Slashdot Mirror
Inside the PSP
fogez writes "We have seen numerous hacks for the PSP in the last couple days, but have you see what is inside this marvel? This might scare off many new PSP owners, but if you are curious and want some direction, this article is a good place to start. See the PSP laid bare, from LCD to wireless network card. BTW, any attempt to imitate will result in a void warranty :)"
Am I the only person who feels that this is almost criminal?
In the beginning the universe was created. This made a lot of people very angry and is widely considered as a bad move.
I can't believe how much run Paint Shop Pro is getting lately.
"Play is the only way the highest intelligence of humankind can unfold." -- Joseph Chilton Pearce
The main problem that I've had with the PSP is that games which I already own are not playable on the PSP. The disks are different sizes. There is no current easy way to get a hold of blank PSP disks and copy my current games to it for play.
That and the PSP disks look just like birth contol pill disks.
Anyway, these things have been out forever, just not in the U.S., I guess.
Here's a link to the whole article without having to click Next every 5 paragraphs.
but have you see what is inside this marvel?
I havent seen, im so excited... is it.. um.. electronics?
serenity now!
"Sony explicitly outlaws any modifications to their PSP. If you don't believe me, check out page 15 of the manual where they state, "No authorization for the analysis or modification of the system, or the analysis and use of circuit configurations, is provided.""
Not much of a legal threat. I take it this simply mean the obvious - that Sony voids the warranty if we start moding. Outlaws might of been a bit strong in this context, prohibits would of been a bit better. Not that Sony will have a black van show up in front of a teenager hackers door...
Nice pice of technology, all things considered. Next all we need is for someone to tinker with the buttons to increase the sensitivity of the leftmost button on the right side, which I hear from many is significantly less sensitive then the rest, which adversely affects game-play.
3 degrees of separation from Vladimir Putin
How long do you think it will be before hacking/reverse engineering like this is made illegal DMCA style?
The preceding message was based on actual events. Only the names, locations and events have been changed.
fogez remarks may have been tongue-in-cheek, but... you have been warned.
BTW, any attempt to imitate will result in a void warranty :)
First off, thank you Captain Obvious.
http://www.informit.com/articles/printerfriendly.a sp?p=380915
How do we get nudes on the PSP?
The PSP has redefined handheld gaming.
Uh...it has? Because it plays movies/music and browses pictures?
What aspect of handheld gaming has been "redefined" because of this?
Not only have these things been done before, but the PSP hasn't redefined anything other than the idea of selling PS1 games I already own. I'm sure it's a nice system. But it's not redefining handheld gaming, other than redefining the phrase "customer service" (Sony says you're shit out of luck over dead pixels, unlike Nintendo who will happily fix your unit).
I heard these same overhyped comments about the DS, which actually does do some pretty cool things (which also had been done before).
What are the chances of upgrading the battery on this thing? Or better yet, can I expect sony to improve the battery life if i wait a while? If so, how long should I wait?
You are not a lawyer.
that site had ads?
http://www.informit.com/articles/printerfriendly.a sp?p=380915
Go on, mod me redundant.
I'm waiting for this guy to throw this in a bag and bring it back to the store and claim it came like this. HAHAHAHA.
"If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer
Fun with Anagarams! LADS HOST, SHALT DOS. HAS DOLTS. AD SLOTHS, HATS SOLD. ASS HO, LTD.
It wouldn't matter if there were blank discs, since the PSP isn't backward-compatible with the games for any other Playstation system.
The PSP isn't backward-compatible with PS1 games only because no PS1 emulator has been ported yet. Whether homebrewers will crack the Memory Stick is still up in the air.
This comment is probably doomed to "Troll" status, but I am merely trying to start civilized discourse.
