Slashdot Mirror
Sony Update Bricks Playstations
Stoobalou writes "A controversial update which was seeded by Sony in order to remove the ability to run Linux on the Playstation 3 games console has caused a storm of complaints.
The 3.21 firmware upgrade, which removes the security hole provided by the 'Install Other OS' widget used by lots of educational institutions and hackers alike, also removes the console's ability to play games... turning it into a very expensive doorstop."
Ever since the update I've had issues with games freezing up on me. I haven't noticed any real slow down of the net connection or any issues with PSN. But if this is a ploy by Sony to get me to give up my thick PS3 that has the ability to play PS2 games then they better add that functionality to the slim PS3 because I'm not about to go out and buy 2 consoles just to have the same functionality as the one I have now.
Yes. In addition to a PS3, X360, and Wii there's also the iPhone and iPad that can be bricked via forced updates. Also certain DVRs and Bluray/HDDVD gadgets. I've also heard complaints about DTVpals being bricked by the Dish Company's updates.
And my response?
- Call Sony to demand restitution for the PS3 they broke.
- Wait.
- If no response to repair or replace the broken PS3, then I'd buy a new PS3 from some store (like amazon or walmart), put the bricked one inside the box, then return it as defective ("It just won't turn on. No I don't want an exchange; I want a refund."). The store would eventually return it to Sony who would have to deal with the property THEY destroyed.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
The problem is that Sony cares way more about locking down and commoditizing their media content with DRM and "security meseasures" than they do about their customers (one of the inherent problems of having a hardware maker who is also a media producer). They're not alone on that (MS and Nintendo are hardly open themselves), but they do seem much more obsessed about it than just about anyone else--short of maybe Apple.
The problem is that Sony doesn't seem to be thinking much about the fact that their media is only worth something in the first place BECAUSE of their customers. And, if they're not careful, they could very easily lose their balance and fall. After all, the perfect way to produce a piracy-proof blu-ray of a movie or videogame is to simply release it as a blank disc. But no one is going to buy it then, are they?
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
TFA didn't dwell on the "removes other OS" feature - that was already well known.
TFA explained that the update tended to stop the affected units from doing anything useful - eg. playing games, connecting to the Internet. Which I'm sure does have the side effect that installing an alternate OS will no longer work, but I don't think this is quite how most people interpreted Sony's original description.
In this respect, even Microsoft does a better job. They have to update a more sophisticated operating system that runs on a HUGE variety of systems and processors. Sony knows 100% the exact software and hardware they are updating on, and 100% of the software that will run on the console, yet they can't manage an update without borking somebody's box. If they worried more about quality than piracy or someone running linux on their hardware, they might actually be able to produce a decent product some day.
Tequila: It's not just for breakfast anymore!
Well, then if you don't do the update they've removed another major feature (PSN connectivity)
It is archaic definition bricked or "inconvenient to repair" bricked, as is the new usage.
Given that "literally" is the new figuratively it's hard to tell what people mean these days.
No, there are two words to explain that: Other OS. Check out this table (slightly outdated, it's a year old or so) by console hacker Michael Steil (or watch him talk about it on any of his talks). Every console post-PS2 was hacked for homebrew, and then those hacks were abused for piracy. The PS3 comes with homebrew, therefore there is little motivation to crack the native system. Pro-piracy people are rarely good hackers, and need homebrew to piggyback on. In fact, the reason the PS3 was recently attacked was neither homebrew nor piracy; instead, geohot attacked it solely as an ego boost and to get media coverage (note how he hasn't even tried to develop a useful application for his exploit, such as GPU access under Linux).
Blu-ray is a minor inconvenience. There are a myriad potential ways of copying PS3 games that don't involve blu-ray discs.
Sony are shooting themselves in the foot by removing Other OS, and pissing off legitimate customers on top of it.
In either case it's the PS3 owner that has to make that decision, keep the OtherOS functionality or use it for PSN/Games.
Technically the PS3 still does everything it could do before the update, just not at the same time.
>>>That's fraud
Yes it IS fraud for Sony (or any other company) to destroy people's personal property. As I said I would follow proper procedure and give Sony an opportunity to do the right thing (repair/replace), but if they don't I will not just sit on the property THEY destroyed and do nothing.
