homebrew
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HTC Thunderbolt rooted for real, locked files nearly soured the deal
They thought it would be easy, but they were wrong -- AndIRC developers reportedly spent the last 72 hours readying the new HTC Thunderbolt for custom ROMs. Today, they emerge victorious, but that victory is bittersweet, because it may signify the end of a generally hacker-friendly era from the folks at HTC. While devices from the Taiwanese manufacturer have traditionally been easy to modify, the hacker community found Verizon's LTE flagship fully locked down, with a signed kernel, signed recovery image and a signed bootloader. FOF. Of course, if you're just looking for a way to overclock your Thunderbolt, you probably don't care about all that. You'll find all the (exceptionally lengthy) instructions you need at Android Police. Just be careful out there! [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Move.me invites everyone to develop for PlayStation Move
The PlayStation Move homebrew community hasn't been quite as prolific as Kinect's. But that may soon change with the introduction of Move.me. Coming soon, Move.me is a downloadable application for the PS3 that allows researchers, students, hobbyists, developers, anyone, the ability to develop for the PlayStation Move. "We want to see what innovative applications programmers can create using the PS Move controller, the PS3 system, the PlayStation Eye camera, and a PC," the official site decrees. Move.me will be available for download via the PlayStation Network this Spring, but interested applicants will be able to register for an early look now. The first 150 qualified applicants that are accepted will receive a voucher in the next two weeks. Are you willing to take the challenge?
NEStalgia mixes old school RPGs with new school MMOs
Are WoW's battles just not random enough for you? Does DCUO look a little too three-dimensional? Do the modern trappings of MMOs genuinely bring you down? Ben Mallahan has created a delightful, free-to-play solution to your dilemma: NEStalgia, a Dragon Quest-esque classic RPG with some built-in MMO functionality, like player grouping and a billion super esoteric, hard-to-collect pieces of armor and weaponry. You can download the game for free on NEStalgia's official site, or check out a bunch of gameplay videos on its YouTube page. We'd suggest starting with the trailer posted after the jump!
Super Smash Land demake trailer and demo show off Game Boy charm
Dan Fornace recently published a new trailer and demo for his long-time pet project: A Game Boy-style "demake" of the Smash Bros. franchise titled Super Smash Land. Check out the infinitely charming trailer here.
HP donates server to WebOS Internals, makes homebrew its boo
Palm's always been pretty cozy with the homebrew community, and now, with a donation to WebOS Internals, HP's showing that they've got love for hackers, too. Just in time for the lover's holiday, HP announced plans to donate a ProLiant DL385 server to the independent developer's resource -- a gift worth $10,000 and packing 32GB of RAM and 8TB disk space. Considering all the new devices we saw at the webOS event this week, the added capacity comes at just the right time. We always thought diamonds were a nice gesture, but we suppose, in this case anyway, nothing says I love you like an HP ProLiant.
Sudoku DSiWare exploit enables homebrew on DSi [update: and it's gone!]
For just 200 DSi Points (that's $2), a whole world of digital sudoku can be yours -- plus DSi homebrew capabilities! The hacking troupe known as "Team Twiizers" has found a hole in EA's Sudoku DSiWare game -- exposed using a false save file -- through which homebrew games and applications can be run on a DSi without a flashcart. Notably, this exploit can not be used to play pirated games or applications, but only enables true homebrew software. Perhaps most exciting for homebrew developers, this breakthrough brings the DSi's hardware upgrades (over the original DS) into play. "In DSi mode, the DSi SD card slot is accessible, the whole 16MB RAM is available, and the CPU is clocked 2x higher than DS-mode," Twiizers notes in on post on HackMii. As of publishing, [see below] the Sudoku game is still available in the North American DSiWare store, but has already been removed in Europe. At the very least, it would be an excuse to throw away that ratty copy of Snakes on a Sudoku, right? Update: Looks like Nintendo has already removed the game from its DSiWare store in North America as well. Sorry homebrewers!
