It’s true that you don’t usually get to read the license agreement until after to take it home and hook it up but, couldn’t you just return it if you didn’t agree?

By the way, I’m just playing devil’s advocate. I hope Sony reinstates Other OS as a result of this litigation.

What people really need to to is start lodging complaints with their states attorneys general. If they receive enough complaints, you might see some criminal charges for running a bait-and-switch scam. Civil suits are one thing, but if you really want to see them scramble, you should see what they do when they’re facing criminal charges in multiple, different, states across the country.

Mikey, there is no piracy on the ps3. The “hack” is a hardhard of someone glitching the memory via a small circuit to enable them to dump its level 2 content. It’s been around in similar format on other consoles for a couple of years at least. That is it. Geohot got his 10 minutes of fame and is now in hiding having failed to deliver CFW to put OtherOS back.

Sony have been removing features since launch, this is just another. Why? We don’t really know, but it’s nothing to do with piracy, more than likely they just want to kill OtherOS to cut costs.

If you live in New York, these two links might be helpful for submitting complaints to the Consumer Frauds Bureau.

http://www.ag.ny.gov/bureaus/consumer_frauds/about.html

http://www.ag.ny.gov/forms.html

I don’t have (or intend to get) a PS3, but what really pisses me off is the fact they’ve registered the trademark “it does everything” to advertise the damm thing.

“no it does not!!!!” ™
Mungewell.

> If it’s got a CPU+Ram ~ 9/10 Its going to be able to run some form of linux.

u need mmu as well, or stick to uclinux.

I thought SONY where already refunding PS3s if you complained about the lack of Linux support?

The pain about this is, now manufacturers will consider supporting Linux a liability from the outset; But what can you do, eh?

Of course ps3 slim could run linux dipshit.
From what I understood of the hack it was foot in the door but no where near warranting this, the fact that it was dropped from the slim and now the fatty there is some other reason.

“Sony’s spent too much time on squashing CFW on the PSP to risk another incident here.”

and they never have squashed it, everyone just got bored with the psp, no games really worth playing, shit controls, no accessories that people want (90$ 2mp camera?? where the hell is my gps???) and constant lies n BS from sony + more redesigns than sales

sony is this gens sega

funny funny

I think they should do to Sony what other companies did to Microsoft. Claim they have a monopoly on the browser and that they won’t let other companies can’t install their own. Microsoft lost big time just like Sony should.

If a computer or console has digital rights management that prevents me from doing what I want then I simply don’t buy it. Sony, Go sell it in Japan because I don’t want it.

(Disclaimer: I’ve never sued anyone.)

Something tells me you’ll all be waiting on Geohot’s CFW for a very long time.

At least a dozen years ago I vowed that I’d never by anything from Sony again. They are just way too heavy-handed and proud of their proprietary-ness. Sony is about as bad as Monsanto, except that their hardware is usually designed pretty nice and slick – what a shame.
I don’t miss them (never have bought anything Sony since my vow and I never will). Many of their competitors use standard file formats, etc. and don’t smell like big brother. This makes the competition look better so I’ll just keep buying things from their competition if & when I want something.
Good riddance to Sony.

Where’s the hack?

@Subdiver: Yes, Sony did market the ability to run Linux on it. It’s even mentioned as one of the features in the manual. Your analogy of the toaster converted to room heater does not apply here. It’s more like you bought a toaster, turned it into a heater, then the manufacturer breaks into your house and tears it apart in a way that can’t be rebuilt.

I have no problem with Sony removing features when they release a new version of the console, but what you fail to understand is that this applies to all consoles EVER sold. Retroactively. You may ask, well can’t you just not install the newest firmware upgrade? Sure, but then you can’t play any games online anymore, another advertised functionality of the PS3. Either way, functionality is reduced after the fact.

Also, as far as I know, once a newer firmware is installed, there is NO way to restore the system back to a previous version.

I Purchased my ps3 because Sony advertised I can run Linux on it.

I’m not a hacker but I use it frequently to experiment parallel programming (I’ve not found any other cell broadband engine based hardware that I can afford). Of course I also enjoy online games and playing bluray discs.

Now I renounced to online games. I will play offline the ones I already have and I will not purchase any new game anymore.

Sony have stolen 1/3 of my ps3 (2/3 of it if future bluray movies do not play on it) and this is something I will not forgive, even if they return back the other OS feature. I will never purchase any other Sony product.

