UPDATE: PS3 Hacker GeoHot Claims He's on Vacation

[Jumwa]

I made my original comment before the update and I boggled at the posting of Sony's lawyers side so one-sidedly without any questioning of it. I started reading the story to my partner and the moment she heard the accusation he fled the country she blurted out "He probably went on vacation for Spring Break".

C'mon, the Escapist needs to start showing more care and discretion with how they report. The number of times I see articles here that just state some PR source books words verbatim is just disappointing, to say the least.

 

[Thedarkness77]

Well he's done for this time.

 

[Awexsome]

Had a feeling that it was going to be something like this. But the dude could've shown a bit more preparation to not make himself look bad. A quick, "going on vacation for spring break. Be back _____. I'm still on top of the case." would've done well to avoid this whole thing in the first place. It makes it look like he doesn't really take it as seriously as Sony does.

I mean if I was suing somebody for wronging me and they just aquired a lot of money then suddenly leave the country my first impulse would be that they ran for it.

Still think Sony's in the right in this fight though.

 

[Krion_Vark]

So anyone want to make bets on whether or not hes going to actually win this case? I mean there is still that whole thing about him TAMPERING with EVIDENCE. Or on that he is going to be actually coming back. All WE know is that hes in South America not what country hes in.

 

[Paragon Fury]

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.

He was teaching other people how to commit crimes and engage in illegal activities.

If that isn't against the law then I don't know what is anymore...

You do not punish someone for the capability of a crime. It's like saying that teaching someone hand-to-hand combat is a criminal offense because you could potentially teach someone how to seriously injure or kill someone else.

Knowledge of how to commit a crime is not a crime.

Handing out that information to people with the will and motivation to do it is. Which is exactly what Geohots did.

So Geohot gave it to specific people with the intent for them to use it for malicious purposes? Can you back that up please?

He put it on the Internet.

Thats pretty much giving it to every single person on the planet who wants it. Trying to pass that off as "innocent" or "not intended for harm" would be like me walking into an insane asylum and leaving a loaded firearm in every subject's room, then trying to pass off the ensuing carnage as "not my fault".

Sure, I didn't pull the trigger, but I left the means to do so out in the open where anyone who wanted it for any reason could get it and use it for harm. Had I simply kept it to myself, I would not be responsible in any form.

 

[Jumplion]

So, okay, let's give him the benefit of the doubt that he really is on Spring Break (which I don't think is a proper thing to do at this time but, you know, Spring Break). Could have helped to, you know, tell everyone instead of drawing more suspicion on him, but maybe it slipped his mind.

He still tampered with evidence, disobeyed court orders, released Sony's security key to the world (which Sony didn't care about him until he did so) and went of a vacation at the most inopportune time (again, a heads up would have sufficed).

I'm not on anyone's side here, but can I just say that this guy is really being a complete tool?

 

[Baresark]

snip

I'm sorry, but after saying it so many tmies...

What part of tampering with evidence and denying a court order is legal in your mind?!

snip

Yes, his motives are unknown, but look above. If he just moved to South America, or told the court her had to leave or something, that's one thing. What makes me wonder are those two distinctly illegal actions he performed that I mentioned above.... Yeah, doesn't cast his actions in the best of light without SONY's help

Sony accused him of tampering with evidence, no court did. And if he did, then he denied a court order. One is dependent on another. But, no judge has made any judgement on that. It's a filed motion, Sony has asked if a judge would give a ruling based on their claim. Also, Sony has no way of knowing that he skipped the country, since there is legal actions involved and both teams have lawyers, all interactions are through them. So, unless his lawyers said to Sony, he skipped the country, then they would have no way of knowing that. And I doubt his lawyers said that. If they did, it's not in the article. That is why I go back to my original position on this article. It's epic fail because it doesn't say anything that is actually fact, but Sony speculation.

 

[Kagim]

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.

They don't care about anything involving the hardware...

So, by your right, i can take windows apart, learn how to utterly fuck it up and disable it beyond working, as well as destroying any physical devices, then release said information for anyone to use and just say "Well its not meant for people to use maliciously?"

No.

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).

Alright. Prove that absolutely nobody is going to use said code maliciously. I'm waiting.

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

No, it's actually not. One involves releasing information that can impact other people play experience and be used in malicious ways.

The other can be a modification used to perform a specific task, like install other OS's, and can easily be justified in the fact the program will not be used maliciously, and that it wouldn't be his fault if they did.

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.

No, it's a company not wanting a security root key leaked because of how it can impact both the company and player experience.

 

[Mailman]

I'm not entirely sure what to think about all this, me being the kind of guy who isn't into the console mod scene. I do think, however, that each side has valid points. He should've just waited to go on his trip and deal with this case.

 

[Scars Unseen]

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.

He was teaching other people how to commit crimes and engage in illegal activities.

If that isn't against the law then I don't know what is anymore...

You do not punish someone for the capability of a crime. It's like saying that teaching someone hand-to-hand combat is a criminal offense because you could potentially teach someone how to seriously injure or kill someone else.

