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IRC On The PSP

Posted by timothy on from the limited-range dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Volksport has created a new script that allows PSP owners to access IRC from the PSP. The script requires the use of the Wipeout Pure Web browser hack in order to get the PSP online. Once that is done, all you have to do is access this Web page (as the script is server side), and you will be able to chat on the official PSPIRC project IRC channel. Users are currently limited to the PSPIRC chatroom. The script also features virtual PSP keyboard support."

40 of 149 comments (clear)

  1. I would find this useful... by FireballX301 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If it weren't so godawful to type on the PSP.

    At least let it be a standard keyboard interface where you move a cursor, instead of that horrible dialpad.

    1. Re:I would find this useful... by MBCook · · Score: 3, Interesting
      I agree, it's a pain.

      That said, if you use this hack for the ZipIt Wireless device, you could use IRC, on Linux, for about $100, and it is wireless too. Cheaper than buying a PSP (but then again anyone who buys a PSP to run IRC through a hack in a game must not be poor).

      Love my PSP, but I would have rather had a "normal" soft-keyboard (or even just press up/down to select the next/previous letter in the alphabet, left/right to select the next/previous blank). I don't know what they were thinking with that. Text input on cell phones only works because you have those twelve buttons. Without the twelve buttons, that becomes about the most anoying text input method I've seen.

      --
      Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
    2. Re:I would find this useful... by DannyiMac · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I totally agree! I hate the PSP's keypad and I believe it would be a good idea if Sony allowed one to choose between a keyboard or the keypad. (An option in the System settings would be nice).

      I guess they thought it would appeal more toward people who text message all the time. Though, it's not the same as using a phone since you have to navigate the cursor to the button with the letter or number you want. It's way more tedious and annoying than text messaging.

      Ultimately, it's a shame the PSP doesn't have a touch screen... The NDS beats the PSP for data input any day. (Man, if it did have a touch screen, Nintendo would be fuct!)

      Though, I have heard that there are keyboards in development. Oh boy, there will be some more crap to buy for the already expensive PSP.

      --
      - Danny
    3. Re:I would find this useful... by Reaperducer · · Score: 2, Interesting

      You can buy a USB keyboard for the PSP that flips up to form a screen protector when not in use. If the PSP e-mail client makes it to American shores, I'm going to get it immediately.

      --
      -- I'm old enough to have lived through six different meanings of the word "hacker."
    4. Re:I would find this useful... by RyuuzakiTetsuya · · Score: 2, Informative

      9 buttons.

      I'm used to texting, so it's incredibly fast for me. I prefer it over normal "virtual" keyboards.

      --
      Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
    5. Re:I would find this useful... by Mozk · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Have you ever played Killzone? It's a bad game, but the way you input your name on there is pretty interesting. It's a 3 by 3 grid, with four characters in each box arranged in a diamond. You select the box you want with the d-pad and choose the letter with the corresponding symbol (x, square, triangle, circle). It's a great system that I think would work very well on the PSP.

      --
      No existe.
    6. Re:I would find this useful... by Mozk · · Score: 5, Informative

      Since that was a fairly bad explanation, here is an image (I'm too lazy to finish it). That would be holding left and pressing square. Some combination of chars in each box could be like abcd, efgh, ijkl, mnop, qrst, uvwx, yz12, 3456, and 7890. You could have puncuation and other things with L1 and R1, but you know nobody uses puncuation on IRC anyway.

      --
      No existe.
    7. Re:I would find this useful... by tonsofpcs · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Thats why I got my 80286 on IRC! I couldn't stand the PSPs keypad, so I have a nice 86 key keyboard, and the entire thing is in a box. Not wireless yet, but I'm working on it. Check out my Journal for details [its the Compaq Portable III].

      --
      Video Production Support
  2. Wow by Sv-Manowar · · Score: 2, Insightful

    All these developments for the PSP within the first month of it being released will definetley increase the market share for the PSP in the battle in sales against the DS

    When you think about how much has been done in the first month, It's exciting to think about what people will develop for it given some time. Kudos to the developers of this.

    --
    Business Voyeur
    1. Re:Wow by prockcore · · Score: 4, Informative


      When you think about how much has been done in the first month, It's exciting to think about what people will develop for it given some time. Kudos to the developers of this.

      Except that this isn't developing *on* the PSP. It's an IRC proxy via the web. The hacked web browser for the PSP lets people do pretty much anything a web browser can do.. but it's not really PSP development.

      Give the DS a webbrowser and you can run every one of these "psp hacks". Except that you'd have a much better input system.

  3. Re:Why buy the PSP? by kryogen1x · · Score: 3, Insightful
    It doesn't weigh as much.

    I'm no Sony fanboy (in fact, I'm more of a nintendo fanboy), but that argument was ridiculous.

