Sony PSP vs. Nintendo DS Hacks contest: Time to vote!
Okay, folks, we didn't want to overlap with our RAZR
contest, so we waited to start up the voting for our Sony
PSP vs. Nintendo DS hacks contest until this week. You've got 48 hours to get your votes in for one of our four
finalists. You'll want to consider the write-up and the reproducibility factor as well as other esoterics like
usefulness and creativity when you pick your winner. Here's the list so you can review the entries:
That's all she wrote. Voting closed. Winner TBA.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
jake @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
not to be a stick in the mud in your contest... but are any of these really hacks? and more over, they're all just uses of the web browser, right?
I'll shut up now, but this sounds like a case of misnomenclature...
Sean @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
PSP vs. DS hacks? How come I see no DS hacks listed in the vote thing? =P
Carl @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
How about one more option...
Option 5: Who Cares
Andrew @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
Well, since the other three are built on it it has to be "How to set up your own PSP web portal" doesn't it?
jag @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
Maybe I missed something but how is this PSP vs DS when the four selections are PSP?
Wookie @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
Well all of them use the base of the web portal.. He's got my vote.
Somtimes it takes one squirrel to figure out how to crack the nut so the others don't starve.. Just so happens that the other squirrels weren't satisfied. The original should get the notariety and props.
Ryan Block @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
jag,
I think you did miss something--namely that no one submitted any DS hacks. Sorry!
Best,
Ryan
c1t1zen @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
I second that vote for the DS hack! I can't believe you can do that. wow.
long live the portables...give it 6 months to a year we'll have real hacks on both platforms and we should do another contest.
I have a hunch psp will win this one though.
lupinstel @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
I agree that the "How to set up your own PSP web portal" is the most informative and the base of all the other "hacks". But I doubt that the submitter of the article is the one who made the original discovery of this trick. So my vote is to delay this contest 6-9 months when hopefully more interesting hacks exist.
Hank Cazorp @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
Adding my voice to the chorus: there is only one PSP hack. All the rest are variants thereupon. How can it be any competition to the guys creating their own hardware, building DS passthrus, writing their own games for that hardware?
Aiming your PSP at a webpage ain't even in the same ballpark.
Cullen @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
why include anything BUT the web portal?
Ran @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
I think it supposed to be you vote for the best PSP hack, then there will be a vote for the best DS hack, and then another vote from those 2. But I could be completely wrong of course.
Obligatory @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
PSP Tetris is pretty cool. Too bad I have Lumines >_<
Aero @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
As previously stated in every single previous entry about this contest, not a single person could be bothered to submit a DS hack. That's why there are no DS hacks. One wonders where you DS fans have been these past few weeks.
Obligatory @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
"One wonders where you DS fans have been these past few weeks."
Whoa..I didn't know there were DS fans!
=P
Kevin Ballard @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
There's no DS hacks because none were submitted. Didn't anybody pay attention earlier?
etsaw @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
To answer some of the comments, not a single DS hack was submitted for this contest hence only PSP ones are listed. Link here: http://gaming.engadget.com/entry/1234000720041080/ I would also agree that this is a pointless contest and the "hacks" are not so amazing but will cast a vote so that somebody wins something. However if someone were to make a PSP hack that makes your PSP into a tazer or a TV-B-Gone utilizing the infared port, like this cell phone hack http://www.hackaday.com/entry/1234000340041425/ that would be sweet.
Thomas Wilburn @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
"There's no DS hacks because none were submitted. Didn't anybody pay attention earlier?"
I'm sorry, but that's not an excuse. This is a gaming news site. It's unfortunate that DS owners didn't submit, but it's beyond ridiculous that the writers for this site did no investigation or editorial input on their own. That's just bad journalism.
Matt @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
I wanna submit my write in vote for the DS TI-83 (or was it 85?) calculator emulator!
Nareau @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
The "I don't care" option is in the upper-left hand corner of your screen. See that little X? Click on it.
While I like the web-portal walkthrough, it doesn't seem quite as revolutionary as the PSPTetris to me. The web-portal will cease to be useful once they release a full-fledged browser. But the PSPTetris is a proof-of-concept for creating your own apps to run on the PSP's java VM. The ability to run third-party code on the PSP will completely change how the device is used.
Nareau
Nareau @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
Er, that X is in the upper *right* hand corner. Sigh. I don't feel nearly so clever anymore. :)
Nareau
DanAmpX @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
its on the left hand corner for me... long live osx
Anyway, yeah.. Uh, theres not much to choose from but I guess I'll vote for the one I liked the most from what's listed above.
mizuno @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
My favorite hack would be the DS firmware hack that allows you to skip the health warning, boot DS homebrew from GBA slot with no passme/wifime required (well, after it's patched anyways).
http://ds.gcdev.com/dsfirmware/
Or DS wireless multiboot of homebrew with no signature required: http://cubehacker.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=326
Trejkaz @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
The biggest problem isn't that no DS hacks were found, it's that they still persist in calling this a "PSP vs. DS Hacks Contest" even though it's pretty obvious there are no DS hacks listed.
daniel @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
those are pretty kool, but i was hoping for a different kind of hack than just web things. also i wish that they all did not include wipeout pure.
daniel @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
those are pretty kool, but i was hoping for a different kind of hack than just web things. also i wish that they all did not include wipeout pure.
Douglas @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
the home thing is really impressive
John @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
It's silly that engadget is going on with this.
I don't know if I'd call any entry to this contest a "PSP hack." Everything was done outside of the PSP and the PSP simply accessed it. No coding, no tinkering with hardware, nothing.
