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Stephen Fry and DVD Jon Back USB Sniffer Project
An anonymous reader writes "bushing and pytey of the iPhone DevTeam and Team Twiizers have created a Kickstarter project to fund the build of an open-source/open-hardware high-speed USB protocol analyzer. The board features a high-speed USB 2.0 sniffer that will help with the reverse engineering of proprietary USB hardware. The project has gained the backing of two high-profile individuals: Jon Lech Johansen (DVD Jon), and actor and comedian Stephen Fry."
Stephen Fry also did a video for the GNU project's 25th birthday:
http://www.gnu.org/fry/ "Freedom Fry"
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Like I care when hollywood actresses weigh in on foreign policy.... I don't care when a comedian endorses a software/hardware project.
Looks like Stephen's Twitter page is down.
I sure hope Stephen Fry can write up a funny thing to stir up support, even among those of us who don't care enough.
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur
That's a great idea, but at this point shouldn't it be a USB-3.0 device?
Nope. Not unless you come across a device that is USB-3 compatibleonly. As in, no backwards compatibility with USB 2.0 and 1.1. Then you would need a USB 3.0 analyzer.
That is very unlikely to happen in the foreseeable future.
I hadn't known there were so many idiots in the world until I started using the Internet -Stanislaw Lem
Nah. USB 3.0 devices will compatibly downgrade themselves to USB 2.0 when that's all the host supports, while using the same proprietary protocol inside a (somewhat) different wire-level framing method. So an analysis of a USB 3.0 device in USB 2.0 mode should produce information that can be used to make a USB 3.0 compatible driver if it could be used to do the same with USB 2.0.
Or is that whom? Hum? Is he the guy on Futurama? They still don't use USB 2 in 3010, do they? And just say NO to stealing, kids. Not everything that is not yours is your brother's piggybank.
Mind you, there's not much else to do in Norfolk.
Computer literacy runs in the family.
From scarped cliff or quarried stone she cries "A thousand types are gone, I care for nothing, no not one."
He's Brian Cox, OBE.
From scarped cliff or quarried stone she cries "A thousand types are gone, I care for nothing, no not one."
Why does this need to be implemented in hardware?
I presume the main purpose of this is analyzing the communication between a USB device and its proprietary Windows driver. Wouldn't it be easier to modify virtualization software to do this? Qemu can already connect a real USB device to a virtual machine (see its "-usbdevice host:" option).
# cat
Damn, my RAM is full of llamas.
Six links, three sentences. Why not just put a link to a Google search for single word and have done with it?
Pardon my ignorance, but why can't this sort of thing be done entirely in software? On consoles this wouldn't be possible, but for Windows can't you create a virtual USB driver which is a proxy to hardware USB device? It seems folks have been doing this sort of thing with Ethernet for a long time.
Brian May (he of Queen Fame) is known for being knowledgable on Astrophysics (and wearing clogs), whereas Brian Cox is less well know for his big hair and guitar solos.
I suggest you go an wiki Brian May.
Not necessarily. You'll get a functional device in that case yes, but whenever USB enters a new major revision they've had to tack on a new chip to the mix. And there's no guarantee that the new chip will be completely compatible in terms of protocol with the older ones. In fact I'd suggest that they aren't compatible otherwise they wouldn't need a separate chip for it.
I pledged $50, it's my most sincere hope that projects like this get off the ground. The students/hackers/tinkerers that are super into this kind of stuff could use all the tools they can get, I'm just a newbie when it comes to this stuff, but I can certainly respect it. Anyway, here's hoping that they hit 200% pledges, they're already at 115%!
Not necessarily. You'll get a functional device in that case yes, but whenever USB enters a new major revision they've had to tack on a new chip to the mix. And there's no guarantee that the new chip will be completely compatible in terms of protocol with the older ones. In fact I'd suggest that they aren't compatible otherwise they wouldn't need a separate chip for it.
So, wait. How do you get a functional device if the interface chip is incompatible? You lost me there. Either they communicate effectively, and the device is functional, or they don't (and it isn't).
I hadn't known there were so many idiots in the world until I started using the Internet -Stanislaw Lem
Of all the tech efforts for Fry to get behind a USB protocol analyzer is one of the least likely in my opinion, but it is a good and needed effort. Kudos to Fry for picking it.
Python: 'And then suddenly you have a language which says "we're all stuck with whatever the whiniest coder wants".'
...the Fry's sponsored device will be for sale at Fry's
Having worked with several commercial USB protocol analyzers over the years I have yet to see one was anything more than an FPGA connected to an off the shelf USB PHY chip. As much as I like cute dog videos these guys need to post proper requirements and design specifications if they seriously want funding from me.
Or did that header with "Fry" and "Sniffer Project" make you immediately think of the smell-o-scope from futurama?
Global warming and other natural disasters are a direct effect of the shrinking number of pirates - Gospel of the FSM
Maybe if gnome had backed gnustep instead of GTK, he'd be running a Linux machine now, instead of a Mac? Most of Linux' problems are of it's own making. Apple shows linux howto do it right. They just choose to lock the hardware down. There's nothing in OSX that Linux couldn't do if Linux was designed correctly. It's not that hard to make an integrated windowmanager/Xserver/gui then port X11 to it as an application for backwards compatability. It's also not that hard to specify a hard standard for graphics so that there's one standard control panel to access/setup all video options. Networkmanager is a step forward but OSX has had that functionality since day one.
On a slightly (unrelated) topic, Stephen has bi-polar disorder, the correct medical name for "manic depression" and though he's a mac fan-boy is a vocal and intelligent supporter of FOSS - Free & Open Source Software.