Topic: PS3 losing Linux

[BranDonk Kong]

Yes, this totally screws people who bought the console at launch for $400 or $600. It's a stupid, stupid, (at least seemingly) unnecessary move.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Don't upgrade to the new firmware yet.

Looks like 3.21 hasn't been cracked, but it has been cloned, with some genetic alterations.

http://geohotps3.blogspot.com/

OtherOS Supported on "3.21OO"
Here is a video demoing my "custom firmware". I would have added something showing off the new features of 3.21, but oh wait, there aren't any.

This can be installed without having to open up your PS3, just by restoring a custom generated PUP file, but only from 3.15 or previous. It's possible this CFW will also work on the slim to actually *enable* OtherOS; I'll know when my infectus gets here.

No release date yet, use the proxy hack to play online with 3.15

Note to the people who removed OtherOS, you are potentially turning 100000+ legit users into "hackers." There was a huge(20x) traffic spike to this blog after the announcement of 3.21. If I had ads on this site I guess I'd be thanking you.

[stevey]

Sony: No other OSs on the PS3!
Sony: Also no games either for the PlayStation 3!

The 3.21 firmware upgrade, which removes the 'Install Other OS' widget used by lots of educational institutions, also removes the console's ability to play games...

[BlackNMild2k1]

Sony: No other OSs on the PS3!
Sony: Also no games either for the PlayStation 3!

The 3.21 firmware upgrade, which removes the 'Install Other OS' widget used by lots of educational institutions, also removes the console's ability to play games...

LOL. Sony just can't get it right.

[TJ Spyke]

Every time any of the systems gets an update you hear people saying it bricks their systems (what's funny is the people who hack their Xbox 360 and then bitch that their system got bricked). I can safely say that the update didn't brick my PS3, I updated because I never installed another OS and probably never would.

[Chozo Ghost]

If you wait long enough every patch gets hacked.

[BranDonk Kong]

My friend did get his system bricked (for a while) by the previous update, that was legit, as is this one. GeoHot has already released the first PS3 CFW (or at least created it), btw, which will install 3.21 and still have OtherOS support.

[Chozo Ghost]

So does the 3.21 patch do anything or offer anything at all? Or does it exist for the sole purpose of stripping out Other OS support?

[BlackNMild2k1]

Sole purpose of stripping out OtherOS, which is why the bricking of any consoles is just funny.

[Chozo Ghost]

I was hoping there would at least be some bug fixes with it. Oh well...

[BranDonk Kong]

Well like it's been mentioned, it does take away the ability to play games as well, at least for a select group of lucky individuals.

[BlackNMild2k1]

IGN says on twitter that "Sony is getting sued over Linux removal. Details coming.."

for those that are interested IGN's twitter is the place to look.

[NinGurl69 *huggles]

This is how you build The Road to E3.

[Chozo Ghost]

I'm glad Sony is getting sued for this. I know its not a feature most people cared about, but some did and I think it counts as unfair business practice to remove features your customers have already paid for.

[UltimatePartyBear]

I'm late to this, but I can imagine one possibly non-BS reason to remove the feature.  If it happened to be the only difference software-wise between the older models and the Slim model, it might save them from the hassle of maintaining two branches of the OS.  I doubt that's the case, though.  I'd be more surprised if they didn't maintain branches for every hardware revision in existence.

I don't know if the suit will go anywhere.  Sony can probably point to a clause in the Terms of Use that gives them carte blanche to rewrite the OS however they please.

[Chozo Ghost]

I can kinda see your point about differing firmware versions, UPB. But the thing is if you buy a product with certain features you shouldn't have those features pulled away from you at a future point. It is Sony's responsibility to maintain firmware updates for its products, and if by creating a Slim Model with gimped features meant they had to split firmware upgrades into two camps then that's their responsibility to do it whether it was more inconvenient for them or not.

Of course, they could have just left that feature in the Slim model and then they wouldn't have had to chop up the firmware upgrades into two branches. This is what they should have done. Rather than pull the feature out, they should have beefed it up more, perhaps even going so far as to have a PS3 Linux distro of their own making installed on the systems by default. That way they could have marketed the system to a broader audience as a computer, and then they really could have stood by their claim of the PS3 "does everything".

[BlackNMild2k1]

ULA/ToS/ToU aren't always valid in every situation, state or country.

It's stupid to remove it from consoles that have already been bought.
They should have just removed it from new production consoles and call it a day.

[Chozo Ghost]

ULA/ToS/ToU aren't always valid in every situation, state or country.

It's stupid to remove it from consoles that have already been bought.
They should have just removed it from new production consoles and call it a day.