    However, you can try this.

  4. It occurs to me... by Darth+Yoshi · · Score: 4, Interesting
    How long will it be before Bittorrent (or one of the other file sharing/downloading programs) is ported to the PSP. Sony will be so pleased.

    Anyone want to start a pool?

    --
    // TODO: fix sig
    1. Re:It occurs to me... by illumin8 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      How long will it be before Bittorrent (or one of the other file sharing/downloading programs) is ported to the PSP. Sony will be so pleased.

      It occurs to me that BitTorrent, coupled with some type of mesh networking, might be the killer app for the PSP. When memory stick duos get larger in capacity and cheaper in price, you could conceivably have a 4GB memory stick duo, and setup a "wishlist" of content. While you're out and about, your PSP runs with the screen off in wireless mesh mode grabbing content from other PSPs and from the internet at large. From what I've read, people in Japan are already sharing video clips that are in the PSP native format. This would just eliminate the need to download them on your computer.

      How cool would it be for your PSP to automatically download some new TV shows while you're at work? You could watch them on the train ride home...

      --
      "When the president does it, that means it's not illegal." - Richard M. Nixon
    2. Re:It occurs to me... by Darth+Yoshi · · Score: 2, Funny
      Yeah, good idea- PSP P2P!

      What's next? A webserver- PSP PHP?

      Well, if you could write a P2P client in PHP, then you would have PSP PHP P2P.

      --
      // TODO: fix sig
  5. oh no by FidelCatsro · · Score: 5, Funny

    The thing has no Keyboard , i can imagine it now
    hy
    hy
    ho r u
    gr8
    col
    hv u plyd rdgrcer
    yh rxrs
    knw ne cht cod
    xyxyx

    --
    The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
    1. Re:oh no by TomHandy · · Score: 5, Funny

      Hrmm, and how is that different from the typical IRC experience?

    2. Re:oh no by FidelCatsro · · Score: 5, Funny

      .... um they have an excuse this time

      --
      The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
    3. Re:oh no by lachlan76 · · Score: 2, Funny

      The scary thing is that I read most of that faster than your first sentence!

  6. Bullshit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is "IRC on the web server". It's HTML on the PSP.

  7. Not to be too much of a curmudgen by jockm · · Score: 4, Informative

    but this is just an IRC proxy page. It is neat and cool, but it is no different than any other page I might visit via the browser redirect trick. It would be much more exciting if someone had actually written an IRC client that ran on the PSP

    --

    What do you know I wrote a novel
  8. Infect PSP with Viri by DigiShaman · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I'm feeling evil. But I would love to see a virus jump off the IRC network and infect the PSP just to see if it can be done. Why not? The worst that would happen is you lose your saved game data.

    *grin*

    --
    Life is not for the lazy.
    1. Re:Infect PSP with Viri by The-Perl-CD-Bookshel · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Highly unlikely--as the web page is just a proxy for the IRC client. The PSP only sees the HTML that the web site spits out. It would be really hard to transmit the virus through the mark-up, unless the web page itself was corrupt.

      --
      I don't keep a lid on my coffee so when I walk around I look busy -me
  9. Does PSP have USB? by whitetiger0990 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I heard somewhere that the PSP had one USB port. Couldn't you use a keyboard on it? Or is a proper keyboard not availiable as of yet.
    Unless I am mistaken. One USB port can be used for quiet a lot!

    I am still waiting for MSNM though.

    --
    You have been warned.
    1. Re:Does PSP have USB? by jockm · · Score: 4, Informative

      USB devices are not peers. There is a USB host and a USB client. It takes far less hardware (thus cost) to be a USB client. This was part of it's advantage over firewire in getting adopted (lower cost and hardware complexity). As far as I know the PSP can only act as a USB client. Thus it cannot use arbitrary USB peripherals.

      --

      What do you know I wrote a novel
    2. Re:Does PSP have USB? by Yeldarb-7 · · Score: 5, Informative

      Yes and no. Yes, the PSP does have a USB port, but it is not usable by peripheral devices yet. So far, the PSP is only able to run as a device, no host support has been uncovered yet. The only way to enable power to the USB port is to do a "USB Connection," which essentially turns your PSP into a media card reader. The only thing you can do is transfer files to it from your computer. Hopefully a firmware update will enable OTG [On the Go] in the future so that we can use it as a host in the future.

