iPhone Hacker Geohot Needs Support in Sony PS3 Battle
You are probably aware that Geohot, aka Gorge Hotz who first jailbreaked the Apple iPhone is in the midst of a legal battle with Sony over jailbreaking their PS3 console, and as legal battles cost a fortune Geohot is now asking for some support from his followers.
According to an article over on Redmond Pie, the iPhone hacker has now set up a new blog after discussions with his lawyers and is asking for donations to his legal fund or if you can’t donate then spread the word.
Geohot is adamant that Sony isn’t suing him for piracy or even copyright infringement, but claims Geohot played such games as “super mario world, an unauthorized game” on his PS3. You can read Geohot’s explanation by hitting up Geohot.com.
Now personally I’m not legally minded, and I don’t own a PS3, but my personal view is somewhat akin to Geohot’s and that if you hand over you hard earned cash for something then that something becomes your property to do with as you see fit.
The product no longer belongs to the manufacturer and they shouldn’t have any rights to tell you what to do with it, once the warranty has run out of course. Thus I feel Sony is overstepping the mark as they don’t have the right to tell owners of their product what to do, which is what they are trying to accomplish with this court case, send a message to the public that you don’t mess with Sony gear even if you paid for the right to do so.
Put it this way, if a individual sold an item on say eBay, once it is sold it is the property of the buyer and not the seller, and the seller doesn’t have any rights to say what the buyer does with the item after its been paid for, so why should a big company like Sony think they can?
It seems to me this is a case of, we are big and you the public will do as you are told otherwise we will use large amounts of cash that the public has given us by purchasing our products in the first place, to slap you down in court and make you and everyone tow the line.
Basically I see this Sony verses Geohot case as not about Geohot jailbreaking the PS3, but more of Sony sending a message to the public saying mess with us and you will pay. So perhaps it is time all those iPhone users who have taken advantage of Geohot’s jailbreak of the Apple device to stand up and be counted, lend the Geohot some support, and send a loud message back to Sony saying…No Sony, you are not bigger than the public, you do not own a device the public has purchased, so back off.
Of course if Sony does browbeat Geohot into submission and wins the case maybe Apple will then decide to take the same stance with the iPhone, so there is a lot to lose here. Feel free to voice you opinions as to whether you agree or disagree to our comments area below.
Comments
9 thoughts on “iPhone Hacker Geohot Needs Support in Sony PS3 Battle”
I believe the difference is that he is not only hacking into only HIS console. By doing these hacks he is also hacking SONY's servers these are not what he has purchased so yes he can do what he wants with that piece of hardware but stay away from the software, which he has not.
He only enabled the person to jailbreak their own PS3, that's it!! He does not condone piracy. Read up on your facts before you write something stupid!!
The hardware does belong to you, you could throw it off a building and sony wouldn't care. All the fuss is about the software operating system which is licensed to the end user. You agree to the terms of this when you accept and go onto the psn and additionally when you update with any firmware. Sony are well within their rights to remove this software if you choose to breach the terms of this license. I personally wouldn't care what anyone does with their own ps3 but when it starts effecting my online gameplay and security of my personal details that's when I feel these hackers are going too far.
You guys are idiot. He released the program to people, which is now causing game piracy, which is bad for business
If he had just hacked it for his own amusement then fine. The fact that George then chose to publish said hack on the net, thus helping break legitimate protection to IP that does not belong to him makes him fair game for Sony and its lawyers. He'll be getting no help from me, my money going on 55"Sony 3D LED to help them out. I hope they nail him to the wall.
I support Geohot 100%. Sony needs to learn that I purchased the PS3 I own it. If I want to toss it out my window that's my right. If I want to jailbreak it that is my right also.
I do agree that sony can ban people from their networks if they want, I don't use it anyway. So that won't effect me when I jailbreak my PS3.
I am pretty sure that this issue will come to focus on whether, in buying a Sony device, the purchaser has effectively bought a right to 'disassemble and modify it and its contents' or rather, more simply, 'to own and use it in the manner for which Sony designed and sold it'.
To take another example. If I was a qualified multi-engine aeroplane pilot and I bought a plane from, say Boeing, I'm pretty sure I would be expected – in law – to leave the aeroplane alone, and merely use it in the way Boeing designed it to be used.
Unfortunately, the use of a term such as 'jail-breaking' merely encourages others to believe you (the jail-breaker) are up to some kind of 'Robin Hood' activity – protecting the innocent (me) from the 'evils' and 'laws' of the all powerful Sheriff of Nottingham (Sony).
Personally, I see little likely benefit, and considerable risk to my wallet, from (to use the vernacular) 'bricking' my expensive product; which a genuine manufacturer has spent multiple millions of dollars or pounds bringing to market.
If you think Sony (or anyone else for that matter) has failed to make a perfect product, in one way or another, and you set out to change it – I believe you are soon going to find yourself on the wrong side of reasonableness and at risk of Sony etc. doing their best to ensure that their intellectual property rights are protected to the full extent of the law.
My advice would be … do absolutely whatever you wish to the product you have bought (after all you do own it) – tell whomsoever you wish what you've done – but don't expect to be thanked for your efforts by the originator of the product.
If the innocents who admire your work are harmed in trying to emulate what you've done – let them be really sure that they deserve whatever they get – they had it coming.
I am pretty sure that this issue will come to focus on whether, in buying a Sony device, the purchaser has effectively bought a right to 'disassemble and modify it and its contents' or rather, more simply, 'to own and use it in the manner for which Sony designed and sold it'.
I'm all for geo its like you buy a pc of dell then they tell you what software you can or cant put on there . Sony is nothing more then a school ground bully trying to push around the weaker person good luck geo your machine you paid for yours to do with whatever .