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Dark Alex Releases 4.01 M33 Firmware For PSP

Posted by timothy on from the your-boy-zoolander's-on-the-move dept.

Croakyvoice writes "Dark Alex, the PSP hacker from Spain, and his Team M33 have released a new version of the custom firmware for the PSP, which now supports the very latest official firmware from Sony. Benefits for the end user include the ability to play the many hundreds of games, demos, applications and emulators written by the homebrew community for the PSP."

58 comments

  1. Umm...am I still on Slashdot? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    While I do actually follow the PSP homebrew scene, and this is fairly big news in the PSP homebrew scene...this is Slashdot. Maybe 1% of /.ers have a PSP (probably less, but give me the benefit of the doubt here), and of PSP owners, maybe 2% care about that.

    At least it wasn't posted as a full frontpage article. But honestly, this shouldn't have made it past the Firehose.

    1. Re:Umm...am I still on Slashdot? by raventh1 · · Score: 1

      I've been waiting for this. I haven't seen it on any of my other news sites.
      News is news.

    2. Re:Umm...am I still on Slashdot? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Then you haven't been looking on the right news sites. Have you tried a PSP news site? Or even a gaming news site? It might not get coverage on a general gaming site, but it would get coverage on a PSP news site.

      And yes, news is news. What is your point? Sports news is news, but you wouldn't see it showing up on Slashdot. Gaming news is news, and unless it's something big, it shouldn't really show up on Slashdot. See, if this were the very first custom firmware for the PSP, it would be big enough. But it's not. It's just the new increment of an old software.

    3. Re:Umm...am I still on Slashdot? by Nathonix · · Score: 1

      psp-hacks.com comes to mind, its a fairly comprehensive news site for owners of hacked psp's.

      however, thank god for this news, downloading the update now!

      --
      Soap box, Ballot box, Jury box, Ammo box. Use in that order.
  2. Hmm.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Penis!

    1. Re:Hmm.... by McGiraf · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Toe!

  3. ... and? by pathological+liar · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I can understand new releases of major software... a new GIMP, new KDE, new GNOME, new kernel, new release of a distro or operating system being newsworthy... but an announcement of a cracked firmware bin for a portable game system?

    1. Re:... and? by raventh1 · · Score: 1

      Yeah, now you can run even more software on some locked hardware; Why isn't this newsworthy to you?

    2. Re:... and? by pathological+liar · · Score: 2, Interesting

      No, you can run the exact same software you could before, this is a bugfix release -- and a trivial bugfix at that -- for something with the camera. A niche product on a niche product. Oops, I guess it adds one new function to the SDK, although neither the article or the summary actually says what it does.

    3. Re:... and? by Tumbleweed · · Score: 0

      I can understand new releases of major software... a new GIMP, new KDE, new GNOME, new kernel, new release of a distro or operating system being newsworthy... but an announcement of a cracked firmware bin for a portable game system?

      Welcome to Slashdot. If you don't likes the Slashdot, you don't have to reads the Slashdot. Go check out Reddit or Digg if you wants only important news. :)

    4. Re:... and? by Tarlus · · Score: 1

      To a community full of geeks, nerds, gamers, hackers and programmers, the ability for us to enhance the functionality of our gadgets and gizmos (to the point that we can make our own homebrew apps) is news that appeals to many.

      --
      /* No Comment */
    5. Re:... and? by pathological+liar · · Score: 1

      I understand the appeal of hacking something, but even given that, surely you can agree that this is some pretty trivial news. They changed the button used for a camera function, and they added a single function to the SDK.

      Unless it's steak_and_blowjob(), that's mailing list announcement fodder. I mean, if I wanted freshmeat, I'd look at freshmeat.

    6. Re:... and? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It also provides, obviously, 4.01 kernel support for devs to utilise.

  4. i know there are legit uses but... by silentace · · Score: -1, Troll

    I like the /. promotes piracy now. Me personally have no issues with piracy since its no different then buying a used game from EB games or Gamestop but still funny they would post something like this.

    1. Re:i know there are legit uses but... by raventh1 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Software development != Piracy, thanks!

    2. Re:i know there are legit uses but... by silentace · · Score: 1, Flamebait

      Did that make you feel better about yourself? Firmware modification == illegal breaking of EULA If you want to get technical then yeah. I used modified firmware in my PSP to play games (that i don't always own) but until the game companies start sueing EB Games/Gamestop and all the other reselling places then me pirating games will never effect them. I guess i am really argueing two issues here but your reply is pathetic to say the least.

