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GeoHot Vs. Sony

Bob Maxey

Bob Maxey

Android Expert
"In news that could have far-reaching consequences, a Judge has granted Sony’s request for information that could identify anyone that has visited the web sites belonging to hacker George ‘Geohot’ Hotz."

Judge Accepts Sony's Request To Identify Visitors To Geohot's Sites and YouTube Channel | Redmond Pie

Discuss? Comments?

Well, consider this, then: "But Bluehost aren’t the only ones Sony are going after. YouTube will also be asked to reveal the identity of anyone who has watched videos showing how to Jailbreak a PS3 . . ."

Bob
 
What are they planning on doing, suing anyone who's ever jailbroken a PSP? There isn't a law against that.
 
Outlaw71 said:
What are they planning on doing, suing anyone who's ever jailbroken a PSP? There isn't a law against that.
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Disclaimer: I have not followed this case until now. So any errors or omissions are mine.

Yes, the DMCA/LOC changed the rules and now it is legal to JB. But apparently, Sony is still taking action despite the ruling. So perhaps yes, that is their intent.

Not sure what to make of the YouTube thing, though. Scares me at first glance.

Bob
 
They're kicking around the hornets nest if you ask me. Us older folk sorta look at all this from a certain angle. We like the freedoms the internet has brought us while at the same time understanding big corporations stances on these matters because we grew up in a world a lot less open. We were used to paying for everything. And hackers was a name reserved for criminals, not celebrities.

But the internet generation knows a much different reality. They share things with each other, and jailbreaking is as much a God given right to them as free love was to the hippies. So if they (Sony) lashes out too strictly, and strong arm their customers into submission, their going to give themselves an image of evilness. The younger generation will slap an 'uncool' moniker on anything Sony, and they will die a slow, painful death.

And they'll never be able to reverse that fate once they tip the scale too far.
 
I'm thinking of getting my first ebook reader, and I've always wanted a Sony reader because they are more open and can read all different formats. But after reading this and seeing how many free books are available on Kindle, I'm leaning that way now.
 
Wow, that's all I can say. Big corporations have waaay too much power. How can a judge even make that ruling????
 
A judge could make that ruling based on how much money Sony has.


Still, this whole thing is about the most stupid thibg I've ever heard a company try to pull. Personally, I've been boycotting Sony stuff a little after the release of the PSP. I have a PSP, yes, but that is quite loterally the only thing I own with affiliation to their name. I've just always thought their stuff to be inferior alternatives to bigger and better things out there. Apparently, this now holds to their bread and butter in the game area as well. Oh well. Should have seen something like this coming really... look at their support for their xperia phones!
 
@Outlaw:
Sony has already given itself a black eye with the DRM it used so you could only play a CD on one player.
They had to give that one up.
I haven't trusted them since.
Z
 
It's sad really. Sony used to be a name you could take to the bank. Back in the 80's they really were on top, if you wanted the best, you bought Sony.

Not anymore. Most of the other audio/visual companies (TV's, stereo's, DVD players, speakers, etc...) have reached or surpassed them as far as quality is concerned. Yet Sony still tries to charge a premium for their products based on their namesake. I haven't bought a Sony product for this very reason for years, because you can get as good or better for less. Honestly I thought only their gaming enterprise was the last really competitively priced commodity left on the market. But seeing this catastrophe play out has squashed any chance left that they'll ever get another dime out of me. I have a Wii, I had thought about getting a PSP for the kids. But **** that, I'll have no association with that type of company, thank you very much.
 
I have a PS3, and I'm afraid that I may have visited GeoHots website back when I had my iPhone, and I don't want Sony banning my IP from the PSN for that. I've never jailbroken my PSP or PS3, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't want to read up on it just out of curiosity. But if curiosity is going to keep me from being able to use a game system I paid $500 for (plus $60/game), that's bull.
 
What does banning your IP do? They can't stop you from playing games, will that take you off of the firmware updates list or something?
 
When I read the story originally, I was under the impression that Sony wanted the IPs just so that they could measure the damage done by GeoHot, as it were. To help them with their case against him.

Sony told Spero, a San Francisco magistrate, that it needed the information for at least two reasons.

