Talk of PS3 lawsuits rubbish

Last week, owners of older PS3 model found that the latest update removed a feature most had never used, the Install OtherOS feature. This action by Sony was a direct result of the hacking attempts by hacker George Hotz who had previously gained notoriety for creating exploits for the Iphone shortly after launch. Since the update was announced some PS3 owners have threatened litigation against Sony for the removal of this feature. I suggest that any lawsuits going forward should address the cause of the problem, the ego of Mr. Hotz himself.

[Nitrowolf2]

yup this is true, sueing sony for removal of other OS is pointless, like the article stated you agreed to the service and that no one forced you to update other then yourself. To be able to use the online service you must agree to Sony terms.
Really if any one to blame its George.

[Anon1974]

"I...I didn't realize there would be consequences! I mean, you have to open up your PS3 and make an adjustment for it to even work."

Is Geohotz really that stupid that he doesn't think pirates could possibly open up their PS3's and solder a connection? You did it. And you really didn't think that Sony would react to that breach? If you weren't interested in pirating, then why do it? Ohhhhh....because you're an ego-manic.

Then he goes on about how hacking isn't about stealing but about getting your money's worth. Well aren't you the PS3's answer to Robin Hood. News flash, we were already getting our money's worth until you started messing with the system.

But I guess once you get interviewed by CNN you crave that kind of attention...even if it screws legitimate PS3 owners in the process.

[sikbeta]

lol @ the Picture, that's your Future Geo-douche!

[commodore64]

No actually, the article has completely missed the point.

What is not being understood, is that Sony gained a marketing advantage by advertising features that undoubtedly were used by savvy consumers in weighing the pros and cons of an important purchasing decision.

The inclusion of Linux was a 'unique selling point' used by Sony to capture additional marketshare.

Unfortunately, Sony chose to remove this feature from Units that have already been sold to customers, thereby reducing the value of the purchase, after the point of sale. Is George Hotz to blame? Who knows. What is important to note is that SOny also had the option of addressing the security concerns via a Software solution. Yet, they did not.

On a separate note, blaming George Hotz solely for this episode and attacking his character in an online article, as part of a registered website may be grounds for a defamation lawsuit against the author of the article.

Certainly, portraying George Hotz as a criminal and posting a picture of him as a jail-inmate, in a 'shower-scene', is extremely slanderous and defamatory, as well as being inappropriately suggestive.

George Hotz might be advised to seek out a very competent lawyer and nip these lowlife articles in the bud - and quickly.

It's sad to see George Hotz being attacked and defamed for a crime he hasn't even committed yet. As far as I know, he has not cracked any games, nor has he distributed illegal, pirated content.
Until he's proven and convicted of having committed such a crime, articles such as this, especially the visual depictions, are merely defamatory and libelous.

Maybe someone will send George Hotz an email to make him aware of this article and the questionable attack on his character?

[XxZxX]

either way, that's the otherOption that i don't really care. Linux is slow like SHIACTH in PS3 anyway.

[morganfell]

I think it is karma that Frodo's evil twin is getting a black eye that he gave himself.

This moron is becoming what he deserves - the laughing stock of the internet and resident village idiot of the gaming community.

[Anorexorcist]

That Jonas Brother's-looking dropout is THE George Hotz???

I was envisioning some older, Gabe Newell-looking super nerd who pays a lot more attention to exploiting hardware than on personal hygiene.

He barely looks like he even knows what shaving cream is? Sheesh, they shouldn't be calling him Mister George Hotz, they should be calling him Sonny Boy or Kid Kontroversy.

[Proxy]

GeoHot is obviously the enabler in this situation. If he does go to jail hopefully they'll put him with a fellow piracy enabler who's respectable, the the CEO of Dell computers.

Or, they could put the actual pirates in jail?

Tinkering with the hardware isn't illegal. By passing certain security/encryption methods is. I don't know what Geo did on the software side, but I'm in favor of the "right to tinker", DVD burners, and chewing gum, even if they can be used for illegal purposes; doesn't mean they always are.

[Echo307]

Who invited Johnny-law to the party? Sue some no-name website's author? You can't be serious.

Sounds like there's a Geo-fanboy out there that's a little upset about all the negative talk surrounding him.

@Proxy: I'm not defending anyone, nor did I imply that I was... that might be the most random reply I've ever gotten on N4G.

[Proxy]

So your defending GeoHotz? The lowly blogger?

[Marceles]

lol @ the picture, him and his baby gangster face.

"I hack stuff!" (mean face) get out of here with your mean muggin dude...

[DatNJDom81]

I hope Charles Bronson rips him a new asshole

[mythamp]

I remember how people here ^^ called GeoHot a fraud, "he doesnt know anything, he is just a attentionwhore, he cant hack the ps3, its unhackable." Sony's response to remove the otheros feature should be a slap in your faces as that means Sony knows GeoHot could crack it.

