Filed under: Hacks and Homebrew

Got a Blackberry? If you do, then you could turn that smartphone into a cheap and practical solution to some of PS3s peripheral needs. Unity4Life's Games|Shadow will turn your phone into a remote control for both DVD and Blu-ray playback features, as well as turn it into a keypad for internet browsing or other text-heavy inputs.

The add-on for the phone costs $39.99 and will be available this upcoming April. At that price, it's a rather attractive option as opposed to going for the official wireless keypad which costs $10 more (with no remote control features either). Check out Games|Shadow in action after the break.

[Thanks KidQwik!]

Continue reading “Use your Blackberry as a PS3 remote and keypad”

People have been using Sixaxis controllers on PCs for a long time now. But, what about DualShock 3s with rumble support? Apparently, it's now possible. A Japanese coder has released four drivers which allow Windows users to play games on PC with a DS3, tweak some of the controller parameters and subsequently employ rumble. It sounds like a fun experiment to play around with, though, from the looks of it, the driver menus are mostly in Japanese. Check DCEmu UK for instructions in English.

[Via Engadget]

That certainly didn't take long -- if this rumor proves to be true, Sony's social service Home has already been hacked. A hacker going by the name of StreetskaterFU has made the claim that he has breached Sony's servers for Home and successfully downloaded, uploaded and deleted files. The poster also provided instructions on how you can do this yourself, and a member of the PS3hax forum has supposedly done just that -- he was able to change the posters and trailers in the Home theater, though it appears the effect is only local. A video of the hack in action is available after the jump. We haven't witnessed any of this in action ourselves during our experiences in Home, but do tell us in the comments if you've seen otherwise.

[Via Engadget]

Read - HOME vulnerabilities disclosure
Read - How to mod Home with your own posters and movies

Continue reading “Rumor: Home hacked?”

What happens if you're a gamer and you're struck with a medical condition which could take away that very activity you so dearly love? We know, it's a tough thought to think of it ever happening to you. But it has happened to someone -- it's happened to PSN and PS Forums user KitsuneNoYume. What's a gamer to do when he can barely move an inch, let alone walk over to the couch and fire up the latest title?

Not deterred by his ailment, the intelligent young lad found a way to overcome his situation. He modified his controller and assigned multiple switches to his fingers, his toes and even his tongue. "Each and every jack has a predetermined function and whichever one I plug into is what's [sic] the switch becomes," said KNY (his real name is not given). "So depending on the game I generally use the left analog joystick directions and the right analog joystick using my tongue."

"The main reason I put this on the PlayStation website was to show people that even the most limited person can still enjoy console gaming just as much [as] anyone else. The controller was pretty easy to make, except for converting the analog signals into digital signals for when I use the various switches. This took about two months to build and get working effectively." KNY wants to know if there are any others out there like him, so he could give them back the ability to game, too. We wish him the best and hope he's enjoying his games. See more pics of KNY's design here.

[Thanks Marcoco11!]

Tired of those slow installs the PS3 is so famous (or infamous) for? The guys over at ExtremeTech came up with a solution that will partially solve that problem, albeit at a heavy price. They replaced their 60GB PS3's hard drive with one of Intel's 80GB X25-M solid-state drives. The retail price for one of those babies is $598 ... about the same price as a launch PS3, and 50% more than the current 80GB SKU.

Unfortunately, the results were a bit of a letdown. Installs off a Blu-ray disc were as slow as ever, due to the the limitations of Blu-ray drive speed. Downloadable titles and demos, however, were a different story. Installation speeds of that variety received a significant speed boost, about 40% faster. Startup and load times for games became 25-40% faster.

So is it worth it? Probably not at 600 clams. Swapping out the PS3's hard drive is relatively easy though, so it might be something cool to do if you've got the cash to burn.

[Via Engadget]

We see you. We see you salivating all over your keyboard. If you are a serious Gran Turismo fan, this is the stuff dreams are made of. The winner of the Gran Turismo 5 Prologue Middle East Challenge Ahmad El Azmi received a free trip to Japan to drive a Nissan GT-R and he took home the above GT Racing Pod. Valued at $15,000, the Racing Pod is equipped with a 40" Sony Bravia TV, a PS3 and a Logitech Driving Force GT Racing Wheel.

However, El Azmi wasn't satisfied with the setup, and decided to disassemble and reassembled the entire Pod. He added a shifter mounter, inverted stand for the pedals, a surround sound system and replaced the DFGT with a Logitech G25 Racing Wheel. Kudos to you, sir, you have successfully made the world jealous. He was even kind enough to share with us -- check out the rest of the pictures after the jump.