Knowledge of how to commit a crime is not a crime.

Handing out that information to people with the will and motivation to do it is. Which is exactly what Geohots did.

So Geohot gave it to specific people with the intent for them to use it for malicious purposes? Can you back that up please?

He put it on the Internet.

Thats pretty much giving it to every single person on the planet who wants it. Trying to pass that off as "innocent" or "not intended for harm" would be like me walking into an insane asylum and leaving a loaded firearm in every subject's room, then trying to pass off the ensuing carnage as "not my fault".

Sure, I didn't pull the trigger, but I left the means to do so out in the open where anyone who wanted it for any reason could get it and use it for harm. Had I simply kept it to myself, I would not be responsible in any form.

here [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinitrotoluene] is the formula and process to make TNT. Please don't kill anyone with it.

 

[Baresark]

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.

He was teaching other people how to commit crimes and engage in illegal activities.

If that isn't against the law then I don't know what is anymore...

You do not punish someone for the capability of a crime. It's like saying that teaching someone hand-to-hand combat is a criminal offense because you could potentially teach someone how to seriously injure or kill someone else.

Knowledge of how to commit a crime is not a crime.

Handing out that information to people with the will and motivation to do it is. Which is exactly what Geohots did.

So Geohot gave it to specific people with the intent for them to use it for malicious purposes? Can you back that up please?

He put it on the Internet.

Thats pretty much giving it to every single person on the planet who wants it. Trying to pass that off as "innocent" or "not intended for harm" would be like me walking into an insane asylum and leaving a loaded firearm in every subject's room, then trying to pass off the ensuing carnage as "not my fault".

Sure, I didn't pull the trigger, but I left the means to do so out in the open where anyone who wanted it for any reason could get it and use it for harm. Had I simply kept it to myself, I would not be responsible in any form.

Your premise is that everyone who uses the internet is insane and can't be trusted. But you are somehow exempt from this? I'm not trying to be confrontational, but think about it this way. Firearm companies make firearms. Fire arms are tools that people use, the vast vast vast majority of the time, they use them legally. Some people do not. Software is a tool, that he did not intend for people to use to play burned games on. That is really what this is about, enabling piracy. Just as S&M do not make guns to be used for murder or any other crime, he did not make software to be used to play pirated games.

There is of course the EULA, but that by extension is morally reprehensible because they sell you the system, THEN make you sign it, after you have already bought it. That aside though, this is a good case that people should be watching, because it's about the right to use a piece of hardware to it's full capacity, and not be limited after purchase by the manufactures software. It's exactly like the iPhone jailbreaking court case, a judge ruled it legal to jailbreak your phone because all it did was enable all the features of a device you payed for. I'm against piracy, but just because some people used it to steal, doesn't make him responsible.

 

[Tony2077]

damn i here i was hoping he did flee the country

 

[WanderingFool]

I still think he's an ass from this picture...

 

[CronoT]

Anyone would need a vacation after that much heat.

the motion said. "He explained that he had purchased one of these consoles new in February 2010 and provided the serial number for that console. SCEA used that serial number to determine that on February 25, 2010, Hotz purchased the PS3 System at a Gamestop store just miles from his home. CEA's records show that the same PS3 System was used on March 10, 2010 to create a PSN account under the user name 'blickmanic.' The IP address associated with the registration is located in Glen Rock, New Jersey, where Hotz lives."

That's some CIA shit right there.

So, does this mean that the Xbox 360 Headset I purchased at a GameStop today can be traced back to me by the store I bought it at, and without my consent?

Seriously, this '1984' s*** just needs to stop. It's about time that a Judge declared that the EULA does not carry the legal weight of a signed legal document.

 

[Something Amyss]

Doesn't change potential tampering of evidence though. Or the fact that now he can complicate the legal process by his being in another country and then doing something dubious.

Or the fact that he still a complete and utter dick with no case and is trying to pass off selfish, ill-intentioned work as harmless and "for the greater good".

You had me up until the "no case" part. He's got a case.

 

[Chromanin]

Off-topic, I think we should all be ashamed to so easily believe a story like this. I, for one, feel like a dumbass.

Yeah, ditto. Now I'm just pissed that I was so easily swayed by the media. That's never happened before...

 

[Jumwa]

So why is everyone calling him a dick? What's he done that makes him a dick? Am I seriously ignorant of some facts on the issue here?

And why the big deal about the picture? It just looks like some silly picture a million people a day post on their Facebook.

 

[Simalacrum]

He didn't address the specific claims of tampering with evidence, but I'm sure that is probably best left to his lawyers.

Speaking of the tampering of equipment, according to GeoHot's attorney (talking to IGN), the missing components have been delivered as per requested by Sony, so the "point is moot" apparently.

Linky links: http://uk.ps3.ign.com/articles/115/1157239p1.html

If all of this is true, then really its Sony who's painted as the bad guys (again) here, using every excuse to try and convince the court that GeoHot is actually evil...