    3. Re:Does PSP have USB? by larryj · · Score: 3, Interesting

      A PSP keyboard has been announced, but I don't think a release date has been set.

      http://www.gameseek.co.uk/productdetail/PSPfhyaqce 6he5x223r/

      --
      What if the Hokey-Pokey really is what it's all about?
  10. A simple solution: by shigelojoe · · Score: 5, Funny

    To aid a large majority of IRC users, the following IRC shortcuts could be implemented:

    Circle = "lol"
    Triangle = "rofl"
    Square = "wtf"
    X = "stfu"
    L1 = "brb"
    R1 = /leave #pspirc

    Typing would then be accomplished by using the D-Pad and joystick to approximate the semaphore flag signalling system. The difficulty of typing in this setup could be rationalized by the fact that very few IRCers could not express themselves fully by using the six shortcuts listed above.

    1. Re:A simple solution: by IANAAC · · Score: 3, Funny
      And don't forget the combo:

      L1/R1 = "OMGLOLU2??!!"

    2. Re:A simple solution: by nutshell42 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      If people really start using the psp for chatting something similar to flag signaling could really be useful. The d-pad offers 8 positions, if you use it to modify button events (or use the buttons to modifiy the d-pad signals) you get 48 possibilities. More than enough. Ok, it's going to take some time to learn the positions of the different letters but most here learned the regular keyboard and lots of people can touch-type on their cell-phone so one more gadget should be doable.

      --
      Don't think of it as a flame---it's more like an argument that does 3d6 fire damage
  11. Official browser by rasty · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Hope this helps making Sony realize people is interested in using the PSP to go online and make them release an official browser...!

  12. Re:Game Machine? by IANAAC · · Score: 3, Informative
    Maybe Sony should have realized that no one really wanted to play games with the PSP, and released a PSP that includes a Linux OS, and has the ability to work just like a standard computer, only smaller.

    Someone else already did, in Japan - Sharp, with their Zaurus C3000.

    An excellent handheld, BTW.

  13. Why go through all that trouble... by IdJit · · Score: 2, Funny

    when the only thing anyone's ever going to say is:

    1. w00t
    2. gg
    3. 0wn3d!!!

    --
    GET FREE APPLE STUFF!
  14. Why? by JackAxe · · Score: 2, Insightful

    When I look at the PSP, I see is a great portable PS2 with a nice screen. But if I look at it for web browsing, IRC or whatever, all I see is a "glorified cellphone." I own a Clié, Axim and soon a Treo650 to replace those two items. Anyways, unlike a PSP my PDAs have "touch-screens," even a built-in keyboard and are better suited for this type of thing then a PSP. And with the Treo, I won't be limited to a wi-fi connection to get my e-mail or chat. I'll be able to do it prety much anywheres. (Yes, I'll be paying for that.).

    But why would you want to use your PSP for this type of thing? It's not exactly small (It's Larger then my Clié which has a higher-rez touch-screen, longer battery life and keyboard.). The keyboard attatchments that I've seen for the PSP can not be used while holding the device and if you're going to carry that around, you might as well carry around a PDA. The PSPs only real input for portability is the control pad or analstick and that's even worse then a cell phone which is a tedious way of doing so. At least the phone has 12 main buttons that each contain a segment of the alphabet.

    All I can think of is that this is more of a novelty then a useful function.

    1. Re:Why? by Rii · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The point is not to make the PSP an end-all ubergadget that replaces everything else. It's more like "Wow, look what else we can make it do after its (arguably) a good gaming device!"

      Don't worry, your very expensive gadgets will always be superior to mods and hacks to a handheld game device. But don't rain on the parade of us that like the ability to stretch our PSPs to their best potential. I mean, wouldn't you be happy if you found out your new toy had an unexpected extra function, beyond what you paid for?

  15. Re:PSP sucks by IANAAC · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Number of original game experiences on PSP... 0 Whoops, better stick to my laptop for the airplane and my mp3 player for walking around.

    Yes, because they're not original titles, everything sucks.

    Good grief. So you don't like the PSP. We get it. Seems there are plenty of people out there who do, though.

  16. Using your own DNS with Win2003 Server by digitalexpl0it · · Score: 3, Informative

    Little howto to use your own dns for the psp http://daemonprojects.com/dnspsp/

  17. MemoryStick makers will enjoy sales by Vandil+X · · Score: 2, Funny

    Considering all the music, movies, roms, warez, and pr0n obtained via IRC, high-capacity Memory Sticks will sell like hotcakes.

    --
    Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, START
  18. Wipeout Pure Sales by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    So is there anyone actually buying Wipeout Pure because it might be a decent, fun, and exciting game or is the mass amount of money the developers of this game getting simply from excited kids who wanted to chat on IRC and browse the web while breaking their fingers attempting to type on this device?

  19. PSP Keyboard by eples · · Score: 5, Informative

    Here - a PSP Keyboard

    --
    I'm a 2000 man.
  20. Keyboard by Atog006 · · Score: 2, Informative

    http://www.gameseek.co.uk/productdetail/PSPfhyaqce 6he5x223r/ There will be a keyborad for the PSP