I feel that the PSP continues Sony's trend of focusing on the wrong things when designing a game console. Sure, the PSP is complicated inside, and draws "Ooohs" from people that see the big screen, but that isn't what gaming is about. From an engineering standpoint, Sony made several stupid decisions, starting with the whole idea of using the PSP as a launching point for the UMD. Developers are already complaining about the slow transfer rates, and the load times are VERY long compared to other handhelds. The physical placement of the square button sacrifices gameplay for aesthetics, something which former-sony-head Ken Kutaragi admitted. Thirdly, the short battery life is a major downside, which is related to the UMD itself. Finally, the system spits out the UMD when you slightly twist the console, so be careful in public places or anywhere there is a distance between the system and the ground. Obviously, the design team focused on the system's aesthetics at the great expense of gameplay, usability, and battery life.
A console is made popular by its games, and so far all the PSP games are just watered-down ports of PS2 games. They're fun to play, but designed for a TV-console setting. Whereas the DS and GBA already have many games perfect for on the subway or between meetings/classes when you only have 10-15 minutes, none of the current or announced PSP games have shown any innovation at all or any design choices aimed at handheld gaming other than "we'll let you save and pause wherever you want to."
While the PSP is destined to be more of a nerd status symbol because of its sleek metal case and high price (the article mentions $200, but they aren't available outside of $250 bundles around here in the LA area), I don't think that Sony is going to attract and new gamers or fulfill any serious gamers' desires, and I think they made several design flaws that will keep the system from ever feeling completely natural.
Very funny. Fortunately, as we all know, Sony does not have the right to make, much less enforce, this request. "Authorization" for opening and/or modifying the machine is embodied in the receipt from the retailer. Sony can void your warranty, of course, but you knew that when you started unscrewing the thing.
Let us not take such histrionics seriously; it gives people the wrong idea.
Schwab
Editor, A1-AAA AmeriCaptions
Forget Linux -- how about getting the system back together again? Did you see what he had at the end of the article? A pile of parts.
I mean, I don't mind that (I'd take the same tack with him -- see if I could hack better Wi-Fi, new input devices, etc.) but I can imagine the average guy getting to step 6 with a pile of parts on his desk reading "tune in next week...". *AW CRAP!*
Ah yes, that must be it
Irritable, left-wing and possibly humorous bumper stickers and t-shirts
Yes, it is necessary to read headlines carefully these days. At a casual glance it's easy to confuse:
PSP, P2P, PS2
(which refer respectively to the release of PlayStation Portable, the Supreme Court case of peer to peer sharing, and the PlayStation 2 patent infringement, all big topics in the news this week).
Awesome. Can we learn how to fix dead pixels next?
I spent $150 and all I got were 4 dead pixels out of the box, another 5 after two days of play, and $100 of GameStop store credit. I could have just given GameStop $100 and kicked an LCD monitor while playing Dynasty Warriors 2 for a couple days and been as well off.
U know, I enjoy slashdot's little recurring jokes as much as the next guy, but how the FUCK is that still getting modded up as funny?!
"What aspect of handheld gaming has been "redefined" because of this?"
"Reasonably Priced" for one.
break glass.
The number of pages in the article is probably proportional to the number of PSPs they destroyed in trying to successfully take one apart...
Karma: Excellent Birds (mostly as a result of listening to Laurie Anderson)
I highly doubt the /. crowd will be quick to click any link that ends in a ".cx"
Wireless is potentially a real change - if it's doing things with multiplayer games that you couldn't do before in the handheld space, that's somewhat new, though they've been done with console/pc-based games, so the main new feature is that you can play them from somewhere other than at home, as long as there's a WiFi connection you can use. I assume it's supporting downloadable games as opposed to just cartridges, though they could do things with Memory Stick if they wanted, and that's a bit of a change, but as long as the prices are similar, it's not really much change.
Cell-phone wireless data standards would be more revolutionary (if less compatible) - you could do game things like EA's Majestic or whatever it was that have location-dependent clues or interaction, or could do things with nearby people or provide portable games that let you talk to the people you're fragging\\\\\\\\cooperating with the way wired games let you do, or you could exchange pictures of where you are when you're somewhere other than your basement.
But building tools that can be used for cool games is one problem - writing games that actually turn out to be cool, or turn out to be popular, is a much different skill, and can be a lot harder to get right.
