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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.
"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
BTW, any attempt to imitate will result in a void warranty :)
First off, thank you Captain Obvious.
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).
I doubt it will ever be illegal. We're a nation of tinkerers. Your dad and mine took apart their cars. Our grandfathers took apart their houses. We take apart our computers.
People will be able to convince the old timers that reverse engineering code ("you mean like spies?") is criminal and they'll be able to convince our dads that copying and selling a patended machine is criminal, but our dads and grandpas wont stand still for a law the won't let them take the cover off of something they own. They may not understand electronics, but they understand ownership. They may not want to take the cover off of their TV but they'll be damned if someone trys to tell them they can't.
TW
Fun with Anagarams! LADS HOST, SHALT DOS. HAS DOLTS. AD SLOTHS, HATS SOLD. ASS HO, LTD.
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
"What aspect of handheld gaming has been "redefined" because of this?"
"Reasonably Priced" for one.
All hail the genius who clicked the Print Format on the original link.
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
There are a number of inaccuracies in your post.
I feel that the PSP continues Sony's trend of focusing on the wrong things when designing a game console.
Yes, because Sony was *so* off base with the PS2...
Developers are already complaining about the slow transfer rates, and the load times are VERY long compared to other handhelds.
There are already games in Japan (Tales of Eternia), that have no load time. The PSP has a large amount of RAM. Developers *can* use it to minimize load time.
The physical placement of the square button sacrifices gameplay for aesthetics, something which former-sony-head Ken Kutaragi admitted.
I have a PSP in front of me right now. The square button feels the same as every other button. It was a problem in the Japanese consoles, but it's fixed in the 1001 revision.
Thirdly, the short battery life is a major downside, which is related to the UMD itself.
The UMD, if it is descended from the Minidisc, is not the problem. I have a minidisc player that gets 40 hours on a single AA battery. The UMD disc is even smaller and lighter, and should thus use even less power. It's the heavy-graphics that cause shorter battery life (see IGN's battery-life review). Of course, if you want longer battery lives, you can always play games with DS-level graphics.
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.
No it doesn't. Again, I have one right here. The PSP is very rigid --- I just tried to twist it, and nothing happened. If you really do manage to eject the disc by twisting it, then you're doing it hard enough to cause serious damage to the console. There is no way you can get that sort of torsion in regular use.
A deep unwavering belief is a sure sign you're missing something...
*Bzzzt!* Sorry, you're wrong. If you had bothered to RTFA, you would know that the PSP is actually powered by 14 extremely tiny, very angry weasels. Noone is sure how Sony has managed to harness the power of the weasels for good, but I, for one, welcome our new micro-weasel overlords.
But, as a parting gift, I give to you the knowledge that the people have been sacked. And I, for one welcome our new posting overlords!
"Good night, good work, sleep well, I'll most likely kill you in the morning." - Dread Pirate Roberts
Our grandfathers took apart their houses.
My grandfather helped take apart the german war machine. If that isn't a DMCA violation, I don't know what is.
IANAL
This kind of thing is a manipulation of the common-law system that results in, basically, legislation being written by the Sony corporate legal department.
The USA uses common law, which works almost entirely by precedent. If a new issue (such as a new license, like the PSP's) comes up, the first court ruling a judge enters to address it is considered to be the law until it's legislated by the government or overruled by a higher court.
Sony (and other companies that have done this such as MS) write a license agreement that they would like to see as a law, find the most business-friendly jurisdiction in which to sue someone, and wait for someone from that jurisdiction that can't afford to appeal to violate it. They sue them, the judge gives them their precedent, and voila, instant legal credibility for this sort of corporate fascism.