Raspberry Pi Foundation implemented firmware that blocks boot if non-original RAM is detected, sparking debate over whether bricking devices is justified to prevent counterfeit chips and defective replacements sold by unscrupulous resellers. Hackers argue for alternative approaches like warning messages that don't disable the device, similar to phone root notifications, though headless systems complicate implementation.
Rehan Ahmed, a 40-year-old Londoner, was jailed for running the UK's largest counterfeit vinyl operation, producing fake records of artists like Taylor Swift, Coldplay, and Kendrick Lamar under company names Phoenix of Vinyl and Paragon Music. Operating from 2017 onwards, he supplied counterfeit albums to record shops and online platforms, with police discovering 15,000 records during a raid. His three-and-a-half-year sentence reflects the sophisticated, planned nature of the enterprise and its wider harm to the music industry.