Student Arrested for Modifying Consoles

Ouch, ten years...

Ten years... for ripping off MS... shouldn't we all being in jail?

All these corporations have been ripping us off for a long, long time - and a guy goes and runs a business where he uses his skills and talent to earn some cash and lo and behold he is shoulder deep in shit now! Go figure... We will never, ever win against these greedy bastards because they write their own laws to screw us over day in and day out!

Doesn't make a lot of sense... Maybe I am just confused about what they are actually jailing him for. I can't modify something I own? It's not like he was violating copyright laws, he was just allowing someone else to.

i didnt think it was illegal to modify your console, just to actually download, burn, and play the illegal games...

Yeah, unless they found a bunch of pirated games/movies/music (which I'm sure they did), what law was broken? And WTF does Homeland Security have to do with enforcing the DCMA, or I.C.E. for that matter? Was he exporting them?

Nevermind, look here.

IMHO, getting the government to enforce DRM is BS. I suggest you all call your representatives and tell them to tell corps. to hire their own PIs and sue, IN CIVIL court!

I think the news story left some important facts out. How can modified any thing against the law?

Didn't you guy catch the "Entertainment Software Association" or something similar to RIAA and MPAA.

In 2003, several independent us government services have been rolled into homeland security, which wasn't on of the intended original goals. Examples like, fema, INS, coast guard and secret service, seemingly with diminished quality of service have been commonly reported.

Unbelievable, if you want to modify something that you've already paid for, you've voided the warranty, but to make it a crime! WTF?

The problem is, he was doing it for profit. You can do your own modifications to your own console, but if you start to "offer your services", that's a different story. The "Keep a low profile" is a must.

such a BS, if user wants to modified their consoles just let them be..

Ahh, that makes sense But still, ICE? Isn't that more in the purview of the FTC, the IRS, or the local Sheriff via state or local tax collector's office? Seems like overkill, like sending the FBI after someone who is adding an extra room onto their house without a permit.

you know with all this big brother peaking in ourlive, our fucked up government seems to forget, for all the military, cops etc etc, general citizens sick of all this horsecrap outnumber them 500 to 1.... i saw we rise up, dispose of them all...and make a true government that is for the people by the people.... not our government today that wears that mask but really works for the big companies

Really? Does Homeland security have nothing better to do then arrest this guy for modifying game consoles. If they have this much free time the government should be closing/downsizing the department of Homeland security and saving the public millions if not billions of dollars every year. I don't see how this guy is threatening the nations security. This is a waste of tax payers money. WTF!

The Department of Homeland Security arrested him at his home for modifying gaming consoles? What a bunch of Nazis...I mean seriously, what's next?

What the government should be doing is removing the stupid restrictions the entertainment industry put in so we can't watch/play/enjoy things from overseas or different "Regions".

MPAA, RIAA. I'm looking at you.

the whole law system is cripped, it assumes everyone understands the law to start with. what kind of assumption is that? it's like assuming Amazon carries millions of books so everyone in the world should know all the materials in there.

The problem is he was profiting from the game consoles. MS hasn't authorized ANYONE to modify the console, just sell it or program for it.

MS can't legally prevent him from modifying the hardware of the machine, but its the SOFTWARE on the machine that they can prevent him from modifying. By adding new hardware and placing the OS on a machine that wasn't in the original spec, MS can say he modified the OS. Hence, jail time.

Time for that vacation in Mexico

Legislative and executive powers are corporate sponsorships (even if they're all running on taxpayers' money), so DHS (funny name, isn't it?) is just executing it's true masters' orders.
To serve and protect... guess who

There is a guy doing consoles modifications on every corner of the city I live... which is a very nice thing for my economy.

How could they even do this? A physical thing such as a console is owned be the consumer that bought it. Its not like the act itself is piracy of any kind. This would be like arresting my two year old son for taking a crayon to one of his Dr. Seuss books because he modified it.

Who the heck thought the DMCA was such a good idea? Those people should be flogged. Anyway I think it's wrong. The user is the one who bought the system so what they do with it and who they have modify it is their business. The guy who modified it isn't being charged with stealing games, just making it easier for other people to do so. That's kinda like saying you're going to arrest the guy who modified your car so it's easier to break the speed limit, rather than punishing the driver who breaks the speed limit.

And just think, Microsoft sells its Office Suite in China, the holy mecca of piracy, for $29. Here in the USA, Microsoft charges $150. Is there something wrong here?

http://tech.yahoo.com/news/pcworld [...] 9whydontwe

Hey if you all think hat's stupid, the canadian gouv wanted to pass a bill where basically "owning" an unlocked cell phone or modified hardware would be an offense punishable by ridiculously over exaggerated fines and/or jail time.
For those who care...read below

http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/3025/125/

comments are worth a quick look to

Geez, I didn't know homeland security do that.

I think the point here is that they weren't his machines, and he was doing it for profit. He's making money helping other people avoid paying for use of other peoples intellectual property. I understand this is confusing for people who don't have any type of intellectual property.

So how about a locksmith unlocks your door so people could steal your stuff. You don't think the locksmith is doing anything wrong?... Really?.... Seriously?...

Here Educate yourself:
Section 103 of the DMCA adds a new chapter 12 to Title 17 of the U.S. Code. New section 1201 implements the obligation to provide adequate and effective protection against circumvention of technological measures used by copyright owners to protect their works.

From: http://www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf

Clearly he's in violation.

Some of us has to be around to buy their stuff, bust one scare the others.

Yeah, funny how other nations like China pirate, steal, and hack our stuff and nothing ever gets done about it. The most we do is a "Don't do that again next time ok." and it never ends. Not only that but then people like Microsoft then give them $19 a copy MS office deals, although everyone claims they are so poor, could have fooled me when it seem all the time I a reading about average students paying thousands of US dollars to cheat on tests in school but can pay for a copy of Office? Whatever it is all a big lie. I can't believe however our own citizens, while this is wrong could face ten years in prisons and fines while people of others countries get waved on and pampered as the result. What has our country come to. How about we focus on countries that are causing billions in losses if you want to get down to it or we boycott their stuff.

This is communism. Console is one’s private property, and as such the owner is entitled to modify his console in any way. Jailbreaking the console does not prove yet that someone is using “illegal” copy of a game. The fact that someone has a gun does not prove that he is a murderer. This is all communistic way of thinking - everyone is suspect and private property does not exist. It is a damned corporate form of communism.

And for all we know, these kids just wanted their consoles to play homebrew/backup games or games that can only be purchased in other countries that are region locked. We can’t know if they intended to run pirated games. This isn’t the Minority Report. And either way, if the consoles are being used for pirated content, you should go after whoever is running said pirated content. Otherwise, you might as well target Gamestop and Wal-Mart for selling consoles to people with the intent to use them for malicious, evil activities.

it is indeed a strange realization to know that the things you’ve paid for and presume to own are actually still under jurisdiction of someone else…then again, how often does anyone question the notion that to get married you need a permit (government permission), you can “own” a car, but not operate it until licensed, thus nullifying ownership until you relinquish your ownership to government control. We have never lived in a free society,