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PC Keyboard Connected to PSP
An anonymous reader writes "A hardware engineer has managed to successfully connect a full-sized PC keyboard to the Sony PSP handheld. It looks as if the hardware modification was done with several different xlink cable connectors modified to interlink with each other. Obviously, the software side of things is not complete, but this is still a very interesting modification." The real question is what killer apps will come out of all this PSP hacking. There has to be more than just MAME emulation.
Maybe we'll get mice next... then the FPS games will actually be playable!!
OMG SOEMOEN SI H4X0RING MAI B0X3N!1!
Mirrored just in case.
/. community's attention.
We apologize for the somewhat poor quality pictures... the creator of this masterpiece says that soon he will let us know exactly how he created this hardware modification, of course the software side of things is not fully functional."
So, basically what you're saying is that I can take anything with cables, connect it to a PSP adaptor with electrical tape, take low resolution pictures which show absolutely nothing definitive, declare that I've done a hack, and you will then declare it a masterpiece while posting it on the front page of your news section, thus somehow fooling someone (not to mention CmdrTaco) into thinking that this is material worthy of the
Tempting...
--
I'm not a troll; I'm just a skeptic.
Falun Dafa is good!
This story will probably garner a few comments along the lines of, "What's the point?" The interesting thing to me in this case is that the usual geek response of "Because it's there" applies, but there's also a bit of the gaming spirit at work.
If Sony hadn't invested so much time and effort in DRM etc., the PSP would be a much easier hack. But because they installed all these roadblocks, the hobbyist community has had to work hard for each success.
In a way, it's like a well-balanced game. It's challenging to make progress, but when you do, it's satisfying because of the work you put into getting tangible results. A game that hands you all the solutions is not much fun, but a game that offers well-balanced challenges can be a good time for a long while. Seems that Sony unintentionally created a pretty sweet "game" with the restrictions built into the PSP itself. Even if you're not in on the actual hacking, it has been fun to watch the hackers steadily proceed to the next level, and the next.
The only real point to this is to show that it "can be done," which isn't a bad reason to play around with things. But as for any real "killer apps," the keyboard attachment sort of kills the PSP's original "killer app" of portability in the gaming arena,...
I have to moficate hardware to get this to work? Yowza.
-- dR.fuZZo
There's been a lot more then just MAME emulation. So far there's emulators either running at full speed or are in development for the following [to my knowledge]: MAME NES Genesis SNES Neo-Geo PS1 N64 Nintendo DS
Now I can play all those First Person Shooters using WASD
Now all we need to do is figure out how to connect a Monitor, a Printer, and a scanner. Oh, and a mouse too. And then build a full sized case that it can go in with usb ports, audio and flash ports and such... Now THAT would be the killer app.
I have created a PSP mod (no swapping needed) that will allow you to browse old posts on Slashdot.. on the FRONT PAGE!! Brilliant!!
What? You can already do that? With any browser? Sheesh..
/. spaztech
Why would Taco even mention MAME emulation for a story about a keyboard hack? I appreciate the effort put forth to get this working, but there will be no "killer app" as a result of this. A full size keyboard sort of destroys the portability of the PSP, and I can already connect a full size keyboard to my PDA.
From hell's heart I fstab at /dev/hdc
$1100 up for grabs for someone who makes a tcp/ip interface for the PSP. Wow.
Although a full sized keyboard would allow much more room for typing and stuff, id prefer the mini keyboard that someone has already hacked to work with the IR port on the psp. I cant access gaming stuff at work, so i leave it to you to find out more about it.
It seems people are having more fun hacking the poor thing than actually playing games on it.
Only a matter of time before I can Linux on it.
insert inflammatory anti-microsoft comment here
Wasn't the PSP supposed to do all this neat shit to begin with? Why can't I browse the web with it, straight out of the box? I'm not a hobbyist or a hardcore gamer, but I was interested in this device until I found out how much Sony had crippled it. Call me in a year, when it's $100 cheaper and the hacking community has made it easy for me, the casual user, to enjoy the full potential of such a machine. Then, I'll pick one up.
on how he's hosting the page on his PSP.
Feel free to mention what the melting plastic smells like.
I don't think the editors of this site are capable of performing such simple tasks "sucessfully".
Download my free songs!
Indeed, just so everyone is aware, the PSP already has a straight forward (mini) USB interface (having bought an import model without any cables, I use a regular USB cable to mount it's Memory Stick on my PowerBook, for example).
s -mammatus.html
So, this guy has plugged a USB keyboard, into a device with a USB interface. It still has no software support, but err, it fit's physically. Whoohoo!
This sort of thing really bites when you read all the great stories that never get accepted (though people posting them in comments, and though having interesting articles rejected in the past, only to see them get posted coming from someone else several days later, but with a brain dead write-up).
So, anyone got anything that might actually be interesting to share?
