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Found Footage: iPhone bricked? Still useful
Because an Apple commercial isn't accepted by the Apple community until it's parodied, here you go. NeoBen on YouTube has made a short parody of the new iPhone ads-- but they're about how his iPhone got bricked with the 1.1.1 update. And how you shouldn't worry if yours got bricked, too, because there's still a lot of different things you can use it for.(I'm told that on these video posts, I sometimes drop spoilers in the second paragraph, so watch the video before you read on.) I just want to say that while I'm impressed that he really did wedge the iPhone in the door, I'm a little less impressed by the iPhone dropping out of frame in the hockey shot. I know your secret, Ben! That iPhone's not really bricked! But the video is still funny.
iPhone unbricking now available from IPhoneSimFree
Hacked your iPhone did ya? Now, after the 1.1.1 update, you're looking at a non-functioning paperweight? Well, we've got good news for you just as long as you're willing to pay. Not only does the 1.1.1 iPhoneSimFree unlock released earlier unlock 1.1.1 iPhones, it also unbricks any iPhone including those unlocked by the Dev Team's anySim or iUnlock software. However, that requires registering your IMEI with IPSF resellers which requires cash in hand. About $100 beans but that's a lot cheaper than a new handset, eh?
Today's most death-defying video: the PSP Unbricking
We told you yesterday about a magical battery that can actually bring a bricked PSP back from the dead. "Surely you jest," you replied, "that is a power wielded by God and maybe Ken Kutaragi." Well, friends, we now have video proof of such necromancy.After the break, take a look at the Pandora battery in action. Should you not want to watch the entire three-minute Lazarus Process, you can skip ahead to the 2:50 mark and finish from there.
Wii update provides minor menu changes, could brick modded consoles
It's that time again folks -- the moment when you're rushing out of the house, but you make the oh-so-wise decision to head in even later rather than leaving that glowing Wii unattended. Today, Wii owners in Europe, Japan, and the US can download a shiny new firmware update, which institutes a new digital clock on the main menu, a few "aesthetic changes to the Wii Shop," an updated Forecast Channel window, a "Today's Accomplishments" note on the message board, and a made over Wii Shop that "changes the way Virtual Console games are ordered." Also of note, some users are reporting that a message appears before updating that states: "If your Wii console has an unauthorized technical modification, this upgrade could cause interoperability of your console." Of course, this shouldn't come as a surprise considering the Big N's crackdown on modders, but in our single attempt of updating a Wii not left on standby, the aforementioned statement did not appear. So go on, head on down and get to updatin' (if you're not chipped, that is), and do let us know how your experience goes.[Via The Wolf Web]UPDATE: We've seen numerous reports of the new firmware not bricking modded Wii consoles, and that includes machines using Cyclowiz and WiiKey. If you're courageous enough, give it a go yourself and let us know how it turns out in comments.
Wii Warm Up: Technical difficulties redux
It's been a while since we asked, and while we hate to think of dead Wiis and broken nunchuks, we're sure there are a few out there. Some of them probably even belong to you guys. As much as it must hurt to discuss it, tell us your horror stories. We want to hear about your disc read errors and flailing, overzealous friends. Give us your bricks and your replacement stories, and we'll give you sympathy in return.
Zack Morris chic: China's BW-A888 brickphone
Following a uniquely Asian trend as of late, the BW-A888 brings retro-cool to an everyday handset. This phone can run on its own or be snapped into the giant brick enclosure to instantly impart that early '83 Motorola DynaTAC cool. Not only does the "brick" component give you extended battery life, added weight, and a big speaker, it has what appears to be a compass mounted on the side in place of bothering with fancy technology like GPS. We kinda like this idea; not enough to go out and buy one mind you, but enough to at least check out the pics and smile a little wayback-when smile.
Regenerative house to grace Greece mountainside
You've got plenty of options when it comes to healing your own body, but patching up your domicile usually requires days of back-breaking labor and gobs of cash to boot. Thankfully, that awful process could be nearing its end, as a £9.5 million ($18.64 million) European Union-funded project sets out to develop self-healing walls for your average home. The idea is to develop "special walls for the house that contain nano polymer particles, which will turn into a liquid when squeezed under pressure, flow into the cracks, and then harden to form a solid material." The technology would prove quite useful in areas where earthquakes are prominent, and in an effort to test things out before shoving it out to contractors everywhere, a swank villa is being erected on a Greece mountainside to collect information. The house's walls will be built from "novel load bearing steel frames and high-strength gypsum board," but more importantly, they will contain a smorgasbord of wireless sensors and RFID tags meant to collect, store, and disseminate critical data regarding "any stresses and vibrations, temperature, humidity, and gas levels." Now, who's the lucky lad(s) that get to call this their home research dwelling?[Via Physorg]
Xbox 360 diehard loses loyalty after seven bricked consoles
It's not too difficult to keep the faith if everything's clicking along nicely, but when console after console began to fail soon after Microsoft's highly-anticipated launch of the Xbox 360, skeptics began to surface. Rob and Mindy Cassingham were self-proclaimed "Xbox fanboys," and felt assured that their love for the next rendition would never sway, but after picking up six consoles to install in their home and personally owned gaming center, the relationship started to crumble. The jovial couple snatched up four units at the Zero Hour launch party, and while folks from all over were swarming to get their game on at their party haven, the days of elation were short lived. After dropping over $2,600 on hardware along, registering an "Xbox360" Utah license plate, and rocking Microsoft swag day in and day out, all four of the launch units bit the dust. Eventually, every single first wave unit croaked, and each time the Cassingham's found themselves fighting with overseas call centers just to get a much-belated refurbished unit sent back to them, one of which also fell victim to the red ring of doom. After seven out of six (that's over 100-percent, folks) consoles decide to call it a career before you've had your due fun, it's not easy to remain steadfast in your devotion, and even after an email to Peter Moore himself finally got a brand new console on its way to the once-diehards, things will never be the same. We feel your pain, man.
