Sony Pursues Legal Action Against PS3 Jailbreakers

In what appears to be a preemptive legal salvo, Sony Computer Entertainment America has filed a complaint for injunctive relief and damages against various PlayStation 3 jailbreak coders. According to Engadget managing editor Nilay Patel, the complaint is likely a prelude to a formal lawsuit. Dude went to law school, so he’s as good a person to quote as anyone:

This isn’t a “lawsuit” in the traditional sense, since Sony hasn’t filed a complaint for copyright infringement or whatever against Geohot and friends. Instead, the company appears to be trying to shove the genie back in the bottle and have the jailbreak and any information about the jailbreak removed from the web by filing a temporary restraining order. That might work in the short term — Geohot’s already pulled his pages down — but history suggests that the forces of paperwork rarely triumph over the righteous anger of nerds, and that this code is out there for good. That said, we’ll see what the court says tomorrow; although we very much doubt Sony’s melodramatic proposed motion and order will be granted as written, we wouldn’t be surprised if some sort of order is eventually granted — and then from there a formal lawsuit is likely just a few days away.

In the past, Sony has responded to various hacks with software updates. The most recent round of jailbreak solutions by coders like Geohot and the fail0verflow group appear to have found a method that can’t be countered by software. Since a hardware change to combat piracy would be costly and take time, legal action seems like the only card Sony has left.

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Today’s Poll: Are You Interested in Verizon’s iPhone 4?

The CDMA iPhone 4 on Verizon is just around the corner! The phone is mostly the same as the one AT&T has offered for the last six months, but for a lot of people, Verizon’s network will make it much more usable. Any of you interested in taking the plunge? Or are you content with your current phone and/or current carrier? Vote and discuss (please)!

[poll id=”95″]

Coffee Talk #283: What’s in a (Game) Name?

What do you name yourself in videogames? How about characters you collect in your party? Since I’ve restarted Pokemon SoulSilver, Pokemon names have been on my mind. As I mentioned in my old Pokemusings column…

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Trevor Hoffman retiring, the Pokemon Black/White mall tour, or your favorite Kool-Aid flavor, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

What do you name yourself in videogames? How about characters you collect in your party? Since I’ve restarted Pokemon SoulSilver, Pokemon names have been on my mind. As I mentioned in my old Pokemusings column, I hate sticking with standard names. I love going with puns. Just ask my Wobuffet named Jimmy, my Kabutops named Citizen, and my freshly caught Lugia named Hakka. *snicker*

As for single-player games where I’m the lead, I usually stick to some form of RPad. While the name is passable in sci-fi settings, it seems funny and out of place in fantasy games like Dragon Age: Origins. An elf rogue named R.Pad?!? Yeah…. More recently I’ve been using RPad.tv for branding purposes. You never know when someone will play a game with you online and randomly check out your web site.

And you? What do you usually name yourself in single-player games? What names do you use when you have an entire party?

Verizon iPhone 4 Available on February 10, 2011

Here’s some space for us to discuss today’s 1/11/11 11AM Verizon press conference on the CDMA Apple iPhone 4. I will update the body of this story with tidbits from the Interwebz. I’m counting on you to bring your A-game to the comments section so we can discuss this pivotal moment in American mobile phone history. Let’s get to it!

7:55AM — A bunch of bloggers have noted that the backdrop is white. Think it means that Verizon will get the white iPhone?

7:58AM — My analyst friend says there are no signs of uber Apple execs. That doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re not there. They could be hiding. He’s convinced that one of them will make an appearance via FaceTime.

8:05AM A surprising amount of LTE talk so far. Do you think???

8:06AM Verizon CEO Lowell MacAdam mentions Apple as a partner (Engadget). Somewhere in America, a kitten dies. More importantly, the iPhone 4 will hit Verizon in early February.

8:09AM Apple COO Tim Cook appears. He’s not Steve Jobs, but he’s a pretty big deal.

8:11AM The iPhone 4 is on the Verizon site already.

8:14AM Verizon Dan Dee is touting Verizon’s network reliability. While I agree that Verizon is a better and more stable network that AT&T, it’s also slower. I wonder how customers that switch over will react to the lower speeds.

8:17AM The company is reassuring everyone that it’s prepared for the iPhone 4 and the network won’t crash with the influx of heavy data users. (Ars Technica)

8:18 Current customers can pre-order on February 3, 2011. Others can order on February 10, 2011. $199 for the 16Gb and $299 for the 32GB, both with a two-year contract.

8:19AM WiFi hotspot for up to five users is feature, similar to what Verizon offers for Android phones. Pricing information on this option wasn’t revealed.

Sony Posts 20 PS3 Exclusives: Do You Want ‘Em?

Sony Computer Entertainment America recently posted a listed of 20 games that are PlayStation 3 exclusives. For my tastes, it’s a pretty excellent list. I want 14 out of 20 games. Check out the list and let me know which ones you’re interested in.

Sony Computer Entertainment America recently posted a listed of 20 games that are PlayStation 3 exclusives. For my tastes, it’s a pretty excellent list. I want 14 out of 20 games. Check out the list and let me know which ones you’re interested in.

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Shawn Michaels in the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2011

On last night’s episode of of Monday Night Raw, WWE announced that “The Hearbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame (excellent video above!). The ceremony will take place in Atlanta, GA on the Friday before WrestleMania XXVII.

On last night’s episode of of Monday Night Raw, WWE announced that “The Hearbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame (excellent video above!). The ceremony will take place in Atlanta, GA on the Friday before WrestleMania XXVII.

Michaels has been my favorite wrestler of the last 15 years and I love that he’s headlining this year’s hall of fame class…but it seems off. Most of it has to do with the fact that he only stopped wrestling last year. Part of it has to do with Atlanta being a huge NWA/WCW city; I was hoping that this year’s class would focus on old NWA talent, centering around Arn Anderson and Michael “P.S.” Hayes. That said, I’m not going to complain — I’m too big of an HBK mark for that.