Best regards.

they decide to remove the feature dosent make the console useless just les useful dosent hurt there bottom line becuz they have plenty of support u bought a video game console the extra features like blue ray made it more cost effective to the consumer u could just go buy a xbox that has what hddvd support negative i would assume u bought the ps3 for its games and quality craftsman ship like me i have a rrod i owned my xbox 1/3 the time i owned my ps3 and if everyone keep messing with sony they will be force to make a system where u have to pay for online gaming like xbox and they expect u to pay for online play and not alter ur console with there user agreement for online play if u want to install linux on it dont play the new games or update and build another computer for linux is that so difficult just remember kids u could move back in quality gaming to the xbox and its over priced online or wii for its horrible graphics and remember a video game console

@SubDriver good job u get it
@the ignorant masses if the company gets litigation threat will start a price increase like i said earlier about the online charge like xbox live or a up in console price and in the end linux support will still be lost

From a slashdot article on the Sony rookit debacle (is that the right word?)
“If your advertising giveth and your EULA taketh away, don’t be surprised if the FTC comes calling.”

http://news.slashdot.org/story/09/03/27/152205/FTC-Warns-Against-Deceptive-DRM

Maybe they got fed up with the NSA buying cheap hardware and not following up with games purchases?

@drew – my brain now hurts after trying to read your “random-words-in-the-form-of-one-big-sentence” post. did you not read the other posts in this thread or are you just ignoring the fact that taking a major feature away from a product after you’ve entered a contract of sale is a no-no?

The OtherOS support was crucial to many who were trying to decide whether they were going to purchase a 360 or PS3. The fact it was an open platform gave it the edge. You cannot just remove that feature and expect it to be all peachy.

yes but ur geting all preachy about thats the reason u bought it i would of bought a computer and installed linux on that cuz thats a computer not a gaming console u ppl keep forgetting it was a game console to begin with and they added extra features to get u to buy it i.e. blueray im sorry marketers are smarter then u and its a constent stream of thought sorry its easier to convey thoughts

drew just killed the English language. I feel sorry for any none native speakers trying to decode his drivel, thinking it might be real. *sigh*

Drew – are you even reading the replies?

Sony never marketed the PS3 as a games console, so stop right there. It was marketed as an entertainment unit (as it was a Blu-ray player too). The ability to install another OS for a lot of people was a very big deal and Sony more than likely sold a large proportion of units because of this.

Also, most of us here are thinking and typing at the same time, yet are still able to converse in a legible way so others can at least read it. Maybe spend 5-10 mins to construct your replies so they’re in English, ya?

Drew, seriously.

Misspelled words are one thing, but that “text” style word shortening went out with T9 on a number pad, and wasn’t cool even then.

Please.

@drew: I couldn’t follow your badly constructed words and gigantic run on sentence. It looked like “blah, blah, blah…”

Learn to write properly. This “texting” generation you belong to doesn’t realize that when you communicate in the real world you need to use proper language. Try passing that stuff you wrote to your boss, see how long you last at the company.

It takes very little effort and a few more seconds to write properly. Give it a try. Really… it’s not that hard.

@Mikey, “Toasters don’t need clock radios. Just buy a clock radio.”

That’s like saying “What’s the point of swiss army knives, just buy 1-2 dozen different tools and carry them in an awkward sized bag that won’t fit into your pocket.”

To those of you saying, “Well, you agreed with the EULA, so sop complaining”, a EULA is a contract. A contract agreed to under coercion is null and void. Forcing us to agree to this EULA or lose our online connection certainly falls under coercion.

@Mikey. You’re dumb. Go huff paint somewhere else.

@spyder_21
“If the 360 was able to run windows would you only buy the 360 because of that.. ”

Yes, totally. I’d love to have a $200 computer to plug into my TV.. But that’s not the point. The point is, this is an advertised feature, it’s false advertising to say it can do something, then remove that functionality after the sale. It’s a bait-and-switch tactic, and it’s completely illegal. So what if few people used it? Even if it was the most useless feature imaginable, if they say it has it, and it doesn’t, that’s against the law.

Lets say MS revoked the ability for xboxes to play DVD’s. You might say “so what, I can buy a dvd player for twenty bucks”, but that’s not the point, what if you bought the xbox specifically for its ability to play dvds? Now it’s useless to you, because it doesn’t do what it says it can do.

What if your car manufacturer decided to break into your garage and remove the back seat of your car? Some people wouldn’t care, they don’t have kids, and don’t need four seats, yet when you buy a four seater car you should be able to expect you’ll continue to have those extra seats as long as you own it. Advertising a two seat car as having four seats is dishonest, underhanded, and it’s illegal.

