000 bond, but faces up to 10 years in prison. This is terribly disturbing to me; a man could lose 10 years of his freedom for providing the service of altering hardware. He could well lose much of his freedom for providing a modicum of it to others. There is no piracy going on, necessarily — the games a modified console could run may simply not be signed by the vendor. It's much like jailbreaking an iPhone. But it seems because he is disabling a 'circumvention device' it is a criminal issue. Guess it's time to kick a few dollars over to the EFF."
I misread this as "California Student Arrested for Console Hating."
I imagined a college student having an impassioned argument with a police officer on whether the ps3 or the xbox 360 is better. The student goes too far and insults Halo and he's lead away in handcuffs.
"Computers are useless. They can only give you answers." - Pablo Picasso
From the article:
"Playing with games in this way is not a game -- it is criminal," said Robert Schoch, special agent in charge of the ICE investigations office in Los Angeles. "Piracy, counterfeiting and other intellectual property rights violations not only cost U.S. businesses jobs and billions of dollars a year in lost revenue, they can also pose significant health and safety risks to consumers," he said.
Emphasis mine. What health risks are there? Pac Man fever?
And hundreds, if not thousands, of violent crime offenders go without jail time every week. I love a functining legal system.
But isn't violating a "business model" a seriouser threat to our homeland security?
I am not a crackpot.
From the percentages you post, I deduce there had been exactly 6 votes posted, so we now know there are at least 3 assholes on the internet.
What? How about taking your own advice Anonymous Coward. I see you post on every feckin story I read. You always take this tough guy stance and say exactly what you mean without fear of karma or being modded to oblivion. I wish you would just shut the fuck up and quit posting in every article I read..
Don't think of it as a flame, more like an argument that does 3d6 fire damage.
Don't worry, California doesn't have the money to keep him locked up for long :-)
Seriously. 4chan was a Garden of Eden before that Anonymous guy showed up.
SOYLENT GAMES ARE PEOPLE! THEY'RE PEOPLE!
Official Heretic from the "Church of Global Warming". Proven right thanks to whistle blowers. AGW = Flat Earth Theory
Well, it sounds like you have an opinion. But I'm not really sure since you didn't say anything substantive.
A kid in his basement modifies a Wii and this poses "a significant health and safety risk"???
Maybe the modification is taking off the wrist strap.
Freedom isn't free; its price is the well-being of others.
Perhaps he was dictating?
Ah, but most of the consoles people care about these days haven't reached the age of consent...
Nintendo is over a hundred years old.
Ah, but most of the consoles people care about these days haven't reached the age of consent...
Nintendo is over a hundred years old.
Nintendo the company is. But the Gamecube is... what, eight? And the Wii is like two or three?
Bow-ties are cool.