Other OS Class Action Lawsuit Dismissed
A class action lawsuit brought against Sony Computer Entertainment America regarding the removal of the ‘Other OS’ function has been dismissed by a federal judge.
The class action lawsuit was launched against Sony after removal of the ‘Other OS’ feature in a firmware update back in April 2010. The feature was removed due to apparent security concerns.
In his decision, US District judge Richard Seeberg stated that the plaintiffs, including California resident Anthony Ventura, had not adequately stated their claims. The judge said that the plaintiffs argument was flawed due to their claims not only involving the Other OS feature but access to the PlayStation Network.
The flaw in plaintiffs’ [argument] is that they are claiming rights not only with respect to the features of the PS3 product, but also to have ongoing access to an internet service offered by Sony, the PSN.
Has the removal of the Other OS feature affected you at all? There was an outcry from the homebrew and modding community when the update initially was rolled out last spring, but Other OS use was never adopted by the mainstream audience.
[Via]
19 Responses to “Other OS Class Action Lawsuit Dismissed”
Good to see some in this nation still reject this sense of entitlement.
Never used it, never cared when they removed it, no one should care now. The homebrew argument is honestly an excuse people probably made so they could keep playing pirated games.
Once again, you own the hardware, not the software. Read the TOS. It’s cut and dry.
The only people who had a genuine use for it are researchers who use multiple systems as a cheap alternative to supercomputers. However, they simply avoided updating their firmware since they didn’t need to access the PSN. I’m glad the frivolous case was dismissed.
Researchers still have access to the “cost effective super computer” in the PS3, Sony had a special program for those that wanted in to it. So they did not loose their access to the PS3 and their research. They could even go to IBM to get OS software for their needs.
What a stupid case to begin with. For one, if you didn’t want Other OS removed, you shouldn’tve updated. Simple enough anyways. But of course, what use would it be if you couldn’t play your pirated games on PSN?! Ugh, I’ve used a flashcard for my DS and I did hack my Wii to do homebrew on Animal Crossing: City Folk, but I can’t understand why people try to hide the fact that they’re just pirating games. They CONSTANTLY try to say “we like to use homebrew” but honestly a lot of that is just covering the fact they’re using it for piracy.
Good, I love how they not only demand the Other Os feature, but demand to be allowed to play on sony’s playground with it. You can’t have both and they are even stupider than I thought if they thought they could.
Never once used the feature at all.
As Robert Kotick would say “Their argument held no merit” it was a clear cut case of Sony being able to do this as they’d updated their Terms of conditions within the update that removed it which is within their legal right. What annoys me is how Hackers and Pirates love to state how it was for financially reasons like Sony just wanted more money.
I think creating a product that costs $100 more to manufacter then their selling it at is a great if not the best example of financial trouble. Sony placed too much into their console from the start, they clearly had no idea what they wanted from the PS3 to begin with and didn’t realise that although the 60GB worked in theory it just didn’t work in practice. Hence why the PS3 is doing so well now, Sony has been able to work out what they want from the PS3 since then.
“Other OS use was never adopted by the mainstream audience.”
Of course it wasn’t. How many of you run Linux daily? Not many I presume. It doesn’t mean Linux is not a viable alternative to the “mainstream OS”. And it’s not because most readers here “never cared for it” that the feature was useless. Not even mentioning that I (and you) paid for it.
Actually as Undisputed noted we don’t own the software just the hardware. The problem with other os is that while it was a great tool for some of us to use and while not everybody was using it for the wrong reasons people like George Hotz just abused it, if you want somebody to blame for this blame George as he took something Sony gave us and used it for the wrong reasons.
I am tired of people like George Hotz and how they defend their actions by claiming it’s to get back to these evil corporations. The truth is that the i-phone hack and in fact everything George Hotz has created HAS been used to steal for these companies. I know someone who’s jailbroken their i-Pod and they love to tell me how it’s solely so they can add thing Apple won’t allow, that it’s simply so they can have free reign over a product they bought. If this was just the case then you know what I’d be fine with George Hotz and the hacking community.
If they could give me proof that the whole situation was just so they can take something the companies can’t give them to improve their services then that’s ok because it’s Sony and Apples thought for not thinking about what their consumers want. But that’s not true, the person I was telling you about has downloaded games for free and uses it to steal. This isn’t stealing from apple mind you, it’s not sticking it to the man unless we’re counting Indie developors as the man now,
My point isn’t that everyone who hacks the i-phone or uses Linux is going to use them to steal from games designers just that if you want somebody to blame for not being able to use Linux then perhaps you should think about blaming the people who did use Linux to try and steal from Sony. Their the reason Linux is gone because their the people who have entitlement issues.