[Via BornRich]

Continue reading “The $15,000 Gran Turismo 5 Prologue GT Racing Pod”

Considering the size of this behemoth, weighing in at 15 pounds, we wouldn't really call it a laptop. Nevertheless, inspired by Ben Heck's PS3 laptop, another successful attempt at fitting the insides of a PS3 into a portable enclosure has surfaced. Specs are as follows:

80GB SKU with 320GB HDD
17" 720p HDTV LCD Monitor
Keyboard
Built-in speakers with headphone jack
Custom cooling (SilenX fans)
Size: 16" x 10.5" x 4" (when closed)
Weight: 15 pounds

With the success of this 3-month project, the modder known as Pirate plans to create a slimmer version in the future. Check it out in action after the jump.

[Via Engadget -- thanks, jimb!]

Continue reading “Another modder stuffs the PlayStation 3 into a laptop”

Don't want to wait for the touchscreen device SCEA possibly has installed for us? DCEmu's Pspzproject obviously didn't -- user jube808, a "professional electronic engineer," feels touchscreen should have been part of the PSP at launch and decided to mod a PSP to include the function. The touchscreen works with both a finger or a stylus, with the goal of eventually utilizing it for homebrew gaming. He also aims to add extra battery life and a redesigned control pad into the mix. Check it out in action in two videos after the jump.

[Via Engadget -- thanks, jimb and rockeranimefreak!]

Continue reading “Touchscreen PSP arrives courtesy of modder”

Tired of waiting for Sony to make their own PSP phone, a hacker created his own functional prototype. By gutting out the UMD drive from the PSP, he made room for a fancy touch screen phone. It's impressive, although some may complain that this is nothing more than a fancy piecemeal job, as there's no real integration between the PSP gaming compartment and the phone itself.

[Thanks, NukeAssault! Via Engadget]

Emulating operating systems is never really a good idea. Yet, mopx0 has decided to give it a try with Microsoft's latest operating system, Vista. To say it runs slow would be an understatement, as booting the resource-heavy OS takes 25 minutes on the system. To run Notepad emulated on the PS3 via Linux takes a whopping 12 minutes. It's not really practical, but shows the incredible dedication the hacking community has when tackling the strangest of projects.

If for some crazy reason you want to give it a try, read here.

[Via Engadget]

If you have Google Desktop, you may want to download the Google Media Server application. With it, you'll have an easy way of sending YouTube videos to your PS3. Once a computer on the same network as your PS3 is configured with Google Media Server, you'll be able to easily access the most viewed, top rated, and other featured YouTube videos instantly from the XMB. In fact, you'll not only see thumbnails, but you'll also be able to copy the videos directly to your PS3 hard drive, for easy replayability.

[Via thePSN]

This mod done by Blizzrad of AcidMods lets you use your aging wired DualShock controller and hook it up to your PSP. The controller had its connector replaced for a much smaller one to elegantly fit in with the PSPs slim build. The mod also takes full use of the controller's second analog stick and extra shoulder buttons. The only commands not controlled by the DualShock are backlight and volume control.

If you were one of those looking for dual analog control, then you may remember this older mod which added a second analog nub. This new one would probably be more comfortable to play with than that. Anyway, the only problem with this mod is that it's probably too difficult to do on your own. So don't try it. Instead, just see the thing in action in the clip after the break. Also check out AcidMods for more pics of Blizzrad's hard work.

[Via Engadget]

Continue reading “Mod makes PSP DualShock compatible”

Finally, more information on Phantasy Star Portable has surfaced. The biggest reveal involves the ability to import characters from Phantasy Star Universe -- the console game that PSP is based on. Players of the PS2 and PC versions of Phantasy Star Universe may import their characters and carry over their character's name and personal data as well as currently equipped cloths and parts. Level, however, will be capped at level 20 and spare equipment, special items, etc. will not be carried over. Those with a 360 PSU will not be able to import any data at all.

Also, the game has an all-new story mode with new missions. A four player co-op mode through an ad hoc connection will also be included. Phantasy Star Portable is currently set for release in Japan on July 31. A North American release has yet to be announced.

As incredibly bizarre as this is, we couldn't resist posting it. Kotaku reader Jonathan sent in a picture of himself to the site; apparently, he ~~soldered the controller pieces into his flesh~~ had a little fun playing PlayStation cyborg. Don't we all do this when we come home after a long day? Oh, you don't? Oh... whoops, said too much.

Anyway, it's good to know that a functioning DualShock controller was not harmed in the making of his photo; good thing it was already broken before being disassembled. Now what we want to know is: are there any more PlayStation cyborgs out there? Well, if so, you should unite and conquer the world ... as suggested in this song (contains some explicit lyrics).

The raw power of the PlayStation 3 fitting inside a laptop enclosure? We thought it couldn't be done; alas, Ben Heck has made it reality. That beautiful laptop you see above is his crowning work after having done the Xbox 360 and Wii laptops. Of course, he saved the best for last.

Now it's nice to look at, but what about owning it? Yes that's right, owning it. Engadget is auctioning away this beautiful rare device for charity real soon. Want to know more, then hit up Engadget for the whole story.

[Thanks SharpShooter!]