News via http://wololo.net/wagic/2011/02/27/p...s-compo-entry/

Kinow joins the PSP Genesis competition with a nice little application, that allows you to do pixel art directly from your PSP. This homebrew has been around for a little while, but this new version ships with a few updates, and now supports English.
Features

• French/English support
• RGB Color selection
• Keeps 2 pre-selected colors in memory, to allow easy switching
• List of “Most used” colors to easily switch back to your recently used colors
• Save/Load menu improved (allows to open and save any file in picture/pspixel)
• Change pen size

Download Here ...

Ctr-Gcs-DacoTaco-Edition 0.1 released by DacoTaco

Ctr-Gcs : DacoTaco Edition is a tool built to create or restore full, raw memory card backups and GCI save files just like the GC application Ctr-gcs did. These dumps can be saved to restore later or be used in emulators like Dolphin-emu. Unlike ctr-gcs however, this utility can read or write to unofficial memory cards; no matter what its size is.
The program will read & write the dump to the SD card (in the ctr-gcs folder) as card_dump.raw
Also please note that if you restore a corrupt dump to a memory card, or if the program shows an error while creating or restoring a dump, you may end up with a corrupted memory card.
Todo list

• Fix CARD_Create error -6 (failure to create cause previous delete didn't free the allocations correctly) on GCI restore
• Do another attempt to get nintendo cards working flawless (no need for GC game or SM to unlock card)
• Make code nicer to look at

Download here ...

You won't be able to snap one up at your local GameStop for a full month, but the Nintendo 3DS had a solid launch in Japan today, reportedly liquidating nearly its entire initial shipment of 400,000 spiffy stereoscopic gaming handhelds by the end of the day. Some of those sales were to customers waiting in a few lines up to 2,000 persons long, but those lines were exceptions to the norm -- several publications note that very few stores actually had any lines to speak of, as most Japanese electronics retailers sold out when the 3DS went on pre-order over a month ago. Get a refresher on what to expect from the system here (and here) or read all about the surprisingly orderly Japanese launch at our source links.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/26/n...ugh-initial-4/ ...

PS3's security has been hacked, potentially opening the door for pirate games, with huge implications for publishers, developers, retailers and the games we play.

The hack is said to be irreversible, with little Sony can do - but is it really the apocalyptic situation it first sounds? We dig deeper to unearth the history of the PS3 hack - and what it means for the future of your console.

Back in January 2010, hacker George Hotz hacked the PS3. He opened the door for homemade code on the PS3 with an exploit which relied on the PS3's OtherOS function.

Sony responded with Firmware 3.21, removing OtherOS from the console altogether. Sony's castle had been built strong enough to withstand attacks from everything hackers threw at it for almost five years but by removing OtherOS they drew the attention of hackers more capable than any who had attempted to break the PS3's security before.




Hotz abandoned work on the PS3 in July but one month later Australian modders released the PSJailbreak dongle - a USB stick which opened the Playstation to unsigned software and 'backup' copies of games.

Within weeks Sony had blocked sales of the original device and rendereded it useless by Firmware 3.42's security update. Sony had been here before. The PSP had been hacked with a simple exploit early in its life and the company learned a valuable lesson; PS3 was built to resist exploits.

PlayStation had modchips, the Dreamcast was easily broken without any hardware modification, PS2 was chipped, and the Xbox 360's disc drive firmware was altered so it couldn't tell the difference between a copied game and the real thing. Hacking happens, but not to the PS3.

KEYED IN
Before Christmas 2010, every attempt to run homemade software on the PS3 had been an exploit or hack - tunnels beneath the castle's walls and ladders over them.

Then, at December's Chaos Computer Conference, the hacker group failOverflow publicly demonstrated homebrew code running on PS3 without modification or exploitation.

Two years earlier the team had hacked the Wii with intentions of using it to run homebrew code but the PS3 was a far bigger catch.

Their route through PS3's security took them straight in the front door. The team were able to overflow PS3's bootup and nose around, where they soon found Sony's signing keys freely available on the system.

Enter George 'Geohot' Hotz, picking up where failOverflow left off and releasing the Metldr rootkey to the public - keys which encrypt every piece of code running on PS3 and let the console know the code is authorised by Sony.




With PS3 now unable to tell the difference between what's real and what's not, hacker KaKaRoTo made the first custom firmware for PS3 on January 4 to allow installation of homebrew files without the need for a jailbreak.

Hotz followed up two days later with his own custom firmware, adding extra functions for coders and PS3 users, and made it public. Hotz's firmware installs via Sony's usual update process from an ordinary memory stick.

Emulators and apps developed for the earlier PSJailbreak were soon up and running but backup loaders were locked out. The stated aim by both Fail0verflow and George Hotz was to restore Linux functionality to PS3.

Piracy requires a full 'level two' hack that gets you into the GameOS - something Hotz excluded from the custom firmware to prohibit pirates from running copied games.

However, hacker Riku.kh3ran worked around that and ran a backup copy of Castlevania: LOS straight from the hard drive, modifying the game's main executable to make the PS3 treat it like a legit PSN game.

God of War 3, Heavy Rain, Killzone 2, Hot Pursuit, and others soon followed. Sony's official response was brief. "We are aware of this, and are currently looking into it" they said, in a statement.

"We will fix the issues through network updates, but because this is a security issue we are not able to provide you with any more details."

Their response, according to hackers, is optimistic. "The complete console is compromised" explained failOverflow member Pytey to the BBC, "There is no recovery from this."

If you change the lock on your front door every existing key stops working; if Sony were to change the PS3's rootkey, every existing game on PS3 would stop working. It is, without question, the most catastrophic security failure in video game history.




BARELY LEGAL
On January 12 Sony launched their lawsuit against Hotz and the failOverflow team, suing the hackers for modifying Sony's software, circumventing PS3's protection, and distributing the means to do it.