Windows Phone 7 jailbreak devs 'genuinely excited' by Microsoft's roadmap
Microsoft's been playing it really cool with the nascent Windows Phone 7 hacker community so far, which is winning them friends in all sorts of important places -- not the least of which is the ChevronWP7 team itself. The first guys to split the platform open for homebrew apps were recently invited up to Redmond for a powwow with the guys in charge, and it seems the meetings were fruitful to say the least; though much of what they saw was under NDA, they say they're "genuinely excited" by what Microsoft has in the works. Furthermore, Microsoft was kind enough to give the team a heads-up that an upcoming platform update would break the existing ChevronWP7 tool, though they say they're "collaborating with Microsoft on an interim solution that will continue to support homebrew developments after the update." Considering that they've already reached out to jailbreaker extraordinaire Geohot as well, it's clear that Microsoft doesn't believe this is a black-and-white situation -- the ChevronWP7 guys seem to think homebrew has a place somewhere in the platform's future, it just remains to be seen how that's going to play out.
DIY 3D volumetric display / Kinect hack spices up the Fortress of Solitude's kitchenette
Here's another one for the "things we wish we had in our kitchen" file. Taha Bintahir has put together a homebrew 3D volumetric display that can -- you guessed it -- display 3D rendered images in all their free-floating glory. And if that wasn't enough, our man added gesture controls via the Kinect so he doesn't have to circle the object to view the whole thing. According to Hack A Day, Bintahir designed and built the prism itself, rendered the object he wanted to display (in this case the Superman logo) from four different camera angles, and projected the images on the four walls of the prism to create the 3D object in the center. Oh, and he distorted each of the images to match the angle of the prism's walls. Pretty insane, right? Hit the source link for more detail on the project -- but not before you see it in action after the break.
Visualized: the glamorous lifestyles of WP7 jailbreakers (update: Geohot crashes the party)
To be a jailbreaker means different things depending on the device that you're busy hacking preinstalled walls from. If you're fiddling with consoles, a legal team would come highly recommended, but if you're tweaking mobile code, at least Windows Phone mobile code, you're in for a much sweeter ride. The ChevronWP7 guys that brought us the first jailbreak of Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 are currently in Redmond having a sitdown and a frank exchange of views with WP7 dev experience director Brandon Watson, and the amicable nature of their discourse has been evidenced by the image above. Microsoft is clearly taking a light-hearted and community-friendly approach to handling the (now inevitable) efforts at disabling limitations to its software and we can only congratulate its mobile team for doing so. [Thanks, Tasos] Update: Looks like Microsoft's softie approach really is working. Shortly after the jolly news, notorious hacker Geohot announced on his website that he's going to treat himself to a WP7 device; but before long, Redmond's already reached out to offer him a free handset. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Report: Sony could remotely disable jailbroken PS3s
With PS3 open territory for hackers and pirates, many have been wondering what action Sony will take to secure its system. The platform-destroying piracy rampant on PSP makes it clear exactly how much is at stake. To date, Sony's response to the jailbreak has been limited to mandatory firmware updates and revoking PSN access to those that refuse to use official system software. However, a report by Digital Foundry claims that Sony can take far more drastic measures. Even if you've never signed up for a PSN account, your console will communicate with Sony servers every time it boots up. That initial load process is used to upload error logs, download updates to the "What's New" module, and a list of recently-run applications, including any unauthorized backup manager software. Sony has yet to ban any consoles for taking advantage of the jailbreak, but the terms and conditions of the PlayStation Network make it clear that Sony has the authority to carry them out. Thanks to the system's constant self-reporting feature, "the company even has the means to irrevocably disable your console should it so wish," rendering affected PS3 consoles unusable, online and off. But will Sony ever use such a drastic measure? And if so, how will the hacker scene retaliate? [Thanks, Vallanthaz]
Nook Color meet Ubuntu, Ubuntu meet Nook Color
Although you won't hear this through official channels, Barnes and Noble's Nook has been plenty of fun for hacksters. And what spells fun better than U-b-u-n-t-u? Certainly nothing that we can mention in mixed company, that's for sure! If you pop over to the always lively XDA Developers Forum, you'll see a crazy little post wherein the author took inspiration from a Nexus One hack and decided to port Ubuntu to the Nook Color. And by jove, it looks like it's worked... even if it is by accounts "a little laggy" and not without errors. Please feel free to hit the source link if you'd like to take in the details on what made this work... and to keep abreast of further developments, to boot.
