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Sony's Official Statement Regarding PS3 Hacking
tekgoblin writes "Sony has stepped up its stance on anyone circumventing protection of any kind on the PlayStation 3 and released a statement addressing it. Most recently Sony had barred George Hotz (Geohot) from releasing any more information about the console whatsoever. Now, Sony has their eyes set on other users that may be trying to use pirated software or modded PlayStation consoles on their network. The statement reads: 'Notice: Unauthorized circumvention devices for the PlayStation 3 system have been recently released by hackers. These devices permit the use of unauthorized or pirated software. Use of such devices or software violates the terms of the "System Software License Agreement for the PlayStation 3 System" and the "Terms of Services and User Agreement" for the PlayStation Network/Qriocity and its Community Code of Conduct provisions. Violation of the System Software Licence Agreement for the PlayStation 3 System invalidates the consumer guarantee for that system. In addition, copying or playing pirated software is a violation of International Copyright Laws. Consumers using circumvention devices or running unauthorized or pirated software will have access to the PlayStation Network and access to Qriocity services through PlayStation 3 system terminated permanently.'"
Points finger and Sony customers and goes *Ha Ha*
I guess with the new firmwares they'll be doing the secret phone home tests and then deploying the ban hammer. Harsh but fair IMHO. I wonder if it will be as effective as MS and the 360 ban hammer? I Still think this entire situation could have been avoided if they'd never removed the install other OS option, which was a legitimate why of running custom homebrew on the box.
I just got a letter from Sony's lawyers regarding a particularly insidious piece of software I wrote for my PS3 entitled "Hello World". My Dad says that I have been very bad and will have to go to military school.
doubling up one's attitude regarding ANYthing, does not make that thing right, or wrong. something that is wrong, stays wrong, something that was right, stays still right.
In the cases where that thing was wrong, all that 'doubling up' accomplishes is to show the stubbornness and bastardry of the one doubling up the stance.
basically its doing wrong, and then insisting on being indignant.
Read radical news here
Second party controller users will be banned.
And for the record, I still haven't bought any games for my ps3
Firstly, just to state the obvious: I know that most people using these hacks will be running pirated games, and only the tiniest number will be using homebrew software.
But having said that...
Sony's statement refers to both pirated software AND "unauthorised" software. In that context, unauthorised must = homebrew. Software that you've written yourself, or the author intends you to use. Yet if you use it, Sony will cut you off from PlayStation Network, greatly reducing what you can do with the official games you've bought.
How is that even legal?!?!
I own my PS3. Sony shouldn't be able to take any action that prevents me from using it. If I want to pirate games (which I don't) then Sony can pursue me through the courts. They shouldn't be able to "confiscate" all of my legally-bought games as punishment, which is effectively what they're going to do.
It's mine, i've bought it with my own money, so if i decide to hack it, i will hack it!
I will use pirate softwate if i see fit.
No one will deny me that right.
And the guarantee menace... oooohhhh!! already got none, so "here's johnny!!"
Well, that's fixed that one then, hasn't it? With a statement like that, it's clear that piracy on the PS3 is good and dead.
Or maybe not.
Seriously, I don't see what Sony were trying to achieve here. I think anybody who mods their console (hardware or software) to run homebrew or pirated games will do so with the expectation that they will not continue to be able to use PSN features for long. All Sony have probably achieved is a minor Streisand-effect, making sure that even more people know that it's now possible to pirate PS3 games.
That said, I do applaud the policy of banning modded consoles from the PSN (and hence from the online components of PS3 games). The big attraction of console online multiplayer for me (and I suspect for quite a few others) is that playing on a locked-down system does reduce (albeit perhaps not eliminate) the scope for cheats outside of the exploitation of game-specific glitches.
"All Sony boxez are belong to us"
Do they realize they would sell more units by being friendly to the modding community? In regards to pirating, it is not their job to police users pirating. It is the job of law enforcement to uphold the laws, and it is then up to the courts to determine guilt and punishment.
I don't know if this is a violation of the terms of the "System Software License Agreement for the PlayStation 3 System" that comes along with purchasing a PS3 from day one. If not, changing license agreements a posteriori should not be enforceable for their owners. This is similar to license agreements that are not available prior to product purchase, for instance, when they lie inside a box that can only be opened after acquiring it.
