Apple has been launching a lot of "sneak attacks" lately.:P
The iPod was innocent enough, but through it they effectively (and quietly) ate up a chuck of the PDA market via the iPod Touch.
Via the iPhone, they are starting to threaten Sony's and Nintendo's handheld console market.
Gaming on the Apple TV seems to be the latest "salvo".
PS: I suppose most consider the Apple TV as a failure. While I don't own one, it doesn't seem that bad. It's a cheap "media" server that lets you rent videos and watch them on your HD TV, as well as display/playback media streamed from a computer network.
From the guy that got it removed in the first place...
I'm so tired of repeating this. You are posting as AC, so I'm not sure if I'm being trolled, hence I really can't be arsed to explain the whole history of this mess from the start.
I suppose my view was, since you are swore off buying their stuff, what they do / will do to their products should matter much to you - well except of course if it's something you are already bought.
The "Other OS" situation was kind of a special case... I have posted about it in other parts of the thread, and would rather not repeat it here.
People can bitch about that I suppose, but I don't think it's completely Sony's fault.
So the XNA was just a different set of restrictions.
In essence you can create, but can't distribute. I wouldn't consider being able to distribute on Windows computers a perk, since you can do that anyhow.
We can't say Sony didn't support homebrew though, they just did it differently.
The harder it is the better. As you mentioned, you need an extra PC and all sort of other hardware + software. It would put off a lot of potential cheaters.
Now every Tom, Dick or Harry can just download a "trainer".
If you want an uncrippled platform, feel free to buy a PC.
You have to understand they are not a charity, they have to make money off the device somehow, and that "how" was through licensed games - the video hardware was how they got people to sign up for licenses. Consoles work on the razor and blade model, it's the way things evolved. Consoles have to be cheap (look what happened with the $600 PS3), so they are sold either at a loss or barely break even (manufacturing isn't the only cost mind you; R&D cost billions) in order to push adoption. A good chuck of the R&D cost is recoup through game sales.
If you don't want to take part in this model, just buy a PC - but you can't complain about the price in comparison to consoles.
As I said, in reply to the previous poster, "Fair enough.".
Was just puzzled why you would care so much that you bothered posting, since you don't use/own Sony products any more, ergo it doesn't in anyway effect you.
If you are referring to "Other OS", it's not targeting specific users because of EULA violations, it was patching of a "security" hole that effected all users.
Sony probably rather not do it, but it was either that or let people like Geohot do what they want with the hypervisor. Game developers will not be happy, neither will gamers when they see rampant cheating online - both are their main source of income BTW.
They picked their poison, and frankly I don't blame them for the choice they made.
Other OS was also a sandbox, and it was free. The applications you create to run either directly on Other OS or on top of Linux can also be freely distributed.
You must pay for XNA if I'm right, and there are "restrictions" to how apps are distributed.
If all consoles had something like that I bet piracy would go down just because people developing homebrew wouldn't have to punch holes that pirates can crawl through.
I don't keep up on 360 hacks but to my knowledge MS didn't have their signing key compromised though.
The only hacks I know of are messing with the DVD drive to play pirated games. Has anyone really gotten homebrew to run on that thing?
by putting in fixes and banning consoles and user accounts that break the EULA by hacking the system
I believe Sony would have fix it if they could - they did it with the PSP and the various hacks (etc the first PSP hack that exploited a bug in the TIFF viewer lib). With the signing key in the wild, custom firmware that can evade detection won't be hard. Banning will be of limited effectiveness.
If console makers give up on securing their consoles with these fairly non-intrusive DRM and leave their consoles wide open like the PC, it's only common sense to expect PC like DRM from games.
Even if Sony, Big-N and MS does nothing to enforce copy protection, the game publishers will add their own.
IMO it's kind of a pick your poison situation. Have the console maker do it via locking down their console or have the game publishers make a crazy mess of it.
Don't think it's all that costly to maintain 2 version of the firmware, chances are they have to do it anyway since the hardware is different to some extend.
Not to mention I think they rather eat a relatively minor cost than go through the shitstorm from retroactively removing a feature, it doesn't hold up as a good reason to remove the "Other OS" IMO.
Slashdot Mirror
There are other stores, not as big as Google's but they are there.
Amazon is getting into the app market too.
It will solve the HTML5 mess for one.
That's enough for me, beats the current deadlock.
Mozilla and Opera will be able to create decoders for their browsers, people who were concern about video quality will be satisfied.
Or they can just make decoding for internet streaming royalty free forever.
That will solve everything, and everyone can move on with their lives.
They lose a bit of income, but they still make tons from everything else, decoding for other applications and encoders.
It's the logical thing to do. /sigh
Apple has been launching a lot of "sneak attacks" lately. :P
The iPod was innocent enough, but through it they effectively (and quietly) ate up a chuck of the PDA market via the iPod Touch.
Via the iPhone, they are starting to threaten Sony's and Nintendo's handheld console market.