Sure, maybe you don’t use the feature, but a lot of people do, and that’s one of the main reasons several of my friends bought it. That’s what it says in advertisements, that’s what it says on the box, and I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect that it actually does have that feature.

lol, i hope sony loses.

The only people not caring about this are a bunch of mindless 14 year olds with blackberries shoved up their collective asses.

Seriously, it was a major selling point being able to install linux,this is why i purchased one.also it was never advertised as a game system, it’s a multimedia machine capable of playing games.

What about people from europe ( such as me ? )
Shouldnt there be a lawsuit to SCEE ( Sony Computer Entertainment Europe ) ?

Were do we sign ? :P

he murdered it then ran it over with a Hummer a couple of times. Then who cares if he can speak the language, he knows how to act like us

Ah yes, the Sony ROOKIT debacle/fiasco, aka XCP – eXtended Copy Protection, where Sony where caught red-handed using pirated (“STOLEN!”) code to build their own anti-copy spy-ware.

“If you spoke a foreigh language
you could move to a foreign land.
But people speak to you here in English,
and you still don’t understand.”
- {Too Stuffed to Jump}

{Note to self: never make a contract with anybody from Gen-Y – “binding” seems to mean about 5 minutes Real Time.}

Sooo….Would that mean that because they are still advertising that “it does everything” that people with the fat ps3′s could sue because it dosen’t do everything anymore. And i didn’t read all the post so if someone already said this, sorry in advance.

Since when you get a update from sony you have the option to agree to the EULA but if you don’t they take away the multiplayer aspect from the system would that not be grounds for another law suit? Not trying to be sue happy or anything but that’s basically coercion is it not?

And to eveyone saying it’s just a gaming system it’s much more then that without the “other OS” but i bet you guys still stream videos, and music and use the browser.

Thanks,
And again sorry if any of this had already been said, just looked at some of the posts on here and decided to post.

@cmo2788 “Since when you get a update from sony you have the option to agree to the EULA but if you don’t they take away the multiplayer aspect from the system would that not be grounds for another law suit? Not trying to be sue happy or anything but that’s basically coercion is it not?”

Yeah, I know what you are trying to say. I’m not sure were that falls into what category exactly? But I forgot that when you do not agree to their “Firmware update” You can’t access the “PSN” or other “online” functionalitys.

While this stops the use of “hackers” using out-dated firmwares that may have exploits in it from ruining the online experience, Sony never really released the hardware to do that initially(It wasn’t advertised as going online 24/7), Its more of how they control the “PS3 OS” as you will, While Linux was a Selling point as someone above posted many FACTS to where countless people from SCE stated that it will be supported that’s why this whole thing is going into effect.

Many are arguing that this is a “Game Console” that we are all “sue-happy” Your point could only be valid if Sony never stated that the Hardware would be released to Support Linux, and then claim that with the new release of newer PS3′s (Slims) that the Old PS3′s wouldn’t lose out on the feature. But guess what? Every one out there who bought a PS3 (phat) whether it be second hand or brand new at the time gets screwed over because that was a selling point to why they bought it and now they are finding out that a Firmware update removes it! (mind you – in order to get new features and updates via PSN you need to have the latest firmware) so you can’t even not-update depending on how you use your console.

This is a first (in my life time) that you actually have to stop what a company is trying to make you do in order to save a feature from being deleted in the next software update, and we are talking hardware here?!?!?

Its like paying 500$ for an app and then one day they upgrade all systems and sense the app is gone now they can sell the item for 200$ which realy means u just burned $300 dollars on an app that was going to be taken away in the future…… SONY has failed

I hope Sony wins, :3

I’m sick of reading all these poorly written statements calling Linux a useless feature.
If you 15 year-old “hackers” as you call yourself had any sense of what Linux can do, then maybe you would change your mind.

What is HackADay’s servers running?
Microsoft?
Oh, how about Apple.com’s servers?
That’s right. Linux.

I’d like to start by saying two things. First, I do not, and have never, owned a PS3 (or a PSthree, as I like to call the slim version). However, I do have about half a dozen friends who do own them (and they all have launch models). Three of them actively use the Other OS feature, which means they have been disconnected from PSN since the 3.21 update was released. Secondly, I would like to whole-heartedly wish the best of luck to anyone filing any kind of litigation against Sony. You deserve what you paid for, so go forth and fight for your rights as consumers.

