Free CIO-level whitepapers
[ad] Check out these whitepapers published by IDC and HP to help you make tough decisions about your IT environment.
Leveraging the Always On support experience for IT transformation: This IDC whitepaper outlines the importance of support services in IT environments. IT organisations are now required to support everything from legacy systems and storage to virtualised configurations and cloud-based computing in complex, heterogeneous environments. The increasingly critical role of vendor-supplied external support services is discussed and highlighted in addressing these emerging IT environments going forward.
Conquering the challenges of data center complexity: Virtualisation and cloud are two popular IT trends that lower costs and make computing more secure and efficient. However, they also add complexity. Read this thought leadership paper and learn new ways to conquer your data center complexity challenges.
Delicious/delimiterau
- Earning billions and getting taxed a pittance
- Dell chief defends transfer pricing
- Qantas tech exec shifts to Jetstar
- Zurich Australia leads regional thin client push
- Early investors drop Facebook
- Victoria kills HealthSMART IT project
- Woz not great - mUmBRELLA
- Santos' thin client starts big-data plans
- Nokia Lumia 800 revs up at Bridgestone
- Telstra privacy breach was 'one little oops'
Save $200 on HP ProLiant Servers
[ad] The HP ProLiant ML110 G7 is the ideal server for a growing business. These servers are preinstalled with Microsoft SBS 2011 Standard Edition so you can hit the ground running. Grab this coupon and save $200 each on each server, up to a value of $1,000 per company.
5 months FREE on phone system rental
[ad] Rent a new phone system and connect your phone lines with Commander to receive 5 months rent free. Why rent with Commander?
-Tailored complete solutions
-Great offers from leading phone system brands
-Rental & communication on a single bill
-Renting systems conserves cash flow
Hurry – act before 30 June!
HTC One X launch special
[ad] Vodafone has launched HTC's new flagship One X phone in Australia with a launch special of up to two months' free access fees -- a total saving of up to $118 off. The One X is available starting at zero dollars upfront on a $59 a month plan. Click here to check out the details.
Featured, News - Written by Renai LeMay on Monday, August 30, 2010 8:53 - 31 Comments
Federal Court halts PS3 modchip sales
Australia’s Federal Court has slapped a temporary ban on a handful of local retailers selling or importing hardware — commonly known as “mod chips” — that allows unauthorised software to run on Sony’s PlayStation 3.
The ban applies until 31 August while court action initiated by Sony Computer Entertainment’s Australian and European arms against three local retailers goes ahead — although the ban will be lifted if the gaming giant’s lawsuit is not successful. We first saw this story reported by the BBC.
According to court documents filed late last week, the four Australian retailers banned from selling the device are OzModChips and an individual who appears to be involved with the business — Ryan Caruana, Global Solutions International (trading as Quantronics) and Ken Tolcher (trading as Mod Supplier).
Furthermore, the court has required that the four parties actually hand over to Sony any PlayStation modchip devices they have, until the 31 August date.
OzModChips has responded to the lawsuit in a message posted on its site. “This is not OzModChips versus Sony,” the company wrote. “This is not OzModChips, Quantronics, Modsupplier versus Sony. We would go as far as saying that it is not even everyone in Australia versus Sony.”
“This will affect everyone that plans to buy such a device worldwide. It already sets a dangerous precedent. Everyone that was using OtherOS, everyone that has had a faulty PS3 laser … and those interested in PS3 custom firmware and homebrew applications.
“We cannot do it alone, we need the support of everyone in the homebrew community, the media, engineers that understand the inner workings and anyone else that can provide support.”
OzModChips also linked to a forum posting which the company said was by Quantronics, responding to the temporary injunction slapped on the three retailers.
Quantronics wrote that the injunction was “baseless”, and it was very unlikely that it would be continued or become permanent. “OzModChips, Modsupplier and myself are all close friends, share lawyers and have sought senior counsel for this matter,” wrote Quantronics.
The retailer added that the trio started in the gaming industry as kids with an ideal of changing Australia’s views on copyright law, fair use and “freedom”. “To this day, we stand for the same beliefs, values and will at any cost fight for what we believe in, the rights we should have, and in a David versus Goliath battle, we will give it our best,” they said.
Comment is being sought from Sony Computer Entertainment.
