GeoHot Donates Leftover $10000 to EFF
Linked by Thom Holwerda on Sun 17th Apr 2011 21:15 UTC
Legal After news of the settlement between Sony and George Hotz came out, we had a few unhappy people complaining about how Hotz would now keep all the money donated to him, that he would run off to some tropical island, never to be heard from again. Well, as it turns out, Hotz has actually kept his word: he donated all the leftover donated money to the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
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Glad to hear it!
by SReilly on Sun 17th Apr 2011 22:47 UTC
SReilly
Member since:
2006-12-28

Well done Hotz! I'm glad to stuck to his word on this and yes, I think the EFF is the best place to look for a DMCA exemption on hacking your own consoles firmware.

Reply Score: 7

Good news
by BrianH on Mon 18th Apr 2011 02:55 UTC
BrianH
Member since:
2005-07-06

This GeoHot is seriously a class act, an example to us all.

Reply Score: 4

RE: Good news
by flanque on Mon 18th Apr 2011 10:53 UTC in reply to "Good news"
flanque Member since:
2005-12-15

Lucky seems more accurate to me. Very lucky.

Reply Score: 2

RE[2]: Good news
by pandronic on Mon 18th Apr 2011 11:22 UTC in reply to "RE: Good news"
pandronic Member since:
2006-05-18

I don't think that luck had anything to do with it. This whole Geohot case was becoming a PR nightmare for Sony. So while Sony could have crushed Geohot like a bug and make an example of him (because that's the way the world works - people with deep pockets fuck John Q. Citizen in the ass, nose and ears), they would've lost more on the sales front. Simple math.

Reply Score: 4

RE[3]: Good news
by flanque on Mon 18th Apr 2011 12:04 UTC in reply to "RE[2]: Good news"
flanque Member since:
2005-12-15

The cards fell in his favour. At best it was a tactical recovery.

Reply Score: 2

RE[4]: Good news
by orestes on Mon 18th Apr 2011 16:57 UTC in reply to "RE[3]: Good news"
orestes Member since:
2005-07-06

Sony outright won this one, escaping the bad PR was just a bonus

Edited 2011-04-18 16:58 UTC

Reply Score: 3

RE[5]: Good news - outright win?
by jabbotts on Mon 18th Apr 2011 23:27 UTC in reply to "RE[4]: Good news"
jabbotts Member since:
2007-09-06

I think an "outright win" for a company as big as Sony would be a decisive legal outcome including an outright ban on device owners tampering with there purchases. What they got instead was an indecisive outcome that allowed both sides to step back with some compromises.

Reply Score: 3

RE[2]: Good news
by BrianH on Mon 18th Apr 2011 17:38 UTC in reply to "RE: Good news"
BrianH Member since:
2005-07-06

I meant that his behavior throughout this situation and in the aftermath had class. Luck has nothing to do with that.

He is lucky he got off so lightly, because Sony's behavior had no class, until the settlement. That is why it was such a PR nightmare for them.

Reply Score: 1

RE[2]: Good news
by tylerdurden on Wed 20th Apr 2011 23:37 UTC in reply to "RE: Good news"
tylerdurden Member since:
2009-03-17

What does luck have to do with being a class act?

Reply Score: 2

Good news
by Pana4 on Mon 18th Apr 2011 12:39 UTC
Pana4
Member since:
2010-09-17

I saw some of the comments against Hotz and thought it was undeserving. None of the negative posters were under the hammer and it was a bit too easy for them to complain. He did the best he could and the lesson remains the same as it has been for years.
Never, ever buy Sony products until they're wiped from the face of the Earth.

Edited 2011-04-18 12:54 UTC

Reply Score: 3

RE: Good news - we'll see how it goes
by jabbotts on Mon 18th Apr 2011 15:48 UTC in reply to "Good news"
jabbotts Member since:
2007-09-06

Given the anger in the last related article's discussion, we'll see how this one goes and who joins in now that there is actually a final outcome to react too.

Reply Score: 2

Money Donation
by hussam on Mon 18th Apr 2011 15:15 UTC
hussam
Member since:
2006-08-17

He should have donated the money to the RIAA.

(before you mod my post, I'm just being funny.)

Reply Score: 4

Only Problem
by xaoslaad on Mon 18th Apr 2011 16:17 UTC
xaoslaad
Member since:
2006-03-07

People donated to him with the expectation that he was going to fight Sony. He used the money to roll over and settle his bills... he should donate all of it, not just what's left over.

Reply Score: 1

RE: Only Problem
by umccullough on Mon 18th Apr 2011 17:33 UTC in reply to "Only Problem"
umccullough Member since:
2006-01-26

People donated to him with the expectation that he was going to fight Sony. He used the money to roll over and settle his bills... he should donate all of it, not just what's left over.


So, what was the total amount donated? I haven't seen that number posted anywhere yet. I only know that he closed the donation link when he had "enough" to start with.

Reply Score: 2

RE: Only Problem
by Quake on Mon 18th Apr 2011 18:09 UTC in reply to "Only Problem"
Quake Member since:
2005-10-14

People donated to him with the expectation that he was going to fight Sony. He used the money to roll over and settle his bills... he should donate all of it, not just what's left over.

GeoHot is only one person... Do you seriously think he can battle a MULTI-BILLION dollar company?!

Sony had a bad PR and that's good enough for me when it comes to person vs Bunch of lawyers.

Reply Score: 1

RE[2]: Only Problem
by Soulbender on Mon 18th Apr 2011 20:14 UTC in reply to "RE: Only Problem"
Soulbender Member since:
2005-08-18

.

Edited 2011-04-18 20:15 UTC

Reply Score: 2

RE: Only Problem
by BluenoseJake on Mon 18th Apr 2011 19:39 UTC in reply to "Only Problem"
BluenoseJake Member since:
2005-08-11

The donations were for his legal bills, he paid them, then topped up the remainder with his own money, what more could you have asked for?

He did exactly what he said, and what was expected of him.

Reply Score: 2

RE: Only Problem - pretty easy huh
by jabbotts on Mon 18th Apr 2011 23:29 UTC in reply to "Only Problem"
jabbotts Member since:
2007-09-06

Pretty easy to sit infront of your computer and pass judgment on someone else. Have you ever been the single focus of a corporate legal team?

Reply Score: 2

RE: Only Problem
by Morgan on Wed 20th Apr 2011 00:34 UTC in reply to "Only Problem"
Morgan Member since:
2005-06-29

Pardon me while I take out a loan to donate money I don't have to my favorite organization so I can live up to your lofty ideals. /facepalm

People gave him money to support him in his fight against Sony, and he spent some of the money fighting Sony. I fail to see the issue with that. There was no expectation of an all-out win; I'm pretty sure most who donated to him expected a far worse outcome than the actual one. I'd say he was quite honorable in how he handled the entire situation, including his generous donation to the EFF, some of which was his own money (i.e. not donated to him).

On that note, exactly how much have YOU donated to the EFF? I doubt it is anywhere near 10k.

Reply Score: 2

RE: Only Problem
by tylerdurden on Wed 20th Apr 2011 23:39 UTC in reply to "Only Problem"
tylerdurden Member since:
2009-03-17

Haters gonna hate...

Reply Score: 2

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