I saw this today, which I think is pretty cool:
http://www.hprcc.unl.edu/nebraska/june2004hasting
That sounds like a pretty killer app to me! If it could support even half the arcade platforms of MAME, I would buy one of these in a heartbeat. Until then the PSP is too expensive as a mediocre movie player with a bunch of pretty, but uncompelling games.
S.
That bounty is for the Nintendo DS.
-everphilski-
Mofication
Main Entry: mofication
Pronunciation: "mo-f&-'kA-sh&n
Function: noun
1 : ones transformation into a Bad Mofo : see Pulp Fiction
More
Don't blame the story posters, blame the idiots who submit these things yet can't spellcheck themselves.
at this point PSP Updates most likely.
Y'know, maybe if something other than low quality games and movies everyone already owns on DVD was released for the PSP, everyone wouldn't be so doggone in a hurry to hack the thing.
~Impr3ssion
Hell, I know it's a slow news day, and heck, it's JULY, not APRIL, but WTF??? A guy PHYSICALLY connects a USB keyboard to a device that has a USB connector??? AMAZING!!! I know I'l probably be modded down for this, but this has to be the most fucking retarded "news" story I have EVER seen on slashdot! This would have been news if he had coded a driver or app to actually CAPTURE the keystrokes, but getting a news story for simply connecting it to a keyboard? COME ON! In fact...I'm going to copy this amazing feat right now... 1. connect USB-A to USB-MiniB cable to PSP 2. connect USB-A to USB-A adapter to cable. 3. connect USB keyboard to adapter. OMFG!!! I did it too!!! CAN I BE FAMOUS??? Coming soon to Slashdot: I connect a Hello Kitty USB vibrator to my PSP!
mirrored here
- Sh!t
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Want something cool on your PSP? Try ScummVM. It's awesome. The games look like they were made for the little beast, and the interface works great.
"Moderate drinking can help prevent amputated limbs" -- Abigail Zuger, NYTimes, 12/31/02
If you can find a killer app for a portable device connected to a non-portable keyboard, consider me Miles Davis.
Yes, I'm going to talk about the DS in a PSP thread. No I am not trolling.
The reason the PSP is getting quick ports of things like emulators is because they can unthrottle the cpu from 222mhz to 300mhz, and run everythign in the cpu, and not worry about optimization. In reality, little is actually known about psp homebrew. Doom, Doom II, Quake etc have been ported, but hell, Quake needs a 100mhz cpu, with an OS running (albeit MSDOS 5.0) theres already the pocketquake project, which makes it a breeze. It's surprising no one has taken the ARM port of pocketquake and put it onto the DS, because it's completly possible.
Alot of the DS homebrew crowd seems preoccupied with cracking the WiFi and adding TCP/IP to dslinux. There's already drivers I do believe for a Palm foldup keyboard to hook up to the DS via USB, and a few other things have too (Bluetooth antenna, SD card...)
dslinux however, isn't getting much attention. It was written by one guy, and now he's bored of it.
nice small PSP and than add a full size keyboard, hmm. It probably will drain the battery in no time so you have to stay connected to a powersupply all the time too. I see a great future for this hack (and for battery pack sellers).
My wife's sketchblog Blob[p]: Gastrono-me
If the people who run this site are going to promote themselves to the post of "editor", then shouldn't they actually bother to edit?
Download my free songs!
Errr it's got a USB port, so it's not exactly hard to plug a keyboard in is it?
Now whether it uses it properly is entirely another matter.
Am I missing something here?
The PSP's USB port is a slave port. It could not by default supply power to an attached keyboard. It has been surmised that the port CAN be used as a master to talk to an attached device or peripheral; to prevent any damage to a computer or the like attached when this is done, the port is likely unable to supply power. The screw terminals on either side of the USB port are reported to supply power to an attached peripheral (or the peripheral can use its own internal power supply)
This configuration as shown relies on the PSP's USB port being able to supply 5V to the keyboard, which is highly unlikely according to people who know a lot more about it than I do. If the guy wanted to make a better 'fake, he should have run some dummy wires over to the screw terminals or mentioned something about supplying power to the keyboard or talked about USB master vs slave.. The absense of him addressing any of these problems makes the thing smell very much like a crappy hoax.
The only reason people do this stupid stuff is because idiotic editors REPORT IT.
Hey, there's much more than emulators, check out: PSPKick It's a drum machine for the PSP!
He could just wait a couple of months and buy a keyboard DESIGNED for the psp...
Linky
---- Den ene knappen er powerknapp, den andre er Bender voice knapp "Bite My Shiny Metal Ass"
Where can I obtain one of these devices? The old serial interface is just not very responsive. A USB interface should improve performance to more satisfying levels.
