When the first lineup of Playstation 3 consoles hit the shelves, many consumers were confused about which ones played former Playstation titles, like Playstation 1 and 2 games. Many people not satisfied with the release of the newer, slim Playstation 3, had also found no Playstation 2 backwards compatibility one of the major downfalls of the Playstation 3.

Sony of America has been very secretive about a new prototype that they’ve come up with that will specifically address the issue of backwards compatibility. The new device, which has no name as of now, is aimed at bringing Playstation 1 and Playstation 2 compatibility to all models of Playstation 3. The device would connect to the Playstation 3 and house the processor, graphics processor, and RAM for the Playstation 2 system and will enable full backwards compatibility. Of course, for those of us lucky folk out there that already have a backwards compatible Playstation 3, this would be of no use. The target audience is most centralized around those who have purchased a slim model Playstation 3, known for not having the full backwards compatibility support that so many consumers long for. If the price is right, this will add a certain functionality to the Playstation 3 that the system has been needing, but is it too late? How many people are still interested in collecting Playstation 2 games? Obviously, if you have a large collection of Playstation 2 games or Playstation 1 games, this is more of a trophy item if you don’t own a backwards compatible Playstation 3, but it should be interesting how the pricing of this unit effects the Playstation 3 overall. The ability for a Playstation 3 to have backwards compatibility is considered the driving cost behind the older, fully backwards compatible Playstation 3 units. When sold online, those systems still catch their original MSRP sales prices and above, yet this little adapter might just change all of that.

“wololo, m0skit0, ab5000 and JJS have released the latest build of the HalfByte loader for the PSP 1k through PSP Go! that now works on…. wait for it…. 6.31!!
Yeah, you can now use one of the newer exploits in Minna no Golf Portable. It is called something different in every region: Everybody’s Golf (EU), Hot Shots Golf Open Tee (US), or Minna no golf Portable (JP).” -crait

It is now working for all regions but for the EU regions, use this method to get it to work:
1) Rename the folder hbl/libs_6xx to hbl/libs .
2) Rename the file hbl/config/imports.config_6xx into hbl/config/imports.config .

US Download – EU Download – JP Download
Source: wololo
Discussion: Here

Nintendo released a new firmware update for the DSi yesterday, and was the first “incremental update in over a year”. Nintendo said that this update done some “behind the scenes” updates but in our reality it blocked a few flashcards. Also Nintendo released an update for the Wii that still says system version 3.4 but removes all homebrew from the Wii. So yea, don’t update quite yet

Blocked Flashcards:

• M3i Zero
• Acekard 2i
• Supercard DSTwo
• iPlayer
• DSTTi

Source: GBAtemp
Discussion for DSi: Here
Discussion for Wii: Here

“Today, MuscleNerd posted on his Twitter that the latest firmware has now been confirmed to be exploitable by a new exploit from pod2g that involved modification of the boot ROM. Looks like it’s confirmed not only for the iPhone 4, but also the newest iPod Touch that I posted about earlier, and the iPad. Right now, there is no user-friendly means of jailbreaking the new firmware for the public, but I’ll stay on the look-out for it and post when it comes out.” -crait

Source: MuscleNerd Twitter
Discussion: Here

With Apple’s new release of iOS 4.1 comes what seems to be a fix for the 3G users problems with updating to 4.0. Other updates include:

-Game Center
-iTunes TV Show Rentals
-iTunes Ping
-HDR Photography
-HD Video Uploads

Check out the changelog for the rest of the official updates. Also this update is available to 4G, 3GS, and 3G users but not every phone will be able to use all of the updates.

Source: Apple
Discussion: Here

“So, apparently, Sony released the latest firmware update for the PS3. It seems as though the PS3 can now block the PS3 Jailbreak at its current state. I’ll give it a week before a modified version of the hack works with the updated firmware.” -Crait

I don’t know if it will be that quick, but Sony definitely put some effort forth to get a firmware update out to block this thing. I guess the PS3 will have the same circle of cfw and ofw updates in its future! According to the BCC the update blocks both PSJailbreak and PSGroove applications.

Source: BCC
Via: engadget
Discussion: Here

Yea, that’s right. IBM announced their “World’s Fastest Microprocessor” called the z196 clocked at 5.2Ghz. It has 1.4 billion transistors, and the zEnterprise system can process 50 billion instructions a second. It even has embedded DRAM caches and still uses about the same amount of electricity as it’s predecessor. Need I say more? It will be packaged with the new zEnterprise system mainframe by IBM on September 10. The system will contain 96 of these bad boys. I’m betting Donald Trump will be picking up two of these things Friday personally.

Sources: IBM , Hot HardWare

It seems engadget recently received some leaked photos of what seems to be Xbox prompts in the AT&T U-Verse technical support; and engadget also says “Our source claims the Xbox is presently being tested internally with friends and family of AT&T employees, and that it’s likely only a couple of months away at this point.” Of course I assume this will only be available to paid gold subscribers and also could have been a factor in the raised gold prices, but it will only be available to users with AT&T U-Verse in their home already. What do I say in response to this? Turn off your xbox and turn on the cable box/dish!

Source: Engadget

“Apple revealed their revamped iPod Touch today. It features a retina display (4 times more pixels) and a 2 cameras including a front-facing camera for Facetime. It also has the Apple A4, 3-axis gyro and iOS 4.1, and HD video recording. Let’s discuss it.
I think that the camera is long over due, but overall, it’s a nice upgrade.
8GB … $229
32GB …$299
64GB … $399
I definitely think that with these prices, it won’t outsell the 3DS like it has been outselling the other DS’s. Steve Jobs went on to say that since the sales of the iOS devices are so high, it currently has over 50% of the handheld gaming market.” -crait

Discussion: Link

Also, be sure to visit our forums here to discuss the other Apple revamped products announced recently including the Apple TV and iPod Nano.

Ok, maybe it doesn’t hail from Cybertron with a cool little emblem on it, but it’s still pretty cool.

“We’ve just made the Xbox 360 Wireless controller even better with a brand new version that includes a transforming D-pad.  The engineers have come up with an ingenious solution with a d-pad that can go from a plus to a disc with the twist of the wrist.” -Major Nelson

I’m guessing this was an issue? I don’t know, maybe it is more important then RRoD? Well either way I’ll definitely pick one up for my customary LED & pic 16F688 modding pleasures. The new controller will only be sold with the Play & Charge kit coming out this November 9th, for $64.99 and will include some other modifications such as different concave analog sticks and a new button color scheme of gray.

Source: Major Nelson