I'm tired of corporations running over citizens as if they were smashed squirrels on the road to wealth. Oh and also dipping into taxpayer wallets by giving themselves free handouts (Congressional bills). I will do what I feel is necessary to protect myself from loss.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
Technically, if I give you the choice of being shot in the left or right kneecap, you can walk with either leg, just not at the same time. I'd still get arrested and prosecuted, though.
"When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
I was on the verge of buying a used fat hardware-emu PS3 before this stupid "update" came out. Now those old ones are going to be even harder to find and more expensive.
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
It's the same reason there as very little DVD movie piracy in the mid-late 90's (very few people had burners and security cracks yet).
Doing a straight copy of a DVD doesn't require cracking CSS, you just copy the contents of the disc. The main thing that held DVD piracy back in the mid-late 90's was bandwidth and storage. While most people here in scandinavia would prefer 700 or 1400 MiB rips at the time we still hadn't convinced the average american "w4r3z d00d" that 250-300 MiB wasn't good enough for a full length movie...
Greylisting is to SMTP as NAT is to IPv4
To you, it may seem complicated. To me, injecting a single glitch pulse into a RAM line such that sometimes you get lucky and corrupt the right write is a shotgun-style trivial hardware glitch attack. Geohot's hack, hardware-wise, is one of the simplest out there.
Honestly. It's their hardware.
Look I understand that you "thought" you became the owner when you forked over the cash. But that's not how corporate America works these days. For a given amount of green, you get to place a Sony-owned piece of hardware in your living room, and play it until Sony decides it's obsolete. You then get to put it in the garbage, give Sony some more money, and replace it with another box with even less features. And to top it off, you rebuy all of the games you liked to play.
I know it sounds cynical, but this is how the console market works. Unless you're using FOSS on open hardware, you don't really own it anymore. There are EULAs to contend with, the DMCA and DRM, and the ever-increasing term of copyright.
If you don't want the pitfalls of proprietary hardware, don't buy it.
The society for a thought-free internet welcomes you.
I think you have some valid points; the PS3 is probably less popular in general, and its security architecture has probably been overstated, which would discourage hackers.
My feeling is that the RSX limitation, while certainly an annoyance for Linux users, just isn't enough to motivate most people into actually breaking the system. Even for those that are, it significantly changes the attack front. A console with no "homebrew mode" needs to be attacked by breaking into the game-mode software, which is what the manufacturer wants to avoid. The PS3, on the other hand, can have small holes poked in the hypervisor without compromising GameOS. This already happened once: a bug was found that enabled the use of the RSX in an older firmware by exploiting some bugs in the hypervisor interface (without actually breaking into it). Sony patched it later.
It's worth noting that this RSX limitation is really the only significant hardware limitation for the PS3 in Other OS. Sure, some other peripherals are virtualized, but you don't really lose any functionality from that. You get access to the full system mode of the PowerPC, and you get access to 6 SPEs which is pretty good.
My personal feeling towards the PS3 (pre-Slim), and I suspect that of many other hackers, was "Meh. No RSX, annoying, but we've got Linux which is pretty good. Maybe we can do some neat tricks with the SPEs". Even if the notion of a walled garden goes against the spirit of controlling your own hardware, it's still so much better than the competition (the iPhone's tightly controlled App Store, the 360's tightly controlled XNA stuff, or the total lack of any reasonable indie game option for the Wii) that it means you tend to go for the other targets. The Wii is particularly bad; they won't let you get an SDK license unless you meet ridiculously high standards - WiiWare is really just a small game option for medium to large game studios, not for small indie operations. The bureaucracy is too large.
I wouldn't want to live in a world where we can't control any of our devices, but I think having "walled gardens" on a few (e.g. mainstream game consoles) is tolerable. I understand the manufacturers' point of view, and why they depend on some software security in order to avoid piracy. Sure, I'd prefer totally open systems, but having some officially-supported homebrew infrastructure still beats having nothing by a large margin.
Or, instead of committing fraud, and hurting your local retailer in the process for something that is not their fault,
you could, you know.. Take Sony to Small claims court. This is exactly the kind of stuff that Small Claims court is made for. Sue them for the cost of a new device, plus filing fees.
What are we going to do tonight Brain?
Ahhh Linux. Old and outdated computer that you don't want to part with? Linux box!
Kid fucked up and bought a Mac and learned to hate it in a hurry? Linux box!
Bricked your Windows PC? Linux box!
Found out that your PS3 isn't as awesome as you originally thought it would be? Linux box!
Linux, making useless computers not suck since 1991.