PS3 Jailbreak with a TI-84 Plus Calculator

There are many posts going around on about the PS3 Jailbreak; there was an ‘official’ PS3Jailbreak package for $170  (banned for sale by Sony), followed by less expensive versions (PS3-Free, PS3 Liberator, etc)

More recently, PSGroove and PS Freedom options have popped up allowing install on USB Development kits, various phones (Android, Nokia N900, Palm Pre and older iPhones) and other devices (TI-84 Plus calculator) to be used.  These versions do not include the software needed to backup PS3 blu-ray discs to a hard drive and are intended solely for homebrew development on the PS3.

The basic premise is that the device has to act as a USB controller and send specific data to the PS3 on bootup, putting the system into a developer mode that can run unsigned code.

Note: The PS3 exploit must be run every time you boot the PS3; once you power off, you need to re-connect your jailbreak device to re-enable the exploit on next boot! 

• The USB development kit was designed for this task and various version can cost $30-$50. 
• The Android versions (different versions for each phone- check the PS Freedom compatibility list!) requires a custom system flash that will disable USB functionality while it is active.
• The Nokia N900 and Palm Pre versions appear to use software running in a terminal (I do not have either of these devices so I cannot test)
• The iPhone version requires an iPhone 2G/3G or a 1st gen iPod touch running iPhone Linux.
• The final option is using a TI-84 Plus calculator to a program that you load and execute when needed. 

I opted for the later version and purchased a TI-84 Plus Silver Edition.  The TI-84 Plus Silver runs between $90 (Wal-Mart and Target) to $120 (Fry’s).  It is a pretty nice graphing calculator to have even without the PS3 exploit.  The TI-84 Plus and the Silver edition are about the same, but the Silver edition has 3x more RAM, a removable faceplate and some extra bundled apps- it was about $2 more at Target ($88.99 vs. $90.99), so it was a no-brainer for me.

What you will need to run PS3 Jailbreak with a TI-84 Plus calculator:

• A PS3 system running 3.41 firmware.  If you have updated to 3.42 you will not be able to use this exploit (and you cannot downgrade once upgraded). 
• It is also important to note that 3.41 is currently unable to connect to PS3 network; this was done by Sony to force users to upgrade to 3.42. (Although I hear rumor of using a PS3 proxy to bypass this requirement?)
• A TI-84 Plus (regular or silver edition) running the latest firmware (currently 2.53MP)
• The TI-84 PS3 Jailbreak software
• TI Connect on your PC (included on CD with calculator).
• A USB cable (USB A to Mini-USB B)

Steps to run the PS3JB on the TI-84 Plus

1. Install the PS3JB code on the calculator
• Open the ZIP file
• Open TI Connect
• Connect to your TI-84 Plus with ‘TI Device Explorer’ (located in the TI Connect suite) 
• Drag the ‘PS3JB.8xk’ file to the TI Device Explorer window
• There may be a few confirmations and the installation may take a minute or two
• Once complete, disconnect the TI-84 from the PC
2. Run the software on the TI-84 Plus
• Press the ‘Apps’ button on the TI-84 Plus
• Scroll down until you find the ‘PS3JB’ entry and press ‘enter’ when it is highlighted
• Press enter to close the title screen
• Press ‘1’ to execute the program
• A screen will appear with instructions on the calculator
3. Connect the TI-84 Plus to the PS3
• Eject any discs in the PS3 and power the system down normally
• Remove all power from the PS3; ie unplug the PS3 slim or use the power switch on the PS3 classic
• Remove all USB connections from the PS3
• Return power to the PS3 (but do not turn on yet).
• Plug a USB cable between the PS3 and the TI-84 Plus (USB A to MiniUSB B cable)
4. Power up and wait a few minutes
• Power on the PS3 and quickly press the Eject button after pressing power (you should get three quick beeps indicating that the drive is empty)
• You should see ‘working…’ and eventually a ‘done’ on the TI-84 Plus screen
• Once complete you will have ‘* /app_home/PS3_GAME/’ and ‘* Install Package Files’ options under your game menu
5. If the above does not work, verify firmware versions on the PS3 and the TI-84 Plus, and go back and start over at step 3.

You can now plug in a USB device and install a PKG file (as they become available) by using the ‘Install Package Files’ option under the menu. 

Developers are working on homebrew and various emulators for the PS3- such as a PSP emulator for the PS3- but there isn’t a whole lot of custom software out for the PS3 at the time of this writing.

