14 DAY TRIAL // George Hotz aka “Geohot,” one of the hackers involved with the hack of the PlayStation 3 home console from Sony, has said that to him breaking into the platform to add homebrew applications and support for Linux is similar to the jailbreaking of the iPhone in order to get custom made apps on it.
Talking to the G4 program Attack of the Show he has said, when asked whether piracy was in his mind when he hacked the PlayStation 3, “Actually no. The way that piracy was previously done doesn't work in my jailbreak. And I made a specific effort while I was working on this to try to enable homebrew without enabling things I do not support, like piracy.”
He added, “I think this case is about a lot more than what I did and me, it's about whether you really own that device that you purchased.”
Hotz was one of the first people, back in 2007, who have managed to break the protections of the Apple made iPhone, allowing it to run programs which were not approved by the mother company.
The similarity between the two cases is important because an earlier ruling coming from a judge has said that jailbreaking the iPhone is legal for a user, with a special exception added to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
That exception could prove important in the lawsuit where Sony is aiming to get temporary restraining orders again both Hotz and the hackers from 0verflow over the hack of the PlayStation 3 which can lead to piracy.
The hackers have already said that they will try to creates special firmware versions for the Sony home console that enable Linux support and homebrew applications without allowing actual pirated content to be used.
The suit from Sony currently has some issues with jurisdiction and it’s not clear when or where it will be going ahead.