A lot of rationalizations are being vomited up in discussions of the fallout that might occur due this move.

A few things that don’t apply to this discussion:

1. Sony’s only doing this to stop piracy.

Not really. Once the thing was hacked, all attempts to prevent piracy are futile. Instead this removes functionality from honest users.

2. Six users in Idaho use it. So who cares?

It doesn’t matter how many use it. The feature was removed from every single user because it was convenient for Sony.

3. It was the only way to fix this.

Perhaps, but fix it for what? Piracy? I understand that, ostensibly, Sony wanted everyone to upgrade to remove the majority of the hardware from the vulnerability, but I find it very hard to believe that a patch wouldn’t have been a more consumer-centric decision.

Things like this only tend to aggravate Piracy.

The PS3 was and is sold as a device of infinite possibility. When I bought mine, I hoped the firmware proper would be expanded to meet this potential. Linux allowed those who wanted to utilize (at least some of) its strengths to do so. While I hoped Sony would add the sort of features that you see in something like Boxee I was content knowing that watching things like Hulu was possible in Linux. Eventually Sony added Netflix support and I was thrilled. However, taking away the OtherOS function with very little warning despite the painful upgrade process made it seem that Sony was removing the potential of the PS3 faster than they were utilizing it.

In short, the infinite possibility of the PS3 now seems to be the ability to output pretty game graphics. There are cheaper bluray players now with more internet media consumption capabilities. Unless Sony ups the ante soon with major features that aren’t game related, the PS3 is starting to look less and less like a capable home entertainment device and more like a game-focused console. If that’s the case, then you’re better off with an Xbox 360.

Currently the FCC is reviewing possible regulation to prevent discrimination against traffic on the internet. At the same time two bills are in congress to prevent the FCC from regulating this new medium. This battle is pretty vital to fundamental rights and the economy. Even from a purely consumer standpoint it’s vital. Otherwise we’ll be seeing things that are similar to the ridiculous $1300 per megabyte pricing on SMS messages, only it’ll be on innovative technologies like Voice Over Internet Calling (VOIP), internet video (hulu/youtube/etc.) or even access to things like Google.

The FCC’s approach isn’t perfect, and most times I’m against regulation of any kind. However, the current regulation posed by the FCC is intended to allow the internet to grow unfettered by selfish business interests. Will it have unintended consequences? Possibly. On the other hand, the bills offered by members of congress will have immediate chilling effect. They will allow ISP’s to protect their business models indefinitely at the expense of everyone in the United States.

This will hurt the economy badly, especially in the realm of innovation and new business creation, all for the sake of the few. Stopping this creates a retro-active bailout, allowing ISP’s to compete via subterfuge.

Worse, lack of non-discrimination regulation means “trustworthy” companies like AT&T and Comcast can decide if they really want you to see that review of their customer service quality… or they can decide if they want to let you post or let anyone read your political/religious views online.

Free Speech/Press are vital to democracy. The internet provides the most ideal form of these ideas. Previously, you had freedom of speech, but only as much as the money you had for a PA system. You had freedom of the press, but only if you could afford a press and find an effective delivery method. Now infinitely powerful PA’s and presses and delivery systems are available for free at your local library. But some of the old press owners are not too thrilled. They didn’t mind so much, until it interfered with their business model.

Check out SaveTheInternet.com They’re pretty evenhanded, acknowledging the weaknesses of the FCC plan and exposing the hypocrisy of the “Internet Freedom Act”, which only frees ISP’s in regard to the net.

Posted via email from kholinar’s posterous

For the past two months there’s been so much work to do that Megan and I have hardly had a night off. After a while you get worn down from that sort of thing. So we decided that Spring Break would be a great time to get out of town. We invited my sister, went down to Austin to see Luna Halo and did tons of shopping along the way. I was getting a little worried that the car wouldn’t hold all the new acquisitions, but somehow we found room. We stayed in hotels that ranged from fabulous to barely passable. It all went too quickly and I can’t say that we rested much, but it was a lot of fun.

Oh, and I went to my first Ikea store. :p

So the grind has begun again with a few caveats. My job has switched to a four day work week, which will be an interesting change and allow me to catch up on home duties on Friday instead of Saturdays when Megan works. It also has the potential for some amazing 3 and 4 day weekend events. We’ll see.

In addition, I’ll be volunteering as a writer for an iPhone application review site called 148apps.com. This has the benefit of getting my writing out to a lot of people and maybe becoming something bigger in the future. The site had 500k visits in the last month alone. I’ve always been very into tech and so, while I would like to write creative stuff, this is a great opportunity. I know most of you don’t have iPhones and aren’t into such things, but I wanted to put it out there in case you wanted to see what else I was doing. I’ll probably link my articles here, but I will try to keep the self-promotion tasteful.

Hope you’re all having a a great 2009!