You Can Now Claim Your Cash In the PS3 'Other PS3' Settlement (arstechnica.com) 85
If you've purchased a "fat" PlayStation 3 before April of 2010, you can now claim up to $55 as part of the settlement over the removal of the console's "Other OS" feature. PS3 owners with proof of purchase or evidence of a PSN sign-in from the system can receive $9 from the company. However, if you've used the "Other OS" feature to install Linux on your PS3, you can receive $55. The online claim form can be found here. Ars Technica reports: The opening of claims after a long legal saga that began in March of 2010, when Sony announced it would be removing the "Other OS" feature from the PS3. Sony claimed it was a security concern, but many class-action lawsuits filed in 2010 alleged the company was more worried about software piracy. While one lawsuit over the matter was dismissed by a judge in 2011, another worked its way through the courts until June, when Sony finally decided to settle. Though the company doesn't admit any wrongdoing, it puts itself on the hook for payments to up to 10 million PS3 owners. Note to those affected: "Claims are due by December 7, and payments should be sent out early next year pending final approval of the settlement."
Mistake in the mistake (Score:1)
I mean in the title?
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I think you meant "Mistake in the other PS3"
"Proof" required for the full payment (Score:5, Funny)
Proof that You Used The Other OS Functionality.
The following are acceptable forms of proof of use:
What about writing out a valid tar command?
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Not all linux distributions are free?
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Don't you know about the "Enterprise" versions of Linux with corporate support like RHEL?
IIRC you could pay Terrasoft for YDL and get RHEL style support from them dependong on how much you paid.
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If they are from before 12/31/2010, then yes.
Re:"Proof" required for the full payment (Score:4, Insightful)
I don't see why any of this matters. If I purchased a PS3 before the announcement with the intention of putting a different OS on it, but had not actually done so by the time the update was sent out, I should still be eligible.
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I don't see why any of this matters. If I purchased a PS3 before the announcement with the intention of putting a different OS on it, but had not actually done so by the time the update was sent out, I should still be eligible.
How do you prove "intention"? Anyone who purchased a PS3 before the announcement could claim they had intention of installing a different OS and there would little chance of disproving it. Following through with an intention is much easier to prove / disprove.
Re:"Proof" required for the full payment (Score:4, Insightful)
The same way Sony usually proves that you had the intention to distribute their copyrighted material: By claim.
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Damn, I knew there was something important I was forgetting.
Re: "Proof" required for the full payment (Score:3)
It shouldn't matter anyway. If I buy a car with a DVD player that I had no intention to use, and then during routine maintenance at my dealership they remove the DVD player, that is wrong.
Perhaps I realized its usefulness after having kids. Or not. Doesn't matter, it was unmistakably part of the purchase.
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>How do you prove "intention"? Anyone who purchased a PS3 before the announcement could claim they had intention of installing a different OS and there would little chance of disproving it. Following through with an intention is much easier to prove / disprove.
If you have a Slashdot post from 2010, then you can demostrate intent, and they allow it.
I found various posts bitching about Sony, but none demonstrating intent, so I only filed for the $9.
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You shouldn't have to. Sony should have to prove that you didn't (or really, "intent" should simply be irrelevant).
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What they won by winning the argument was payment of their legal fees. This was never about getting anything for the class members, only proving the point and making Sony pay for their time spent doing so.
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What is the standard of proof? Usually in civil cases it's the "balance of probabilities", so if you simply say you downloaded it, mentioning what version and where from, burned it to a DVD a and installed it. that should be enough proof. It would be up to Sony to refute your claims.
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So, I'm one of the "OtherOS" users who was directly impacted by this - forced to dump OtherOS because I had an active PSN account that required me to update to continue using it - basically choose OtherOS or games, couldn't have both anymore.
This was what, like seven years ago? That PS3 YLOD'ed in 2010, was in the recycling bin after a couple of repair attempts. Does anybody keep paperwork like this? I know Sony has records, if they care to look at them, my CC# was active on PSN at the time and I'd be ab
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So, I'm one of the "OtherOS" users who was directly impacted by this - forced to dump OtherOS because I had an active PSN account that required me to update to continue using it - basically choose OtherOS or games, couldn't have both anymore.