There are no DS hacks submitted simply because the DS hack community is too busy actually getting things done rather than participating in silly flame-war inspiring contests.
I won't bother posting links. If you know what I'm talking about, you understand. If you don't, you probably weren't meant to.
Steve Johnson @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
I call unfair do-over! I submitted this hack
http://users.aol.com/toy3d/
and was not even a finalist. The others were all simply using the PSP to browse the web, and one "how-to" is simply a reprint of older material!
Ben @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
Actually #30 I would have to agree with you, although it would have been better if you'd have take the PSP apart, hooked the LCD driver lines to an HDTV encoder and then output that onto a widescreen 720p TV! But you're analog way gets it done a lot easier I suppose.
tardigrade @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
I dont care if it wasn't submitted. my vote goes for TI ds.
ElCapitanAmerica @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
I'm sorry but these are not hacks, they're are just variations of the Wipeout hack and you guys know it.
I wonder why something like #30 didn't make it to the list. It's not PSP specific per se, but it works, and it's useful! We don't need 4 "hacks" that are basically ways of accesing the web via the PSP.
John Laur @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
Haha engadget you suck. I agree with EVERY SINGLE POST and call shenanigans on your whole contst. I am a big fan of the PSP and a big hater of the DS, but right now there is very little in the way of psp hacks (at least any that have been made public) that can even hold a candle to the enormous feats of reverse engineering that have gone into:
1) Passthrough devices including the ultra small and efficient passme
2) Wifi based passthrough/code downloading
3) Reverse engineering the DS firmware to allow unsigned code to run
4) Very fast development of some pretty neat DS homebrew
If anyone has actually made a hack on the PSP, it's the fellow who figured out how to run unsigned ELF binaries on 1.0JP firmware PSP's.. however he is an actual psp game developer so he had access to the hardware documentation and software libraries necessary to actually generate working code. It will be a while before anyone really figures out enough about the PSP's hardware and memory architecture to actually 'homebrew' anything worthwhile and probably even longer before they find out enough to make a reasonable effort to attack a hole in the 1.5 firmware (for which the original hack does not work)
I hope you enjoy giving out prizes to a l33t javascript hax0r. Not to discount that some of the little psp web browser tricks are very cool and/or worthwhile, but just keep in mind that the DS people probably didn't enter the contest because they probably didn't care.
John Laur @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
Sorry to double post, but you have like 40 negative comments here without a single positive feedback. A good editor knows when to bite the bullet and admit a mistake. This contest was premature and by perpetuating it you are just pissing off your readers. The only one who will get anything positive out of this is the lucky guy who gets the $200 worth of games. Hope the investment was worth it.
Matt Luckett @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
#21 PSP doesn't have a Java VM...it's just javascript.
I can't bring myself to vote for any of these "hacks" though...
kc @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
ok since everyone is unable to follow simple instructions, i will start it off. i vote for psp tetris
Alan @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
Ok, seriously, "Hacks" #'s 1,2,2 AREN'T hacks. They're web pages that run through a web browser. When the DS can view web pages, those web pages will work just as well on it, as it would work just as well from ANY web browser.
The ONLY hack on that list is #4. Everything else is just websites viewable on the PSP. Hey, if you go to Google.com on your PSP, you'll see the Google Hack!!!!
And even THAT isn't a PSP hack, but a WhipeOut Pure hack, since you specifically need that game, and the hack is getting that particular game's web browser to view other webpages.
So, technically, NONE of these are PSP HACKS. Seriously.
This is whole contest is a joke, isn't it.
Ben @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
Another note to make along the lines of no DS hacks. There were simply none submitted, but anyone keeping the slightest bit of interest will know that there are numerous hacks out there, such as the Passthrough units, PassMe, WifiMe, firmware update, the magnet/keep-awake hack. But, the people doing the work are too busy actually hacking the DS than to pay attention to contests.
So far, not only has the DS community managed to get homebrew applications that use the full extent of DS hardware running from the GBA/Slot 2, but they've also managed to get it working through a WiFi means, and even got a firmware upgrade to eliminate the need for any sort of PassMe/WifiMe.
The PSP hacks listed aren't even applications, but JavaScript run webpages. The DS already has several homebrew applications that can run on the DS as REAL PROGRAMS, such as the TI-85 emulator (with dual screen display and touch screen control) and a REAL Tetris program (not any JavaScript crap). Not to mention the DS Linux community is getting revved up and motivated.
It appears to me that this contest wasn't well thought out. By requiring submissions, the editors have shown a lack of desire to find the true hacks and simply rely on other people doing the work for them. In doing so, they have failed to give any representation of what the DS hacking community is actually achieving. And there being a pathetic list of half-assed PSP hacks, gives the impression that the only thing the PSP hacking community is doing is making JavaScript web pages and trying to pass that off as something unique and special, deserving of a prize.
Not to say the PSP isn't capable, but it seems the PSP hacking community has learned far less about the hardware they're using than the DS community has. Time may change this, but that just means this "contest" was severely premature.
Mark Featherston @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
Ok, even if the DS hacks are better. Lets look at the timeframe. Ds has had almost a year to work on this. The psp still isn't even released in Europe. For the timeframe, psp wins by a longshot.
Van @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
"It appears to me that this contest wasn't well thought out. By requiring submissions, the editors have shown a lack of desire to find the true hacks and simply rely on other people doing the work for them"
Ditto
Clint @ Dec 19th 2005 1:20AM
I vote for the Tetris game on PSP. There are no DS hacks because Nintendo fans are too dumb to hack the stupid gimmicky kiddy toy!