An interesting analysis that entirely misses the point. It's Sony's actions over the last year that have got them into this mess. Words like 'stable door' and 'horse bolted' leap to mind

1. remove functionality ('other OS') from playstation 3 that is beloved of ultra-geeks who bought their console for this reason. Do this without warning or apology. Sony makes 'OtherOS' fans choose between PS3 network membership and running the OtherOS feature it was sold with.
2. When a geek far smarter than your marketing and PR dept. publishes a way to restore OtherOS functionality, sue him.
3. This prompts the geek community to set about *really* cracking the platform wide open.
4. Sony tries to sue the chaps who released the how-to for how to crack your ps3's, but settles out of court because one of their own directors publicly tweets the encryption key crucial to cracking their security.
5. A large number of very smart geeks now hold you in contempt and the core security of your console has been irreparably compromised. Sony cannot now properly secure the console again without disabling ALL games discs created up to this point. It's like an open invite to hackers. This was never going to end well.

Before the otherOS debacle, playstation 3 was the least hacked machine around. Now, its security has been irreparably compromised and all because Sony was insensitive towards a small, but powerful group of its customers.

Rule 1: never bully a geek.

I do feel sorry for their customers though: it's rubbish for them that they are made to suffer because Sony couldn't sensibly resolve a technical issue affecting its console without bullying, threatening and alienating its biggest fans.

Fire prevention is a whole lot cheaper and smarter than firefighting.

PS: I am, of course aware that the actions of the hackers were illegal, not undertaken by Sony and I am blaming the victim.

But: Sony really were asking for it in their actions over OtherOS, a story many in the digital world have been following with ever-rising eyebrows for the last year. In the digital world, this has been a big evolving story.

I couldn't believe just how insensitive and clod-footed they were being towards their own fans. It can't be a coincidence that this happens within 2 weeks of the end of the case against Geohot, the hacker who originally published the workaround to get OtherOS working again after Sony disabled it.

And tweeting your own root security key just made Sony look risible. It's like tweeting your own credit card number x1000.

wot no due process?

All in favour of removing law-breaking websites, but want to see a higher standard of evidence required than 'I, PC Plod believe this website to be illegal.' Which is what is currently happening.

Guilty until proven innocent is a bad way of doing things generally.

A bad bill: poorly drafted, ill considered and hastily crammed through parliament during the dying days of an unpopular government using an undemocratic and underhand technical procedure in the face of huge public opposition.

And sponsored by the prince of darkness himself, Lord Mandelson.

What's not to like?

don't worry, the 90s will replay themselves, but with Android in the role of PC and iPhone in the role of Mac.
It's the Apple way.

Lovely machines, made by control freaks