PS3 security is "epic fail"

[ciento]

And this all happened because Sony wanted to stop Linux, and by doing so pissed off hackers.
Some top boss in Sony is probably taking his hat and leaving the company by now...

When I first read sony was ending otheros, I thought it would take around 3 months of rage coding for the hackers to enter the deathstar, and now, they're in,
and teams are rampaging their way to the bridge, and control rooms. :hammer:

Guys leaving such huge corporations sometimes have a greatly reduced
carbon footprint. :lol:

[ciento]

The term was used by the researchers who presented it at the 27C3. I've just seen the entire presentation, and I can understand why they called it "epic fail".
.

:lol: By removing otheros, sony poured gasoline on themselves,
then challenged the linux coders to a duel using flamethrowers. :roflmao:
Can't get much more epic than that!

[ciento]

The sony beancounters  can calculate the damages, and recoup them
by selling only value-added PS3s, perhaps a movie subscription/games combo,
some new twist that won't bump the price enough to defeat sales.

They could also roll out an additional computer version of the console, with a full custom linux install. It was mainly a tax dodge to limit computer functionality in the
beginning, but if PS3 is 60% into its half-life, it's time to move on anyway.

They'll be lucky to dodge class-action suits due to tampering with otheros.
Such tamperings on cell phones gives phone service contract signers a legal out.
 PS3 won't be much different in a courtroom. Sony will tread lightly, even if they
shout, and wave a big styrofoam stick.
Fun times!

[ciento]

Shouldn't it be "epic failure", not "epic fail"?

The text-message vernacular prefers one syllable words whenever poss















ible

[ciento]

The product is supposed to run Linux.

If I was Mr. Sony, I'd cut a deal to reinstate otheros permanently, and fund
'many' summer-of-code projects, in return for not releasing the goods into the wild.
Maybe need to sweeten the pot with  hypervisor access too, since PS4 is X years away still, and full 3D access on PS3 would take a while to code, so it might not
hamper new sales in the interim.

But maybe it's too late.

[ciento]

It simple, distributing the software key is an unauthorized use of Sony IP.
You may see an open/freely disbuted OS like Linux us this hack, but it really unlikely AOS4 or MorphOS would be ported to this platform without the direct approval of Spny (whether the hack exists or not) as  this would open up Hyperion or the MorphOS development team to legal actions.

Allowing Morphos and OS4 ports would generate a few thousand PS3 sales, while
dissallowing them earns them nothing. Either they are morons, or elitists too rich to care.

[ciento]

Yes, so by law in Aus everyone could return their PS3 and get their money back 'cos they can't run Linux.  

Stand clear for the stampede...........Naught but the sound of crickets chirping....

I don't understand the big deal in running Linux on a games machine..?
Sorry to tell the Linux fan boys but if Linux was freely available on the PS3 nothing would change.  Being able to run Linux on a PS3 won't make Linux miraculously popular.
Nor would it unleash a tide of spectacular software to the PS3 scene.

Let it play games.  There's nothing wrong with playing games.

It is a computer sold as a games machine to avoid taxes and regulations.  I would like to see sony release a computer PSx, so what if the price  is a bit higher to pay the federales?

If there was nothing to fear from linux using otheros, why did sony
choose to discontinue a (small) feature? A company
that locks horns with linux teams, had better have $$$ and battle plans,
and the superior coding army. I'm all for corporate profits, as long as
nobody breaks their deals, written or otherwise (no pun intended)
I'm not for piracy, and I'm confident the beancounters from Sony pad the prices so customers subsidize the criminals, instead of shareholders doing it.
Not so easy for the smaller devs, who can't spread the losses on such a large field. The world is changing. Cheers

[ciento]

Gonna chime in on the piracy part. People tend to think that it's a non-issue and that in some cases piracy even "helps" sales. There's _sometimes_ a grain of truth but it's not all of the time or all of the cases.

We've had projects canned and titles cancelled during development for the PC simply because the piracy rate has become so problematic that you might have most people _playing_ your game on the PC, but you've got the most people that have _bought_ your game on the consoles. As a result the publishers simply pull the plug on the PC version entirely.

It doesn't lose the publisher much revenue but for the developer they can have just lost an entire platforms profits and royalties. Of course the PC version can often have a much longer shelf life vs consoles so now you've also got to rely entirely on making your profits and royalties on the launch week of your game... so hopefully there's nothing like Gran Tourismo or something launching at the same time or you'll get literally NOTHING.

So, I think Sony were a bit crap when they removed the OtherOS option, especially as it still listed it on the boxes when the machines were on sale! Removing functionality that people have bought your hardware to use is dishonest I think.

However this does enable piracy, it will mean that it happens more now, and I have been personally affected by piracy in the past. In fact I'm redundant at the moment due to the games industry going through a lot of strife right now so I'm not keen on that side of things.

Dunno where I'm going with all this just bored and hungover on Jan 1st I guess!

Happy New Year everyone!

Andy

Has anyone tried having a 30 day pre-launch discount to get initial sales before the pirates can steal?

How about releasing a key each day to unlock a new level,  putting pirates and customers on more even footing?

Maybe its time to start your own company,  in a low cost of living state. Code an open ended game that can implement new campaigns, worlds, chapters, with fresh graphics/sounds, and a predictable release schedule a fan base can look forward to. Using cross platform dev tools.

Has anyone visited a pirate, wielding educational tools? :hammer: and posted the
the pirates modified GPA?

[ciento]

About the only people that might feel aggrieved is those that purchased the first version PS3's to run Linux, and their compensation would be to get a refund when they return the hardware.

No, in a court, users would demand personal and punitive damages while keeping the hardware.
In a class action suit, it could get ugly, and the spectre of the discovery process, is one that corporate giants greatly fear,
because the head man does not always know the tactics of his employees, for his own protections sake.
A long line of spear-catchers is guaranteed at corporate giants.

[ciento]

It will be interesting if post-Christmas ps3 sales maintain or increase historical trends
with new buyers in hopes of homebrew taking off, and what percentage of those buyers will purchase a few games over the course of a year. I had no idea how bad Sony messed up the media/browser capabilities of ps3. Sales must have been good enough, that complacency replaced the pursuit of excellence. Now the tree is shaken.
And its time those security coders to put the resume' in the mail.
Hopefully Microsoft will be hiring

[ciento]

Hacker Claims To Have The PS3's Front Door Keys...

http://kotaku.com/5723105/hacker-claims-to-have-the-ps3s-front-door-keys

it seems pirated games will be virtually undetectable in this case unlike the risk over-present in the xbox360. i predict a significant jump in sales of ps3s within the year.

Hope so, (sales, not piracy) everybody wins, sony can even claim their honour back saying their accountants urged them to weaken security just to trick hackers into
driving the next big thing: universal homebrew dominance. Then they'll
release the computer version PS3.9 In two more weeks...