The PS3 Backup Manager (manager.pkg) is an obvious package one you will want to search for (use ‘The Google’) as it will allow you to backup your purchased PS3 game disks to a USB hard drive.

Note: The PS3 Backup Manger package may be considered the line that separates ‘homebrew’ from ‘piracy’ on the PS3 as it allows you to copy commercial game discs to your hard drive.  While this is acceptable use for legitimate archival purposes of games you have purchased, it should not be used on games that you do not personally own!

Notes on the USB hard drive backup:

• PS3 games can be pretty big (5GB – 40GB) and could take some time to backup to hard disk (1h 20m for God of War III)
• You will need an original PS3 game disc in the drive to play a game as the PS3 checks for a disk (any disc will do) during game startup (similar to the UMD/ISO method on the PSP)
• If you need to reboot the PS3, you will need to re-run the exploit to allow you to run unsigned code on the PS3 again (i.e. Backup Manager is unsigned code).

Here are some of the better videos I found that go through the jailbreak and backup process (one for TI-84 Plus, the other for Palm Pre):

New iPod Nano

I purchased a 5th gen iPod Nano about three months ago- 88 days ago, actually.  Luckily, Target has a 90 day return policy…. :)

I returned my 5th gen iPod Nano to Target and went to the Apple store and purchased a 6th gen iPod Nano.  Return at target was $175, new Nano at Apple was $179.

Departing from Apple’s frugality on buttons, the new iPod Nano features three buttons; a power toggle, volume up and volume down.  The multi-touch screen can be rotated with a two finger twist.  Menus are accessed by clicking the menu item and finger swipes to navigate up/down menu selections.  All said, it is fairly intuitive to use.

One fairly interesting feature of the iPod Nano is that the screens are customable- much like on an iPod touch; touch and hold an icon and you can drag it to another screen (or make a new screen).  There is no option to delete icons, but that is the way it is for the stock icons on the iPhone/iPod touch.  The multiple screens and ability to customize make me think that Apple may have left space for additional apps… 

I find it odd that there is a total lack of games on this version of the iPod Nano- where is my solitaire that I could play while waiting for a machine at the gym?  (or is that designed to be a future purchased application?)

The new Nano has a ‘standard’ Apple dock connector on the bottom, so it should work with any prior iPod accessories that used this dock (sound bar, car cradles, etc).

Missing from the new Nano is the camera and the ability to play back video.  That is Ok by me as I will probably get a band and use it as a watch as well… :)

One welcome benefit is that the new iPod Nano supports the Nike+ accessories- including the heart rate sensor.  I plugged in my Nike+ dongle that I had used with my former 5th gen iPod Nano and it was still paired to the Nike+ heart rate strap I purchased a few weeks ago (the strap also works with my Polar FT40, so i was planning to use it in any case).

The new Nano is very impressive; it is uber-tiny, very responsive and has very decent sound (bass seems a little over-powered, but I am using mediocre ear buds).  It is small and light enough to clip on a shirt sleeve and not require an arm band.  It is the perfect device to load up several audio books, a good chunk of my newer podcasts and still have a good chunk of space for music and photos. 

It would also be a very cool lapel pin if I could find some way of alternating various QR barcodes while wearing (I guess I could just change some album artwork and create a playlist…)

Below is a quick video I did of the menu items on the 6th gen Nano:

Android Desktop Notifier

Just found a neat little application for my PC and Android device that allows for notifications of SMS messages, calls, emails, battery alerts, etc. from my phone to be displayed on my PC.

Setup Instructions

Android application market link:

Desktop Client Download 

• Windows x86
• Windows x64

Pretty easy install; enjoy!

Unfortunately, you will need to install Java (argh!) to get this to work…

Updated DragonCon 2010 Schedules

More schedule updates from Fan Rants:

Main Programming Track   (iCal)

