AusGamers: Just a clarification, based on your comments here it seems that the driving factor behind the judge's decision was the EULA. So it seems that, basically, the EULA trumps what I would consider 'consumer rights' to not have a feature that they were sold, remotely removed and/or disabled at corporate whim, as long as they have a Cover Your Ass statement in the EULA - is that about right?

Michael: Unfortunately, that seems to be what happened here. It was found that I had not been misled. I can only assume that decision was based on the fact that I had agreed to the terms of EULA, or the judge couldn't rely on my testimony that I had read quotes from Phil Harrison and Kai Staats about OtherOS prior to purchase, of which I had exhibited the video interviews for those quotes.

AusGamers: In your impression, did the judge leave open any avenues for revisiting this issue? If so, is that something you would be interested in doing?

Michael: I immediately ruled out appealing, but have since been considering it more and more. It depends on costs, and how I would go about getting some representation.

I believe some avenues were left open. I don't believe the Trade Practices Act or the Fair Trading Act were taken into consideration as well as they should be. It does seem very black and white to me and I cannot understand why I lost.

Having that said, I am satisfied that the judge understood my viewpoint.

I would also like to point out here that my defence was not based on the update being released on April Fools day. The media like to play it up and make a big deal out of one minor point. Nor did I base the entire damages on renting a laptop. Don't believe everything you read.

AusGamers: What are you thoughts now in terms of buying future Sony products - especially PlayStation-related ones, like games?

Michael: First of all, I wouldn't consider myself a gamer. The media does. I don't. I like some retro games from the 80's and early 90's, but I am not a big fan of modern games. I am not the typical PS3 consumer.

I may have to just face it and understand that this is the way things will be now. I may still buy Sony products in the future, but with the assumption that only those features which are used by the majority of people, are safe from being removed in updates.

Regarding backwards compatibility, I am disappointed that it was removed from later revisions of the console, but I do not have concerns or issues regarding the legalities of doing that.

I am still awaiting the outcome of the Class Action lawsuit in California. It may change everything.