I thought about using a two PS3 solution, getting a new slim PS3 for games and keeping OtherOS on the FAT model, but decided to go another way and go X86 for Linux and update the PS3.
Sadly, for those that don't know, OtherOS partition methods weren't optimal, either you had 10GB for games, and the rest for OtherOS which would basically cripple the PS3 for gaming because of teh HUGE for the time cache files some games install (I had an 80GB CECHE and seriously started thinking about an HD upgrade after a yea
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I'd agree, OtherOS wouldn't contact PSN - but, you don't think they're monitoring the HDD partitioning or other "indications of potential piracy activity" while the PSN is in contact? The whole OtherOS kibosh was put on in reaction to some unauthorized accessing of hardware, IIRC.
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The hypervisor IS monitoring things, but I'm not sure it's sending anything to Sony, because I'm not sure Sony knew about GeoHot's tricks before he bragged about them online.
That is poor compensation (Score:2)
If you bought it for some $500 to run Linux on it, all of a sudden you had something that was useless to you. So $55 is about 1/10 of the value to you. You presumably also put in some hard work to configure it, etc, all that work wasted -- but no compensation for that.
It is all too late now, but Sony should have been forced to reverse the change back in 2010 ... if you bought it according to a published specification, Sony should not be allowed to retroactively change it.
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Well.... at least the poor lawyers got paid... thank goodness
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Yeah, that's why a PS4 will never see the inside of my house.
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If you bought it for $500 to only run Linux on it you're an idiot. A $200 PC can be bought that will be better.
This was 6 years ago ... you could not have got one for $200 then.
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We had a "Nettop" that ran alongside our PS3, it might have cost $299, and it was definitely a better PC than the PS3. However, being able to boot the PS3 into Linux was pretty cool, it ran a cron job that downloaded live webcam photos from beaches and threw them up as wallpaper on the new 42" flatscreen in the living room. Other than that, it was a mostly frustrating PC experience.
However, if it weren't for the Nettop - having that lame PC in the living room was good for things like weather info, RSS fee
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We had a "Nettop" that ran alongside our PS3, it might have cost $299, and it was definitely a better PC than the PS3. ......Other than that, it was a mostly frustrating PC experience.
Well it partly depended on what Linux version you used, which desktop, which applications, etc etc. If one had some Linux experience one could tweak it to perform better.
The big limitation was RAM. Sure the PS3's 256MB was better than the 32MB Linux on the PS2 had (yes, I also had the Linux kit), but it only went so far. VRAM swap helped though, I think that came with YDL 6.1? I don't know if say Fedora or Ubuntu on the PS3 supported that.
On the default YDL, the default desktop was an E17 version, which
Class Action Suits (Score:2)
Class action lawsuits are for punishing the company. The lawyers take most.
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Class actions are for doing things as a group where individually, a lawsuit doesn't make sense. Let's say total compensation paid out would've been $200 per person. Are you willing to go to court, spend a day of your time there to get back that $200? Yes, it's small claims, but there are still filing fees (around $40) and your time and effort (and you have to take a day off too). Meanwhile, Sony won't defend themselves and basically
Re:Class Action Suits (Score:4, Informative)
Sadly you are correct. A lot of the BIG ROUND NUMBER settlements come out to rounding error per plaintiff, and 20-50% going to the lawyers. Somehow there need to be ethics and rules to assure that the actual damage is roughly remedied and in a timely fashion. There is too far of a gap between what a law firm can readily settle for quickly to maximize their profit per hour of effort, and what will actually make things right for their clients.
Years back near my old neighborhood there was a train wreck, leading to a damaged high pressure gasoline line, leading to a massive fireball that killed folks and burnt out many houses. The ensuing lawsuit was fought tooth and nail, drawn out, and eventually the plaintiff's lawyer ran into money issues. So he settled for an amount that went entirely to "legal fees" and he skipped town. Many residents were left with nothing. There are countless examples across this range where justice is excruciatingly slow, with unjust results at the end. It becomes punitive to hold out hope for a remedy. There are a couple suits we didn't even know about that sent us $20 checks, and others we lost track of and stopped updating our address with because any settlement would be worth less than the time needed to possibly get something at the back end.
