George Hotz goes after Sony

Famed hacker George Hotz (aka GeoHot) has set his sights on the Sony Playstation 3 in the wake of recent news about firmware update 3.21. According to Hotz, his vendetta “isn’t about getting what you didn’t pay for, it’s about making sure you do get what you did.”

It recently became public knowledge that with update 3.21 Sony plans to take away the ability to install the Linux OS on the Playstation 3 — a feature that was a huge selling point for the system in its infancy.

Hackers like GeoHot and regular gamers alike are understandably upset as this update effectively robs them of a feature for which they have already paid.

Hotz had this to say on his blog, “And this is about more than this feature right now. It’s about whether these companies have the right to take away advertised features from a product you purchased. Imagine if an exploit were found in Safari on the iPhone, but instead of fixing it, Apple decides to pull web browsing altogether. Legally, they may be within their right to do so, but we have to show them it’s the wrong move for the future of the product and the company.”

Personally, I could understand if Sony wanted to put out a new, discounted PS3 model (like the Slim) without features such as the optional Linux install. However, Sony walks a very unpopular road when they start pulling features from products that have already been purchased. Hopefully, in the future, Sony will find ways to prevent hacking that don’t involve “nerfing” their own system.