If granted, the orders would force the hackers to hand over all tools and information to Sony's legal team, but it's not yet clear whether hackers have even broken the law.

Apple tried to stop hackers jailbreaking the iPhone and were blocked by US courts. The American Digital Millenium Copyright Act makes it illegal for a user to circumvent a company's protection on their electronic devices, but an exception was made for phones after Apple's case.

There's no similar exception for games consoles; with their new case Sony will either close or open the door to homebrew console developers and will change the way you can use the games consoles you've paid for. ...

In a three and a half minute video, Microsoft may have shown the world what it has in store for the eagerly awaited Windows 8. In the video Microsoft showed a radically different interface from past versions of Windows — even Windows 7. Running on Surface 2, the touch-screen successor to the original Microsoft Surface, the device accepts input from a Windows Phone 7 handset (HTC HD7). Gone are the icons that drive Windows, OS X, and Linux operating systems of past and present. In their place are 'bubbles' that interact with files and post streaming information off the internethttp://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/02...d-In-Windows-8 ...

[Phillip Torrone] recently wrote an article over at Make regarding Sony and their “War on Makers, Hackers, and Innovators“. In the article, he traces Sony’s history as a well-liked hardware company that once produced innovative products, to its current state as an enemy to all who would dare wield a screwdriver and soldering iron. He took quite a bit of time scouring the Internet to dig up very specific examples of Sony’s perceived assault on the hacking community. That’s not to say he simply lambasts the company and leaves it at that. Rather, he reflects on their past as a staple in nearly every American home, how they have changed since venturing into the content business, as well as what we might be able to do as hackers to change the way Sony treats its customers.
One specific example he mentions is the lawsuits that plagued the Sony Aibo modding scene, a case very near and dear to his heart. This scenario is one where the voice of the people was eventually heard, though too late to make a difference. He laments the loss of interest in the platform by the modding community as a clear cut example of the disastrous nature of Sony’s litigious nature.
You should definitely take a moment to read the article if you have the time. [Phillip] brings up some very good points, giving you plenty to consider the next time you make an electronics purchase, large or small.
We’d love to hear your take on the matter as well.

http://hackaday.com/2011/02/25/a-loo...ainst-hackers/ ...

News via http://psx-scene.com/forums/f6/scee-...ontinue-81962/

For all those still not thinking the police raid on German PS3 Researcher graf_chokolo was bullshit, please read the following he now released his legal documents served onto him, and SCEE is basically asking for 1million euros in damages, but Alexander (yes, we now have real names, thanks to Sony) basically told them F*U, and has re-opened his blog, and started posting more info, he claims he will not stop unless they KILL him!


Quote:
Originally Posted by graf_chokolo
February 25, 2011 at 7:22 am

Back I don’t have a PC at home now guys, so i will post here only when i’m able. I will try to answer all your questions about HV and installing Linux. But expect some delays because as i said i don’t have access to the Internet all the time.
...

News via http://retroactionmagazine.com/retro...ally-archived/

Another official release of Mega Drive Advanced Gaming been digitally archived at Out-of-Print Archive. Mega Drive Advanced Gaming (aka MAG) was launched during the rising popularity of Sega’s 16-bit console in 1992 and endured through to the machine’s decline in 1995. Issue 3 of MAG, which was originally published in November 1992, features a cover review of Thunder Storm FX on the Mega CD, as well as having the usual news, reviews, articles from 1992.
The digitalisation of this issue actually began in April of last year, but with the acquirement and subsequent release of issue 1, was put to one side for later. Little did I release that it would be nearly one year before I could revisit this issue and complete it. Once again, thanks must go to Hugh Gollner, publisher/owner of Maverick Magazines, who has given Out-of-Print Archive permission to release his company’s back catalogue. A truly underrated magazine that outsold the bigger publisher’s similar Mega Drive magazines during that successful 1992/93 era.
The MAG #3 page at Out-of-Print Archive has the issue’s editorial details, full contents list, links to online articles taken from the issue and, of course, a link to the full issue download itself. The online articles chosen for this issue include reviews of Thunder Storm FX (Mega CD), Greendog The Beached Surfer Dude (Mega Drive), Gods (Mega Drive) and Galahad (Mega Drive).
Weblink: Mega Drive Advanced Gaming #3 page at Out-of-Print Archive ...

News via http://www.romhacking.net/forum/inde...pic,12254.html


It’s been a while since we’ve had any public discussion about this one, but now is not the time for talk. It’s time for action. That’s right, THE FF6 Hack gets a public demo, and one that is long overdue. What does this mean?

• We’re still working on it yet, and we still have a long way to go before it’s finished.
• You guys get to rip us once again for what we do and do not have available for play.

Some of the changes you may (or may not) find during this demo:

• A new dungeon!
• 118 bugs fixed, all from the original FF6 game. A special thanks to the many patch authors who released the fixes they did.
• Far too many core changes to improve the game. Having said that, make sure you take a peek in the configuration screen.
• Restoration of lost and removed content, which is mostly contained in dialogue.
• Item changes– some old, some new, some gone, so look around!
• Several event tweaks, a couple overhauls, and lots of additions. Yes, you will get to experience the Auction House, the Magitek Research Facility, and one banquet in particular.

Going into further detail would be long, boring, and tl;dr. In the end, after four years of work to this date, we think many will be pleased. However, since this is the internet, and for some it’s real life, we know that not everyone will be happy with some changes.On behalf of the whole team, we thank everyone for their patience, their suggestions, and their feedback with this hack.
But enough talk, have at it! Make sure you read the readme, because nobody can help you if you don’t.
Relevant Link: (http://slickproductions.or.../forum/index.php?board=4.0) ...