Image credit: włodi, Creative Commons
Related posts:
- Court extends ban on PS3 modchip sales
- PlayStation lawsuit first of many, says lawyer
- Nintendo wins DS modchip lawsuit
- High Court agrees to hear iiTrial
- NBN Co halts network construction tender
| Tweet |  |
 |
31 Comments
Leave a Comment
Get our daily newsletter
Get our new articles every day by signing up to our daily newsletter.
| Follow @delimiterau |  |
 |
 |
Most Popular Content
- Is Abbott consciously lying on NBN costs?
- FTTN a huge "mistake", says ex-BT CTO
- Worst of the worst: Photos of Australia's copper network
- 4G faster than the NBN? I don't think so
- Evidence: Rural Australia is demanding the NBN
- Copper maintenance cost not an issue, says Turnbull
- "Cooked books": Abbott misleads on NBN
- SAP’s SuccessFactors deploys Aussie datacentre
- Would FYX’s global mode have breached copyright?
- The NBN, service providers and you … what could go wrong?
- Govt pushes ahead with cloud-sharing approach
- Australia top Game of Thrones pirating nation
- Turnbull concerned by Google, Amazon tax offshoring
- Spotify finally launches in Australia
- Firstly: “Will an Alice Springs shop now be able to sell surfboards to someone i...
- Oh please, where is there any indication that the plan isn't a valid one and tho...
- While I agree geo-pricing IRL is somewhat of a different issue, as there are fac...
- "I wasn’t an arguement, it was a question. We keep hearing that the NBN will cre...
- Good thing the analyst hat is made of tin foil....
- Nlnx http://boutiquelouisvuitton.webnode.fr/ Dzye ...
Three lessons ING's private cloud teaches us
sponsored post ING Direct recently implemented a private cloud solution to virtualise its entire banking platform, allowing it to provision a new copy of itself -- a so-called 'bank in a box' -- within minutes. Here's three things other organisations can learn from this interesting deployment.
Enterprise IT news & views
-
SAP’s SuccessFactors deploys Aussie datacentre
SAP subsidiary SuccessFactors has opened a datacentre located in Australia from which it will sell its software as a service-based human resource management and business execution software to local customers, in one of the first known deployments of such dedicated Australian infrastructure by a global SaaS vendor.
-
Govt pushes ahead with cloud-sharing approach
The Federal Government today revealed a standardised approach to sharing computing workloads between agencies, in a so-called ‘community cloud’ strategy that will attempt to leverage existing infrastructure operated by major departments such as the Department of Human Services to provide services to smaller agencies.
-
The ABC didn’t sack Bitcoin miner
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation didn’t fire an un-named IT worker who attempted to use the broadcaster’s vast server infrastructure to make himself a fortune through the Bitcoin virtual currency system, it has emerged, with the employee merely being disciplined and having their access to certain IT systems restricted.
-
Victoria dumps HealthSMART e-health project
The Victorian State Government has reportedly decided to walk away from its troubled central electronic health project HealthSMART, which has reached only a limited number of its goals over the past decade since it was initiated, despite soaking up several hundred million dollars worth of government funding.
-
HP completes giant new NSW datacentre
Global technology giant HP has finished building its colossal $119 million new datacentre in Western Sydney and will launch the “world-class” facility next month, with a speech slated to be given by Communications Minister Stephen Conroy.
-
Microsoft beats Salesforce to utility CRM deal
Energy retailer Australian Power & Gas has picked Microsoft’s Dynamics CRM system over rivals Salesforce.com and Right CRM as the base platform for a customer relationship management overhaul to tackle incoming email complaints.
-
NSW finalises colossal datacentre consolidation
The New South Wales State Government this week announced the Leighton subsidiary Metronode as the winner of its long-running and wide-ranging datacentre overhaul project, with the company to construct two new substantial facilities which will allow the state to consolidate its IT operations drastically.
-
Two good Australian CIO interviews
There have been a couple of good interviews with Australian chief information officers done by various media outlets over the past couple of days — good enough that we thought them worth highlighting to readers on Delimiter.
