Sony wins hacker restraining order

Sony has convinced a federal court to issue a temporary restraining order that bars a hacker from distributing his technology for running unauthorised software on the PlayStation 3, reveals Information Week.

US District Court judge Susan Illston in San Francisco found Sony had submitted sufficient evidence to show that it would suffer "irreparable harm" if the hacker, George Hotz, continued to distribute his technology for circumventing the PS3's firmware that's meant to prevent running a separate operating system on the video-game console.

The court also ruled that Sony had submitted "substantial evidence" showing Hotz had violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act by making it possible to run pirated software on the PS3.

UK's culture secretary Jeremy Hunt has asked Ofcom to review whether one of the Digital Economy Act's most controversial aspects - blocking access to Web sites accused of file sharing - is workable, reports The Guardian.

Hunt said he had "no problem" with the principle of blocking access to Web sites, despite opposition from campaigners who argue that it opens the door for wider forms of online censorship, but that it was "not clear" whether the measures were practicable.

The site-blocking measures were included in the Act, which was pushed through in the last hours of the Labour government in April, as a response to complaints by copyright holders, including trade bodies representing the music, film and TV industries, on the basis that file-sharing sites that encourage illegal downloading are a threat to the creative industries.

The hopes of slot machine manufacturers in Nevada looking to Illinois as an opportunity for millions of dollars in sales have been dashed by a state appellate court, notes Casino City Times.

Gaming analysts say International Game Technology, Bally Technologies, WMS Industries and other slot makers might have to re-evaluate their quarterly and annual earnings guidance reports because of the potential market loss of some 35 000 video slot machines.

An Illinois appellate court ruled this week that a $31 billion capital construction bill, approved in 2009, is unconstitutional because it violates the state's single-subject rule.