Gaming on the Apple TV seems to be the latest "salvo".
PS: I suppose most consider the Apple TV as a failure. While I don't own one, it doesn't seem that bad. It's a cheap "media" server that lets you rent videos and watch them on your HD TV, as well as display/playback media streamed from a computer network.
Homebrew != only games
Show me using the XNA to doing video decoding or video compression, or any other non-game application for the matter.
From the guy that got it removed in the first place...
I'm so tired of repeating this. You are posting as AC, so I'm not sure if I'm being trolled, hence I really can't be arsed to explain the whole history of this mess from the start.
Noticed that after I hit submit. :(
I suppose my view was, since you are swore off buying their stuff, what they do / will do to their products should matter much to you - well except of course if it's something you are already bought.
The "Other OS" situation was kind of a special case... I have posted about it in other parts of the thread, and would rather not repeat it here.
People can bitch about that I suppose, but I don't think it's completely Sony's fault.
So the XNA was just a different set of restrictions.
In essence you can create, but can't distribute.
I wouldn't consider being able to distribute on Windows computers a perk, since you can do that anyhow.
We can't say Sony didn't support homebrew though, they just did it differently.
I know. :)
The harder it is the better. As you mentioned, you need an extra PC and all sort of other hardware + software. It would put off a lot of potential cheaters.
Now every Tom, Dick or Harry can just download a "trainer".
Crippled yes, but it was still there.
If you want an uncrippled platform, feel free to buy a PC.
You have to understand they are not a charity, they have to make money off the device somehow, and that "how" was through licensed games - the video hardware was how they got people to sign up for licenses.
Consoles work on the razor and blade model, it's the way things evolved.
Consoles have to be cheap (look what happened with the $600 PS3), so they are sold either at a loss or barely break even (manufacturing isn't the only cost mind you; R&D cost billions) in order to push adoption. A good chuck of the R&D cost is recoup through game sales.
If you don't want to take part in this model, just buy a PC - but you can't complain about the price in comparison to consoles.
As I said, in reply to the previous poster, "Fair enough.".
Was just puzzled why you would care so much that you bothered posting, since you don't use/own Sony products any more, ergo it doesn't in anyway effect you.
If you are referring to "Other OS", it's not targeting specific users because of EULA violations, it was patching of a "security" hole that effected all users.
Sony probably rather not do it, but it was either that or let people like Geohot do what they want with the hypervisor.
Game developers will not be happy, neither will gamers when they see rampant cheating online - both are their main source of income BTW.
They picked their poison, and frankly I don't blame them for the choice they made.
Other OS was also a sandbox, and it was free. The applications you create to run either directly on Other OS or on top of Linux can also be freely distributed.
You must pay for XNA if I'm right, and there are "restrictions" to how apps are distributed.
Correct me if I'm wrong.
The posting of the key on twitter?
Nothing.
The key could be easily gotten off the internet by anyone who has the expertise to use it.
If all consoles had something like that I bet piracy would go down just because people developing homebrew wouldn't have to punch holes that pirates can crawl through.
In theory, that is.
See Geohot.
I don't keep up on 360 hacks but to my knowledge MS didn't have their signing key compromised though.
The only hacks I know of are messing with the DVD drive to play pirated games. Has anyone really gotten homebrew to run on that thing?
by putting in fixes and banning consoles and user accounts that break the EULA by hacking the system
I believe Sony would have fix it if they could - they did it with the PSP and the various hacks (etc the first PSP hack that exploited a bug in the TIFF viewer lib).
With the signing key in the wild, custom firmware that can evade detection won't be hard. Banning will be of limited effectiveness.
Actually the guy is not even real. :P
Fair enough.
Can't be helped.
If console makers give up on securing their consoles with these fairly non-intrusive DRM and leave their consoles wide open like the PC, it's only common sense to expect PC like DRM from games.
Even if Sony, Big-N and MS does nothing to enforce copy protection, the game publishers will add their own.
IMO it's kind of a pick your poison situation.
Have the console maker do it via locking down their console or have the game publishers make a crazy mess of it.
Then just do.
I keep see people like you posting in Sony related news threads.
What does it matter to you if you are boycotting them already?
LOL.
These "analysts" are using every logical fallacy in the book they can.
Ad hominem (as you pointed out), straw man (as doperative pointed out)...
I think we all know how MS sees "analysts" : http://www.groklaw.net/articlebasic.php?story=20071023002351958
I think it's kind of common sense...
Even if Sony lacks any, the feedback on the internet is fairly obvious.
Still... if you weight the benefits, it's better to maintain 2 code bases than risk a shitstorm and bad press.
Don't think it's all that costly to maintain 2 version of the firmware, chances are they have to do it anyway since the hardware is different to some extend.
Not to mention I think they rather eat a relatively minor cost than go through the shitstorm from retroactively removing a feature, it doesn't hold up as a good reason to remove the "Other OS" IMO.