Enterprise IT, Featured, News - May 23, 2012 12:54 - 0 Comments
SAP’s SuccessFactors deploys Aussie datacentre
More In Enterprise IT
- Govt pushes ahead with cloud-sharing approach
- The ABC didn’t sack Bitcoin miner
- Victoria dumps HealthSMART e-health project
- HP completes giant new NSW datacentre
- Microsoft beats Salesforce to utility CRM deal
Analysis, Telecommunications - May 23, 2012 11:08 - 5 Comments
The NBN, service providers and you … what could go wrong?
More In Telecommunications
- NBN here to stay under Coalition, says analyst
- iiNet ramps up Internode digestion
- China concerned by Huawei NBN ban, says Bob Carr
- Parliament knocks back surveillance terms
- Evidence: Rural Australia is demanding the NBN
Gadgets, News - May 21, 2012 12:32 - 5 Comments
Galaxy S III listed for Telstra, Optus and Vodafone
More In Gadgets
- Will Telstra skip Nokia’s Lumia 900?
- New BlackBerry OS 7.1 hits Australia
- ASUS Transformer Pad tablet hits Australia
- HTC One XL on sale: Compatible with Telstra 4G
- Optus a “disgusting” company, says AFL chief
Reviews - May 7, 2012 18:16 - 2 Comments
Telstra Mobile Wi-Fi 4G: Review
More In Reviews
- Samsung Galaxy S III: Preview
- HTC Titan II 4G: Preview
- Nokia Lumia 710: Review
- Sony Xperia S: Review
- Samsung Omnia W: Review
And when Apple made it OK to root their devices in the US, folks were telling me that Modchips were fine in Australia despite recent rulings. What a crock.
The issue is still very much up for debate before the courts, as another Nintendo lawsuit earlier this year made clear:
http://delimiter.com.au/2010/03/03/gadgetgear-lawyers-claim-no-nintendo-piracy-precedent/
Given that you can mod the PS3 with a USB stick and a file downloaded online, surely these sorts of chips are superfluous anyway?
I’m not sure of the technical situation, but certainly there is a freedom of speech issue here. It’s my opinion that once you buy a product (ie, a PlayStation 3), you should be able to do what you damn like with that product (as long as you’re not killing, murdering people etc).
If Sony can prove that an individual is using a mod chip to pirate games, then go after the individual and prove that. But attacking mod chips — which can be used for legitimate purposes — is not the way to go about enforcing its rights.
You can’t “mod” the PS3 with a “USB stick and a file downloaded online”. psjailbreak is a custom piece of hardware (that connects via USB), and OtherOS support is long gone.
urgh — so without the bits & pieces being sold by OzModChips and others, it’s impossible to mod your PS3?
So it would seem. The alternative is to hack up your own hardware.
“Buy an AT90USBKEY or Teensy board now and we’ll have good news soon” http://twitter.com/Mathieulh/status/22566487398
Suggests that hacking up your own “psjailbreak” device might not be that hard.
I suppose the issue is that Apple have given the go-ahead for this kinda thing, where DS and Sony continue to contend they can control a product’s usage patterns after it’s been purchased. Still smells an awful lot like the car company complaints against Repco et al.
Thought there was a ruling for ps2 mid chips allowing them in aus and few years back
I think there was … but you know how the law tends to *change* now and then :( particularly due to certain annoying US copyright treaties …
Mod*
Is a “mid” chip like a medium-sized version of a “mod” chip?
Everyone has rights, but don’t forget Sony’s right to protect it’s products from piracy. It is obvious that this would be used for stealing games. I hope Sony puts some of these functions in the console as long as they can prevent stealing games, but I won’t hold my breath.
I wouldn’t be tempted to support the chippers if Sony still had the ‘Other OS’ option.
The chip doesn’t allow you steal games, it allows you to play backups of games and homebrew
It allows you to play backups of games, which includes backups of games you don’t own.
Currently, the only way to create “homebrew” requires use of Sony’s proprietary tools.
It does indeed allow piracy. You could simply borrow your friend’s games and copy them to your hdd. Then give them their games back and continue to play from your hdd. This is stealing!
Actually its not stealing, its copyright infringement……
And so its actually how people are using the mod chips that are the issue?
A car can go above the speed limit, but its not the car manufactures fault or the road authorities fault. (or the mechanic that moded the car)
Really? You think it’s not stealing to make a copy of a game you DID NOT BUY and play the game without paying for it? That is stealing in every sence of the word. It is no different then going to a store and taking a game and leaving without paying for it. You have NOT purchased the game. Therefore it does not belong to you.
