At least one PlayStation 3 owner has found the silver lining in Sony's decision to axe the option to install other operating systems like Linux to the console, obtaining a rather substantial refund from Amazon.com for his PS3 purchase.
European PS3 owner and NeoGAF forum moderator "iapetus" received more than $100 USD (£84.00) in credit from Amazon for his original purchase of the console. Why? He filed a complaint with the online retailer that the removal of functionality in the PlayStation 3's latest firmware update violated a 2002 European law, essentially that his console no longer performed as advertised.
As reported by PlayStation University, that law specifies that goods must "be fit for the purpose which the consumer requires them and which was made known to the seller at the time of purchase," a responsibility that falls to the seller to uphold, not the manufacturer.
Whether other customers will have similar luck in receiving refunds for their PlayStation 3 consoles from retailers, now "Install Other OS"-free is unclear. Whether their only gratification will be venting their anger over the loss on the official PlayStation.com forums sounds more likely.
Some PS3 owners desperate to keep Linux and the "Install Other OS" option on their consoles may have hope in the work of one hacker, trying (and possibly succeeding) in keeping the original feature intact.
PS3 Firmware Update 3.21 of preventing piracy by removing Linux. [NeoGAF via PlayStation University]