The last time we heard from Team AoP, we received word that yes, they will be resuming work on their highly-anticipated custom firmware for the PlayStation Portable. It's been quite a while since then, but now we get an update on what seems to be Team AoP's ability to make firmwares.

QJ.NET forums poster MaTiAz, giving credit to fellow poster Cloudhunter, made a thread that quotes forum posts allegedly made by members of Team AoP, specifically yanko693 and nephron. The posts contain quite a bit of code, with nephron and yanko693 asking for assistance, as well as tips on how to reverse-engineer or code certain functions. A quote from the thread, verbatim:

Originally Posted by yanko693

i was wondering what i would have to do to make say a password program run on psp bootup before getting to the xmb. i want to password protect getting into my xmb and i want to implement it into a project im halfway though.

Of course, we can't confirm that the posters quoted are in fact Team AoP, or someone merely posing as them - so we'll leave you to decide just what's going on, until Team AoP resurfaces. You can check out the entire thread via the read link below.

We don't know if anyone among you have tried this before but homebrew developer undertaxxx took a look at FW 3.50's code using RCO Editor from ZiNgABuRgA. And if all his interpretations are correct, we might be seeing our much-loved PlayStation Portable units hooked up to TV sets in the future.

The said code has a small reference to videout located in "impose_plugin.rco" complete with its own icon. Aside from this, undertaxxx also noticed a Line_Out Icon stored in the same rco. A good knowledge in coding will tell anyone that this is indeed is somehow connected to "video and audio out" functionality but Sony still has its mouth shut.

Another thing similar to this has happened before. It should be remembered that developer MATIAz found a hidden code in the decrypted version of "vshmain.prx" from FW 3.10 referring to Skype functionality. A couple of weeks after that, it was found out that California's Jajah Inc. will indeed be offering VoIP services for the PSP.

What do you think guys? It's not really impossible if we're going to consider the handheld's capabilities as it very much can do this thing. The only question here is if Sony is really willing to implement it.

A few days back, we brought to you hallo07's Battery PRX. This time around, homebrew developer EvilSeph informed us that his group, Team tOc, has released Battery InfO V.1. By simply looking at the screenshot below, you'll have an idea what this app does.

 

This nifty tool is an OE PRX that provides you with a detailed information about your PSP's battery. The devs mentioned that you need not go through your XMB and go to Battery Information since every info you need about your PSP's juice is displayed on the right hand side. Team tOC also said that this is just a small part of a larger project that they're thinking of (or working on already).

As always, if you're planning on using this, please read and understand the readme file that comes with the download. The file holds the installation and usage, plus the known bugs for this release. It would also be best if you guys will also browse through the configuration text as it also holds vital tidbits about this app.

Team tOc is made up of EvilSeph, Moca, TUW (The Unique Warrior), MaTiAz, Ahadiel, and kando. We hope to hear more from them in the coming weeks.

We give our props to Jordan Black for the heads up!

Download: [Battery InfO v1]
Discuss: [Forum Release Thread]

And so the XMB hacking continues. pspballer07 has just released yet another update to his homebrew app IAR (Icon Action Replacer), this time bumping it up to v1.5.

If the previous version saw the addition of Matiaz's PRX Rebooter in custom actions and Team280's PRX Homebrew Launcher, this version gets rid of all the crashing and freezing that most users have reported in pspballer07's earlier releases. And of course, there are also additional custom actions and icons to replace

Changelog:

• added "do nothing" in custom actions.
• added a battery check to make sure you have enough battery power or the cord plugged in.
• added Internet Browser Icon to selection of icons to replace.
• crashing or freezing bugs are now rare, depending on what you replace.

If you don't know how to go about this whole thing, it's best you check out the readme file included in the download, wouldn't wanna brick your PSP now, would ya?

Download: [Icon Action Replacer v1.5]
Discuss: [Forum Release Thread]

As most of you guys probably noticed, XMB hacking is all the rage right now -- thus the downpour of all these homebrew apps that tweak and tinker with XMB properties.