You can make mods to cars as long as the car is still road legal after. Some mods are illegal on cars. btw if you mod your PS3 you can still use it you just can’t use the PSN.
No, if you take the physical copy from a shop you are stealing that physical copy.
If you make a copy or download a soft version of the game. You have breached copyright infringement and it isn’t theft, it isn’t a criminal matter it is a civil matter
It is still taking content without paying for it. That is theft. wether in a criminal court or a civil court it’s still wrong. You can argue what to call it all you want. It’s still taking something that does not belong to you.
I do believe in the eyes of the law it is copyright infringement and not theft.
All them ads about “you wouldn’t steal a car” etc when talking about downloading movies, are wrong and are using scare tactics. Copyright infringement isn’t theft.
You are not stealing the original copy. You are duplicating it, copying it, making a backup, etc etc. The original copy is still where you left it and isn’t stolen.
Yes you are taking something you haven’t paid for, but its copyright infringement, not theft.
STEAL v. stole (st l), sto·len (st l n), steal·ing, steals. v.tr. 1. To take without right or permission dishonestly . This is what I’m talking about when I say steal or theft.
But since its a copy, who actually owns the copy?
The company that produced the Original content don’t own the original once its sold on a media format.
So if you copy the original (that someone bought) don’t you become the owner of the copy?
The law states you can’t make a copy of something as you will breach copyright.
You are not stealing something.
What if the copy you made was from a mate who gave you permission to copy it. You are not stealing it from your mate as he has authorised you to make a copy.
But you are infringing copyright.
And if we are playing the dictionary game.
cop·y·right
/ˈkɒpiˌraɪt/ Show Spelled[kop-ee-rahyt] Show IPA
–noun
1.
the exclusive right to make copies, license, and otherwise exploit a literary, musical, or artistic work, whether printed, audio, video, etc.: works granted such right by law on or after January 1, 1978, are protected for the lifetime of the author or creator and for a period of 50 years after his or her death.
and
in·fringe
/ɪnˈfrɪndʒ/ Show Spelled [in-frinj] Show IPA verb,-fringed, -fring·ing.
–verb (used with object)
1.
to commit a breach or infraction of; violate or transgress: to infringe a copyright; to infringe a rule.
So when you make a copy of something that you don’t have authorisation from the copyright holders. You are infringing copyright.
If you stole the game, you would be taking the original.
Unfortunately the only people that will come out of this happy are the well paid lawyers. Well was a good debate, but I am tired and am going to bed.
As long as media companies insist on shipping devices with anti-competetive regional locks that prevent consumers from taking their purchased media between countries, there will be a good case for the legal availability of mod chips. The PS3 is remarkably progressive in that it doesn’t use region locks for games, but it still has region locks for Blu-ray discs and DVD video.
The problem is that Sony is like a leech, they have done the same scheme since day 0 create a device that uses a revolutionary format which coincidentally is proprietary and whoever wants to sell in that format has to pay Sony a slice, but that scheme is dead, and so will their company if they don’t change their politics people it’s not stupid like 20years ago ipod blew because you can put any mp3 onto it. It’s like EXXON manufacturing cars that only runs with their gas that costs twice as much. Sony needs to decide its future, devices or content.
And…if the modders are not using any part of Sony’s code i don’t see why they should stop selling the mod after i paid for my system i can do whatever i want with it as long as i do not duplicate it. The mod has many legitimate purposes like increasing load speed, prevent premature wearing of BD laser, conservation of physical media, convenience (not having to change discs to change game) are a few.
Alright so plain and simple this is one he’ll of a creation no matter how he did it :) and yes it is wrong to do this! But in the end if you purchase a product say a ps3 and do jailbreak it yourself it should b alright as you buy consumer products and often modify them to suit, just like making additional holes in ur jeans or painting your shoes once purchased this doesn’t seem to get you in trouble once u do it! The only thing I see wrong with this whole jailbreaking issue on today’s society is that it gets spread world wide! But if you are smart enough to jailbreak it urself for your own use GOODLUCK to you, if you want to stay out of trouble just keep it away From the public and are out of any harm :)