Geohot demos homebrew on 'jailbroken' PS3, Sony vows to 'fix' via software update (video)
We just saw how you can now add an Install Package Files option to the PS3 using some custom firmware, but that darn hacker George "Geohot" Hotz has taken it a step further by demonstrating homebrew in a quick, Mr. Blurrycam-approved video. It's a barebones app that only says "sup dawg, it's geohot," but in reality it's a pretty huge step. Geohot's provided the file on his website along with a copy of the METLDR root key that enables the homebrew. Sony, meanwhile, has issued a statement saying it'll "fix the issues through network updates, but because this is a security issue, we are not able to provide you with any more details." This runs counter to what pytey from fail0verflow (the famed group that kickstarted this new round of hacking) just told the BBC, "the only way to fix this is to issue new hardware... Sony will have to accept this." Hey, at least you'll be in good company, eh Sony? Check out geohot's proof of concept video after the break. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
PSP Go hacked to play UMDs, slightly increase its desirability (video)
For Sony, the homebrew community is both enemy and friend -- at the same time hackers are exploiting the living daylights out of the PlayStation 3, they're making the experimental PSP Go moderately interesting again. Here it is running UMD disc images directly from flash storage, letting it play games like Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, formerly off-limits since it was released on a physical disc. Sure, we've seen it play Sega CD games before, but this looks like the real deal -- working, user-installable ISO loaders for PSP Go backups and homebrew. Not to mention the skull-and-crossbones-clad elephant in the room. Perhaps these aren't exactly Sony's friends, on second thought.
First PS3 'custom firmware' working, doesn't allow piracy
Building upon the exploits of the fail0verflow hacking troupe, a tinkerer known as "KaKaRoToKS" has got the first "custom firmware" (CFW) running on PS3. The modification can be applied to any version of the system's official firmware, including the latest 3.55 patch, and simply adds an "Install Package Files" option in the Game section of the XMB. Importantly, this unauthorized option isn't an open flood gate for pirated games, but rather a means by which users could install signed and encrypted executable files -- in other words, "retail" .pkg files like the ones Sony uses for PSN downloads. While no current homebrew application is packaged like this (and therefore compatible with the custom firmware), it would be possible for homebrew developers to re-package their files to be installed through the CFW. (PSJailbreak offers similar functionality, DigitalFoundry explains, but as its name implies, Jailbreak allows for the installation of unsigned, unencrypted code.) "Since the kernel is left unmodified, this means that this custom firmware is really meant for future homebrew installation, and it will not allow piracy," writes KaKaRoToKS in a blog post about the CFW. "I plan on keeping it that way." [Thanks, Roland]
Introducing AirPlayer: Mac-based AirPlay service allows device-to-Mac playback
AirPlay is a very, very cool technology. Unfortunately, if you don't own an Apple TV 2 or other capable receiving device, it's not going to do you much good. (If you have the cash on-hand, for $99, the Apple TV mark 2 is a pretty sweet purchase. Just saying.) So I decided to figure out a way that people who didn't own an Apple TV, or who were on the road with their iPhone and a laptop could actually use AirPlay streaming "backwards" -- from their iDevice to their Mac. Behold our TUAW exclusive introduction, the development build of AirPlayer -- click Read More to see the video. What AirPlayer does is create and advertise a custom Bonjour AirPlay service that pretends to be an Apple TV. Bonjour is Apple's zero configuration networking solution for allowing devices and applications to communicate with each other over local area networks. When Apple created AirPlay, it basically set up a new way for Apple TV to interact with iOS using Bonjour communications.
