Apple »

Tiny Diggers – An iPad Construction Truck Game for Kids Age 2-5

February 20, 2012 – 12:39 pm | 3 Comments

Tiny Diggers has just been released on the iPad and soon the Mac computer. Here’s the details on this fun, educational game from TouchTilt Games.
Tiny Diggers Delivers Learning With Construction Trucks For Kids on the …

Read the full story »
Home » PSP

Homebrew on PSP firmware 3.50

Submitted by on June 24, 2007 – 4:39 am5 Comments

helloworld_illuminati.png
Users of PSP firmware 3.50 may soon be able to downgrade and play homebrewed games, thanks to an exploit found in Lumines. So far, hackers have only created a “Hello World” program, but expect a downgrader soon. Another victory for the homebrew community… it seems Sony just can’t keep up.

via PSP Fanboy

  • http://www.aeropause.com Stephen

    Ironically, it would seem the reason they can’t keep up is that they’re trying so hard. Every patch they put out to block this draws attention to it. It’s a tough situation to be in. It costs Sony a lot of money to do firmware updates. It costs the hackers nothing to counter them.

    It’s a shame such an important battle cannot be won.

  • qbix

    Stephen, who, in your opinion, needs to win this battle? I am of the logic that if I buy a device, I should be able to open it, tinker with it and do as I wish with it. I don’t buy a device and settle for the idea that it’s locked and can’t be used for anything other than its intended functionality. Thanks to the homebrew scene, I’ve been able to stream internet radio to my PSP (way before Dark Alex came into the scene), and use my DS as an MP3 player and organizer.

  • http://www.aeropause.com Stephen

    Sony needs to win this battle. Hacks are primarily used to play illegal copies of software that are intended to be purchased. The hardware is a loss leader for Sony and they need to make the money back on the software in order to turn a profit. If they can’t do that, the product dies, and nobody wins.

  • http://www.farbot.com/ Paul Munn

    The firmware updates aren’t just patches, though. They’re almost always updates to the functionality of the system which happen to also include fixes that close security holes.

    As for doing what you want with the hardware, I agree with the sentiment but you’re barking up the wrong tree by supporting piracy on your handheld, DS or PSP. And as Stephen rightfully pointed out, all the homebrew scene is about piracy, period. If people couldn’t play illegally copied games with these firmwares they’d never get any traction.

    These handhelds are not open platforms. Go get a GP2X or something if you really want an open handheld platform. Oh wait, you want high-quality games to play on it too? Well then you have to play by the rules to get the best stuff.

    See also: Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, Windows Genuine Advantage, and so on.

    Otherwise as Stephen smartly indicated piracy will kill off developer ability to make money and will negate the platform entirely.

  • http://www.consolecolors.com Kat

    A completely open platform is also behind the Chumby.