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Ah, the San Bernardino train wreck. Dissapointing that it ended up with barely anything going to those affected; the pipeline rupture was straight up incompetence on so many levels.
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If you bought it for some $500 to run Linux on it, all of a sudden you had something that was useless to you. So $55 is about 1/10 of the value to you.
You're free to reject the class settlement, and then sue them in court (Alone). If it became useless to you, therefore you had to scrap or sell it on eBay and purchased the next best option that would provide as-close-as possible equivalent, then you should be entitled to the cost of the replacement you purchased Minus salvaged value of the PS3 y
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If you bought it to run Linux, you could have just refused the update that removed OtherOS. It was clearly marked as the OtherOS-killer, and you needed to tick a box clearly stating that you understood this before it would apply. The only consequence of not updating was that you couldn't access PSN, but as a Linux user that's no use to you. I had a fat PS3, and I remember this.
The idea that Sony removed the OtherOS behind customers' backs, like Microsoft stealthily downloading Win10, has been repeated here
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It was clearly marked as the OtherOS-killer, and you needed to tick a box clearly stating that you understood this before it would apply.
That's right, and made you confirm the decision to update and remove OtherOS TWICE, just to be sure that was really what you wanted to do.
will they pay out the us air force or limit them t (Score:2)
will they pay out the us air force or limit them to only 1 claim?
Typical Class Action (Score:2)
So I bought one, EIGHT years ago. I no longer have it. In order to prove that I'm even eligible for the mostly-pointless $9 payment, I have to have my PS3 serial number. For the higher payment, I have to have incredibly unreasonable proof that I used OtherOS functionality.
Insane, but not unexpected. That's the way the legal system works. The lawyers will get almost all the cash, and we'll still have given Sony full price for a then-crippled console.
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Umm Dude... Slims never had the ability to run Linux, only FAT versions could run Linux. In the US that means only the CECHA, CECHB and CECHE versions can run it.
Sony expressly stated that the Slim would not support Linux before the Slim launched, so you obviously weren't paying attention.
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I have to have my PS3 serial number.
Unless it is still registered to PSN. IIRC you can find out the serial number there.
For the higher payment, I have to have incredibly unreasonable proof that I used OtherOS functionality.
I could have that proof within minutes.
[CronoCloud@wutai ~]$ cat ps3_info.txt
[CronoCloud@mideel ~]$ cat
Yellow Dog Linux release 6.0 (Pyxis)
[CronoCloud@mideel ~]$ cat /proc/cpuinfo
processor : 0
cpu : Cell Broadband Engine, altivec supported
clock : 3192.000000MHz
revision : 5.1 (pvr 0070 0501)
processor : 1
cpu : Cell Broadband Engine, altivec supported
clock : 3192.000000MHz
revision : 5.1 (pvr 0070 0501)
timebas
If you really want to punish Sony. (Score:2)
Don't buy a PS4, or a PS5, or a PS6, etc.
Our legal system is basically garbage. $9 wouldn't even pay for the lunch I ate today. Luckily, free societies/markets have an inherent justice system, whereby consumers can vote on the level of culpability of companies with their dollars.
Sometimes it can be hard to stick to your principles in this way when a company comes out with something you think you really want, but luckily, it seems like consoles are basically dying, and there is not really anything you need
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Very similar story here. I bought PS3 for Bluray functionality and Linux factor. Did I run Linux on it? No. But I knew I could if I wanted. Until they removed the functionality.
I bought 0 games, because I didn't buy PS3 for gaming. I never logged into PSN.
If you want car analogy it's like buying a pimped out 4x4 offroad SUV but never going offroad with it. Then company silently removes 4x4 capabilities but you can only get compensated for it if you used your vehicle offroad at least once... What the actual
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Sort of. I haven't bought ANYTHING with Sony's name on it since that event. I will admit my intention has wavered a few times, but every time it did they'd commit another atrocity, and it would be reinforced.
Friends don't let friends buy Sony.
Whenever the name "Sony" comes up, I make it a point to say something bad about them. Something which is both true and bad. Occasionally I'll also complement the company they once were.
I never bought a PS/3. I was still considering it when they pulled that monumen
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If you bought a PS3 and no games, you have already punished Sony on the financial end. You're a rare case, they made plenty of money, but those who bought only the hardware were getting more than they paid for.