    3. Re:i know there are legit uses but... by Tarlus · · Score: 1

      (Firmware modification == illegal breaking) != Piracy

      --
      /* No Comment */
    4. Re:i know there are legit uses but... by silentace · · Score: 0

      looks like Slashdot users don't like reality since i am right about this but i am getting flame baited and trolled.

      The reality is your wrong... Sony has the right to sue for modifying there firmware and potentially making them loose millions of billions blah blah blah. I really don't care that sony looses money but i do care that you have lost touch with reality.

      Reality == Piracy
      Fluff cover up that you call software development == Wrong

      just brings me back to the reasoning why i usually only read slashdot so back in the whole i go...

    5. Re:i know there are legit uses but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The problem is EULAs are bullshit. If I buy something it is MINE. If I want to take a hammer and smash the shit out of it then I can. If I want to modify the firmware on it then I can.

      Anyway when I bought my PSP the guy in Gamestation didn't make me sign a contract saying I wouldn't modify the firmware. Nor did the PSP make me "accept" such a contract when I first turned it on.

      Sony can go and fuck right off.

    6. Re:i know there are legit uses but... by Macthorpe · · Score: 1

      You're displaying a fair amount of ignorance there.

      Custom firmwares have many uses that don't involve piracy in any way, shape or form - including legal emulation, VOIP and messenger software and homebrew games and applications.

      --
      "It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him." - Tolkien
    7. Re:i know there are legit uses but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Firmware modification == illegal breaking of EULA

      This is only true if:
      1) The person using the custom firmware is old enough to be legally bound by a contract. (This age varies between countries.)

      2) They agreed to the EULA.

      3) The EULA is considered a legally binding contract in their country.

      4) The specific provisions of the EULA forbidding cracking the firmware are legally enforceable in their country.

      If any of these conditions are not met, the EULA is irrelevant.

      If an EULA is a valid contract, then there is a great profit to be made mailing out envelopes containing contracts with ridiculous terms and that start with "By opening this envelope you have agreed to..."

      With regards to this all being about piracy: there are probably some people who just don't want the device phoning home to Microsoft or Adobe when they enable WMV or Flash, or who want to avoid the continuous update cycle Sony insists upon, given that the majority of updates are just to prevent firmware cracks or to update their EULA.

    8. Re:i know there are legit uses but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're displaying a fair amount of ignorance there.


      Custom firmwares have many uses that don't involve piracy in any way, shape or form - including legal emulation, VOIP and messenger software and homebrew games and applications.

      .....and you're showing a fair amount of ignorance to the fact that the most popular use, by far, is the running of pirated games.

    9. Re:i know there are legit uses but... by msparshatt · · Score: 1

      just brings me back to the reasoning why i usually only read slashdot so back in the whole i go...

      I guess you're referring to the terrible spelling and grammar, right?

    10. Re:i know there are legit uses but... by EdIII · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Actually you are the one that is completely, totally, and absolutely wrong.

      It is impossible to perform the act of piracy by installing your own software on a Sony PSP when you BOUGHT THE PSP. You OWN the HARDWARE. It is YOUR HARDWARE. You have the ABSOLUTE RIGHT TO YOUR HARDWARE.

      There is no such thing as hardware "piracy". Hardware "piracy" is actually theft of property which is completely different. You also cannot perform the act of piracy as it relates to the official Sony firmware, since you received that with your paid-for PSP in the first place.

      Software Piracy would involve "stealing" somebody's software. That is not taking place here.

      Modifying your PSP firmware is at best, a violation of an agreement between you and Sony. It is a breach of contract, which is not remotely the same as an infringement on copyrights.

      Personally, I would consider it to be a form of civil disobediance. I don't think Sony, or any company, has the right to tell you what to do with hardware that you own. The specific language in the EULA should be deemed improper and unenforceable in court. I actually think it would be too and there is no case precedence that I am aware of.

      Would Toyota get away with selling you a car and telling you that you can only drive it to certain locations? At certain speeds? On certain days? With specific radio stations turned on? What about after market modifications on most popular cars? Would those auto manufacturers get away with creating restrictions on the after market industry?

      Of course not. You own the car. Well just the same, you own the PSP. The only exception for corporations, is to lease the hardware. That is done ALL the time, and allows those corporations to ethically and morally enforce restrictions upon the use of the hardware.