I really have to say something here... I have a hard time understanding why this is such a big deal. Bear with me here...
You are buying a product that works within a closed ecosystem, including Sony's Playstation Network. If you mod your PS3, of course Sony is not going to let you play on their playground because they have no way to determine if your box is cheating or doing other non-good things while being attached to their network. Why is this so hard to understand?
Think about it this way... you are an IT manager for a large company. You manage thousands of desktops and hundreds of servers. What would you do if your employees started taking their laptops home and installing a modified or hacked OS, and then proceeded to bring those laptops to work and connected them to your managed network? Would you like that? Or would you ban those laptops from connecting to your network? This is precisely what Sony is doing and I don't disagree with it.
Note that I'm not against modding and hacking, on the contrary, I am a self-taught hacker with an electronics degree and nearly 30 years of computing experience. But even I understand that if I buy product A that comes with service B, service B may be taken away or unavailable if I modify product A. Sorry, but that's the breaks when you buy into a closed ecosystem. Same thing goes with Apple's walled-garden approach.
Now, if you want to mod your box, fine, just don't expect support or service from Sony. You don't need to use Sony's network if you don't own any games that require it. If I modded my own box, I would expect that I can no longer use any associated services. However, intentionally bricking a device is a whole other topic...
... they would permaban people who regularly buy things from the PSN Store, as well as have a large collection of bought games.
I know many people who have hacked devices simply for the homebrew side. They buy all their games as well as donate to many game related charities, software development studios and the like.
Only one has downloaded a game and not paid for it and that was the PC version of Fallout 3, simply because it was so terribly buggy on there in comparison to the console version that he had. (and, again, only because they never released the GECK for the PS3 version, even lazier of them)
The hard drive is there, Bethesda, use it please.
I wonder what would happen if all the frequent buyers of games and downloadables were to have modded their console.
...I really don't mind this. I have no problem with people hacking/modding their PS3, running whatever they want to run on it and playing pirated games that don't connect to the network. But my chilled out attitude rapidly drops away when it comes to the mess that can happen in online games. MW2 used to be quite a fun experience online, but the hacked lobbies and the blatant cheating have recently made it unplayable. If I were Sony, I'd do exactly the same thing.
I know I am going to get flamed for this, which is why I am posting as an Anonymous Cowards, but...
Think about it from Sony's perspective. Think about the costs they laid out to bring the entire Playstation to market. Don't they have a right to try and control what happens to their product? People can argue that once a system is bought, it no longer belongs to Sony, but they do have controlling right to the technology that continues to exist in the system. The entire idea that Sony is out to get it's customers strikes me a spurious and unsupported argument. If a retailer of any product was "out to get their customer," what would it do to their business in the long run?
Is this about money? Probably. If you were in Sony's position, would you take a similar stance? Probably. We can be all high and mighty as we want, but we do a disservice to the community at large when we fail to examine the entire picture and consider all of the aspects. We need to take off the blinders for a bit...
This way, our future arguments will have more meat.
Just saying, is all.
Sony better get off its butt and do something to make money while the music industry fails, better companies sell better electronics for less money, other gaming systems come into their own and their position in the public image turns to poo.
Whadda you do when everyone knows what a prick you are and no one wants to have anything to do with you anymore.
Perhaps Sony should hire some Scientologists or Democrats to consult and see if they can hold onto their stockholders.
"Notice: Unauthorized offroad and alternative fuel devices for the Sony Car system have been recently released by hackers. These devices permit the use of unauthorized fuel and roads. Use of such roads or fuel violates the terms of the "License Agreement for the Sony Car System" and the "Terms of Services and User Agreement" for the Sony Road Network and its Community Code of Conduct provisions. Violation of the Licence Agreement for the Sony Car System invalidates the consumer guarantee for that Car. In addition, driving offroad or using alternative fuel is a violation of International Driving Laws. Consumers using offroad devices or running Sony Cars with unauthorized fuel will have access to the Sony Road Network and access to Sony Maintenance services through Sony Car systems terminated permanently."
Have a nice day.
Whatyagonnadoaboutitaye?