Thank you in advance for your assistance.
well folks as of now the link is /.ed
It's hard to avoid the feeling that the DS is gimmicky, considering that many of the features only have that "hey, that's kinda cool!" novelty quality to it. The PSP might not be innovative as far as new concepts go, but it certainly has rock solid convential gameplay (pressing buttons) quality.
Look, I duct-taped an oscilloscope to a poodle! Of course there's a lot to be done on the software side, but in the meantime it's a very interesting canine modification!
Yeah, I noticed that as well.. His wife is around 50 or so if I calculate correctly..
SYS 64738
The Super NES emulator and Sega Genesis emulator do not work at all on the currently shipping PSP units, which come with firmware 1.51 or 1.52. They work only on older PSP units, those with firmware 1.00 (J) or firmware 1.50 (JU), that haven't been upgraded to a newer version by a UMD game.
Honestly I have to agree. People keep saying you can use a mouse and keyboard with it yet keep arguing it's great portable to play everywhere.
Are you seriously going carry around a mouse and keyboard (even if small) along with UMD games and memory sticks with you?
"I thought what I'd do was I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes" ~ Laughing Man - GITS:SAC
Try this peripheral.
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There is a tool that allows you to downgrade the firmware on the 1.51 and 1.52 firmware models.
There is a tool that allows you to downgrade the firmware on the 1.51 and 1.52 firmware models.
But how do you boot it if 1.51 and 1.52 can't boot homebrew?
No, MAME emulation means emulating the MAME instead of running it. That'd be if you used DOSBox or VMWare for the DOS and W32 MAMEs, for example. Not sure why you'd want that but hell, some people want Linux on their toasters.
Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
I'm wondering what the point of that is. The DS's touchscreen begs to be used as a keyboard, and in many cases it is. (Pictochat, Animal Crossing, ...Ping Pals *shudder*)
warriorsofthe.net have created a 16 minute animated film which depicts the life of a packet, from clicking a link to receiving a webpage. It explains networking to a 2-year-old, which helps judging by current callers to Tech Support Help Desks.
Linkie: http://www.warriorsofthe.net/movie.html
Free for non-commercial use.
"The more pity, that fools may not speak wisely what wise men do foolishly" - Touchstone,Shakespeare's "As You Like It"
That's amazing. An emulator that only runs FMVs, and at less than 10% of their original framerate. "It's a start" is right.
Considering that there are all of 4 wires to contend with, the hardware side of the problem is practically a non-issue. The real problem is making a keyboard driver.
Oh well, what the hell...
The USB on the go standard allows device ports to become somewhat limited masters. If the PSP has an on the go capable chip (most likely) then it would be possible to drive a keyboard, but some SW work would be required.
Oh well, what the hell...
I guess you are a highly specialized Grammar Nazi only and not a Spelling Nazi...
Oh well, what the hell...
I created an adaptor to connect a keyboard port (one of those old large ones) to my GameBoy Color... wrote a short little notepad-like "game" to work with it, but other than that... there's not much point :\
Luke-Jr
Dell laptops have keyloggers preinstalled. ;)
Luke-Jr
Wake me up when someone converts a PSP keyboard to work on a PC. Preferably via the PS/2 port.
(All I want is a tiny, cheap keyboard for a wearable computer. Is that too much to ask for?)
Raptor
"Procrastination is great. It gives me a lot more time to do things that I'm never going to do."
Why would you want to add a full size keyboard to a PSP (PlayStation PORTABLE)? Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of the thing being portable? A mini-keyboard maybe, but what is the point?
Repant. Thy end is sheer.
"The real question is what killer apps will come out of all this PSP hacking"
Uh lets see...IRC, telnet, web browser...all are ALREADY OUT. theres already a program that interfaces with an infrared keyboard and can read its input (and can be easily modified for any keyboard if you just read the IR codes in correctly).
Way to be on the cutting edge, guys
And most likey, the PSP acts as a USB host, so wow he just changed a connector. Amazing!!111
Mofication ain't no country I ever heard of! They speak English in Mofication?
---k--
</stupid>
You're not Miles Davis?!
jack a beowulf cluster of those mini usb keyboards...woah
Well, the skeptic thing is really more of a joke. I apologize for confusing you. What isn't a joke, however, is the truth of the universe. Please try to approach it with an open mind.
Falun Dafa is good!
Well, considering that a casio calculator watch is now probably more powerful than the first boxes to run Linux, why don't we just hook up a keyboard interface to it, and run Linux on one of them?
..
Do these people ask themselves "what would anyone, or myself, ever possibly use this for?"
"Champagne for my real friends - and real pain for my sham friends!" http://ericblade.postalboard.com/
I'm currently reading Harry Potter 6 in an ebook reader on my psp.
I wanted to read comic books in the PSP's image viewer, but it was too slow and crappy and also doesnt realize that 01 comes before 10 in filenames.
Fortunately there's now a much better homebrew app that works really well.
Playing Dr. Mario in the NES emulator is pretty sweet as well.
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