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
and this makes sENsE how? maybe if you're shroomimg
Seriously, it always happens when I'm returning something like an extra cable that it turned out I did't need, still in the packaging and with the receipt in hand.
As part of the experience, I bet he will claim that his two year old got a hold of it for just a few seconds and managed to disassemble it and he not only wants to return the PSP but complain to Sony and tell them they should have designed the unit to be more robust. This will take an hour ending with a manager will show the "Void if Removed" sticker has been broken but they'll give him a break "this time".
I usually spend this time thinking pleasant thoughts like how they would have dealt with his kind in the dark ages.
myke
Mimetics Inc. Twitter
Lik-sang tore a PSP apart back in mid-December.
Here http://www.lik-sang.com/psp.html/
Less annoying adds and page flipping. Everything is on one page.
Disassembling somebody *else's* PSP is criminal. Disassembling your own is merely art. Or Boredom in Action.
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
basicly, all this article says is "take your screwdriver, find the screws and unscrew them" it actually changed my life
you slashdot geeks only criticize people...finally a community where I'm not different
http://www.lik-sang.com/psp.html You can see more inside stuff there.
How is the PSP a "marvel"? I'm still not impressed and it's still not going to sell well.
I'll let somebody else decide if they're the goatse guy and mod them down....
I find this attitude that "if someone is complaining about lack of system freedom it means they are a pirate" highly offensive and ignorant. As a law-abiding citizen, I have never downloaded any copyrighted work illegally. All games that I own I have acquired legally.
There are many uses of computers and media which come under Fair Use, not the least of which is copying for the sake of backing up.
I ought not be responding to anonymous trolls, but when I see it modded up Insightful, I have to wonder what the hell is going through the moderator's mind.
Funny you mentioned that but I actually had to go back and look the pages again to see if there were ads. There is. I did not notice a single one of them the first time.
From the article:
"If you are a professional, then you might want to ground yourself using a static strap to prevent any sudden static discharges from killing your PSP."
As a complete amateur, I've suspected there was SOMETHING different about The Pros. Turns out their brain waves are leaking. Who'd have thunk it?
billy - who doesn't NEED a tin foil hat, it just makes him feel better
You still see ads while web browsing? How quaint.
Did you see what he had at the end of the article? A pile of parts.
Just take it back to Walmart and tell them it came that way.
Taco?
you know, cx is a real tld. There's no reason to avoid a link only because it's a .cx...
hell, I own spike.cx. sheesh.
...spike
Ewwwwww, coconut...
But I bet that watching it feels a lot like reading that article.
OtakuBooty.com: Smart, funny, sexy nerds.
Who the hell does this author think he is? You cant take apart hardware! You might accidentally learn how to circumvent some form of copy protection! What -- do you actually think you own that hardware just because you paid for it? HAHAHA, not in my country, you COMMUNIST!
The lawyers are en route to your house, big boy. Let the bending and grabbing of ankles commence.
Everything you say is true, although to my sensitive thumbs, the NA region [] button is still not on-centre compared to the rest for its spring and what not. I haven't had any problems with any games yet, but I've mainly been playing Lumines, which isn't exactly hard on the [] button.
--
Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
Sony is so going to send a team of ninjas after your ass.
How's that for enforcement?
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
you wanted to see inside one right ?
clicky (15.6mb mpg)
there's your dead pixels ! and to think the submitter thought taking the back off invalidated your warranty
weak
After browsing the article, I don't see why I should be scared of owning a PSP.
Gah! Stop with the PSP news already! I dont care!
I mean, who in the target customer group of the PSP hasn't already seen it?
The Internet is full. Go Away!!!
If shrinking them down into handheld size and/or adding new 'content' counts as new games/versions, then Half-Life 2, Doom 3 and Halo 2 were revolutionary. New content (maps, skins, models), new engines (either updated or brand new), new graphics (feel free to look up polycounts), new features (gravity gun, flashlight that isn't a worthless gimmick to show off lighting effects, dual wielding). Hell with the right advertisement, change the title name and the storyline/character's name(s)/setting and you got yourself a brand new guaranteed-to-succeed franchise right there!
have you see
and better.
