If you live in San Francisco and you visited George Hotz's website between January 2009 and now, you might be in in Sony's headlights. A federal magistrate has given Sony the power to expose anybody who patronized the PS3 jailbreak site.
Sony claimed it needs to unmask anybody who downloaded Hotz's files in order to prove that the majority of users were based in California. This would allow Sony to sue "Geohot" in San Francisco, rather than his home town of New Jersey. Sony has also won subpoenas for Youtube, Google and Twitter, as well as Bluehost, the company that maintain's Geohot's site.
While Sony is no doubt thrilled with its progress, not everybody is pleased. Electronic Frontier Foundation staff attorney Corynne McSherry said the subpoenas were "inappropriate" and criticized how "overly broad" they seemed to be. Concerns about data protection and web-privacy have been thrown up around the 'net.
I'm no fan of some of the negative impact this jailbreak has had, but the potential privacy concerns are certainly unsettling. All I know is, I didn't jailbreak mine, so I guess I'm sitting pretty ... I just hope nobody sees the modifications I made to my toaster (it now cooks SPAGHETTI!)
Judge Lets Sony Unmask Visitors to PS3-Jailbreaking Site [Wired]
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Contest:
8:00 AM on 03.05.2011 | 
(Seriously though, toastabags are AWESOME)
Glad that my non-mobile traffic all goes through a Swedish VPN. Seems to be one of the only countries with human rights.
Also, my toaster cooks spaghetti hoops straight out the box :D
I represent the Toaster Inventors Trust Society (TITS), and we're extremely unhappy with the modifications you've made to your toaster. If you would be so kind as to tell all the TITS you meet where you got the information to modify your toaster, and how you modified your toaster, you would have some very appreciative TITS your in hands. Please contact us at 555-TITS with any information you have.
Sincerely,
Begaria
PS: If you call and get a hold of guy named Bob. E. Weener, just hang up. That guy is such a dick here at TITS....heh, dick tits.
I represent the Toaster Inventors Trust Society (TITS), and we're extremely unhappy with the modifications you've made to your toaster. If you would be so kind as to tell all the TITS you meet where you got the information to modify your toaster, and how you modified your toaster, you would have some very appreciative TITS your in hands. Please contact us at 555-TITS with any information you have.
Sincerely,
Begaria
PS: If you call and get a hold of guy named Bob. E. Weener, just hang up. That guy is such a dick here at TITS....heh, dick tits.
I looked at Geohot's site, but I don't have a ps3.
Guess I'm going to be chased for no good reason now.
Haha! Tits!
Then again, that might change when toasters get online capability.
Of course, hacking is nowhere near the severity of pedophillia
I'm certainly not trying to make any sort of sweeping point with the toaster thing. It wasn't even supposed to be an analogy, really, just a joke. I'm not that big a supporter of the PS3 hack scene, especially as a lot of the people into it are just ... not very clever people.
I just think putting spaghetti in a toaster is funny because it's early and I'm tired.
doesn't sound like Sony is planning to sue people just for visiting the site, at least not quite yet. This is just a move (so they say) to prove that most of the traffic came from California so they can justify suing him from a venue where they have the home field advantage. Where a case like this in New Jersey might not get laughed out of court but would be a much steeper uphill battle for them.
Now they might just be getting access to a generalized piechart style demographic but they are most likely just getting the raw data.
Whether or not they use this info to try to sue other individuals later is up in the air.
BAM. Spaghetti cooks in the egg cooker.
It just does everything.
My god If that thing could hook up to the internet and run linux .... I'd so be tempted to buy it and hack it so it supported the 4 toast slot standard.
But I bet unsavory people out there would use it to toast pumpernickel.
U sound mad. U mad?
You sound stupid. You stupid?
No i'm not and you sound like a petulant child. Good day sir
I can agree I feel about the same way. People should be free to modify their hardware. I do also feel that there is a firm line in the sand when it comes to Sony networks. This doesn't seem to have as much to do with Sony securing their networks as it does Sony suing to put the fear in people who would have an interest in modding their hardware.
They are frankly addressing the wrong symptom.
If they want to go after PSN hackers or game pirates then by all means. Unfortunately both present the problem of being lots of hard work for little reward.
Also as I recall, modern warfare online was pretty abysmal before any of this ever hit the fan, so in large part I blame developers for using the "easy" button. Essentially they are developing for a platform that is a PC being sold as a "console" and they are treating it like a console, when it comes to security and a PC when it comes to slackoffery "ship now fix later". It has all the flaws of a PC and none of its benefits.
If Sony wins here it could help other business that suffer from other crimes like shoplifting. A friend of mine is the GM at the local Superstore, and it's so hard for them to have someone charged with shoplifting that the heads of the company have directed all store staff to just let the shoplifter go. Even if you're standing beside them watching the act. It's ridiculous. Having them charged is more trouble than it's worth, and is hardly effective. It's been the same way for pirates and hackers for ages.
If the law starts coming down hard on hackers and pirates now it might lead the way to stiffer penalties for other shitfaces too.
He should be tried were he was arrested...jury pools don't know who geohot is.
Am I the only one left with a toaster that 'just' cooks toast?
That's it I found a good 4 toaster, 2 egg poacher.... and I'm going for it.
Also, what the fuck? If I buy something and want to do something aftermarket to it, who's to say what I can or cannot do? I've never pirated a thing, but for Sony to do this......it's crap.
After Infamous 2, I'm throwing my PS3 slim, My two moves and my nav controller in the trash (aka eBay for .99 cents)
ALSO....COCKS!
I have a perfectly legal PS3, but I've certainly been to his site once or twice when news pointed me there, out of pure curiosity.
With that said, you are lumping asshats in with hobbyists who aren't cheating at MW2 by supporting the violation of their personal privacy. You, sir, are the worst kind of stupid. Crack a book, for chrissakes.
Sure you are. You know what? Why wait? I'll triple your price, and give you $3.00 for that package right now!
ain't that awesome?
I don't think I have to tell you that Liberals hate it when big governments or corporations messes with their rights to liberty and privacy.