I do not see any big problem with what Sony is doing. If your PS3 is modded, of course you should not be allowed onto their network, because that would open the door for all kinds of cheat software, which would destroy the fun for all the legit players trying to enjoy competitive games there. You still can play offline (as long as the game does not use online verification, which newer games very well might do) and you can still use your "homebrew" software. The whole thing would only be problematic if Sony would remotely brick your PS3 for being modded. But they do not do that.
Everytime an article about hacking on the PS3 turns up on Slashdot, we get a bunch of idiots writing "Fuck you, Sony".
For the report, I don't have a problem with homebrew or hacking. I run Rockbox on my iRiver.
I do however have a problem with piracy and online cheating.
If you're hacking the console just so you can play the latest games without paying for them or so you can cheat online in Sony's PSN, then you deserve to have your console banned.
Summation 2
GeoHots basic human right to free speech is taken? wtf? Im outraged.
Can someone please find a sweet backdoor into all PS3s and jailbreak them all at once?
I heard all PS3's have the same MAC address. Anyone knoe fi this is true? Maybe it was XBOX?
The problem is, the master key signs software, so the console things its legit. It uses the same key that is on official products. So, how will Sony know if someone is running a legit game, or one that was homebrewed and then signed? The answer - they can't. So as far as I am concerned, this statement is just scare tactics that Sony can't enforce.
Not that I really care. I use my PS3 for Blu-Rays, Netflix, and the ocassional old PSX or PS2 game I have in my collection. I have my PS3 to be a media console, not a gaming device, and really have no desire to run pirated games or Linux on it - I got a PC for that (linux, that is).
I have absolutely no problem whatsoever with Sony objecting to hacked consoles connecting to PSN - especially if they are being used to cheat or obtain content from the services illegally. If not for the benefit of legitimate players.
I do however have a problem with them removing features i payed a premium for OR penalising me for deciding against upgrading my vanilla - unhacked firmware.
So now I am without PS3 Linux because i wanted to access the PSN Store. I dont condone piracy , Im happy to buy games - In the past I had boxes of dodgy floppies on my Amiga , piracy was rampant on that platfom and that , together with the mal-management of Commodore and Amiga INC contributed to the demise of the system. Linux and open source takes care of my needs and where there is software worth purchasing i will buy it ( http://www.renoise.com/ ).
Having been a loyal Sony customer for so long im wondering where to go with my next console purchase, i already boycott Microsoft and Nintendo's cutesy game library (SuperZeldaMario World Galaxy 13 Yawn ) doesnt really appeal to me - although i am sorely tempted by the 3DS.
We need another player here ....
N ...
Electronic Music Made Using Linux http://soundcloud.com/polyp
How can you violate the "System Software Licence Agreement" if you remove the said system software from the system?
"Civis Europaeus sum!"
We never thought to build shore defences because our Scienticians assured Us that if We stood on the shoreline and shouted "HALT!" loudly enough, the tide would never come in.
Effective immediately, Our new Oceanic Evition policy is to execute any of Our subjects caught with damp feet. We trust that this shall bring an end to this sordid defiance of Our divine authority.
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
Actually, it doesn't even take a word, it just takes a gesture, modeled here by William Shatner.
I am officially gone from
What can you expect from a company that does not have any remorse on hacking your computers (cd rootkits) just to keep you in check?
I'm surprised that Apple and Sony haven't out-right just put licenses on their products. So instead of buying a product, you're buying a license to use the product but the hardware ultimately still belongs to them.
Not to give them any ideas, but isn't this a way around the whole "don't use anyone else's software or else"? Right now, nothing in the packaging (as far as I know) says that you can't use your own OS or anything other than the OEM software.
Ultimately, I think if Apple, Sony, or anyone else were to do this, people would either knuckle under or buy products that don't infringe on their rights.
We don't live in Shouldland.
One time leasing fee?? Just goes to show you that you need to read the fine print. If you don't agree with it, then don't buy/lease the unit. Most manufactures don't want you to read the fine print; this is the reason that it is tiny and difficult to read (legalese).
What if you were to come across a unit some other way, such as a garage sale giveaway? In this case you have agreed to nothing. Does the unit say "Not for resale. Property of Sony Corp." on it??
