Auto mechanics work on cars as an advertised commercial service. It turns out that tinkering with parts should not be a crime.
(Yes, this guy was doing it to pirate video games. But handgun manufacturers build guns solely to murder other human beings, and auto mechanics can install equipment that allows you to exceed the speed limit. Neither of those are crimes, so why should modifying a game console be one?)
"handgun manufacturers build guns solely to murder other human beings"
That's a gross oversimplification of a complex issue. Very few people obtain a handgun legally for the purpose of Murdering somebody. (Less than 1% of legally obtained firearms are used in a crime) The primary reason to own one is for personal protection which implies the direct preservation of life. Ignoring that fact is intellectually dishonest.
Not unless you have to. Walk softly, carry a big stick.
If all else fails then yes, I'm sorry, but yes, if somebody breaks into a house and threatens my family I will threaten them with force. The lives of 4 people who are innocent are greater than that of one who willingly put themselves into a criminal position. Do I wish that that wasn't necessary, sure, but that's not the reality of human nature. The threat of force has always been a factor in survival. Even in nature.
Poison caterpillars rarely get eaten, the birds learn to avoid them.
Gun ownership is widespread in the US, and lots of people have them in perfectly safe regions. So do they not create a source of danger where there was none? Accidents do happen.
In my country, gun deaths went down considerably after the police started taking them out of circulation. As one police officer put it, bar fights became a lot less deadly in the suburbs.
That gets into a different argument: should people be allowed to do things that don't have a demonstrable health or safety benefit for them? Should unhealthy foods be outlawed? Exercise mandated?
Thanks for the link.
Yes, it is true that accidents happen, I'll give you that. The same can be said for cars, which kill far more people each year than handguns. I'm not arguing one way or the other here, just saying it is a difficult issue.
There are plausible reasons to modify a game console that aren't just pirated games. I haven't followed modchips et al recently, but historically a mod chip was required to use any non-standard software at all (for instance, installing a different operating system like XBMC). I think it's the same today.
It turns out that tinkering with parts should not be a crime.
When did it turn out? It neither 'should' nor 'should not' be a crime, objectively, that I can see.
Neither of those are crimes, so why should modifying a game console be one?
You can't kill or speed without large and noticable external signals, such as a speeding car or a dead/missing person. You can also target shoot and race on private tracks.
You can pirate video games without any significantly noticable events, and there isn't much else you can do with a chipped console.
Video game piracy has more justification for legal blocks earlier in the process.
I know folks who have a chipped XBox, primarily to run XBMC (XBox Media Center). This isn't pirated software at all, it's open source. But it's a great way to get media off a home server and play it on your entertainment center. The hacking of the box is only because of MS's locking out 3rd parties.
Handgun manufacturers don't build guns solely to murder, that's a ridiculous claim, and I doubt if you even believe it. I don't know of any car that can't exceed most speed limits anyway, but the mechanic analogy is slightly better. In fact, I don't think console modification should be a crime, but I think the console companies should be able to initiate a civil case.
(Yes, this guy was doing it to pirate video games. But handgun manufacturers build guns solely to murder other human beings, and auto mechanics can install equipment that allows you to exceed the speed limit. Neither of those are crimes, so why should modifying a game console be one?)