Microsoft anti-spyware
this might help remove all those ad links.
"It has always been this way and it won't change, god bless the fucked up USA" The Briefs
... but he can't even afford a decent Husky micro screwdriver as apparent in the bottom right corner of this picture.
Don't think that a small group of dedicated individuals can't change the world. It's the only thing that ever has.
Ok, I guess I should have put the "" tags around that post. Wow. I wasn't actually coming out in support of the DMCA... I was trying to make the point that the DMCA is idiotic, but apparently the moderators didn't get it. My apologies. I will aim lower with the political satire next time.
The sad truth is that this author may actually be in violation of the DMCA.
I started a website to help combine all the information that has been coming out. http://www.winbeforeyouplay.com Check it out..I am trying to update it frequently and more updates are coming soon.
If you are a professional, then you might want to ground yourself using a static strap to prevent any sudden static discharges from killing your PSP.
A professional ? You'd better to do that any time you want to take an electronic device apart, professional or not...
The preceding generations could often be marked about how they fought for their rights. Ours can likley be marked by how many we let slip away.
Depending on what modifications you do, it's possible that posting a howto for them can still land you in legal hot water. Modifying for self use==ok, giving instructions seems to be less so nowadays.
How long is a piece of string?
This one is easy...
It's twice the length from the middle to the end.
If it cuts into the handheld DVD market then it will be a genre redefiner.
Considering the PSP can't play DVD's this will be difficult.
I don't know how many people are going to repurchase all of their DVD movies again in some proprietary format with inferior picture quality just to watch them on a PSP.
No one has a right to their *own* opinion. They have a right to the TRUTH.
Why would anyone dismantle something that just cost them $250, I could understand when it was an ipod shuffle, and they got it for free, but if you pay $250 and are willing to take the risk of breaking it just to see what's inside, send it to me instead, I'll send you pictures, and then tell you that it broke and keep it.
I mean, I sure as hell didn't pay opening price for any of my game systems.
the car I drive is on it's fourth owner, so most of us didn't pay opening price either.
It's going to settle down to 150 before most of it's buyers buy in. by then production cots will have settled too, of course.
this is such a cooler 'thing' than the Nintendo GBA or DS. thsoe systems just aren't as cool.
Or rarified, perhaps. I wonder if the PSP4 will have as much novelty, but the first one is a big deal. I think its already on most people's want lists. I never really wanted any of the game boys since the pocket one came out a decade ago.
I think the most signficant advances of the PSP may be in the increased network connectivity. Depending on how easily software is written for the device, I can imagine users downloading or streaming tv shows, movies, news, or other user-created content over publicly accessible wireless networks, sharing that content with other nearby and remote users, all in a completely portable and fairly straightforward manner. While laptops are certainly capable of doing all of this, for $200 a user could have portable access to unlimited media content, and the possibility of other network-enabled applications is very significant. The slew of apps designed for palm pcs and personal organizers could find a new niche here, becuase with Sony's market there would be a huge number of users on a standardized platform. It remains to be seen, however, how open Sony will be with content developers, how much of the PSP can be modified, and to what extent users will be able to easily utilize these features.
Mod me down, and I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine!
But When are they gonna get Linux running on a PSP?
I wanna turn mine on to some happy penguin action.
Portable tux racer?
--- As to make my comment seem, by comparison, more intelegent... doodie doodie doodie poop poop poop!
hasn't lik-sang done this before? so /. is now duping other websites as well?
Pictochat Art!!!
Sure I can take it apart ...But does it run Linux?
I really don't see major point in all of this. What good could come out of this? It's not exactly dinner table talk...
"So Jimmy, what did you do today?"
"I took apart my PSP"
"You mean that $250 toy we bought you?
"Yup that's the one"
You have been warned.
$0m&|30|)y $#0u1|) !n$7@11 1!nux 0n !7 @n|) c@11 !7 |>|206|2&$$...