The one-time leasing fee is just a ploy to prevent you from marginalizing or re-purposing the hardware. Why should I not be able to build software for that platform and sell it or give it away allowing others to run it--such as a Linux distribution? For that matter, why not purchase from Sony, hack for other purpose--such as a node for parallel processing super computer, and then re-sell the units for that purpose with software included? You could make some serious money using their console. How can that be wrong or illegal?
It is not my fault that Sony chose a marketing tactic of giving the razor away to sell the blades. That is their risk and trying to get the law on their side in this matter is just plain wrong. ...I have some pretty decent blades that just happen to fit in that razor and when combined can do some very useful and valuable things.
I do not plan on buying anything from Sony again. Hopefully others will do the same. They can keep their products and services. What they are doing is just plain wrong--typical of an aging entertainment business with lobbying ties to Washington.
Why do people keep sending these greedy corporations money for products and services when they carry on like this (with the draconian fine print)??
Sony Ericsson was illegally excluding the unemployed from being hired.
Dear Lemmings,
Just don't play with Sony anymore. Don't buy their shit, don't play their games, etc. It'll only take a month or two (probably less) and they'll figure out which side of their bread is buttered.
But, of course, that's certainly too much of an inconvenience ...
How long will it be before someone designs a "homebrew" firmware version which exactly mimics the official one in its responses to PSN's checks for mods? Yet still allows all the stuff they are objecting to.
If the PSN isn't required for PS3, then they can ban you from it. But, why can't there be a replacement network? Up until recently, it was not technically possible to create unauthorized software (software subject to their licensing & TOS restrictions) however it is now.
Since you "own" your console, you should be able to connect it to any network. I would assert that Sony by way of only allowing only one network (PSN) is given an unfair monopoly and is engaging in anti-competitive business practices. (Same for for XBLN) Even if you agree to the ToS, the ToS is only binding on the first owner of the console (First Sale doctrine) there is no provision for Sony to continue the ToS and License agreements past the shrink-wrap seal.
Clearly, you have the right to network the unit you own and have the right to connect it to networks of your choosing. I call for Sony to publish specifications which would allow alternate, private or open networks to be functionally equivalent to the PSN, as well as the PS Store. If Sony is going to force the issue, we'll make sure the stakes get really high.
This all started when they took Linux away anyway. That in itself has to be bait and switch.
Slashdot's rate-of-post filter: Preventing you from posting too many great ideas at once.
Remember the last time you had to Agree to a TOS on a NES game?
I have not purchased anything from Sony since they released audio CDs with embedded root-kits and I will never buy anything from them again.
The impact of my own boycott is minimal, but if everyone took the same approach, Sony would at best go out of business and maybe, at the least, stop acting like the corporate bully that they are.
So they DO have the right to ban NON-PSx consoles from the network. And a PSx running NON-SONY software isn't a PSx in their eyes, which I would agree with. HOWEVER, if I want to buy a PSx and put my own software on it for my own use (Hey, maybe I can buy a PSx cheaper than a PC with a BD drive) I should be able to do so. Just so long as I understand I no longer have a PSx system anymore and I'm not welcome on the PSN with it. Now if THAT's ALL that Sony is saying, fine. But the camels nose gets no further in the tent than that.
How can software be unauthorized if the owner of the device wants it to run? The person who bought the PS3 does own it do they not?
So, if I decide to run Linux on my PS3 (which used to be allowed) so that I can run distributed computing projects using the powerful Cell processor that I paid for when I bought the console, then I'll be permanently banned from the PSN. How do I receive my cash refund for everything that I ever purchased through PSN that I would then no longer be able to access? (Not that I've bought anything since they took away Other OS, but I had bought a few downloadable games and add-ons prior to that)
I don't give a shit. I'll crack it and play pirated games all day long. Never needed to play online to enjoy a game. They are just trying to scare the little kids who love playing online. No big deal for the people who care less. Sony has failed and as a result more people will pirate and play games without paying them. I hope their profits sink to shit but we know that won't happen.
