Apparently the PS3 is definitely and permanently hacked.
Why should you care?
1 - As a matter of principle.
The PS3 was sold with "optional linux booting", so you could in fact run a media server (or whatever) on it. Later Sony removed that option on a FW (firmware) upgrade.
But to lock out "jailbreakers" (= pirates to them), the last available FW is always mandatory for online use (and honestly playing offline was only ok in the '80s). So that left users with a dead software version with no more updates so they could run linux, or if they had already upgraded, no downgrade option.
Solution? Sony offered money back. Kind of a "play by our rules, or don't play at all".
This is the kind of arrogant behavior that (when consistently repeated) makes giants fall. And Sony has a very poor record at this. Considering their media pricing, distribution model, and general copyright stances you see a max profit organization that tries to "milk" the market with little regard for it's evolution, users convenience, preference, or requests.
I'm all for profit, mind you. But not at all costs. Not by shaping the market to the company "needs" instead of shaping itself to the market/consumers "needs".
2 - Piracy.
This will (eventually) bring people the possibility of running pirated software copies. But you don't fight piracy with locks. You fight it with fair, viable "real market" prices.
"Hacking" has always existed. For fun, as a challenge, the forbidden fruit. And it will always exist... And after it comes "piracy". Selling those hacking solutions or illegally copying software.
But piracy only succeeds and becomes a serious issue in a market where people say "too expensive", and companies instead of lowering profits and prices, waste away more than what they'd loose with that on locks, DRM and other anti-piracy systems.
Anyway, I'm not inclined to mess with my hardware... there aren't many (if any) of those expensive tittles I'd like to play "for free", and my PS3 running PS3 MediaServer is enough for my media needs.
In other words, most current console games I wouldn't buy them for €1 or I already own them, and I have no use for Linux on it.
But it's good to know I'm now able to tinker with MY stuff again.
More:
Sophos
PlaystaionLife
Eurogamer