>> how about getting the system back together again? Did you see what he had at the end of the article? A pile of parts.
I kind of saw that coming when he wrote on page three:
I wasn't sure at first where to start, but eventually trusted my gut instinct and went with the brute force method.
heh. good choice. always go with brute force. especially when dealing with electronics....
http://request-header.info
There are two fatal problems with your idea: One, Sony will be too stingy about the DRM -- no sharing. Two, there's not enough storage on the unit. It needs at least a microdrive's worth to be useful for TV shows and movies.
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
How about use a Sony icon stuff to post the article ? A Gameboy for PSP is really cool... :-)
Music is the sedative for mind...
If it doesn't get any more durable, it doesn't really seem to matter because the warranty's so particular chances are if you break your PSP, that's it.
I thought slashdot was for the more tech-savy of us - i'm not trying to be a troll, but jocks don't hang out at the chessclub.
This is the biggest failing of the device in my eyes, leaving a microdrive out. sure, Sony would never have put one in because of the piracy aspect, but if i could dump even 4/5GB of mp3 and movies/TV on there, i would go buy one right now. having that fantastic screen and no way of putting any serious quantity of video on it, thats a tragedy. 1GB memory sticks are simply outrageously priced and too easy to lose. however i read somewhere (sorry, I can't remember where) that UMC are basically small DVDs in funky cases - ie: it follows the DVD 'pit' format. if this is true, it may be that someone starts selling the cases, and I start buying mini-DVDs to feed my burner. if anyone can confirm/refute this rumour, i would be very grateful, as would sony, as they would win £200 from me.
I was at the Game Developer's Conference a few weeks ago, and the guys at the Sony booth were showing off the PSP. One of the things they had there was the dev-kit, which appears to be a regular VAIO desktop with a UMD drive. It also comes with a special PSP which has an umbilical to the desktop and subsequently, has no UMD drive.
I asked one of the guys if the unit can execute code off a memory stick and he confirmed that this is possible. He then went on to add that this functionality is disabled in the consumer unit. Fascinating.
WARNING: DO NOT LET DR. MARIO TOUCH YOUR GENITALS. HE IS NOT A REAL DOCTOR.
Disassembling your own is merely art.
Well, I wonder about that. Using common sense,I'd be inclined to agree, but TFA says:
Sony explicitly outlaws any modifications to their PSP. If you don't believe me, check out page 15 of the manual where they state, "No authorization for the analysis or modification of the system, or the analysis and use of circuit configurations, is provided."
Can they really do that? Is there any legal basis for this? With software, it seems to be like this: when you purchase a program, you don't own the program, but are merely granted a license to use it. As such, the licensor can set limits to what you are allowed to do with the software.
However, the medium you buy the software on, as I understand it, is entirely your property.
So how does this translate to a hardware purchase, like the PSP? Of course, the hardware design is Sony's intellectual property. As is the firmware and all other software stored on a PSP. However, the PSP itself ought to be my property, and it should be within my rights to do with it however I may please. Including any modification and extension of it.
Don't whistle while you're pissing.
Hah thats nothing. My friend gets xbox games before they are even developed.
Pah! That's nothing. I play all my games on an XBox 4 that won't even exist for another 15 years.
And it were uphill both ways and we had to work 27 hours a day and pay for the privilege. Tell that to kids nowadays and they won't believe you...
"Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
from TFA:
...
Sony explicitly outlaws any modifications to their PSP. If you don't believe me, check out page 15 of the manual where they state, "No authorization for the analysis or modification of the system, or the analysis and use of circuit configurations, is provided.
I'm not sure this counts as outlawing, and in any case this is a fair use issue, if you bought the console, you bloody own it, you can do with the hardware what you like. Wouldn't like to be the test case though
"The dew has clearly fallen with a particularly sickening thud this morning"
...Stand down, son.
--Commodore Obvious
'If you're flammable and have legs, you are never blocking a fire exit.'