So... is this like most PC developers where they ban your system from online multiplayer or is this like the Xbox where they ban you from the service? Banning from multiplayer is not a big deal, but banning completely from all online activities is an incredibly stupid thing to do -- one that encourages piracy. Millions have banned Xbox 360s simply because they've flashed their drive, and there are a number of Xbox Live Arcade games that they would gladly have purchased. Strangely, Microsoft felt it prudent to prevent people with banned Xboxes to purchase things, anymore, thus not only making things inconvenient for them, but actively discouraging the purchase of any Xbox-related products and encouraging the development of the piracy of XBLA games.
So now, I'll remember not to buy a used Playstation 3...
So screw all of the actual people who just like to fiddle with the software and hardware that they BOUGHT!! A lot of people have no interest in pirating games, we just think its fun to do something interesting with a piece of hardware. Screw homebrew, screw allowing people to learn how to develop for a console, screw everyone! Guilty until prove..., oh, wait, there is no proven innocent. Oh, well, its not like the PS3 is worth anything anyway as the pure game console its released as. It was only ever worth anything as a Blu-ray player and a HACKABLE computer with 8 concurrent processors. The constant updates are causing the Blu-ray portion to be almost unusable these days. I flip the thing on to watch a movie and I have to wait 10-15 minutes for the update, every single freaking time. I'm about to just trade it in for a Kinect and go buy a surround sound system with a Blu-ray player. Screw you too, Sony.
I was still on the fence about the PS3. Now after all this holier-than-thou pursuit of hackers and pirates by targeting anyone who so much as looks at their PS3 the wrong way just takes it to far. I now have no intention of buying a PS3 or any other Sony gaming system. I don't need a company being a little bitch about what I do with my property.
I'm 100% in favor of detecting and banning hacked consoles from PSN. It's Sony's network and they have the fundamental right anyway, and secondly, if it keeps cheaters/hacks/aimbots/etc off the PSN, I'm 110% in favor of that.
And I'll just buy another PS3. It will remain unmodified, and I'll use that for playing games online. And my current PS3 will remain as my "hacker's delight" that runs homebrew. If Sony detects that it's modified and bans it from the PSN, that's fine.
As for everyone else, if they want a PS3 to hack I'm sure it won't take long before Sony starts detecting modified PS3s and banning them from PSN, and $100 PS3s start appearing on Kijiji/Craigslist next to the Xbox360's that are banned from XBL.
That being said, I wish Sony was more accepting of the hacker community, perhaps even facilitating it somewhat. I actually thing it'd be awesome if Sony added a feature to the PS3 where you could 100% unlock the console hardware, banning the console from PSN in the process. It'd be a lot better, and probably even cheaper for them in the long run, than continuing their current bullshit of legally shafting people like Geohot. Hey, if people want to figure out how to program your game system, you should be helping them!
pray we do not alter them any further. - Sony
Sony screwed themselves and their customers when they removed the OtherOS feature. Before that, they did not force a downgrade of the actual console you bought (though they removed functionality in later hardware revisions, you got what you paid for). When they forced a removal of a functionality that was important to many buyers, they pissed off a lot of knowledgeable folks who were enjoying their Linux on Cell experience. It certainly did not take long before the entire system was compromised.
No sympathy for Sony.
Stop the brainwash
Yes, you bought the console and are allowed to do everything you ever wanted to it. However by changing the system you are breaching the contract that you initially agreed to with Sony, and therefore giving up your access to PSN.
Yes, Sony threw the first rock, they removed other OS and that was really shitty of them. They broke (at least the ethical side of) the contract first, but that means you need to pursue the issue in court/with your government/etc.
Either way, once the contract is broken you give up your access to PSN. You only get to decide whether you'd like to have Sony punished for it, or be in the wrong yourself. Understand that I don't mean homebrew/jailbreaking/whatever is wrong, only doing so and then whining about Sony blocking you from their services.
Two wrongs don't make a right, and two breaches of contract don't unbreach it.
Why not take these hackers and hire them on to find out where to increase security. Or an even better idea release 1 version of the PS3 to be hacked as a fun HIY (Hack it Yourself) project and one that can't be. The HIY wouldn't be allowed on the same network. I really don't see this big issue with this, the hackers are showing Sony where they need to improve so now Sony needs to take that information and create a better product with it.
Even if the problem is in hardware you can do alot of stuff with low level bootrom code to make security interrupts that can block / patch hardware low level attacks.
