On the heels of our talk about iTunes and software updates, Sony is announcing that it will be removing a feature from already sold PS3s. Sony will be removing a feature call “other OS’ that allows users to run GNU/Linux on their PS3s which enables them to do things like customize the software and write their own games. Not surprisingly, if PS3 owners choose not to update their PS3 (which will disable this “other OS” feature) they will lose many vital features until they update.
I think this is important news because it really highlights how copyright is making personal property less and less yours. It is outrageous to me that I can spend $300 on a PS3 only to have features removed from it that I might like and that I paid for. There needs to be more advocacy not just for copyright issues, but for consumer rights as well. If this is the type of thing I should expect from all of my consumer electronics, then products should come with a warning (like cigarettes) alerting to me the fact that my product might change.
Does anyone think that Sony has the right to do this with their copyrighted software or should consumers have more say over what companies can retroactively do to their belongings?
Did they specify any reason why they decided to do this? I think that the warning label is a great idea, although it probably does come with a warning label, just disguised in 4 point font in a 50 page user manual.
I am finding that our class has really been making me take a closer look at money hungry companies and Chelsea, I think your post just adds to the concrete information that it seems copyright and all the elements that surround the issue do hurt the consumer more than help. It’s wildly frustrating!
I was wondering the same, and the article says Sony did this because “a hobbyist named Geohot announced that he was able to use the Other OS feature along with a bit of soldering in a manner that gave him more control over the PS3 hardware than Sony had intended. Sony responded with the “upgrade” that removes the Other OS feature.”
I do wonder what kind of “control” Sony is really afraid of their customer having, though, and also if there is any way one could sue Sony for this… but I’m not sure it’s worth going through that 4-point font manual for the details to find out!
This reminds me of how we are constantly being sent upgrade reminders by Firefox, iTunes, etc, until the version we’re currently using is out of date. Whenever I get the option to upgrade from iTunes, I put it off for as long as possible, not wanting to go through the process, and eventually give in. In the end, nothing appears different to me and the functions are all the same. This upgrade, on the other hand, certainly changes the way users interact with PS3, and limits them too. The control factor that Alena brings up further proves how power/money hungry these companies are.
I’m curious to eavesdrop on one of their boardroom meetings…
Check out what happens if you decline the upgrade:
It will be impossible to play PS3 games online.
It will be impossible to play new PS3 games.
It will be impossible to watch new Blu-ray videos.
New Blu-ray discs could even disable the Blu-ray drive entirely if they contain an AACS Host Revocation List that affects the old firmware version.
Videos on DTCP-IP media servers will be disabled.
They are serious about removing this feature!
I don’t know how I feel about this. I mean, I use iTunes and continue to voluntarily buy songs and play music on there and have just come to terms with the fact that I am renting the songs and Apple can do whatever they want with the iTunes program, features-wise. If I don’t like it, I could seek out an alternative, right?
But is this (in my opinion, very common) attitude making us complacent when we should be standing up for more consumer rights?
I agree I think a label on these “tethered” products would be important to make users aware of the possibility their electronic can be downgraded, however I think it may offer them some sort of legal loophole. But as someone stated it probably is in the user manual somewhere, or I’m not sure how you sync PS3s but there is probably some terms and conditions you must agree to when registering your product that continues to evolve with each update. It would be interesting if someone less aware of these contracts we sign tried to sue Sony for tampering with their property, they would loose but it would set a groundwork and perhaps even a dialogue with the producer and consumer to perhaps offer us more of a reasoning behind these usual updates.