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I'm aware of that. Although I don't think that means that I am necessarily benefiting. The blu-ray laser on my PS3 has broken twice while out of warranty. So I've paid hundreds of dollars for a linux computer with a blu-ray player, lost it's ability to be a linux computer, and that I had to spend an additional $150, plus hours of my time to replace broken parts. I certainly don't think I got more than what I paid for. I think I paid way to much for what I ultimately ended up getting.
I think this was a b
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Oh, don't get me wrong, 2008-2010 were some very bad years for me and Sony - the only Sony thing we've bought since was somebody else's unloved PS3 just because we can combine its working disc player with our working controllers. Sony also sold me a high-end laptop (well, Intel bought it for me as part of a contest), but anyway... I ended up buying another laptop for 1/5th the price just so I could have something reliable while the Sony was off getting warranty repaired 3 times.
The constant software update
Not worth my time (Score:2)
What it would take to prove I accessed the PSN other than my Email address would take much more than the $9 refund; I blocked PSN - they had no reason to know when I was on-line.
I'm also on my second PS3 (Backward comparable) system, it's just beating my head against a wall for pennies.
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If you didn't use PSN, why did you apply the update that removed OtherOS?
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If you didn't use PSN, why did you apply the update that removed OtherOS?
One couldn't access the the PS3, it was locked down (while PSN was blocked, it was always connected to the Internet). There was one person pleading to the rest of us that he could hack the update and all future updates maintaining the PS3's Linux ability, and he did just that yet 2 months after the update in question was required. He continued for a few updates but the few people who waited for him or in my case found it out too late - whatever, quit hacking the ROM after the third update.
It was a HOSTS fil
Time for a little GIMP/Photoshop (Score:2)
a screenshot (or picture) showing Linux operating on your Fat PS3;
Shouldn't take much effort to find a pic to doctor on Google images.
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While I DO have proof I ran Linux on my PS3 (and PS2 for that matter), there is no need to doctor a pic, when you could make your own
[ninthbit@ninthbitsps3 ~]$ cat
Yellow Dog Linux release 6.0 (Pyxis)
[ninthbit@ninthbitsps3 ~]$ cat /proc/cpuinfo
processor : 0
cpu : Cell Broadband Engine, altivec supported
clock : 3192.000000MHz
revision : 5.1 (pvr 0070 0501)
processor : 1
cpu : Cell Broadband Engine, altivec supported
clock : 3192.000000MHz
revision : 5.1 (pvr 0070 0501)
timebase : 79800000
platform
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While I appreciate the reply, the dead has already been done. :)
Waiting for the claim from the US Air Force (Score:2)
As I recall, they bought a bunch of PS3s to run as a supercomputing cluster.
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but when they send out units for repair as part of the repair they get updated by sony.
Called it in 2010 (Score:3)
by spire3661 ( 1038968 ) on Sunday March 28, 2010 @10:22PM (#31653572)
"Even if a class action suit is filed and they are found guilty or w/e ill receive a coupon in the mail for something i didnt want and have to pay real money to get
anyways. Thanks alot Sony. I dont use my Linux on my PS3 whole lot, but i didnt give up 10 GB of precious HDD space for nothing".
Sony has my PS3 login proof, and this post should serve as proof i had Linux installed. --
And that's where the XBox was superior (Score:2)
Microsoft didn't even allow you to install any other OS. Instead, their security was so completely shot that they could not keep you from doing so.
Don't trust a company to keep their promises. Instead rely on their security record, or lack thereof, to be unable to keep you from fulfilling your own wishes.
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The way I see it I'm no longer bound by a contract the other side violated first.
Screw Sony. (Score:2)
If you google my slashdot handle and OtherOS, it will be blatantly clear that I was really big into using my PS3 for OtherOS. I helped others past the technical hurdles of trying different distros/DE's on it back in the day. Hell, playing with OtherOS was what I used my ps3 most for - just for fun, even though I had Linux on my PCs.
That said: I can't claim my $55. In fact, I can't even get the $9:
Two years or so back, my PS3 got the yellow light of death. I refuse to give Sony any more money, so I did