Unofficial remake of first Batman game released
For a full-color history lesson, we suggest you check out the recently completed and simply adorable remake of Batman -- the first Batman! The 3D isometric gem was developed by Jon Ritman and Bernie Drummond, and published in 1986 by the once formidable British games giant Ocean Software -- a sort of ancestor of the modern-day Atari Inc. through its Infogrames lineage -- for the ZX Spectrum, MSX and Amstrad CPC (and PCW) "microcomputers" (contemporaries of the dominant Commodore 64). The game stars an Adam West-looking Batman on a scavenger hunt around the deadly Batcave for seven pieces of the Batcraft (so he can get it hovering again and go rescue Robin, of course). According to the Sinclair User review (issue #50, pg. 51), Batman is notable for being an early, if not the first, game to implement a checkpoint system. The unofficial remake of Batman was developed by Tomaz Kac (who also faithfully remade Ritman and Drummond's Head Over Heels followup) and is available to download and play for free on PC. An earlier freeware remake, dubbed Watman, was released for DOS and Game Boy Advance about ten years ago. Consider yourself schooled. [Image sources: Retrospec / RudyKoch]
ChevronWP7 unlocking tool pulled in hopes Microsoft decides to play along
Could Microsoft actually embrace Windows Phone 7 hacking much like it's sort of done with Kinect hacking? Not very likely, but it seems like the folks behind the ChevronWP7 unlocking tool are at least holding out some hope for that possibility. They've apparently had some "good faith" discussions with Microsoft's Director of Developer Experience for Windows Phone 7, Brandon Watson, and have decided to take the rather drastic step of pulling and ceasing all development on the tool in order to "fast-track" discussions about Microsoft officially embracing homebrew development. Obviously, that may just be wishful thinking, but one thing is clear at least for the moment: it just got a bit harder to hack a Windows Phone 7 device.
Kinect hacks let you control a web browser and Windows 7 using only The Force (updated)
Hacking the Xbox 360 Kinect is all about baby steps on the way to what could ultimately amount to some pretty useful homebrew. Here's a good example cooked up by some kids at the MIT Media Lab Fluid Interfaces Group attempting to redefine the human-machine interactive experience. DepthJS is a system that makes Javascript talk to Microsoft's Kinect in order to navigate web pages, among other things. Remember, it's not that making wild, arm-waving gestures is the best way to navigate a web site, it's just a demonstration that you can. Let's hope that the hacking community picks up the work and evolves it into a multitouch remote control plugin for our home theater PCs. Boxee, maybe you can lend a hand? Update: If you're willing to step outside of the developer-friendly borders of open-source software then you'll want to check out Evoluce's gesture solution based on the company's Multitouch Input Management (MIM) driver for Kinect. The most impressive part is its support for simultaneous multitouch and multiuser control of applications (including those using Flash and Java) running on a Windows 7 PC. Evoluce promises to release software "soon" to bridge Kinect and Windows 7. Until then be sure to check both of the impressive videos after the break. [Thanks, Leakcim13]
PS3 gets early SNES and Dreamcast emulation
Brings a tear to your eye, doesn't it? Sure, jailbreaks and homebrew titles are all well and good, but you know a console has really arrived when it starts emulating the classics. The ever-versatile Snes9x has been given a quick and dirty port to the newly jailbroken PS3, and while it's missing fancy features like "save states" and "UI," it's certainly looks to be doing the most basic task of playing games just fine. Meanwhile, the creator of famed Dreamcast emulator NullDC has a very rough version it up and running on the PS3 as well. We naturally have a long way to go, but this looks like a promising beginning.
DIY stereoscopic splitter takes your pictures to the third dimension
Don't feel like shelling out the cash for a 3D camera? Instructables user "courtervideo" has put together a little device that harnesses the magical, mysterious power of something called a "mirror" to let you grab stereoscopic 3D images with your regular ol' 2D camera. The method is pretty straight forward: two large mirrors places beside the camera reflect the image you're trying to capture onto two smaller mirrors, which are then photographed. The result can then be viewed through a stereoscope, which will send one half of the picture to each eye, resulting in a 3D image. We like to think of the stereoscope as the Victorian precursor to Chinavasion Video Glasses. Sounds like fun to us! Hit up the source link to get started.
