Sony Playstation 3 master key released

[Arcana]

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/01/sony-goes-to-court-to-get-ps3-key-crackers-to-shut-up-already.ars

Looks like the PS3 was hacked a few weeks ago, enabling users now to install whatever software they wish on the system. Previously the PS3 was the last of the big systems not to have had their verification keys broken.

I'm actually curious about the viability of the system as a customized media centre now (XBMC anyone?) and if anyone here has tried cracking their PS3 to do any homebrew work on it.

(Hopefully this topic is within fair use in this forum and isn't considered "piracy", as the legality behind this is still rather touchy.)

[Gollgagh]

I honestly have no idea what crazy kinds of things people might cook up for this.

I've enjoyed game plugins on the PSP (button remapping, screencap, memory editing) but I'm sure even more creative things are possible

[The Damned]

How about some kind of multi-user programs, like some sort of DNA research thing, where everyone can devote their processor time and power to working on a virtual strand of genetic material. Or maybe crunch some numbers on some really difficult data, like deep space background noise, to see if there are any coherent signals that might mean life on other planets.

Man, that would be soooooo awesome. Yes, I know about folding@home and SETI@home. That's the joke.

[Gollgagh]

How about some kind of multi-user programs, like some sort of DNA research thing, where everyone can devote their processor time and power to working on a virtual strand of genetic material. Or maybe crunch some numbers on some really difficult data, like deep space background noise, to see if there are any coherent signals that might mean life on other planets.

Man, that would be soooooo awesome. Yes, I know about folding@home and SETI@home. That's the joke.

[ocre]

I think most people are happy about this because now they can play SNES games on their PS3s. *eyeroll*

[EC2151]

That's cuz the PS3 ain't got no games.

[Gollgagh]

right, now that we've got the standard jokes out of the way we can stop using them

[Imagist]

let me tell you something:

never

[LuketheXjesse]

[EC2151]

Well now that the key is out there, it's not like stopping the original people are going to do anything other than send a tepid message.

I mean, yeah, that'd scare your average Joe Internet-Surfer who's still huddling in fear of the evils of Kazaa and all those mean internet viruses (and trust me there are still a lot of those people out there), but the hacking community is not really going to be deterred by anything- just look to the ol' XBOX and Wii mod communities.

Then again, I'll say that the people who hack the PS3 and other consoles are VASTLY outnumbered by the people who don't, so it's not like they can be costing Sony THAT much money. But then again I'm a bumpkin in terms of these economic matters.

[Crowbar Man]

Previously the PS3 was the last of the big systems not to have had their verification keys broken.

Correction, the Xbox 360 is still a tight vault as far as security goes. They've hacked the DVD drive's firmware many times over, but all you can do is pirate DVDs (and exact duplicates at that). A JTAG exploit was used to bypasses its security back before the NXE update, but it has been patched since then and any firmware past that cannot be JTAG'd (or downgraded, because of eFuses, unique to 360's security system). Currently no exploits exist. Nobody has found the private key.

Right now, the PS3 homebrew is your usual basic starter homebrew stuff: Emulators

Since its been cracked wide open, I imagine some innovative stuff coming from the machine in the near future. Should easily suprise what we've seen on the Wii homebrew scene considering the vast power differences

For those interested in coding, a homebrew SDK called PSL1GHT has been released

http://psl1ght.com/

Edit/Update:

As far as the trial, the judge doesn't think just because Geohot has a paypal account that she can judge the case because paypal is based in CA.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/01/14/no_playstation_hacker_order/

“If having a PayPal account were enough, then there would be personal jurisdiction in this court over everybody, and that just can't be right,” Illston told James G. Gilliland Jr., an attorney representing Sony. “That would mean the entire universe is subject to my jurisdiction, and that's a really hard concept for me to accept.”

Overall, if any body has read over what Sony has submited, they basically are bending the facts or flat out lying to the court. But even trying to TRO/sue him in California is ridiculous. They will have to show that CA has anything to do with Mr Hotz (who doesn't live there) or take it to another court that actually does.