Dark_Alex and M33: one in the same?
by Andrew Yoon 
{ Sep 24th 2007 at 7:00PM }
Remember when Dark_Alex said he was going to quit the homebrew scene forever? And then immediately afterwards, Russian hacking group M33 appeared mysteriously out of the blue? Well, could it be that the two are actually one in the same? Could this post also have something other than a question as a sentence? Hmm ...With the release of 3.71 M33, the team continues to provide homebrew users with all the features of Sony's recently released official firmwares. According to the Dark_Alex website, though, the main coder for the project is none other than the supposedly "retired" hacker.
Regardless of the drama surrounding the team, it appears that they've been consistently able to provide releases that match Sony's quite rapid schedule.
[Thanks to everyone that sent this in!]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Kattleox @ Sep 24th 2007 7:12PM
Good? Sony seems to be combating this recently with a tactic better than any security update they relese: Meaningful updates!
Themes? Scene Selection? I know people that are coming from CFW because they are starting to PREFER OFW.
xtrm @ Sep 24th 2007 8:01PM
Don't you think maybe he's trying to evade Sony by stating he is no longer working on the homebrew scene, yet working undercover? I guess you do, and I think this article doesn't help!
Just my opinion.
ryan @ Sep 24th 2007 8:21PM
This sounds like a load. That doesn't look like the old official dax website. Plus, isn't all of the M33 stuff coming from and translated from Russian? Correct me if I'm wrong on any of this.
GoBob @ Sep 24th 2007 8:59PM
This is according to DAX himself:
http://forums.maxconsole.net/showthread.php?p=691109#post691109
I frankly don't feel like linking every post he makes, but that's the start of the thread. He does admit it, and claims that he received help with the Russian site and forums from the Russian forum's owner. True or false, who knows, but he is claiming to be the m33 team.
wheatshelf @ Sep 24th 2007 9:19PM
http://m-33.narod.ru/
don't forget the M33 site. which dark-alex.org mirrors now.
merc25 @ Sep 24th 2007 9:16PM
here is M33 website: http://m-33.narod.ru/
LoyalistRevolt @ Sep 24th 2007 9:41PM
Maybe he was being sarcastic and was tired of all the n00bs telling him to comeback...because if it was an alias why would he revel it....
ryan @ Sep 24th 2007 11:01PM
I stand corrected
Brian @ Sep 24th 2007 11:17PM
Okay this isnt going to make anyone happy but, Really it time these guys stop Homebrew is okay but everytime they crack Sony firmware is more time Sony spends on prevent future hacks instead of adding extra features to the PSP. Come on if they didn't hack the firmware so offen maybe there would be an official store for the psp that could be used directly on the PSP without the need for a PS3 or PC.
Yes some of the feature of homebrew are great but there are other things like iso loader, umd copies they may Sony go into defense mode and slow future advancement. There's already an iso loader in the firmware but Sony wont use it because they have to spend time preventing the system from being hack.
I dont really care about Sony's bottom line but when they stop development of new features to try (and FAIL) to prevent homebrew psp owners lose out in the end.
I know people aren't going to like this opinion but it has to be voiced ..... and no I'm NOT on SOny's payroll, I'm just a PSP gamer who want to see the system develop as much as it can .... I want to be able to download PSone games, high quality movies, and much more. Who know if Sony would of done it by now .... but if they have to keep redirecting their effect to preventing pirate hacks who knows how long it's going to take if it happens at all.
rainking187 @ Sep 25th 2007 3:02AM
And I mean this in the nicest possible way, but...who gives a shit?
GoBob @ Sep 25th 2007 8:50AM
@Brian
I can understand your feelings, but I believe that you are giving Sony too much credit. I honestly feel Sony is going about it all wrong. Yes, they are spending time trying to lock out homebrewers, but they aren't learning from them. Only now, Sony is implementing custom themes. Homebrew support and ISO loading support(Sony DOES have an official ISO loader on their later firmwares)still doesn't exist on official firmwares.
You say that Sony is concerned about ISO loaders and how they help piracy. Instead of rejecting many homebrewers desire for ISO loaders(reduces load times immensely and increases battery life), Sony should implement an official UMD dumper system, to allow those who wish to back up their purchased UMDs and run them off the memory stick. I'd be happy if Sony had an official UMD ripper that locked ISOs to only the PSP it was ripped from. For legitimate users, it would be slightly annoying to re-rip UMDs, but I don't think it would be a huge issue for most people. It's sort of bullshit, but it's relatively reasonable. Granted, this will likely be circumvented, but let's be honest: if it CAN be cracked, someone WILL crack it. It won't prevent people from letting friends rip their UMDs, but it would(at least for a short time)stop online downloading.
Sony should implement many of the features that homebrewers already use, i.e. customized XMB and allowing homebrew programs to run. Now 3.70 and 3.71 are definitely steps in the right direction, but in order to truly end CFW, Sony needs to safely and securely implement most, if not all of the features that CFWs already have.
Sony officially allowing homebrew is pretty touchy, especially considering that many people want emulators, and everyone knows that roms are illegal. Other than emulators, there are a lot of interesting games and applications that people enjoy and perhaps we could get to a point where people can send their homebrew to Sony and they can deem it safe and make it a free download off their online store. Not only would this be a great PR move, but it would also give talented developers a chance to really shine.
tl;dr Sony needs to implement CFW abilities if they want CFW to die. Piracy can't be prevented, but it can be reduced without pissing off a lot of people.
farfisa @ Sep 25th 2007 10:43AM
@GoBob--I dig your homebrew game download idea. Like a gaming YouTube. If Sony could put together some kind of dev kit so users could create their own content, they'd put a hole in the legitimacy of the CFW movement. After all, the excuse is always to run homebrew, but I'm betting most users use it for ISO loading.
Phil @ Sep 25th 2007 11:26AM
Actually, it's "One and the same?"
Way to screw up the English language...
Brian @ Sep 25th 2007 3:46PM
@GoBob That's a cool idea UMD Dumper. There should be an official way to support homebrew apps. There are some cool apps in CFW's that Sony should add to OFW ... being able to dump a UMD game to memorystick would be a cool feature. Or maybe they could offer downloadable PSP games so people could either get the UMD or download the game to a memory stick.
If Sony was really smart they would offer teams like a M33 a job .... seeing that their custom firmware offer all the feature of the OFW and offer more features. Also they need t offer a platform for interested developers to get there apps and games out. That's was really Pisses me off about the PSN it could be a great platform for Sony to do this .... but they spend more time dancing around the issue.
Sorry if my rant made me seem against homebrew developers/community and all for Sony. I am against Piracy (you want to play you got to play or hell even rent) and I wish Sony would get their ass in gear and offer feature people want. There should of already been a PS Store on the PSP suck that there isn't.
GoBob @ Sep 25th 2007 4:01PM
Hey Brian, it's all good. It's just good to know that you recognize the difference between piracy and homebrew.