PS3 Patch Allows Linux Installation

May 11, 2010 by Mike Szczys 37 Comments

[Geohot] came up with a patch that allows OtherOS on 3.21 PS3 firmware. You’ll remember that Sony released version 3.21 specifically to prohibit OtherOS which allows the installation of Linux for which they were subsequently sued. Well, now their “fix” doesn’t work on people willing to flash patched firmware which means they’re only punishing those who play by the rules. Ugh.

Wondering why this is a big deal? Check out this article on the effect Sony’s move has on PS3 clusters used for supercomputing; something we hadn’t even thought of initially.

It turns out that this patch was released more than a month ago. Sorry for the late coverage but it’s new to us. You can see the obligatory proof video of the patched OtherOS after the break.

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Sony Removes PS3 Linux Support; Gets Sued For It

April 29, 2010 by Mike Szczys 85 Comments

On April first Sony rolled out new firmware for the PlayStation 3 that removed the ability to install Linux on the system by blocking a feature called OtherOS. Now a class action lawsuit has been filed against the company for its actions. It doesn’t take an attorney to figure out that they removed features that were a major selling point for the system. As mentioned in our previous article, the ability to use an exploit to access the hardware doesn’t mean that every user installing Linux on the system plans to do so. The suit asserts that users had no opportunity to negotiate the System Software Licensing Agreement which is only presented to a purchase after the sale is made. The lawsuit is availble in PDF from from IGN.

Who knows where this one will end up. The suit seeks an injunction against the removal of the OtherOS feature as well as compensatory damages. No matter what happens, we still think the removal was a bad move on Sony’s part.

[Thanks Shueddue]

Sony Removes PS3 Linux Support With An Update… Errrrr, Downgrade?

March 31, 2010 by Mike Szczys 173 Comments

Sony is rolling out a firmware update for the PS3 on April 1 but we’re pretty sure it’s not a joke. What we’re not sure about is that you can call it an update. It removes features rather than fixing or adding them. In this case, it is removing the “Install Other OS” option that allows you to run Linux on non-slim versions of the PlayStation 3. It is fairly obvious that this is a reaction to the hypervisor exploit that was released back in January that breaks down the machine’s security barriers.

[Geohot], the guy who found and release the exploit, published a post on his blog expressing his disapproval of Sony’s actions. We’d have to agree. It’s pretty cold-hearted to remove functionality that was advertised with a product. We’re sure there are many folks out there using the Linux support who have no interest in exploiting the product. This is gardening with a backhoe and quite frankly it stinks.

This may bring on a torrent of new effort in unlocking and laying bare the PS3. If so, doesn’t Sony deserve it?

[Photos credit: I’m with Stupid]

[Thanks Shueddue]

Giving An Old Arm New Life

December 18, 2009 by Mike Szczys 16 Comments

[Jarek] found a non-functional robotic arm sitting around and wanted to get it working again. By adding a few custom boards to an Arduino he managed to do just that.

The arm is driven by six stepper motors, each having four control wires. To handle all of these [Jarek] used TIP120 transistors to protect the controller. This still leaves the problem of 24 control wires to connect. By using a couple of 74HC4514 demultiplex chips he cut that number down to just 8 Arduino control pins. He completed the project by interfacing an original Playstation controller as the input device.

Source code for the project is available for download but we didn’t see a schematic for his setup. This shouldn’t be a problem as the low parts count should mean the datasheets for the transistors and demultiplexers are all you really need.

Four Tear-downs For Your Friday Afternoon

November 27, 2009 by Jakob Griffith 9 Comments

We know that feeling, you’ve been up all morning working hard, and now you just want to relax. What better way than to sit back and watch as helpless electronic devices are stripped, forced to show their goods, then put back together only hap hazardly – not that we’re into that or anything. Today, we had one thing on our mind, game systems.

With the release of Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver shoppers were also given a device called the PokéWalker. A pedometer that helps your pocket monster gain experience and affection towards you. Here is a tear-down of the device next to Nintendo’s other try at getting children active, the Activity Meter pedometer. [Thanks Arty2]

Sega, while in todays day all we see is more and more rip offs of everyone’s favorite Hedgehog, we do remember a time when you brought more to the game field, especially with your advanced consoles. It does bring a tear to our eyes seeing this beast being torn apart, but its all for the best.

Those keeping up with Nintendo’s DS series will notice one thing, the console keeps getting smaller and smaller. That trend continued until the (Japan) release of the DSi LL. Some think its size can be attributed to an easier to see screen, others feel its jam-packed with more features. Make your own decision after seeing its tear-down. [via engadget]

Finally, we couldn’t decide what a fourth tear down should be, and couldn’t just leave with only three. So how about 10 separate Sony gadgets torn apart!

EyeWriter Is The Fruit Of The KanEye Project

November 11, 2009 by Mike Szczys 17 Comments

The EyeWriter is an open source eye tracking initiative. This is the mature version of the KanEye project we covered in April. Collaboratively developed by Free Art and Technology (FAT), OpenFrameworks, and the Graffiti Research Lab, they seek to aid a friend of theirs who suffers from the degenerative muscle disease ALS.

They’ve come a long way since we last looked in on the progress. The hardware used is pretty much the same: a set of sunglasses sans lenses with the CCD from a Sony PlayStation 3 Eye mounted in front of one eye. IR LEDs surround the CCD and point at the eye to increase the contrast between pupil and the rest of the eye. The major improvement comes with the software. Eye tracking appears to be extremely precise and they’ve written a custom drawing program to take advantage of their interface. Check in on their developer page for source code and a video walk-through of the software.

After the break you can see video of [Tempt1] using the system to create some tags. We’re thankful for the success this project has seen as this guy can do a lot better with his eye than we can with our hands.

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Sony’s Wireless Electricity Offering

October 3, 2009 by Mike Szczys 45 Comments

In August we covered a wireless electricity presentation from the TED conference. Now Sony has put out a press release on their wireless flat panel television prototype. The device is capable of operating without audio, video, or power cables connected to it. This is possible at distances up to 50cm at efficiencies as high as 80%.

As was talked about in the comments of the other article, the efficiency compared to that of a cable doesn’t blow our socks off. But this does show mainstream development of this technology. We hope to see advances in both efficiency and distance. We also look forward to that small black box (which we presume facilitates the energy transfer) being integrated into the TV’s body.

[via Gizmodo]