Japanese Teen Arrested Over Wii-Modding Software

[Rainboq]

-snip-

That's not the point, this would be like if Walmart sold you a book, and you weren't allowed to read it unless you sat on a Walmart chair, using a Walmart lamp, that had a Walmart light bulb and you had to store your book on a Walmart shelf. While you can see why companies like Walmart want that sort of thing, its terribly anti consumerist. The modding, hacking and homebrew communities are the people who make sure that the consumer side of the tech industry has any relevance and pull. I'd rather have a future where anyone is able to add whatever features they want to any device they own, rather than a future where someone isn't allowed to understand or even touch the processes their devices use. The later would result in poorer security (white hat hackers are really the ones who make security that much better) and, given that robotic limbs are in the very near future, if the manufacturer or retailer thinks you've missed a payment, they can force your robot legs to walk you to the dealer ship, or your arm to just fill out the transaction for you.

 

[drthmik]

America has the largest prison population in the world (with nowhere near the largest population) and the highest percentage of its population in prison, in the world (0.8% of Americans are incarcerated compared with, for example, 0.06% of Japanese!).

you can blame the war on drugs for that.

 

[Cartographer]

America has the largest prison population in the world (with nowhere near the largest population) and the highest percentage of its population in prison, in the world (0.8% of Americans are incarcerated compared with, for example, 0.06% of Japanese!).

you can blame the war on drugs for that.

True, with all it's racist anti-black, anti-hispanic undertones, it's to blame for a large percentage of the prison population. Still doesn't change or justify the facts.

 

[The Funslinger]

Of course, Japan is not America, as most countries aren't. We Americans are aloud to carry dangerous weapons with permits, while most people aren't even aloud to own dangerous weapons. So I guess it would follow that most countries have harsher laws than we do.

Not at all, the american legal system is way worse than many other places, it's just that you've got a couple of odd exceptions (like gun laws).

Interesting, would you elaborate?

America has the largest prison population in the world (with nowhere near the largest population) and the highest percentage of its population in prison, in the world (0.8% of Americans are incarcerated compared with, for example, 0.06% of Japanese!).

True, but Japan has a 95% conviction rate. Talk about brutal.

 

[The Bandit]

Well, if the kid got busted for selling a software intended to crack the Wii in order to play pirated games, I can get behind this, sort of. One thing is to play a pirate game, another is to make a profit out of it.

Is it really that hard to read the article?

 

[RN7]

I just want to know why someone would bother modifying a Wii in the first place.

But even so, this is pretty outrageous. First they ban the custom anime figurines, now system modding.

Glad I don't live there.

 

[TIMESWORDSMAN]

-snip-

That's not the point, this would be like if Walmart sold you a book, and you weren't allowed to read it unless you sat on a Walmart chair, using a Walmart lamp, that had a Walmart light bulb and you had to store your book on a Walmart shelf. While you can see why companies like Walmart want that sort of thing, its terribly anti consumerist. The modding, hacking and homebrew communities are the people who make sure that the consumer side of the tech industry has any relevance and pull. I'd rather have a future where anyone is able to add whatever features they want to any device they own, rather than a future where someone isn't allowed to understand or even touch the processes their devices use. The later would result in poorer security (white hat hackers are really the ones who make security that much better) and, given that robotic limbs are in the very near future, if the manufacturer or retailer thinks you've missed a payment, they can force your robot legs to walk you to the dealer ship, or your arm to just fill out the transaction for you.

Modding and circumventing copy protection are two different things. I'm behind every thing you say, but I feel it has little to do with my intended meaning.

 

[TIMESWORDSMAN]

Of course, Japan is not America, as most countries aren't. We Americans are aloud to carry dangerous weapons with permits, while most people aren't even aloud to own dangerous weapons. So I guess it would follow that most countries have harsher laws than we do.

Not at all, the american legal system is way worse than many other places, it's just that you've got a couple of odd exceptions (like gun laws).

Interesting, would you elaborate?

America has the largest prison population in the world (with nowhere near the largest population) and the highest percentage of its population in prison, in the world (0.8% of Americans are incarcerated compared with, for example, 0.06% of Japanese!).

Be fair, Japan's court system is famously awful, but I get your point.

 

[Rainboq]

-snip-

That's not the point, this would be like if Walmart sold you a book, and you weren't allowed to read it unless you sat on a Walmart chair, using a Walmart lamp, that had a Walmart light bulb and you had to store your book on a Walmart shelf. While you can see why companies like Walmart want that sort of thing, its terribly anti consumerist. The modding, hacking and homebrew communities are the people who make sure that the consumer side of the tech industry has any relevance and pull. I'd rather have a future where anyone is able to add whatever features they want to any device they own, rather than a future where someone isn't allowed to understand or even touch the processes their devices use. The later would result in poorer security (white hat hackers are really the ones who make security that much better) and, given that robotic limbs are in the very near future, if the manufacturer or retailer thinks you've missed a payment, they can force your robot legs to walk you to the dealer ship, or your arm to just fill out the transaction for you.

Modding and circumventing copy protection are two different things. I'm behind every thing you say, but I feel it has little to do with my intended meaning.

Actually, modding is the practice of adding features to an existing product, so in a way it can break copy right (things like cracks are considered mods).