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The article claims/repeats the claim that this cost valve $250 million, but I don't see how. If the leaked version wasn't very playable the damage can't come from lost sales
I think my buddy burned it to 3 CD-Rs and it spread around my gaming friends in HS pretty quickly.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
yeah that is just "let's throw random numbers to victimize ourselves even more". I don't think a lot of people downloaded the unfinished source code, compiled it, played the game and never bought the conplete game. The worst that happened were people making memes with some 3d and graphics assets which didn't cost anyrhing to Valve. Quite the opposite it was free advertising.
The justice department has absurd ways of determining how much damages were caused by unauthorized access. Kevin Mitnick talks about it in his book "Ghost in the Wires", but he was accused of causing $1.5mil in damages to DEC or Sun or something because he copied code, printed it out on paper, and kept it for himself (he didn't distribute it to anyone else). Fortunately, he was ultimately only ordered to pay a few th…
The article claims/repeats the claim that this cost valve $250 million, but I don't see how. If the leaked version wasn't very playable the damage can't come from lost sales
yeah that is just "let's throw random numbers to victimize ourselves even more". I don't think a lot of people downloaded the unfinished source code, compiled it, played the game and never bought the conplete game. The worst that happened were people making memes with some 3d and graphics assets which didn't cost anyrhing to Valve. Quite the opposite it was free advertising.
Imagine that intro scene in HL2 where you walk through a trap door Pepsi vending machine and behind it there’s a lab - and instead of talking about HL2 stuff, Alyx and company talk about sampling and testing local natural water sources.
This kid went of his way to reach out to Valve and apologize for what he did, because he felt guilty. Valve's response was to forward his message to the FBI and organize a sting operation.
I realize he broke the law, but only because he wanted to play Half-Life 2. It was done out of love for what Valve themselves created.
Article is from 2011 (figured that out after I read the whole thing). I wonder if in in the interim anything else happened to Gembe. Somehow, I kinda want to hear he ended up at Valve in a turnaround of events, but I highly doubt it.
I can't imagine Valve would ever hire him, given the lengths they went to assisting the FBI with the fake entrapment style job interview. Also sets a horrible precedent that you can hold the company ransom over stolen code to get a job if nothing else!
He did ask for a job, but the article doesn't say anything about him ransoming the code!
It really sounds to me like he just wanted to play Half-Life 2.
Valve's response here seems exceedingly harsh. This kid went of his way to reach out to Valve and apologize for what he did, because he felt guilty. Valve's response was to forward his message to the FBI and organize a sting operation. I realize he broke the law, but only because he wanted to play Half-Life 2. It was done out of love for what Valve themselves created.
Valve's response here seems exceedingly harsh. This kid went of his way to reach out to Valve and apologize for what he did, because he felt guilty. Valve's response was to forward his message to the FBI and organize a sting operation. I realize he broke the law, but only because he wanted to play Half-Life 2. It was done out of love for what Valve themselves created.