Man, I miss watching Michaels on TV. Just seeing him play around with the crowd, dance around like a tool, and deliver an awesome superkick to Alberto Del Rio (video below) reaffirmed that WWE hasn’t been the same for me since he retired. *sigh* Anyway, let me know what you think of Shawn Michaels headlining the WWE hall of fame class of 2011 when you have a moment.

Coffee Talk #282: Looking Back at Your 2010 Most Wanted

It was fun learning about the 2011 games you’re psyched for. Just for kicks, I went back to Coffee Talk #59, #60, and #61 to check on your most wanted games of 2010. How did your picks work out for you?

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Owen Wilson becoming a father, the Carmelo Anthony deal-a-thon, or finishing the last remnants of a mediocre bag of beans from Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

It was fun learning about the 2011 games you’re psyched for. Just for kicks, I went back to Coffee Talk #59, #60, and #61 to check on your most wanted games of 2010. How did your picks work out for you? Were your expectations met or exceeded? Or did your choices disappoint you? Here are the three games I picked:

  1. 1) Heavy Rain — As a Quantic Dream fan, I was so psyched for this game. It was pretty much what I expected and I was very satisfied with the experience. The graphics, storytelling, and music were fantastic.
  2. 2) Final Fantasy XIII — Yeah, I still haven’t finished this game, but I really enjoyed what I played so far. Sure, there’s a lot of hand holding, but the graphics, music, and gameplay totally work for me. Plus, it has Reona Rewis.
  3. 3) SmackDown vs. Raw 2011 — While my other two picks were pretty much what I expected, this was the one game that surprised me. I knew the writing was going to be excellent, but I was shocked by its quality. If it doesn’t win all kinds of awards in 2011 then there’s no hope for the videogame industry.

Now it’s your turn!  I noticed a bunch of you picked BioShock 2. While it was a good game, I recall a bunch of you being let down. I also noticed that one of you was certain that Diablo III would be released in 2010. Oops…and I’m sorry. Now kindly peer into your retroscope and leave a comment. How did your 2010 most wanted list turn out?

Three Things I Learned From CES 2011

Now that we’ve all had a weekend to digest all the announcements and happenings from the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES), I thought it would be a good time to reflect on what we’ve all learned. Here are my three takeaways from CES 2011:

Now that we’ve all had a weekend to digest all the announcements and happenings from the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES), I thought it would be a good time to reflect on what we’ve all learned. Here are my three takeaways from CES 2011. Check ’em out and let me know what you learned (please)!

1) I Need a Dual-Core Mobile Processor Now! Never mind that the 800MHz Scorpion in my T-Mobile G2 is performing well and I’ve been perfectly happy with the phone for months. I lust for the superior power and efficiency of dual-core processors. Of course I want to see benchmarks and real-world battery tests, but that won’t stop me from glaring at my G2 for not having a dual-core processor.

2) The Motorola Atrix 4G’s Laptop Dock is Clever. Prior to CES 2011, I found the thought of a dockable mobile phone unappealing — probably because the Palm Foleo made it sound so ridiculous. That said, I have to admit that the netbook-like functionality of the Motorola Atrix has me interested. It appears to be a smart and sharp implementation that would extend the capabilities of the phone and eliminate the need for a secondary laptop. Color me intrigued (which, in my head, is a bright shade of blue).

3) Vizio’s Boldness is Awesome! Vizio isn’t the most well-known brand in America. Some people view it as the “cheapie” brand they see at CostCo and Sam’s Club. That’s a shame because the company offers some really excellent televisions, some of which are tough to beat from a price/performance ratio. I was surprised by the company’s aggressive and diverse moves at CES 2011. It’s entering the mobile computing market with Android and the gaming space with OnLive.

How about you? What were your favorite lessons learned from CES 2011?

Verizon’s Inadvertent iPhone 4 Hook: Unlimited Data?

Even though Verizon has plans to move to tiered data pricing, it doesn’t have the structure in place. Some pundits believe that this inadvertently gives Verizon an edge over AT&T in the impending battle of iPhones; the former will offer unlimited data, while the latter lacks an unlimited option for new customers. The Wall Street Journal has reported:

Verizon Wireless, the country’s largest wireless carrier, is confident enough in its network that it will offer unlimited data-use plans when it starts selling the iPhone around the end of this month, a person familiar with the matter said. Such plans would provide a key means of distinguishing its service from rival AT&T Inc., which limits how much Internet data such as videos and photos its customers may use each month.

This makes the decision more interesting for consumers. If everything goes as predicted and Verizon announces an iPhone 4 with unlimited data, what would you do? Do you snap up the old phone on the more reliable network using slower technology simple because it offers truly unlimited data? Or do you wait for the iPhone 5, which will certainly feature tiered data on AT&T and probably feature tiered data on Verizon by the time it’s released (likely June 2011). Ah, the decisions those with disposable income have to make…. (For the record, I’m not one of those people. Ha!)

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Today’s Poll: Will Steve Jobs Appear at the Verizon Presser?

Most of the tech world has accepted that Verizon will announce the iPhone 4 at its press conference tomorrow. Some believe that Apple CEO Steve Jobs will be on hand and some don’t. On one hand, it’s a pretty huge partnership and the date is quirky cool (1/11/11 at 11AM!). On the other hand, some believe that Jobs is saving himself for new product announcements like that iPad 2 and iPhone 5; these people believe that an old product on a new network doesn’t merit an appearance by his royal highness grandmaster Steve Jobs.

What do you think? Kindly vote in today’s poll and discuss!

[poll id=”94″]