Yep, it actually affected me quite a bit. I used it as a dev machine, a media center, and an overall PC. I was involved in the Class Action suit, and I’m rather pissed off at the narrow sightedness of Judge Seeberg. It’s not entitlement, or even that we expect it. It’s something that was advertised and part of the product when we bought it. I could care less about getting onto the PSN. Though I don’t think we should be forced to update our firmware ever other week just to play games. But that’s another story. When in the history of capitalism, has a product been released with certain features, only to be taken away at a later date, without much of a choice. You see, I could have chosen not to update my firmware to remove the OtherOS feature, but then I would be stuck with not being able to play the games that I legally bought! Again, screw the PSN! So really, Sony forces you to upgrade, and accept the removal of features that some of us paid for.
otheros was not advertised. And you don’t own the software, just hardware.
When I bought my first PS3, it said on the box that it came in, that it had Other OS feature…. So, how is that not advertisement?
when in the history of capitalism has a product been sold and later had features removed ?
it happens all the time , and always has .
cars have had features removed because they unsafe or could endanger the public , people were forced to take (at the time legal ) automatic weapons and have that feature disabled , computers have had dozens if not hundreds of software features removed over the years because they were used for piracy whenever a product gets used for purposes other than it’s intended use or in an illegal way the manufacturer has a right ( even an obligation ) to do whatever is necessary to protect both itself and the buyers who would be affected
what if Sony didn’t remove os and it lost millions or billions to piracy and because the ps3 and psn weren’t secure nobody bought a ps3 or used psn ? you wouldn’t have psn today if that happened , and developers wouldn’t be making games for a dead system that was hijacked by piracy
you argue that you could have not accepted the t.o.s. or updated but would have lost your ability to play games but others os was already removed from the ps3 slim so what stopped the homebrew community claiming they were ” researchers ” from just buying a second ps3 and using one for research and the other for gaming ? nothing .
if research was really what other os was being used and not piracy these people wouldn’t have complained about games or psn , these were not research tools
just be honest , admit you were using it illegally and were pissed about losing your ability to steal from the companies who make those games you found more important than other os . if that’s true then be a man and pay for what you use , don’t be a punk and steal it
Before having a laptop, I used the Other OS for sites that don’t work on the PS3 browser. Especially for Hotmail! At the time, before I had a laptop/computer, I would get messages to check my email for betas, contests and other promos. After the Other OS was removed I would have to go to the library or to a friend’s house to access my email. I missed out on some cool giveaways at that time. Now that I have the resources to use my email it isn’t a hassle anymore, but before, what a headache!
“you argue that you could have not accepted the t.o.s. or updated but would have lost your ability to play games but others os was already removed from the ps3 slim so what stopped the homebrew community claiming they were ” researchers ” from just buying a second ps3 and using one for research and the other for gaming ? nothing .
if research was really what other os was being used and not piracy these people wouldn’t have complained about games or psn , these were not research tools
just be honest , admit you were using it illegally and were pissed about losing your ability to steal from the companies who make those games you found more important than other os . if that’s true then be a man and pay for what you use , don’t be a punk and steal it”
I’m not going to admit to anything that I don’t do. I use it for legit reasons. As for the PS3 slim. Not my concern. I don’t have one and I could care less.
Also, as for the PSN, I already said I could care less about that. I never used it, except to purchase some new tracks for rockband. My point is. There are those of us who use the system legitimately, and not illegally. I just love to hear people who never used a feature on a system bitch and moan about how it was useless and anyone who ever used it must be a pirate because, clearly, it was so worthless. Well, I’ve got news for you bub. I use it for my own reasons, not pirating. That being said, do I backup my own games? Well being that it’s hacked, yes I do. Do I download games and play it on my system? nope. Never will either. But I do wish that Sony would really stop tying in new games to new firmware. It really is a gun to my head… Upgrade the firmware and lose everything that I have on the system (which is a lot), or buy a new ps3 for newer games… Hell, I already bought the collectors edition of Skyrim for the PS3. I just can’t play it.
I didn’t use the option and I supported it being removed as it would reduce resource overhead. Allowing for games to run better and more cleanly.
The PS3 as a single unit also made for a poor multi-purpose computer and is a poor media unit due to loading times between songs and videos.
I’ve never understood why someone would purchase one with the idea that it’d replace a standard computer.
Never used it, never would of. Who cares.