      So the reality is that you are wrong. The flamebait and troll modifier is justified in your case since it is highly offensive to label owners of PSPs as "criminals" simply for wanting to use homebrew applications and custom modified firmwares on their own property.

      Software Piracy is a very specific act and has nothing to do with "hacking" your own hardware. I even object to the use of the term, since I strongly believe that you cannot perform the act of "hacking" on your own property.

      In the future I would suggest you think about what you want to say a little more carefully.

    11. Re:i know there are legit uses but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      show me one scientific study that says so (and isn't done by the RIAA) ... rather than spouting numbers from your ass.

    12. Re:i know there are legit uses but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sony can go and fuck right off.

      I often feel the same way about the OSS community and their bullshit licences that tell me I can't do exactly what I want with the software that they don't even value enough to ask to be paid for. It's mine. I downloaded it. If you won't want your precious code tweaked and sold, then don't fucking write it. I didn't sign a goddamned thing, and you Unix hippies can go and fuck right off.

    13. Re:i know there are legit uses but... by Michael+Hunt · · Score: 4, Interesting

      looks like Slashdot users don't like reality since i am right about this but i am getting flame baited and trolled.

      No, you're being corrected because you are FLAT OUT WRONG.

      An EULA does not and can not apply unless it is presented to you BEFORE consideration is exchanged (in the case of purchasing a PSP, this would be at point of sale, BEFORE you gave them your cold hard and the title of said PSP transferred to you.)

      Consider an analogy: If i sold lawn mowers, for instance, and you bought one off me with the (IMO perfectly reasonable) assumption that you could replace the blades with any compatible brand, and then went to replace them and found that i'd placed an EULA sticker across the nut holding each blade in place saying "ONLY USE MICHAEL HUNT BRANDED BLADES. THIS IS A LEGALLY BINDING CONTRACT," then you'd be pretty irate.

      The fact that Dark Alex's firmware happens to allow playing of warez/backup games/imports/whatever is completely orthogonal to any argument you may or may not make RE: the legality of breaking an EULA. EULAs are not, and can not be retroactively binding. End of line.

      --
      You're doing it wrong.
    14. Re:i know there are legit uses but... by Michael+Hunt · · Score: 1

      PS, you're an idiot.

      --
      You're doing it wrong.
    15. Re:i know there are legit uses but... by Your.Master · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Although a troll, I think the parent post is also incredibly insightful. There is a common opinion in slashdot that EULAs are bullshit, and a common opinion that the GPL is not bullshit, and many here seem to hold both beliefs at once.

      Why is one more valid than the other? I don't mean to imply that it isn't or that it is, I'm just honestly curious.

    16. Re:i know there are legit uses but... by hawkinspeter · · Score: 1

      EULAs are generally not considered valid because they try to restrict your usage without there being a valid contract (i.e. you don't sign anything and you don't get to examine it before purchase etc).

      The GPL, on the other hand, gives you the extra right to re-distribute software, providing you comply with it. You're free to ignore it, but then you would have no right to re-distribute it as normal copyright law would apply.

      --
      You're a temporary arrangement of matter sliding towards oblivion in a cold, uncaring universe
    17. Re:i know there are legit uses but... by leachim6 · · Score: 1

      I agree wholeheartedly EdIII , that is one of the most concise posts summarizing the truth about this I've heard , good job!

      --
      This comment was laboriously planned and extremely well thought out by Mike Donaghy @ http://mikedonaghy.org
    18. Re:i know there are legit uses but... by The+Warlock · · Score: 1

      That said, it would sure look a lot more legitimate, to both Sony corporate and the people in this thread, if there was a custom firmware that just ran homemade software without loading pirated isos.

      Then again, I don't know much about the PSP, so this may be impossible. I know in the DS scene this is usually the way legitimate homebrew software developers distance themselves from the pirates.

      --
      I've upped my standards, so up yours.
    19. Re:i know there are legit uses but... by mr_mischief · · Score: 1

      A restriction on using something you bought has nothing in common with making a copy of something and redistributing it against the will of the author.

      The people using the hacked firmware are just breaking a restriction on what they own. However, there's a case to be made that the people releasing hacked firmware are making unauthorized derivative works of Sony's firmware. Depending on how they developed their versions, that might even be true. However, reverse engineering and rewriting from scratch for sake of compatibility has been accepted as a valid, non-infringing activity by US courts and even by the DMCA.

