Why do people support Geohot?

[HellspawnCandy]

Why not, Sony is claiming something it shouldn't that it still owns your console lol. People should be able to mess around with their stuff(cause they bought it), just because people pirate doesn't mean everyone is going to. It's like what happens with iTouch and iPhones, people don't want that restriction to cause them from using it the way they like. I like Pokemon on a touch screen. I don't own a PS3 so I honestly don't know what it's capable of when being "jailbroken."

 

[Atmos Duality]

We need a site-wide PSA to at least try to quash this wave of "Ownership Confusion".
Unit ownership/operation and copyright-ownership ARE NOT THE SAME THING.

Why do people keep thinking they are?

 

[jovack22]

Yeah, I don't get why everyone's supporting him.
He's basically contributing hugely to piracy on the PS3, and he knows it.
His actions have resulted in a huge problem for Sony, yet for some reason everyone is supporting him, not Sony.
I am really against him.

Huge problem? He made the PS3 more accessible for people. If you pay for something it should be yours.

If I buy a toaster, and tune it up so it suits my needs better, I hope GE doesn't come and sue me.

I have a Nintendo DS with an R4 card so I can watch videos and play NES and SNES roms, but I still purchase the cartridges that I truly like and want to keep.

 

[Something Amyss]

First off this is nothing like your Al Qaeda example because money is involved. And as for who did something wrong, the answer is everyone involved, the Linux OS was used to pirate, Sony did make a stupid move in removing it without trying other options first but not doing anything would have been an ever dumber move.

Money doesn't mean you can take away someone's rights. It also doesn't allow for many other things, including practices already mentioned. Sorry, "It's different because money's involved" does NOT work.

Now...Everybody? No. first, this is a goalpost shift, because you're trying to take the issue away from Geohot. I can kinda see why, since he's a poor example for the case being made here, but he is kind of the focal point as well.

But everyone involved? Even if we take out GeoHot's jailbreaking from that equation, not "everyone" was using OtherOS for piracy. Sony punished a lot of people who didn't do anything. I mean, that doesn't sound like "everybody involved." And since Sony's suit is about "WAAAAAAH! You jailbroke our console!" Rather than "You pirated our games!" I'm pretty sure we can rule that out. If Sony could argue actual infringement, rather than infringement caused by cracking the coding for the purpose of jailbreaking, they would have gone after that. The former (Not used) is a straight issue of wrongdoing and would benefit them. The latter (used) is not a straight issue of wrongdoing and does not benefit them inherrently.

Sounds like a wrongdoer to me.

I know that corporations don't like it when we get and use rights, but what they're alleging is that he did something which has been ruled acceptable even under the DMCA. And THAT'S why "everyone involved" is wrong?

Edit: Also, it's clear doing nothing would have been less harmful, since the PS3 was only uncrackable while the hackers were playing with otherOS. Now they've compromised the console itself. Oh, and if this suit progresses, there's a very good chance that the initial work GeoHot did will be deemed COMPLETELY LEGAL. Should that happen, it will open the floodgates for people who want to modify it for piracy.

This is the better solution? Yeah, explain THAT one.

 

[ZombieGenesis]

Fact: Contracts can only be extended up until the point of completion.

Therefore, if you purchase a game, it's yours and you've bought it. Nothing the game can present you with (ie. an 'I Agree' button) counts towards that completed contract, and when the courts get more savvy about such issues, this will be a lot more accepted. You cannot make a new contract with a videogame. If you've bought it, contract is complete, do what you like with it and if nothing has been mentioned of it up until you've purchased, the seller has no power to enforce it.

That is literally what the law says about anything (not just games). It's only for policy reasons that this argument doesn't squash every single claim that reaches court.

 

[TerranReaper]

Granted, I say he is in the right for reenabling a feature that was promised by Sony but was subsequently removed for whatever reason. I don't think Geohot really supports piracy, but his actions does have an indirect consequences which leads to it being exploited as a result, which leads to the problem of piracy and all that stuff we apparently hate so much. Again, his motive is not piracy, but the indirect result does lead to piracy and other exploits. There are people who are using to play pirated games and there are people that use it to exploit that can harm other people. But at the same time, there are people who actually steer clear from piracy and actually use it for homebrew purposes.

 

[Zaik]

Don't post in this topic, i am wrong, i am a idiot, and lets leave it at that.

I'm surprised this actually worked.

Normally you have to add some filler in to succeed so well. I guess it's just a topic people care about so much they already know what they're going to say before they ever open the thread.

 

[Nachtmahr]

I support GeoHot because Sony is SO EVIL! Giving me free online network and oppressing me with their oppressive updates. I feel dirtied whenever I touch the PS3! Please GeoHot! Win this case and once and for all destroy the evil corporation that makes us gaming consoles! Ruin them! For great justice!