Alternate History Track   (iCal)
American SF Media Track   (iCal)
Animation Track   (iCal)
Anime Video Track   (iCal)
Anime/Manga Track   (iCal)
Anne McCaffrey’s Worlds Track   (iCal)
Apocalypse Rising Track   (iCal)
Armory Programming Track   (iCal)
Art Show Track   (iCal)
Autograph sessions   (iCal)
CosPlay Photo Ops   (iCal)
Costuming Track   (iCal)
Dark Fantasy Track   (iCal)
Electronic Frontiers Track   (iCal)
Filk Track   (iCal)
Independent Film Festival   (iCal)
Main Video Track   (iCal)
MMO Track   (iCal)
Parties   (iCal)
Podcast Track   (iCal)
Robotics Track   (iCal)
Science Track   (iCal)
Skeptics Track   (iCal)
Space Track   (iCal)
Star Wars Track   (iCal)
Stargate Track   (iCal) *OFFICIAL*
Tolkien Track   (iCal)
Whedon Universe Track   (iCal)
Wheel of Time Track   (iCal)
Young Adult Lit Track   (iCal)

They also indicate that DragonCon is planning to release official iCal schedules of the pocket program guide, but on the eve of the con they are not available as of yet…

For now I have subscribed to the tracks I want to attend (bottom right corner when you open the Google calendar) and I am copying the specific events over to my calendar (click the event and it will give a ‘copy’ option)- this allows it to sync with my Android device.

For my iPhone, I have imported all the calendars into Outlook where they appear as separate calendars; I configured iTunes to sync these over to my phone.

Unofficial DragonCon 2010 Schedule -in Google cal/iCal format!

I ran across a post in a RSS feeds indicating that Fan Rants has a listing of several of the tracks for the DragonCon 2010:

Alternate History Track   (iCal)
American SF Media Track   (iCal)
Art Show Track   (iCal)
Costuming Track   (iCal)
Dark Fantasy Track   (iCal)
Electronic Frontiers Track   (iCal)
Filk Track   (iCal)
Independent Film Festival   (iCal)
MMO Track   (iCal)
Podcast Track   (iCal)
Robotics Track   (iCal)
Skeptics Track   (iCal)
Star Wars Track   (iCal)
Stargate Track   (iCal) *OFFICIAL*
Tolkien Track   (iCal)
Whedon Universe Track   (iCal)
Wheel of Time Track   (iCal)
Young Adult Lit Track   (iCal)

Fan Rants indicates that these are not official (Well, save for the Stargate track) and some of the tracks are not listed (Star Trek and Main are ones that immediately occur to me)- but I can only pray that there will be an official release of these in iCal/Google Calendar. 

iCal imports very nicely into Outlook 2010:

Froyo (Android 2.2) for Droid X

Rumor of an early leak of the 2.2 OS for Droid X from My Droid World.

Downloading now; no possible way I will be able to return my current phone to ‘stock’ as I went nuts and deleted all the stupid apps and crazy ringtones.

Going to try update.zip and see what happens! 

Mirror One - Download Now
Mirror Two - Download Now
Mirror Three - Download Now

EDIT:

<sigh>

Verifying Current System
assert failed: apply_patch_check(“/system/app/CityID.apk”,”….”)
E:Error in /sdcard/update.zip
(Status 7)
Installation Aborted

Looks like I need to revert back to stock with SBF

EDIT 2:

I am now running Froyo on my Droid X now! (but no root access)

1st step is to recover to stock:

• Download the Droid X Recovery package:
    Recovery Image: VRZ_MB810_1.13.6.2_1FF_01.sbf
    Motorola x86 & X64 drivers
• Install appropriate drivers (x86 or x64) via executable (includes bootloader mode drivers for Droid X)
• Download and install RSD Lite
• Once RSD Lite install is complete, copy ‘pst_flash.ini’ over existing file in C:\Program Files (x86)\Motorola\RSD Lite\
• Run RSD Lite and open the update file: VRZ_MB810_1.13.6.2_1FF_01.spf
• Put Droid X in bootloader mode:
    Power off
    Hold Camera + Vol down + Power
    Boot will be a black screen with some text
• Once in recovery mode, plug in the microUSB cable.
• Verify Device & File Properties look Ok in RSD Lite and hit 'Start'
• This will take a few minutes and it will eventually reboot.
• You are now back to a ‘stock’ 2.1 Android for Droid X

Second step is to update to 2.2:

• Place the 'update.zip' in the root of the SD card
• Power off the Droid X
• Power On while holding down the 'Home' key; You will see a yellow triangle-
• Hit the 'search' button to bring up the menu.
• Use volume down to scroll down to 'Install update.zip from SD card'.
• Hit the 'menu' key under 'Ok' to begin the update.
• Update will take a while- so go do something so you don't stress out while watching the update.

If anything crashes/screws up, restart the RDS Lite app and put the Droid X back into bootloader mode to do a recovery to stock again.