One is to prove the “defendant’s distribution” of the hack. The other involves a jurisdictional argument over whether Sony must sue Hotz in his home state of New Jersey rather than in San Francisco, which Sony would prefer. Sony said the server logs would demonstrate that many of those who downloaded Hotz’s hack reside in Northern California — thus making San Francisco a proper venue for the case.
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Source

I wouldn't put it past sony to want to try and use the IPs to get back at people who've jailbroken, but I don't think it's feasible.
 
Outlaw71 said:
What does banning your IP do? They can't stop you from playing games, will that take you off of the firmware updates list or something?
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If they ban your IP, they could totally block you from the Playstation Network. No online gaming, no Playstation Store, probably no game updates, it would suck.
 
Hrethgir said:
If they ban your IP, they could totally block you from the Playstation Network. No online gaming, no Playstation Store, probably no game updates, it would suck.
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Sony wants YouTube to tell them about everyone that watched the JB video. Forget Sony and GeoHot for a moment and consider the broader implications. What happens when you are investigated because you went to a particular site?

This has serious and much broader implications.

Bob
 
ive been to his site and watched some videos out of pure curiosity, lol. i dont own a ps3 or a psp and after seeing this ruling and some of the things sony is doing i wont be buying another product of theirs.
 
ballisticn8 said:
ive been to his site and watched some videos out of pure curiosity, lol. i dont own a ps3 or a psp and after seeing this ruling and some of the things sony is doing i wont be buying another product of theirs.
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So what about Apple? Certainly, if Sony wins this battle, perhaps Apple will consider going after Jailbreakers in a big way. And no, I am not saying Sony will ultimately win or Apple will be persnickety, but it makes one think.

Hey Apple . . . here I am, come and get me.

Bob
 
now all we need is the people of /b/ to launch a ddos on geohots sites just to screw over sony and gave them millions of dud ips :)
 
Hrethgir said:
If they ban your IP, they could totally block you from the Playstation Network.
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Banning IP addresses is somewhat ineffective anyway. My ISP(China Unicom) allocates a totally different IP address every 48 hours.

Hrethgir said:
No online gaming, no Playstation Store, probably no game updates, it would suck.
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It causes problems for some other poor innocent schmuck, who can't get his/her legitimate Playstation to go online because they've been allocated the now banned IP address. Same goes for forums and other internet sites which use IP address banning.

IP address banning sucks big time for any organisation or company, where there maybe hundreds of computers, devices and games consoles behind a single IP address, e.g. a hotel or university dorm.
 
Hrethgir said:
If they ban your IP, they could totally block you from the Playstation Network. No online gaming, no Playstation Store, probably no game updates, it would suck.
Click to expand...

I've heard it's very hard to use an IP address as evidence in court because while prosecutors can prove a certain computer was used to access a cerain site, it's next to impossible to prove who was using the computer at the time. Even when you have to register using personal data to access the site, that's not considered hard evidence in the court of law.

Sony would likely be fighting a steep uphill battle in banning IP addresses found on that website. Being a Japanese Corporation, I'd say their intent is simply to send Ninja assassins to those homes to dispose of the perpetrators quietly.
 
Outlaw71 said:
Sony would likely be fighting a steep uphill battle in banning IP addresses found on that website. Being a Japanese Corporation, I'd say their intent is simply to send Ninja assassins to those homes to dispose of the perpetrators quietly.
Click to expand...

I lulz'd hard at this. As everyone has said before, Sony is taking this to the next level and I personally can't believe that they could possibly get away with it.

I didn't know that GeoHot was doing anything illegal.
 
I just decided to buy my first ebook reader. I always had the Sony reader as my top choice. So I bought a Nook. Seeing how Sony is conducting business, I don't want to give them any money right now. And I sent them a Tweet on Twitter (@SonyElectronics) telling them as much. Always thought Apple was evil, but all they do is play cat-and-mouse with the jailbreakers. Whereas Sony is actively looking for IPs of people who have just looked at a video or visited a website about jailbreaking a PS3 but who haven't even done anything. And even if they have done something, it's nothing illegal in the first place. I really hope that ruling gets overturned or Sony does an about face on this whole thing. Right now, Sony>>>>Apple in the evil department.
 
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