      Can a EULA you never signed, and for which you never received any consideration for accepting the terms, really preclude you from doing what is otherwise perfectly allowable? I guess we'll see if there's ever a solid court case that falls one way or another. So far, I think companies like Sony and Apple are content to call this phenomenon a nuisance.

      Phoenix, AMD, and many other companies have made major businesses out of reverse-engineering products and offering alternative versions. The developers of StarOffice/Open Office, Pidgin, Samba, and Novell's Evolution reverse engineered data formats for other software, and nobodys sued them out of existence. They're not using code from those other products, but are largely (or in some cases completely) compatible with them.

      Intel even offers its own version of extensions AMD made to Intel's CPU instruction set. There's probably no stronger support for the legitimacy of reverse engineering for the sake of compatibility than that, and you cna be pretty sure that Intel and AMD are both careful not to steal each other's actual designs and redistribute them. Who's to say these firmware writers are doing anything different without proof of their processes?

    20. Re:i know there are legit uses but... by mr_mischief · · Score: 1

      If, and only if, the hacked firmware is based partly on Sony's original and not written from scratch for compatibility with it, then distributing it to third parties could be a breach of copyright.

      Car companies do tend to void warranties if they have sufficient reason to believe you have been driving especially fast or have been racing in a street-legal general market car.

      Other than those two particulars, I'd agree with your whole post.

    21. Re:i know there are legit uses but... by immcintosh · · Score: 1

      When I purchase a product, with that purchase come a number of assumed contingent rights to my further use of that product. What a EULA is, essentially, is an attempt to further restrict those rights after the fact of purchase. Sneaking restrictions in through the back door if you will. What's more, as the purchaser, it is often at not inconsiderable inconvenience to me, should I decide to reject that further agreement after the point of purchase (try convincing a vendor not to charge you a "restocking fee" if you should return it). This inconvenience is, largely, unavoidable, because the EULA is not generally publicly available until AFTER the purchase agreement has been made and settled. None of that is the case for the GPL and that is a substantial and meaningful difference.

    22. Re:i know there are legit uses but... by Mr2001 · · Score: 1

      There is a common opinion in slashdot that EULAs are bullshit, and a common opinion that the GPL is not bullshit, and many here seem to hold both beliefs at once.

      Why is one more valid than the other?

      The GPL grants you additional rights, which you don't have by default, in exchange for agreeing to its terms. Normally, you have no right to redistribute someone else's copyrighted software; the GPL grants you a license to distribute it, as long as you also include the source code, a copy of the license, etc.

      On the other hand, an EULA attempts to take away rights that you already have by default. You don't need permission to install and run a piece of software that you bought, or to make backups: you have those rights by default (see 17 USC 117). An EULA that says "you can install and run this software as long as ___" is trying to offer you a right you already have in exchange for agreeing to terms you don't want.

      --
      Visual IRC: Fast. Powerful. Free.
    23. Re:i know there are legit uses but... by atraintocry · · Score: 1

      Because the GPL is not strictly a EULA?

    24. Re:i know there are legit uses but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It would have been funnier if your name was just "Mike Hunt". I'd use your blades.

  5. 1.5 addon already available by keith_nt4 · · Score: 1

    Since this story was posted they've already released 4.01-m33-2 update along with a +1.5 addon. For those who care you'll know what this means, everybody else continue not caring...

    --
    "UNIX is very simple, it just needs a genius to understand its simplicity." -Dennis Ritchie
    1. Re:1.5 addon already available by ivan256 · · Score: 1

      I have a release-day PSP which still has the 1.50 firmware on it. My lack of desire to "upgrade" to more restrictive firmware led me to put it away for a while... I haven't used it in over a year...

      Now I want to pick it back up and try some of these new custom firmwares, and all of the documentation assumes you've been following the 'scene' the whole time. If you don't know what something is for already, you're left to either follow over a year of 1337-sp33k forum posts to get caught up.

      So, no... You don't necessarily know what this means already if you care. After not paying attention for a year, though, coming back to it gives me a new appreciation for why most people think that PSP hackers are a bunch of kids trying to pirate software.

    2. Re:1.5 addon already available by keith_nt4 · · Score: 1

      I agree actually. I spent months researching different things that could be done with my PSP. Then left it alone for several months. Then picked it up again. And found out you can run customized versions of the latest firmware (lots of fun new features, old homebrew for 1.5 doesn't work) in tandem with the 1.5 firmware (legacy homebrew). It does take a lot of patience wading through several different sources of information and outdated forum posts.