I think the most signficant advances of the PSP may be in the increased network connectivity. Depending on how easily software is written for the device, I can imagine users downloading or streaming tv shows, movies, news, or other user-created content over publicly accessible wireless networks, sharing that content with other nearby and remote users, all in a completely portable and fairly straightforward manner.
So you're telling me that something playing Ridge Racer is going to start the new digital revolution that is going to change the world and productivity?
I call bullocks. The darn thing is a freakin' hopped up gameboy. Let's try to curb the otaku enthusiasm, shall we?
And I haven't bothered to see it on my PSP either. Just not interested. I would have vastly prefered a copy of Lumines bundled with the PSP instead. --M
So you're saying that nobody has been sued for this? Maybe not sued successfully?
We live in an age of lawsuits... technology lawsuits for discompilation and hacking of hardware are part of this...
It all hinges on whether Sony lets people extend the platform. Considering their track record of proprietariness (Memory Stick, MiniDisc, ATRAC3, etc.) I don't have high hopes.
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
I used the original JPN PSP, and overall the button, twisting, etc. wasn't a problem.
But I think you're off-based on the UMD stuff.
Load times cannot be always avoided by adding more RAM, well, I mean it can be by adding enough RAM to fit the entire game in RAM. But then someone may just make a bigger game. In the end, the only way to be sure of having no load times is to have as much RAM as you have UMD storage. And the PSP doesn't have that.
As to the UMD not being the power usage problem, you may be right, but your logic doesn't work. The UMD drive in a MD player doesn't use much power because of the low data rates. It only loads about 16K of data per second of play due to the music compression. That means for 4 minutes of play only uses about 4M of data. Now, when you play a game, they need to load a lot more data, a lot of textures and such. The data rates are certainly at least 3X higher. If it has 32M of RAM and uses it all for a 5 minute "level" of play, then that's 6M/minute instead of 1M/minute.
Also note that a single AA alkaline battery has a lot of capacity in it. It probably has about 4000MWh of power capacity. The battery in the PSP only has about 6500MWh of power capacity, and it's a fairly large battery too.
Despite that, I think the biggest power user is the backlight. Well, that's the biggest unavoidable power user.
The other big power user is developer waste. The CPU and other processors are very powerful in the PSP. So if you use it a lot, it will eat the battery. So it is critical that developers be careful to not use any excess CPU they don't need. It's one thing to use that CPU to bring better gameplay or graphics to a game, it's another to just waste it away through poor programming.
Game writers are not used to taking steps that preserve the CPU. They are used to spin loops and things that waste power.
To make the PSP and future powerful consoles successful, developers are going to have to adapt. And game console makers are going to have to be more selective of their developers. First party efforts will be come more important.
I also disassembled a PSP (knowing that I may never be able to use it again if I screwed up putting it back together). Guess what? I killed it.
Now a word to the wise:
Make sure to pay close attention to how all the parts are oriented, placed, and how snug they are. When you put the PSP back together you will need to make sure that all the buttons are perfectly aligned with their contacts, and that all the parts are tightly placed. Otherwise, when you put the faceplate back on, the buttons could make imprecise connections and the LCD screen could have excessive pressure placed on it. This is where I screwed up. The LCD screen wasn't placed down firmly enough and when I reattached the faceplate the bottom right corner cracked the screen, which caused part of the LCD to bleed across the screen. D'oh!
Other useful tidbits:
The reason that some people can twist their PSP and have the UMD tray pop open is because the tray holding the LCD screen needs to be placed directly in the center (or slightly to the left). Otherwise the tray catch will not slide under the UMD tray far enough.
I didn't have a problem with the square button, but since I didn't align the components/LCD tray far enough to the left I had connection problems with the right D-pad button. I would imagine that the same problem would occur with the square button if the components were placed too far to the left.
Oh yeah, and wear an ESD strap. It's just common sense.
Unfortunately the silicon compound outgasses acetic acid as it cures. That will turn all the components into corroded goo. IOTW... Dont try this. If you must, order some commercial potting compound.
Nice plants ! Keep up the good work !
And you're proud of this? What a dick.