The only reason I have an Xbox 360 sitting next to my TV, and not a PS3, is that my dad was banking on HDDVD winning the format war. (Yeah, I still live with the ‘rents. I’m a student, it’s cheaper than an apartment or dorms.) I kept pleading for him to get a PS3. Then Microsoft announces an HDDVD attachment for the 360, and dad jumps on the Xbox. You know how the story ends–Bluray wins the war and Dad’s super bummed–but by then, most of my friends had 360s anyway (the three who are still running old PS3 firmware also have Xboxes), so I’m still dancing to Microsoft’s tune, for now.

Also, I agree with Colecoman1982. If you own a fat PS3, are living in the U.S., and want the Other OS feature back, file a complaint with your state’s attorney general. Possible criminal charges from multiple states should tell Sony, loud and clear, that you’re not gonna put up with their bullshit.

And to everyone making the “it’s a game console” argument: one thing I think only one person has pointed out in a comment, is that Phil Harrison, the then-president of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, stated that “the Playstation 3 is a computer.” While this could be said of any game console, I think you can better appreciate the words of someone high up on Sony’s corporate ladder.

You can stop reading here if you like. Normally this is where I would end my comment, but I must instead apologize for the rant I just have go on right now.

drew: I know everyone else here has made this abundantly clear already, but for the LOVE of GOD, go back and take elementary school English again. And after that, using your new-found reading skills, actually read the lawsuit file before making another comment. (Yes, I read the entire thing.) If your brain is then still struggling to comprehend our well-written, -formatted statements, then perhaps this is not the site for you. While I don’t make any claims to completely understand anything, since the universe is, indeed, vast and infinite, I think I can safely say that I have a better grasp than you do of the facts, principles, and yes, laws, behind why exactly people are getting so pissed off about Sony’s behavior. It’s fraudulent, unethical, and illegal; and if you don’t understand why that is, you obviously don’t care much about your rights, which is exactly what companies like Sony want. The more mindless consumers they can get to buy their stuff, the better. Thankfully, Mr. Anthony Ventura of California has stepped up and taken a stand for the rights of everyone who bought a PS3.

They say you get what you pay for. If Sony wins this suit, I guess that won’t hold true anymore, now, will it?

P.S. Holy shit this was longer than I thought it would be. O.O

TL;DR? Wanted a PS3, Dad bought an 360. If you live in the U.S. and you’re pissed about your PS3 not running Linux anymore, file a complaint with your state’s attorney general and maybe help bring some criminal charges against Sony. Phil Harrison, the then-president of SCE Worldwide Studios, stated that “the Playstation 3 is a computer.” So…not a gaming console, like some of you argue. drew needs to go back to grade school and learn some English. I don’t understand everything, but I seem to understand more about why PS3 owners are pissed than drew does. Thank you, Mr. Ventura for filing that suit; best of luck to you.

Yeah, I haven’t heard anything from the lawsuits in over a month.

The precedent being given at this point is basically that a company can remotely remove features from any device they want at any time.

So I guess I’m not buying a PS3. Shame, I wanted to play Ratchet & Clank Future and Little Big Planet.

This is odd, because when Amazon pulled copies of Animal Farm and 1984 from Kindles remotely, they got slapped down so hard they actually changed their policy to make sure it could never happen again, halted the system doing the remote erasures so that anyone who hadn’t connected their Kindle to the internet yet could keep their books, and offered everyone else monetary compensation. You’d think that would set some sort of precedent about this sort of invasive behavior.

There claim is “Security concerns of piracy”, though reality is you dont not even have to touch the firmware or operateing system to pirate games on the ps3. All it takes is a logic analyizer and a pic or atmal to trick the copy protection.

I think there is only two logical reasons behind there choice. One is to cut patch development costs. The other being preventing people who are just buying the machine to use as a computer, who have little intrest in buying games for the system.

PS3 for awile was being sold under production cost relying on revinue from game sales.

The people saying about, “Oh just do not install the update, forget one thing, the people who got caught by this at first”, did sony warn everyone “Oh we are going to remove linux in this update? “, no, knowing sony, it likely said “Fixing security hole”, which means the thousands of people who just installed, then found out, never had a chance to not install the update to keep thier linux, and what about the new games, that often artificially force the new version. On the PSP, I had to get cracks, for games I legally bought, because I wanted to keep my slightly lower version CFW, funilly enough, with the crack to JUST allow version number difference, it worked fine, showing how artificial the version requirement was.