Sony Ends PS3 as ‘Supercomputer’
by Andy Patrizio, May 4, 2010
A class action lawsuit is was filed against Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) by the United States District Court for the Northern California District on April 27. The lawsuit occurred after a recent Playstation 3 system update removed the exclusive feature of the console called ‘Install Other OS.’ The ‘Install Other OS’ feature on the Playstation 3 gave owners’ the ability to install and use a computer operating system such as Linux.
But Playstation 3 owners are not the only group who uses the feature. Educational institutes such as Stanford University uses Playstation 3 as a supercomputer. Thanks to Cell broadband processor installed into the console, students from Stanford University are able to develop a supercomputer at a low cost by modifying the alternative operating system inside Playstation 3. The military such as the United States Air Force also use the technology Sony implanted inside the Playstation 3.
The lawsuit claims that 3.21 downloadable firmware Playstation 3 update disabled the feature Sony advertise toward consumers and prolong this market strategy for more than three years. Therefore, SCEA breached a sales contract for lack of fairness to toward consumers as well as unsuitable business practice. In Sony promotions, it stated that if consumers buy Playstation 3, they will have the ability play games, watch movies, browse the Internet, play multiple formats of music download media and be able to access Linux operating system using mouse and keyboard.
However, SCEA consider ‘Install Other OS’ feature as a security risk among hackers SCEA also states that its exclusive feature cause hackers to use Playstation 3 in order to steal gaming material and other content licensed by Sony. Playstation 3 owners can voluntary download the recent firmware update. However, if Playstation 3 owners decide not to download firmware version 3.21, they will lose the ability to access Playstation Network, play online games, and play Blu-ray movies that require future updates.
