sony's illegal business practice!!!!!!!

[joeorc]

r505Matt said:

Adjudicator said:
Does anyone have any theories or evidence to suggest that this was done for any other reason than anti piracy.
I see some users asking what if they stop you from playing games or watching Blu Ray movies. This to me makes no sense as it's all about money and those things would cause them to lose money.
Piracy causes them to lose money. Whether or not it sets a precedent is irrelevant. The onus is on you the consumer to exercise your rights.
So again I ask, is there any other reason. Sometimes you have to step away from the cold hard facts and start using some common sense.

No one has really thought of much beyond an anti-piracy reason, though I think one person took "security risk" to mean that their credit cards (that are saved/used on the PS3) could be hacked, but that's something else I think. Granted, I know very little about hacking, but I don't think the installation of Linux or Ubuntu would open the system up to that sort of threat, nor do I think if there is such a threat, the removal of the Other OS option would really protect you anyways. Unless there is some serious flaw where someone could log into another OS on a PS3 and somehow tap into your PS3 that way, but I'm not sure that's the issue.

It would be pretty far-fetched if so, but then again, after Sony's recent blunder with the time-clock date thing, I wouldn't be surprised if there was something in there. But it's odd at the timing, shortly after Geohot breaks in through Linux, they remove the Other OS option. It just seems that an anti-piracy reason makes the most sense with the information we have.

I've checked a couple of other forums, the general consensus is anti-piracy, but I'm curious too on if there are other possible explanations. I wouldn't expect any evidence though, just theories.

notice the Time line:

 

Sony looking into PS3 hack rumors

Posted Jan 25, 2010 at 3:05PM by Glenn M.

t's not every day that you hear about the PS3 getting hacked, especially when the guy behind it is a pretty well-known iPhone hacker. Smelling the potential threat to the threshold, Sony has sent out word that they're on the case and investigating the truth behind the PS3 hack rumors.

 

"We are investigating the report and will clarify the situation once we have more information," said a statement from a Sony rep.

 

Though the hack is said to be unpatchable, the hacker, Geohot, himself said that firmware updates could complicate the implementation. As it is, we'll just have to wait for updates from both ends of the battleground.

http://www.qj.net/qjnet/playstation-3/sony-looking-into-ps3-hack-rumors.html

Geohot releases his hack exploit to the internet:

Monday, 25 January 2010

read this interview:

A US hacker who gained notoriety for unlocking Apple's iPhone as a teenager has told BBC News that he has now hacked Sony's PlayStation 3 (PS3).

George Hotz said the hack, which could allow people to run pirated games or homemade software, took him five weeks.

He said he was still refining the technique but intended to post full details online soon.

The PS3 is the only games console that has not been hacked, despite being on the market for three years.

"It's supposed to be unhackable - but nothing is unhackable," Mr Hotz told BBC News.

"I can now do whatever I want with the system. It's like I've got an awesome new power - I'm just not sure how to wield it."

Sony said it was "investigating the report" and would "clarify the situation" when it had more information.

'Open curiosity'

Mr Hotz said that he had begun the hack last summer when he had spent three weeks analysing the hardware.

After a long break, he spent a further two weeks cracking the console, which he described as a "very secure system".

He said that he was not yet ready to reveal the full details of the hack but said that it was "5% hardware and 95% software"

"You can use hardware to inject an insecurity and then you can build on that," he said.

The hack could allow gamers to play pirated games

 

He admitted that he had not managed to hack the whole system, including the protected memory, but had worked out ways to trick the console into doing what he wanted.

Mr Hotz said that he was continuing to work on the hack and, once finished, would publish details online in a similar way to his previous iPhone exploits.

In particular, he said, he would publish details of the console's "root key", a master code that once known would make it easier for others to decipher and hack other security features on the console.

He said his motivation was "curiosity" and "opening up the platform".

"To tell you the truth, I've never really played a PS3," he said. "I have one game, but I've never really played it."

Opening the system could allow people to install other operating systems on their console and play homemade games, he said.

In addition, he said, the hack would allow people to play older PS2 games on their consoles.

Recent versions of the PS3 do not have the ability to play PS2 games after Sony controversially removed a piece of hardware.

He admitted that it could also allow people to run pirated games.

"I'm not going to personally have anything to do with that," he told BBC News.

Gaming firms do not take the issue of game piracy and console modification lightly. Recently, Microsoft disconnected thousands of gamers from its online gaming service Xbox Live for modifying their consoles to play pirated games.

Mr Hotz said that the nature of his PS3 hack means that Sony may have difficulty patching the exploit.

"We are investigating the report and will clarify the situation once we have more information," said a Sony spokesman.

Mr Hotz rose to fame in 2007 at the age of 17 when he unlocked the iPhone, which could only be used on the AT&T network in the US at launch.

The hack allowed the popular handset to be used on any network.

He has since released various other hacks, allowing people to unlock later versions of the popular handset.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8478764.stm

that's exactly why sony took the step's they did!

by george's own admission he said it could, he hacked another big corperation's device I think you heard about it:

the Iphone!