UPDATE: PS3 Hacker GeoHot Claims He's on Vacation

[jovack22]

Good job Sony.

Force a youth into hiding.

 

[Kadoodle]

Fuck Sony.

If they weren't dicks to begin with and telling a customer what they can and can't do with their own damn property, he wouldn't be in this mess.

Corporate greed and control of customer actions is the crime here, so yea, fuck Sony. They deserve to be pirated.

Once again. This isn't about "Telling people what they can do with there property" this is about "Releasing security information to the public"
......

He bought the hardware, it's his property, he has every right to take it apart, see how it works and tell others how to do it too. That "Security information" was on his hardware. People can share info on how to crack cable boxes and cable company DVR consoles, and it's perfectly legal in that case (So long as you don't steal cable service and they own the box).

And Modding has the same effect as releasing "security info": it curcumvents company supplied software to make it do what you want. It's the same damn thing

So yes, this is a company dictating what a person can do with their legally bought hardware and software on it, and dragging them into court over it is wrong.

Cable boxes and DVR are not produced by a single company. There is only one maker of the ps3, and the ps3 is unique in that way. He also opens the door for pirates and hackers to ruin the system, and cause damages to both sales and stock.

And your argument about ownership is invalid. Once you agree to that digital contract, you sign away your rights to fuck with the system you own, not to mention tell everybody how to fuck with theirs.

Besides, even if you can find a way to call it legal, he's still so much of a dick that he deserves jailtime.

 

[Verkula]

People can share info on how to crack cable boxes and cable company DVR consoles, and it's perfectly legal in that case (So long as you don't steal cable service and they own the box).

Exactly, and thats whats happening now. People have the box(PS3) and now they are stealing the cable service(games). All thanks to that info.

 

[beema]

Would you expect anything less from the guy in the picture at the top of this article?

 

[hudsonzero]

he did not flee it was a tactical holiday.

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

Would you expect anything less from the guy in the picture at the top of this article?

Now go look at the page update and see Sony was lying.

Now you go read it and see where Sony lied. They said that he is in South America. Never said anything about him "fleeing" there. That was the article's title.

 

[Sarge034]

I thought the Escapist would support the rights of gamers.
Yeah he fled, but that's not the point. Sony is still in the wrong.

"Sony has proof that Hotz created a PlayStation Network account and therefore agreed to the PSN User Agreement"
So what? The PSN UA is BS!

Well, then you shouldn't agree to it, shouldn't you? Maybe you find the IRS pricks too, but that doesn't give you the right to break into their building and break their shit.

Being an anarchist, I happen to disagree with the IRS. However, I'd like to point out that there's a bit of a difference between me going into the IRS office and burning it to the ground, and GeoHot buying a PS3 and hacking it.

You are compleatly right good sir. It is not the same to go into their building and burn it down. This is more like falsifying your taxes, because you don't like the IRS, for ten years and then getting mad when they take you to jail and collect back taxes.

How dare they hold me to the standards, I don't even LIKE them!

Again, you're equating apples to oranges. Not even apples to oranges really, more like apples to chicken sandwiches.

He paid for his PS3, he has every right to do what ever he wanted with it, regardless of what the EULA or the PSN UA says. It's HIS property.

A good example would be [INSERT CAR MAKER OF YOUR CHOICE HERE] suing you into oblivion because you put a new stereo in your car. You paid for that car, you have every right to do whatever you want to it.

Do I even need to mention that the same act, jailbreaking, is legal on a mobile phone. Where's the difference?

"Oh, but he made it possible to use pirated software on the PS3. That's why he's in the wrong."
WHAT ARBITRARY SILLINESS!
The wireless adapter in my laptop allows me to download torrents of movies, guess hollywood should sue Dell.

His property, his choice.

Ok, I'll go with your car example because you used it and must belive it is apples to apples. It is illegal for a consumer to put certin aftermarket parts on a car for the saftey of the public. So if someone did "jailbreak" one such car the DMV would rightfully seize the car and pursue legal action. Selling/giving away said part is considerd a crime as well. So using your own example, how is giving out the source code not a crime? That would be like the seller of the illegal part saying they did not know the people who bought the part were going to put them on a car. It just don't hold water.