Now, these same guys want us to go on their bandwagon with "GeoHot made Sony do this, he is such a evil loser".

I think you guys are the big losers here, not Geo! He took it to Sony and sony's PR just made an epic fail.

[hesido]

darkride66-> "Then he goes on about how hacking isn't about stealing but about getting your money's worth."

Yes indeed, this is where I lost my temper when I read geohotz's comment. The homebrew angle-> Ps3 already allowed homebrew, anybody with a fat PS3 could take a bite at programming the cell.

Ps3 had been the most open console of all time. Using no hacks, you could run custom cell specific code. You could run another OS. This is well beyond any console to date.

About getting your money's worth: If anybody bought PS3 because of the possibility of "homebrew" through gameOS, even though for legitimate reasons, is a fool. I already got my money's worth, I bought ps3 to play games, play music, watch videos. That's what I bought my ps3 for, not for homebrew.

That said, it was an ill-fated move by Sony to remove the linux support. I'm not condoning it. They chose the easy way out. They might even be looking for an excuse to shut it down.

[ClownBelt]

That picture made me laugh. Oh the power of Photoshop. Lmao

[Mr Lahey]

hehe.. it's like trying to sue South Park for over the line jokes.. Gets you nowhere.. :P

[Ravage27]

an article that makes sense :/

[Tdmd]

Great article. Totally agree with it. Funny as Hotz was probably the single person on the entire web who "didn't realized there would be consequences". This guy SHOULD be sued. You know, setted as exemple.

[interrergator]

care for that feature kuz i have my slim and my fat boy with me the games the store the usb drive port pictures swap harddrives matter to me.

[RoseSapphire]

Didn't bother with the article.

Removing a feature that a system was sold as having is wrong. It is well within reason for people to be upset by this and to take action. I have ZERO plans of ever using the Other OS feature on my 60GB system, but I will join in on any class action lawsuit to have the option to use it back. I paid to have this feature.

For those of you saying that we agreed to the terms I would like to point out that Sony offers no alternative to their terms in order to retain full use of your system. If you want to play upcoming games or use the Playstation Network it requires you to accept their terms. Being forced into not having a choice would not hold up in court.

This would actually be a very easy case to win and I hope someone gets it rolling.

[Anon1974]

And you'd be wasting your time on any lawsuits regarding this. Read the comments at the end of the article. User Agreements have been ruled on in the courts in the US time and time again, and every time the outcome has been that User Agreements are valid and enforceable under contract law. They're also included in the DMCA.

If you don't agree with the User Agreement, the courts have ruled in cases like these that you have 30 days to return the product, otherwise if you click agree and continue using the product it is rightly considered that you have consented to the User Agreement.

And at the end of the day, Sony isn't forcing you to update. You can simply not update and use the OtherOS feature till the end of time for all they care. You just won't be able to access their network unless you comply with their rules. They're well within their right to restrict access to the PSN.

You can't just go along with User Agreements and then opt out when it somehow inconveniences you. I suggest you do a little reading up on Contract Law before you waste your time on a lawsuit doomed to failure.

At the end of the day remember that Sony is doing this not only to protect their system but to protect YOU, their consumer from thieves, hackers, pirates and the like who would like nothing better than to steal your credit card numbers, personal information, create malicious software to harm your machines and to steal software.

You're also dead wrong about not being able to play upcoming games if you don't update. People who haven't updated their PS3's once can still play every single game they buy in stores. They just can't play them online.

[Walrus]

Actually, there is a precedent with this sort of case, and it's in Sony's favor, because of the ToS.
And yes, it is wrong to remove a feature from a product like this, but my sympathy lies with Sony, after what they went through with the PSP. At this point it's a business matter, and even if it hurts (I can guarantee you it was hard for them to make that choice) they need to take precautions like this to make sure they aren't screwed over again. When it comes to money, things like this are the result.

[tunaks1]

that pictures awesome

[ShOtCall3r33]

i don't care what the article said,for some reason i want to punch that guy in the face....i mean im not a angry person but he just has the face that needs to be punched...

[Marty8370]

He should be tracked down, arrested and sent to prison. Throw away the dam key.

Guys like Geohot are killing the gaming industry. They not true gamers, they are pirates.

Jump Out, Play B3yond

MOVE over LAGTAL

Jump Out

[Brklynty1]

When have you seen an official public commercial, or announcement of Sony advertising the OtherOS feature? The only features Sony advertised was Blu-Ray, Bluetooth, and PSN, and maybe more I'm forgetting, but NEVER OtherOS. Journalist reported that the PS3 featured a OtherOS feature, Sony never went public and advertised "The all new exclusive feature for the PS3, the ability to install another OS" No, they didn't. These lawsuits are pointless and retarded. The users agreed to the terms, and agree to sacrifice the OtherOS ability for retaining PSN access. You wanna hate someone, hate GeoHotz.