They did do that with the Slim. I don't agree with it, but frankly I'm okay with that because at least then it wasn't a matter of people buying something and then having it taken away from them, because in the case of the Slim models they never had that feature to begin with.

Its the removal of features from the old models that I think violates the law, because that it is fraud to advertise features for a product and then strip them away after consumers have already bought into it. So I think this lawsuit has merit and it will be interesting to see where it goes.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Sony Sued For Removal Of Linux Support From PS3
'Other OS' feature the center of a new class action lawsuit.

A class action lawsuit has been filed against Sony Computer Entertainment America for the removal of the 'Other OS' feature from the PlayStation 3.

In March, Sony released firmware v3.21 that disabled the feature, disallowing users install the Linux operating system. The update was not mandatory; however those who chose not to download it were cut off from a number of other features, one of which included signing in to PlayStation Network.

The suit, filed on April 27 by Anthony Ventura of California, seeks to redress Sony for the "intentional disablement of the valuable functionality originally advertised as available" for the Playstation 3. The disabling of Linux support is not only in breach of the sales contract between Sony and its customers, the suit says, but also a deceptive business practice "perpetrated on millions of unsuspecting customers."

[TJ Spyke]

They are nuts if they think millions of people used this feature, I think it's a safe bet that the number of people who installed other OS's was in the low thousands. The update was not mandatory. I don't think they would succeed, but frivolous lawsuits sometimes win (you would think it's common sense not to hold a cup of hot coffee between your legs while driving, but one stupid woman was able to trick a gullible jury into giving her money for doing this).

[BlackNMild2k1]

It's not about how many people used it though, it's that Sony sold teh product with advertised Linux support, and are now crippling the feature for all teh systems that do support it whether it was used or not.

It would be like Nintendo deciding that SD card support wasn't worth it anymore (due to homebrewers) and took out SD card support in the new consoles and disabled it in all other consoles too. 75% of Wii users may not even know or care, and 20% of the other 25% may know but not actually use it(yet). Doesn't mean that Nintendo has the right to disable a feature that some us bought the system for even if only a small % of us actually take full advantage of it.

You can even switch the scenario with the GC and it's Digital Audio port, same situation. Most of us didn't care since we didn't use it, but if Nintendo had crippled consoles already sold so that they couldn't use it either, then you would have seen some pissed off people wondering why their systems don't work right anymore.

[UltimatePartyBear]

ULA/ToS/ToU aren't always valid in every situation, state or country.

Indeed, and assuming the ToS has such a clause, there will probably be more action over getting the case tried in a favorable jurisdiction than in the actual trial.

[Chozo Ghost]

The update was not mandatory.

It was if you wanted to keep the ability to log into PSN.

So either way, consumers were FORCED to give up one of those features. Either they give up Other OS support, or they give up PSN and lose online multiplayer. Either way, its the same sort of issue where a feature was being stripped out that consumers had paid for.

So okay, let's go with what you're saying that it was not mandatory. Fair enough, but you've just lost the ability to play online games so that there is another grounds for a lawsuit.

[Chozo Ghost]

It's not about how many people used it though, it's that Sony sold teh product with advertised Linux support, and are now crippling the feature for all teh systems that do support it whether it was used or not.

It would be like Nintendo deciding that SD card support wasn't worth it anymore (due to homebrewers) and took out SD card support in the new consoles and disabled it in all other consoles too. 75% of Wii users may not even know or care, and 20% of the other 25% may know but not actually use it(yet). Doesn't mean that Nintendo has the right to disable a feature that some us bought the system for even if only a small % of us actually take full advantage of it.

You can even switch the scenario with the GC and it's Digital Audio port, same situation. Most of us didn't care since we didn't use it, but if Nintendo had crippled consoles already sold so that they couldn't use it either, then you would have seen some pissed off people wondering why their systems don't work right anymore.

Another good example would be Gamecube support. Nintendo could release a new Wii model that has GC backwards compatibility stripped out. Knowing Nintendo they may actually do that at some point, but that's not a legal problem in and of itself. But what if Nintendo took it a step further and released a firmware upgrade that stripped out GC BC on all the existing Wiis as well. That would be a violation of the law.

Nintendo hasn't done that of course, but what Sony has done here is very analogous to that.

[BranDonk Kong]

The PS3 slim is perfectly capable of running OtherOS, it's just Sony took it out of the system's software (or never put it in, rather), so they've been dealing with 2 different software versions ever since the Slim was released.

Edit - I don't think Nintendo would ever do that, and it would only need to be done via a software update, seeing as the Wii hardware *is* the GameCube hardware (essentially). I guess they would save a few pennies by removing the Memory Card/Controller ports, but other than that, there would be no reason, or benefit for doing so.