If you've only just heard of the Aibo and haven't yet fallen in with the crowd, you're probably under the misimpression that the Aibo is just an expensive, goofy-looking robot dog made by Sony.
But the world of Aibo is rife with controversy these days, and there's nothing goofy about it. Sony and Aibo owners have been at loggerheads all week, ever since Sony threatened to take legal action against an elder in the Aibo community for allegedly violating provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act by posting enhancements to Sony's Aibo software on his site.
Now Aibo owners -- who are presumably well-off, since they can afford a $1,500 plastic dog -- are threatening to boycott the company, and some are even quietly suggesting that they might harm their own beloved robotic canines in protest. But Sony seems unwilling to compromise, saying that however much Aibo owners love hacked software, copyright infringement is nothing to pooh-pooh.
A guy named Aibopet -- that's the only name he prefers to disclose -- is at the center of the imbroglio. By all accounts, Aibopet is a walking Aibo encyclopedia -- a "god in Aibo world," according to one Aibo owner.
Aibopet is described as an Aibo tinkerer by nature. He's fussed with every single aspect of the robot dog, from guts to nuts and bolts, all in a quest to make Aibo better.
And virtually everyone who has an Aibo seems to agree that Aibopet has trained their dogs well, making them more fun than Sony's stuff did.
"Aibo is an exciting toy, but Aibopet's enhancements kept the excitement going," said Richard Walkus, an Aibo owner. "He's made tools to see what mood Aibo was in, or set it in different life stages, or have better wireless communications. There are tools to see in real time what Aibo sees, and vital signs, emotions, mood, voice recognition. Those were enhancements riding on top of Sony's Aibo that Aibopet created."
But the key thing to remember about Aibopet's stuff, Walkus said, is that all of his programs were enhancements to existing Sony software; and to use it, Aibo owners had to purchase the original software from Aibo.
For example, Sony has a programming language for the Aibo called Rcode that sells for $34 (the programs are sold on Sony Memory Sticks). Aibopet has developed an enhanced version of Rcode that is available for free, but the only way it can be used is if an owner first buys a $34 stick from Sony.
The same is true for all of Aibopet's other innovations -- if you want to use his dancing dog program, or his wireless network program, or whatever other thing he's dreamed up, you've got to buy more sticks from Sony.
"Each stick can be used for one program, so I was helping selling Sony products," Aibopet said. "Back then I wanted to help them sell Aibos. So I told people, buy more sticks!"
Now, there is no real legal dispute between Aibo owners and Sony: Both agree that Aibopet was infringing at least a little bit on Sony's copyrights in order to distribute his software.
"I include parts of Sony's code. It clearly repackages some Aibo software," Aibopet concedes. "But in the past when they've approached me about this and said something, we discussed it, and we agreed that this was adding to interest in Aibo. It seemed they were saying, 'OK, we'll turn a blind eye -- you're helping us sell Aibo.'"
But suddenly, last week, Sony opened its eyes, telling Aibopet that though they loved community, they hated that their property was being messed with.
"We needed to have priority in protecting copyright and we can't support the development of illegal software," said Mack Araki, a spokesman for the company. He said that Sony understands that people are upset about this -- but the company has to take a tough stand, Araki insisted.
But it seems that Sony doesn't understand just how upset Aibo owners are. They're steaming, yelling, hunger-strike mad. At Aibo discussion sites, hundreds of people are vowing to never again buy Sony, and many are saying that there's little chance of them purchasing Sony's next Aibo, which comes out this holiday season.
"My whole household is running on Sony electronics," Walkus said. "Now I will think about options. As far as Aibo is concerned. I'm hoping for some resolution -- but with time it will become just a toy rather than an ongoing project."
And Aibopet himself has disavowed Sony. "I say screw 'em. If they want me to help, I'll help. It's no skin of my teeth either way," he said.
"I thought about taking my Aibos, blowing them up and videoing it. But I couldn't do that to my little robot dogs."