Homebrew impostor will brick your system
One of the dangers of using homebrew is that there's always a chance that something bad will happen to your system, causing it to be completely useless, or "bricked." A user of the MaxConsole forums has discovered an impostor pretending to be Dark_Alex, one of the homebrew community's most prominent members. His site, dark-alex.com, is a complete replica of the original programmer's site, but features some very malicious files. Unfortunate users that download a file from the impostor's site will discover that their system no longer works. It's unfortunate to see such malevolent intentions on the internet ... be careful![Via DCemu]
Our PS3 arrives! Did we just brick it?
After spending much of the night with the Wii, and Twilight Princess, we woke this morning to a special treat: a retail PS3! We moved the Wii from the projector screen -- a display option that the system just doesn't agree with (at least in our configuration) -- to the far more manageable 24" Dell flat panel (as seen here). That means the PS3 could stretch its legs on the projector with 720p or 1080i over HDMI.The system, as we all know by now, is on the large side, is very shiny, and (your opinion may vary) a very attractive piece of machinery. After being hooked up and running for some time, it remains completely cool to the touch, with a large amount of hot air being quietly evacuated out of the back of the unit. It reminds us that Sony can engineer just about anything.
Xbox 360 update bricking consoles?
Apparently yesterday's update for the Xbox 360 has been a bit too harsh for some of the masses. Our compatriots at Xbox 360 Fanboy are telling us that this new update is bricking various 360s, modded and unmodded alike. That being said, X360F hasn't been able to replicate the problem on the in-house 360, so your mileage may vary. Furthermore, CrunchGear is pointing out that this update has also caused problems with Sony's XBR2 / XBR3 series, which now won't display at 1080p via component or VGA. However, our friends in Redmond have apparently been alerted to the problems, so just sit tight and we'll keep you updated.Read - Xbox 360 FanboyRead - CrunchGearUpdate: Jake wrote in to point us to the Sony manual [PDF link] which has some words regarding the TV problem: "If you look on pages 16 and 17 of the manual for the TVs you'll not that it only lists up to 1080i over component. I knew that when I bought it but this no 1080p over VGA is for the birds. Maybe it has to do with the frequency that the picture is displayed at. The manual says for best picture viewing at 1080p you should set the PC or in this case the Xbox to horizontal 67.5 kHz and vertical to 60 Hz."
PSP virus in the wild
PSPdemon, from the DCemu forums, has discovered a virus that can brick your system. It disguises itself as a "usb kxploit" and features folder names "SDL-TEST-5 and SDL-TEST-5%" (although this can change at any moment, of course). The file seems to be around 74kb, so make sure you double-check any files you download off the web for PSP use. A virus scanner is available for PSP files, so you may want to check it out.No one wants to have a $200 piece of bricked hardware, right?[Thanks, steve!]
Nokia firmware scare bricks E70s
As we recently reported, Nokia's been dabbling with the whole do-it-yourself firmware upgrade phenomenon as of late. We applaud the effort -- in our opinion, getting the latest and greatest software for your devices should never be any more challenging than connecting a cable to your PC. Murphy's Law being what it is, though, initiatives like this are never going to be without their flaws. Many E70 owners who gave the update process a whirl in the past few days (present company included) were horrified to find that the procedure magically transformed their multi-hundred-dollar bundles of S60 joy into paperweights in just a handful of minutes. It happened to us, and it's not pretty; the phone teases you by turning on and dutifully displaying the "Nokia" logo, but that's as far as she goes. Rumor has it Nokia did the right thing by pulling the offending firmware and quickly replacing it with a new one, but that's little consolation for the folks bidding farewell to their handsets as they get shipped off to Nokia service centers around the world. We're going to give the upgrade another shot with our fresh E70 today and we'll pass on the word if we end up with a second brick -- wish us luck.Update: We've got good news and bad news. The good news is that we don't have another bricked E70 on our hands. The bad news is that the latest and greatest firmware being offered by Nokia isn't yet available for the US-friendly E70-2 variant (which is what we have). Let's go, Nokia! Americans want faster refresh times when switching to landscape mode just as much as Europeans do!
Video Sandwich: August 1, 2006
Who doesn't like things falling down dramatically? The correct answer: No one! An enthusiastic PSP fan decided to create a "commercial" for the PSP and after who knows countless hours of labor, this video can now be seen for all of the internet to enjoy. Is it me, or are fans making better commercials than Sony's marketing department? Hmm.Below, you'll see a surprisingly professional video about bricking your PSP. This team of security advisors show you the dangers of downloading and running malicious code on your PSP, and they lose $200 for your entertainment... and safety.
Wii power supply revealed
It looks like Nintendo will be sticking with the power brick they provided with the GameCube, or something similarly sized. The grey color looks better than the black of the GameCube, I think, and regardless of it all, at least we need not worry that it will cause a hernia when trying to lift it. Thankfully, it looks like the cord is longer on the Wii's power supply, also.Honestly, I'm wondering why this didn't come up during E3. Also, why didn't I think of taking a picture of the Wii's power supply? With the recent Wiimote shots from the Spanish event and naughty peek under the flap, the Wii has been enjoying the attention of the paparazzi lately.