[Walrus]

They advertised it on their website. Believe it or not, that counts.

[Anon1974]

They might actually have something if it wasn't for the stipulations contained in the User Agreements.

There was an article that was submitted by someone who practices IT patent law who shared his thoughts on the issue. For some reason it didn't get any traction on this site, but it's certainly worth a read for anyone wanting to know a bit more of the legal implications and rules surrounding contract law and User Agreements.

http://gamer.blorge.com/201...

[radyboy]

its either you lose linux or lose online function .

you are forced to lose a feature that was with the ps3 from day one.

YOU LOSE EITHER :

A)LINUX

OR

B)PSN

that is force .you cant have both features .

put it in perspective, imagine sony a few months later say , you have to update to 4.0 system update that will lose the ps3 ability to play bluray.
will you say then sony didnt force you ???
if that happens you will lose either a)online psn or b)bluray playback.
i think their will be a shiitload of lawsuits then !!!!!

[djfullshred]

a choice between two undesirable outcomes is a "conundrum", not a force against one's will. ;-)

[stuna1]

It's a shame in this day and age people still don't understand the concept of Cause and Effect sheesh!

[Brklynty1]

Sony just listed the features of PS3. They didn't advertise it. That's like a kid bringing in his new device and the class doesn't know what it does or what it can do, so he tells them the features it has, he not broadcasting it on live television. And further more, that was for the old models, which as of August 19, 2009, were no longer in production, so Sony had every right to take OtherOS off as a feature. Right now the Playstaion 3 does not have a OtherOS feature, because as of now Playstation 3 consist of only the 'slim' model. So if Sony were to say Playstation 3 has or does not have, it would imply to the current model, which is not the one that has the OtherOS feature. And like the guy said, Sony didn't hold a gun to their head and say update, they chose too, and by doing that they willingly gave up their OtherOS feature.

[Walrus]

@ Darkride66: I know. In fact, I said something to that effect on your comment. I'm just saying that they did advertise it.
EDIT: What the heck? This was supposed to be a reply. Anyway, to the person above, hence my "believe it or not". While they didn't ACTUALLY advertise it, since they listed it on their website as a feature it still counts as advertising it, legally.

[djfullshred]

OK, this dork got his 15 minutes of fame. Clock is ticking, and soon we won't read about this geek anymore.

[Colonel-Killzone]

Sony has not advertise linux in god knows how long so idk what is the big deal and the process of getting linux took a while and majority of people on the psn would be like huh if you brought this up nor do they care about removing it. George cause this anyone who denies it is a fool when has sony got rid of anything in a firmware update hmmmm lets see oh yeah they started it as soon as this hacking crap got out of hand. People don't understand the iphone hack was simply to get free apps some even better apps then what the apple store has to offer i understand that but hacking the ps3 is a whole different story idk why i see ppl say well the hack helped apple well 1 its a cellphone and 2 it help apple mainly because ppl bought it to get there on free custom apps this is completely different. When you hack a gaming console you open a gateway to hell of people pirating games like crazy and sony is not gonna give up this battle the more you hack the more features sony will probably take out which i hope isn't true George word of advice the Ps3 community goes not care for your hack we don't want it all this will do is cause more harm then good to the psn community.

[s45gr32]

It could lead to having DRM on our PS3 games and blu-ray movies. Yeah hackers do ruin everything.

[s45gr32]

Sony could of come with a better solution and that was a firmware update that will make the PS3 more secure, but then again we are talking hackers here that know the ins and outs of a computer. Yes if George Hotz didn't go about boasting of cracking the PS3 then maybe Sony would of have not removed Linux from the PS3. So blame Sony for not coming with a better solution that did not affect the gamers and blame this hacker for trying to hack a PS3 that offer everything the consumer needed including free homebrew. That's how I see it.

[Anon1974]

And he was right, but to blame Sony isn't right. If a builder put a basement window in your home and every single night, thieves tried to break in through the window, eventually forcing you to wall the window up, was it the builder's fault for putting in the window in the first place or the thieves fault for continually trying to rob you?

Sony had patched security holes in the OtherOS before and I'm sure if it was an option they would patch it again, but by George Hotz own admission it simply wasn't patchable. Remember, this hack also consisted of rewiring of the PS3 internally. Patches can't rip out soldered wires and we all know that pirates, hackers and thieves aren't afraid of a little internal modifications of these systems if there's a payoff for them like your credit card info or pirated software.

[xaviertooth]

there's only one rubbish, its called xbox360.

[Meryl]

sorry but this guy comes from the same league as the users that have hacked windows, thanks to them we have spyware, spam, viruses and trojan's, they can even monitor your pc and find out details about bank accounts and so forth, I mean I am glad Sony has shut the door I would not want that kind of trouble on PS3.
He deserves no sympathy, all ps3 linux users should be mad at him not sony.