      I did find some walk-throughs on YouTube. I recommend this highly.

      --
      "UNIX is very simple, it just needs a genius to understand its simplicity." -Dennis Ritchie
  6. Haha! by plasmacutter · · Score: 1

    So, the question is. will sony continue to bleed themselves dry fighting the impossible, or will they give up?

    win/win either way imho.

    --
    VLC FOR MAC IS DYING! IF YOU DEVELOP, PLEASE SAVE IT!!
  7. This is great... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    ...if the game companies are going to keep forcing rehashed versions of old games down my throat (esp Square: redone ff1, ff2, valkarie profile, fft) then I will keep pirating them and spend my hard earned dollars on games that push the envelope (wow expansions, civ 4).


    PSP I consider a gift from Sony to play games for free that I have already bought at least once (I can download roms of my old games for other systems).

    This may not be "open source" but I think it has all the earmarks of the Open Source Movement... taking control away from big companies to make everything free to download.

    1. Re:This is great... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      If your only complaint is that the games are nothing more than rehashes of old games, then why are you even bothering to pirate them? Unless, of course, you're lying, and actually believe that they DO have some value, but that you're somehow special from everybody else and shouldn't have to pay for them.

  8. While you're at it by blank · · Score: 1

    Now that I can find out when to get new firmware for my PSP. Can Slashdot also tell me where to get all the cool free software to download! Hint hint. Nudge nudge.

    --

    bah. start over

    1. Re:While you're at it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      pspisoz.com

    2. Re:While you're at it by leachim6 · · Score: 3, Informative

      sure , you can get tons of legit free software at http://dl.qj.net/ :) ... seriously

      --
      This comment was laboriously planned and extremely well thought out by Mike Donaghy @ http://mikedonaghy.org
  9. Because it's Sony. by Khyber · · Score: 1

    You remember, the assholes that gave us rootkitted CDs? Why *NOT* make news that their proprietary junk is easily cracked to make it even more useful? It's still news, even though it's just a minor bugfix for a camera.

    --
    Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
  10. If you want emulators and homebrew apps by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    then don't fight Sony on their own turf. Get a gp2x or a gp32 and play games on a portable machine that's open from the get-go.

    1. Re:If you want emulators and homebrew apps by geminidomino · · Score: 1

      Have they replaced that abysmal D-stick yet?

  11. Get a new business model. by westbake · · Score: -1

    I hate to agree with a troll like Macthrope, but you are full of it. Even if the primary and intended use of free software on the PSP were to allow people to share games, it should be legal. The fact is that you can't tell me what general purpose software is supposed to be used for and have no right to keep me from using my property as I see fit. If your business model can't survive in freedom, you need to find another business model.

    --
    I am a name troll of Westlake. Visit my homepage to learn why.
    1. Re:Get a new business model. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're a fucking loser. Ha ha, loser. You're not even clever enough to run your little kkkrusade with TWENTY fucking accounts. You just keep making the same retard mistakes over and over again. Fucking loser.

  12. Wait... by geminidomino · · Score: 1

    Last I heard of the, Dark Alex was bowing out scene?

    1. Re:Wait... by Sangui · · Score: 2, Informative

      He was bowing out until the 4.0 firmware release. He was done with the incremental releases.

    2. Re:Wait... by geminidomino · · Score: 1

      Sweet. Maybe this one can play Dragon Warrior VII on the PSX emu...

  13. Re:... and? The PSP is no niche product by sien · · Score: 2, Interesting

    You are absolutely right that this story shouldn't be posted.

    However, just out of curiosity I checked the PSP's sales and read up on on the PSP. The PSP is the eighth best selling console of all time. It's surprisingly successful for a device that is often thought of as a failure compared to the DS.

  14. Oh... yeah... "teh homebrewz" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Benefits for the end user include the ability to play the many hundreds of games, demos, applications and emulators written by the homebrew community for the PSP.


    And let's not forget, it also lets you play copies of commerical software. Which is, of course, where people's primary interest in the PSP is at.

    "Teh Homebrewz". LOL! Everyone already knows that's talking in code.

  15. Re:... and? The PSP is no niche product by aliquis · · Score: 1

    I guess it's because all japanese people already have a DS now so they had to buy something else and well, guess what? ;)

    Nah but seriously I think PSP sales have raised quite a bit over in Japan the last year compared to the DS haven't they?