If you break open your system, you still need those services...OH WAIT.
What do I know, I'm just an idiot, right?
I love it, rootkits, perma bans, will Sony EVER learn? This just reinforces my personal policy of never buying Sony if I can help it.
Where has reason in the world gone? Have we abandoned it in favor of power and politics?
Wanting to play pirate games is not the only reason to say "Fuck you, Sony".
As a freedom and free software enthusiast, the thing that bothers me to no end about Sony, and all consoles for that matter, is how their games are becoming thiner and thiner in content, expecting more and more content to be "purchased" --which now means something similar to renting-- online.
People every year own less and less what they pay for and more remains in the control of the corporation. It has come to the point where even first sale rights are being denied because for all they whine that piracy is illegal, they don't give a shit about legality when they smell money to be made in abusing another illegal niche.
People should really vote with their wallets. There are hundreds of exciting free games, and hundreds of indie games that don't use these dirty tactics. And there is of course, human interaction, books, etc.
So fuck Sony.
But... the future refused to change.
I'm as anti-Sony as anyone, but really, what they seem to say here is that:
1) Piracy is illegal, and breaks copyright laws. This is true, whether you like those laws or not.
2) If you mod your box, they will not let you on PSN. Since PSN is a service, I think they have the right to deny that service to those that don't play by the rules of that service, which includes playing with un-modded PS3 boxes.
Now, locking down GeoHot might be a bit overboard, but it isn't like they are saying, "You mod your box we employ the remote kill switch," which if their EULA reads anything like the one on the Kindle (Grrr...) they claim the right to do.
and then the us air force will tell sony to back off.
Sony, I already decided not to buy your stuff years ago. I can see you're genuinely applying yourself, here, but really, I'm already convinced. No need to expend any additional efforts.
I would be just fine with Sony protecting their PSN by banning modded consoles. That's good for gamers and means pirates will probably not be able to play their copies for long online. The part I have a problem with is Sony's assumption that the hardware is intertwined with PSN and therefore must litigate to erase all knowledge of how to uncouple the two. Why should Sony care if I want to buy 3 consoles to start a small Pov-Ray rendering farm? There's nothing wrong with trying to erase Sony's software from the console. The bit that is wrong is trying to modify their software to allow pirated games or hacks on the PSN. Geohot did not reveal how to add infinate ammo cheats to Call Of Duty. He simply provided access to the hardware that was originally part of the design.
"Errare humanum est, perseverare diabolicum."
"The body may heal, but the mind is not always so resilient." -- Deus Ex: Human Revolution
This issue some up over and over again in the technology industry. What I cannot comprehend, is why these companies seem to believe that they have any right to tell you what you can and cannot do with the product you purchased. Say for instance, you bought a PS3 then took it outside and summarily executed it. Despite the obvious fact that you have voided your warranty could Sony hope to tell you that you have no right to do that? Do they presume to maintain ownership of the hardware? Be that the case are they paying to have dead boxes shipped back to them for proper recycling? If one were using the modified box to play Pirated media, I could understand their hesitance from a purely legal standpoint. I can also understand not wanting people with modified consoles to play, and potentially cheat, on their Network. However, modifying and otherwise cracking the hardware for the purpose of installing a new OS or performing other Geekly tasks is, I would say, a right of the owner. Why do companies fight so vehemently to protect their software and hardware when they should know by now doing so will only enrage those Geeks being told "NO", when, I ask you, has that EVER worked? Sony, Wake Up. That Is All.
I would hope that any employee smart enough to installed their own OS would be smart enough to do it right before plugging it into our network.
"Do it right" means not making it a hazard to our network.
Besides, if I have more than a few computers on the network that I don't have physical control over, I'm going to treat all the ones I don't have physical control over as potentially compromised. This may mean I buy an application-server and force those users to do most of work over a "think client" mode. In a Windows shop this would likely be Windows Terminal Services or web-based applications. The few things I would allow to be done offline, such as composing documents, would require that any files uploaded to the server be heavily scrutinized upon upload.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
I don't think the people using it for computing are also using PSN.
You should be able to hack all you want, seeing as the PS3 isn't reliable hardware to begin with. Not a PS3 user but seen a recent surge in YLOD occurrences. Something like this adds insult to injury.