 

[Popido]

He has contributed alot to the modding community for free. If you're into tinkering and learning stuff about consoles and devices, you should check hes stuff.

People support him for:
1. Thanks for the free stuff.
2. To not have him kicked out from hes circles by Sony.
3. To try to change Sony's policies.

...
And people are against him coz hackers are evil and "piracy" is a magic word that you can throw around. Okay, some people have valid reason, but they remind me of those guards on Oblivion.

The cheaters that came up on console side is mostly, if not entirely, developers fault for making such a bad coding.

And pirates just sail all the seas they can. Theres one in my bathtube right now.

 

[squid5580]

Lets cut the problem off at the source. Geoholt isn't the problem. People getting their hands on early releases and uploading them isn't the problem. The internet is the problem. DOWN WITH THE NET!!!

 

[Korten12]

I could honestly care less about what he does to his ps3, but what will start because of it. People for some reason think: Just becuase you could pirate, doesn't mean they will. Well sorry, but if they can, almost 95% of them will pirate.

 

[Kagim]

Like others have, and will say, regardless of who wins, the honest owners are going to lose.

Sony, Taking away the ability to put linux and other OS systems on your service was a bad move. You shouldn't have done that. You only antagonized people with way to much time on their hands.

People do have the right to alter there property in anyway that a)Does no harm to people and b)does not allow access to illegally obtained content.

However, pressing this case is going to end badly regardless of how it ends. If sony wins its bad pr for them. If Geohot wins people will use it as a precedent and then online service will become a joke.

"But Kagim! He had nothing to do with that!"

Doesn't matter. My online play is still going to get fucked because of two groups having to have their way.

Someone posted earlier "Should Einstein be blamed because his work led to the atom bomb"

No, of course not. However Einstein didn't formulate and distribute his theories with full knowledge that it was going to be used to make a bomb.

To say Geohot had no idea the information he released would have obvious negative ramifications to the service is naive at best and insulting to him and worst.

As said, no matter how this ends, the honest owner is fucked.

Except Geohot. He might get rich. Oddly enough, that doesn't comfort me knowing I might not be able to play online anymore as i watch someone take fourteen direct rockets to the head yet kill me with one pistol shot that flew six feet in the other direction while jumping through a wall. But hey, I guess that doesn't matter. No one has the right to tell you that you can't cheat in killzone.

It'll also be awesome as i have to use that stupid keypad to punch in a cd key and lose access to half my games if my internet goes out, because hey, if you don't want to pay for games. Why should you. I mean, everyone knows games are made by developers sitting in a circle holding hands wishing them into existence. I mean the only reason why they are not free is because of greed.

Just because i don't think it's clear enough. I'm not happy with either group. That means sony to. Yes you, the one calling my a fan boy followed by six different synonyms for gay, I more then realize Sony is acting like a dipshit to.

To many people are assuming this is Davie and Goliath when its more peter punching paul.

Edit: I suppose i didn't answer the question.

Why do people support him? Because people know if he wins, they get free shit. They get to start cheating in online games. While i am sure there are a few people genuinely pissed about the whole OS thing I am hard pressed to believe that they are the majority.

 

[Mardrax]

So you're running a pc right?
For example's sake, I'm assuming you've a nice little Intel processor in it, that works on carrying out instructions from one of the programs installed on your fancy Seagate harddrive.

Now imagine you logging off to a "we have some updates waiting to install", going to bed and waking up tomorrow, booting it up, and seeing the message that Intel no longer supports Seagate harddrives. And for that matter, your harddrive is without an OS anyway, since Seagate no longer supports Windows, so that has been deleted.
After all, it's their machine. They can do with it what they want, right?

I'm sick of seeing people constantly bash this guy without actually understanding his motives.

Also, they have this nasty habit of accusing him of things he didn't do and attributing other unrelated hacks to him.

Childish pedantry at best.

I don't care what his motives are, he's breaking the law. He's violating the contract and encouraging piracy. None of these are good.

He's not encouraging piracy though. He just informed people of how to jailbreak their PS3. Which is not only legal, but also has diddlysquat to do with piracy. What people do with that freedom is their responsibility, not his.

Software piracy has to do with procuring bits of intellectual property that you have no right to. Ie. copyright infringement.

Get your facts straight already, before you start making baseless accusations.

 

[Smooth Operator]

I'm not giving much support but companies need to learn that customers own what they buy, the company simply provides it and has no further say in it.

I understand they want to protect online services, but there are many ways to do that, still doesn't give them the right to manipulate customers possessions.

 

[dday4you]

its about us gamers taking a stand. sony and co have been rather unreasonable recently and pissing off a whole bunch of people.
also, the number of people who are willing to support geohot shows that the gaming community is growing in strength.
frankly i hope sony loses