GeoHot-PS3

Let's make a group to help GeoHot, the PS3 jailbreaker who is in court right now for wanting to run Linux on his system. For starters, who wants to DDOS Sony's website? If successful, let's try and gain entry to SCEA developer's group =D

First of all, Hotz gets sued by Sony. Promises to fight the fight to the end or until he gets a settlement with Sony that allows for an authorized path to homebrew on PS3, OtherOS and an apology from Sony to the scene.

Then, he proceeds to ask for donations. Many people donate to him because of his promise and all the good that would ensue.

Hotz settles with Sony, breaking his promise and letting down all those people who donated to him.

That is the reason why people are so angry at him.


As for the court case itself and why he should NOT have caved in:

It was a civil case, he couldn't have gotten into jail even if he had suffered a complete, and total defeat in court. The worst outcome would be that he would have had to pay quite a large sum of money to Sony, in which the community would most likely have helped simply out of respect for going through the whole thing.

If he had won the case it would have set a very, VERY powerful precedent and enforced general consumer rights in that you are indeed allowed to modify electronics you have legally bought without fear of facing legal difficulties. Also, it would have created a large barrier for these large companies for trying to bully consumers into submission, and would have helped all consumers in general, not just PS3 owners.

Especially the fact that it would have had nationwide (in the US, that is.) effect on consumer rights is the reason why it was so god damn important to go through with the whole thing.

As for the court case if he had settled as per his original promise to the scene:

We would have an authorized way of using homebrew without having to resort to hacks, and we would also be able to enjoy OtherOS. While this is a LOT less important than the precedent I mentioned earlier it would still have benefited atleast the PS3 scene.


The result:

Well, people lost the money they donated to him, he broke his promises, and there is no way of getting the donated money back. Donations are not covered by the credit card company rules and thus cannot be disputed.

Hotz can try to move to China if he wishes to continue hacking, but no one will take him seriously anymore. Or he can release stuff anonymously, but that will still not change anything, the scene has gained absolutely nothing.