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I’m all for a free lunch. Despite what common sense and logic would dictate (that there is no such thing as a free lunch) I’m on it, like Shorty is on an easy lay.  So recently some chinkz from Hong Kong released what is known as the PS3 Jailbreak.

A brief explanation;

In the current generation of gaming consoles, the PS3 reigns supreme. The gaming catalogue isn’t as large as the PS2 [which is the best selling console of all time, and is still selling], the PS3 is the most technologically advanced one. A month ago, some faggy kid who had a hand with some iphone hacking told the world he was going to hack the PS3. He managed to get somewhere utilizing the Linux OS [via the OtherOS option included in older FAT PS3 models]. He managed to do this by messing with voltages that basically confuses the console, overrides the protection order and run unsigned codes. Unsigned code is basically anything not officially endorsed by Sony, including homebrews and applications.

Sony responded by removing the OtherOS function in a firmware update. Boo Hoo, the world cried foul, people placed a class-action law suit. Few weeks back, Geohotz decided to make his blog invite only, made some holier than thou comments about how people were expecting too much and deleted his twitter, etc etc. I can understand where he came from because 3000 kids were pounding him on how they can “backup” their games and play from their hard drives.

The real victim; Sony? Hardly, geohotz, in his obsession for attention, got all those PS3 users who actually use their PS3 Linux function victimized.

So yesterday, a miracle jailbreak was released. Basically, weighing in at the size of a USB dongle, all you have to do is plug it into your PS3 prior to booting up, and then you will be able to copy your PS3 disc onto your hard disk and then play from it. There are legitimate uses to backing up copies of game you own, but the inevitable truth is that this will lead to piracy of games. The video of this tool in action;

So why in the world would anyone buy this ;

When they can buy all of these for less than the price of one original game?

Anyways it was pretty exciting to see the PS3 hacked, it opens it up to a world of possibilities. Besides the pirating, the ability to use the PS3 to its full potential.  All previous hacks have been in the form of a mod chip, soldered onto the PCB itself, but this is a soft hack. A soft hack indicates that there is no need to open up your console. This also means your warranty is in-tact!

The release of the PS jailbreak made all sorts of suspicion alarm go off. For starters, there were talk about the videos being fake (previous PS3 being hacked videos were all fake) . However, trusted long term mod chip shop sellers were given free test units and confirmed that they work. Great. What’s the catch? Oh nothing much, just 150 dollars for it. The PS3 CONSOLE SELLS FOR 299 USD! This is about HALF THE PRICE OF THE CONSOLE!

The PS Jailbreak was a sudden announcement. It was not hyped up or anything for fears by repercussions from Sony or a fix for it via a firmware update. That makes sense, but they could have just mentioned something was in the works without much details. It was all pretty sudden. Second, when hackers have something like this, they release it for FREE. This indicates that this is a pretty quick scheme to make money.

In all the forums, nobody sheds any light on how the jailbreak works. Usually hackers are all too excited to explain the mechanism behind their hack. In this case it was only released because someone wanted to make a lot of money, quick!

Let me explain;

The USB Dongle is plugged in prior to starting the PS3. What this does is then trick the retail PS3 that it is running a debug unit. A debug unit is able to run unsigned code, and is usually used by developers to test the games they are creating, and stuff like that. You know it makes this a debug unit because when the set in the videos start, it adds additional options not available in a retail unit. So you’re essentially booting from the USB dongle instead of the PS3 unit.

It’s emulation. So what happens here, once you’re in this debug mode, you simply code and run a backup application. It will read the game cd, and save it unto the PS3 hard disk or an external hard disk. Then you can launch the game via the backup manager, if you notice the video, it restarts the XMB and indicates the disc loaded is the game you backed up.

Well, it does what it was intended for, so what’s the problem? For starters, it currently only supports FAT file structure, which is limited to 4GB. If any singular file is larger than 4GB you won’t be able to use it on an external. They say the NTFS version is in the works, but who knows?

Second, this will only work for firmware 3.41 [the current firmware], what happens then? The vendor claims the USB dongle can be updated should the need arise, and the dongle blocks forced updates on the PS3. If you do not update the PS3, you lose out on much. For starters, you can’t play online, you can’t download new demos, you can’t access the PSN network. You’ll be stuck playing older games.

Possible Fixes:

-Newer games can be made with any individual file sized greater than 4gb. It can be fixed if they introduce an NTFS file structuring though

-When gamers use this dongle to play their backups, third party hardware can be detected and by Sony’s EULA, your console and account can be banned from their system. That means, all your achievement and trophies are gone.

-Firmware update. An upcoming firmware update could kill this hack completely. Sony only has to disable initial USB boot, and it’s GG NO RE.

All this simply indicate that the sole reason this jailbreak has been released is to make a quick buck. My suggestion is not to jump into it kids, and take a backseat ride. If this never gets patched, wait for the chinese to make a clone of the device and sell it for 20 USD.

Disclaimer: I do not condone piracy and illegal backup of games. I only use original software, and you should too! This includes movies too!

So I finally got off off my lazy ass to set everything I recently purchased up. Due to the lack of space, I needed to mount most of the stuff onto the wall, so I requested my uncle to bring his drill so we could set everything up.

This is how messy my initial set up looks:

Luckily, the TV mounting and installation was done by the delivery guy so what we needed to do was merely mount the 5 home theatre satellites and do some cable management.

Tools needed were pretty basic;

1) Pencil

2) Wall Plug

3) Screw

4) Drill set

5) Hammer

6) Plastic Bag

7) Measuring Tape

Patience

The first step was to visualize how I wanted to mount the speakers. I figured we’ll put two speakers right next to the TV and the front smaller satellite below the TV. The remaining two speakers which are used for surround sound will be set behind the seated position.

We started off with the smaller satellite which was to be placed below the TV. The first step is to measure the distance between the two sockets which will hang onto the screw from the wall. Then, draw two “X” marks on the wall with the required distance. Tape the plastic bag below the “X” marks and start drilling!

Once the hole is drilled, it’s time to hammer wall plugs into the wall and later screw in some screws which will act as mount points.

This is basically repeated for all the other mount points. Measure distance between sockets behind speaker, and drill on the wall with the appropriate spacing. All the other speakers have their sockets vertically placed.

Here you can see one hole drilled and the pencil marking above for the other mount socket.

Once done the only thing left to do is mount all the speakers up.

After this it’s just a matter of cable managements to make everything look neat and tidy. Here’s a picture of the end work;

That red light you see is the Astro B.yon Decoder

Till next time kids.