As for your wireless, this would be like Hollywood asking Dell to remove your ability to pirate movies. No wonder you support him....

 

[Wicky_42]

Update: Hotz isn't a giant douche! Sony were just playing petty popularity games! The balance is restored; evil corporation vs under-dog status secured once more! Woo, go drama

 

[makano]

You know i find it funny reading all of your comments its like a witch hunt.
Some of you are even acusing other members of piracy just because you dont aggre with them.
just a bunch of children here

As for geo as the update says hes on a trip and there is nothing in the court doc's that says he cant go out of state or out of the contry so hes well with in his rights to go visit his friend pablo in SA.

 

[Wicky_42]

In the beginning, everyone loved this guy. I was shaking my head from the start.

NOW DO YOU SEE?

News update counter! Hold the pessimism at bay, Kadoodle - your time to cry "I told you so" with triumph and conviction has not yet come!

 

[LGC Pominator]

I honestly don't know what to think here, I know the guy is a hacker etc, and it would appear that he has done some dubious stuff, but if the south america trip WAS pre planned and he didn't use donations to do it... ah ill give him the benefit of the doubt, I mean it isn't like I have any vested interest in sony's happiness!

 

[Dogstile]

Hey look at that, he was just on vacation.

But of course, we've all learned not to jump to conclusions by now haven't we?

 

[WilliamRLBaker]

You know i find it funny reading all of your comments its like a witch hunt.
Some of you are even acusing other members of piracy just because you dont aggre with them.
just a bunch of children here

As for geo as the update says hes on a trip and there is nothing in the court doc's that says he cant go out of state or out of the contry so hes well with in his rights to go visit his friend pablo in SA.

Eh others are calling others stupid because they don't support geo...so I think its pretty balanced...In reality beyond every thing he broke the law there is no need for differing interpratations it is a fact he broke laws and the key thing showing it as a fact that if there wasn't a large amount of merit to the case no judge would have allowed it to go forward or allowed sony to acquire so much information.

And really I'm gonna believe some laywers and a judge then a bunch of users on a website.

 

[Nurb]

Fuck Sony.

If they weren't dicks to begin with and telling a customer what they can and can't do with their own damn property, he wouldn't be in this mess.

Corporate greed and control of customer actions is the crime here, so yea, fuck Sony. They deserve to be pirated.

Once again. This isn't about "Telling people what they can do with there property" this is about "Releasing security information to the public"
......

He bought the hardware, it's his property, he has every right to take it apart, see how it works and tell others how to do it too. That "Security information" was on his hardware. People can share info on how to crack cable boxes and cable company DVR consoles, and it's perfectly legal in that case (So long as you don't steal cable service and they own the box).

And Modding has the same effect as releasing "security info": it curcumvents company supplied software to make it do what you want. It's the same damn thing

So yes, this is a company dictating what a person can do with their legally bought hardware and software on it, and dragging them into court over it is wrong.

Cable boxes and DVR are not produced by a single company. There is only one maker of the ps3, and the ps3 is unique in that way. He also opens the door for pirates and hackers to ruin the system, and cause damages to both sales and stock.

And your argument about ownership is invalid. Once you agree to that digital contract, you sign away your rights to fuck with the system you own, not to mention tell everybody how to fuck with theirs.

Besides, even if you can find a way to call it legal, he's still so much of a dick that he deserves jailtime.

EULAs have almost never held up in court.

 

[mjc0961]

Post based on updated article:

Not surprised at all to learn Sony lied about him fleeing the country to try and get away from the case, and that them (hopefully) getting their asses kicked for this "you don't own your purchased console" bullshit is still a priority.
Now to wait for his lawyers to prove that it's not his PSN account either (as Sony has yet to prove WHO created it, just WHERE it was created).

 

[CrazyCapnMorgan]

Hey look at that, he was just on vacation.

But of course, we've all learned not to jump to conclusions by now haven't we?

This is, of course, "modern" society we're talking about here. I mean, certainly after millenia have passed we've learned to be more...civil?

Spoiler: Seriously, though