Must be a PS3: you can own a car but you can't own a PS3.
If you can't hack it you don't own it.
I mean, don't you have to connect to PSN to get the updates that kill OtherOS? If so, I see only win. :)
I mean, that's the icing on the cake. The decision they've forced for us OtherOS users is between staying away from GameOS and PSN or staying away from PSN and getting another SPU and access to the GPU. I don't see the downside, frankly.
--
Given enough personal experience, all stereotypes are shallow.
I liked GeoHot's rap about getting sued by Sony (here).
There is a big difference between hacking to cheat (steal games/cheat with online games) and when someone hacks to allow you to use the hardware you own. Admittedly it's hard to keep them separate, but that's what must be done if we as consumers want the right to use the hardware we paid for as we see fit.
In surprising news it turns out that if you AND the text of the Sony statement
with fus1.bin it results in a file which very very closely resembles the
"key" they are trying to supress. Even more spooky.... if you AND
fus2.bin and OR fus3,bin with the statement you get the key as well!!!!
In related news , if you AND the file notwilkileaks.bin repeatedly with the raw data ;--)
of the Lennon track "Imagine" (from the cd with catalog number xxxxxxxx)
you get ALL the leaked cables
And here we have the class-action lawsuit against Sony regarding OtherOS still ongoing and waiting... and waiting... delayed...
Whereas the case against GeoHot is going hot and fast, with Sony allowed to do forensics on his equipment and tamper with evidence.
At the time I purchased the original uncrippled 60GB model, I was weighing the purchase of that against a Mac Mini as a media center PC. The PS3 won out, since it did everything I wanted out of the Mini. The PS3 did not, of course, run OSX, but it did run any PowerPC Linux happily, and mplayer/VLC/XBMC were capable of playing back pretty much anything the Mini could. Additionally, it had a unique hardware set that was faster at certain functions than anything then available at any reasonable price. e.g. I wrote a stupid fast (useless but fast) port of Conway's Game of Life using the SPUs as learning tool.
Add in the Blu-Ray playback, and card readers, and it was very very useful as a general purpose media center PC. Needless to say I did not upgrade past 3.15, and lost PSN connectivity back then. Everything was happy until the graphics hardware started throwing up random polygons when playing offline games.
The PS3 Sony sent back when I paid for repair/replacement was already upgraded past 3.15 (ignoring my request to NOT upgrade my console, and specifically telling them to return my console unfixed if a replacement was not at 3.15).
As a result, I am very thankful to again have that capability to run Linux back due to the jailbreak community. Sony screwed me twice already. If they permaban me now it will be a very sad day.
Ridiculous qualifiers? I think not!
If you like this statement, you're going to love Sony's draconian new ToS. I'm surprised it isn't front-page yet.
to create an alternate to PSN that people with hacked/homebrew systems can access? I see no problem Sony wants to lock you out from their network to preserve the playability/integrity of it, in fact that kinda makes sense to me. Just develop and manage a network just for the people who want to cheat/exploit and then everybody can still play. Access to the alternate network would probably require you to install some sort of patch redirecting your connection there which should be easy enough if the system is already rooted.
That's just my $0.02 if somebody wants to explain I'm more than happy to learn something new.
**Disclaimer** I am not a gamer and know nothing about the PS3
i wonder if Sony ever realized that they have 1/20 of the online users that Xbox live has...hmm , if i were a fat pocketed big wig from Sony, id have to re think their whole strategy because now they will have 1/50th of the users, Kudos to Sony for killing the gaming division....lets open the flood gates to xbox & wii...the real future of gaming...
lets hope Sony has some other fandangled piece of hardware to carry them to the shareholders meetings....
SONY , wake up! Bluray isnt going make the future of the biz
the winner is.............MS & Nintendo
now , i have a PS3 to list on ebay.....
I bought the damn thing and I'll do anything I want with it! Get a life Sony! If Sony would just look at what the 'hackers' are doing with the device, they would be thrilled at all the new ideas and ways to use it. Then if they adopt and incorporate these 'hacks' into their next version, it would mean more $$$ for Sony and more enjoyment for those who use the product. Everybody wins!