But even though we already have tons of such apps in our arsenal, we're gonna bring you one more just so you'd have a wide range of stuff to choose from. Yesterday we brought you Icon Action Replacer v0.5 (a.k.a. IAR) and now, pspballer07 is back to bring us a bumped up version, v1.1.

Changelog:

• added custom action when you pick an action to take ones place.
• added Team280's PRX Homebrew Launcher in custom actions.
• added MaTiAz's PRX Rebooter in custom actions.
• added ability to exit with the X button after replacing or restoring files instead of the manual restart.
• added Camera Icon and Certificate Utility to selection of icons to replace or take its place.
• fixed bug so now you can exchange icons without messing things up.
  

This is the part where we tell you to check out the readme file, and later on is the part where you do exactly just that. Yes? Yes. If you got that, good. Go on and download now. Enjoy!

Download: [Icon Action Replacer v1.1]
Discuss: [Forum Release Thread]

You might think I've gone bonkers. But bear with me here, I'm not kidding. A lucky find by my friend MaTiAz seems to point towards some form of VoIP functionality in upcoming firmwares. This reference to Skype is hidden in the decrypted version of vshmain.prx from Firmware 3.10, basically the latest firmware if you don't count 3.11. Nobody has yet checked the presence of its reference in the latest firmware (3.11) but it's most probably there since not much has changed between the two firmwares.

Anyways, I did get a look at the decrypted version of the prx and as expected, this string pointing to a non-existing prx was present. To save you guys the hassle of having to do it yourselves, I've taken a screenshot which shows the same. If you're interested in finding it yourself, the reference is present as a string at offset 0x000344C4 in the decrypted vshmain.prx.

Checking the dump, there was no actual PRX by that name which means that the actual functionality is still being worked upon at this stage. And I don't think anyone's bluffing either. There have already been cases of Camera, GPS, and POPS PRXes being in the firmware long before the functionality was opened up. In the case of Camera and GPS, references can be found as far back as Firmware 2.70. POPS references were found in Firmware 2.80 dumps.

While this is all good to hear, the question begs to be asked - "What happens to the Sony Mylo?" You know, the PSP's sibling which came out a while ago with features like VoIP and Google Talk support. Is Sony thinking of burying the Mylo and making the PSP into "a lot more than a handheld" whose main functionality until now has been gaming? After all, the Mylo never quite took off in the same manner as the PSP, which itself has been lagging far behind the DS. We don't have any figures to back us here, but the Mylo was, in my opinion, a complete failure.

So while killing off the Mylo might not sound so good, it's probably a good move by Sony to move over a lot of its functionality to the PSP which still has a firm ground to stand on with over a few million users. It's all speculation since Sony hasn't announced anything yet, but then again, would you expect an official announcement from Sony about this?

The hardware in the PSP is good enough to handle the extra additions and the feature set of the Mylo was pretty much a subset of what you found on the PSP, plus a few additions. As for the firmware features, my opinion is that you should see some of the Skype functionality coming out in Firmware 3.50 or thereabouts. This would give Sony at least a couple of months to fine-tune everything and integrate it with the rest of the stuff already there. Stay tuned, we will have the latest on this as soon as we know more! A big thanks to MaTiAz for telling me about this find!

PSP homebrew developer, Insert_Witty_Name has recently released a very nifty application over the forums. It's called VSH Analog v0.1 and this plug-in allows use of the analog stick for movement in the VSH. It is a simple plug-in, but nonetheless, it could be useful to some people.

Anyhow, this will just work on all OE firmwares...for now. Hopefully, the dev finds a way for this to work on other firmwares as well. Aside from that, the known bugs for this release is that if you're viewing photos, the analog will stop working in the VSH. Rest assured that he would be fixing this for the next release.

Insert_Witty_Name gives his props to MaTiAz for the idea, and to TyRaNiD. Installation procedures could be found in the readme file that comes with the download, so you better read that up if you wanna use this.

Download: [VSH Analog v0.1]
Discuss: [Forum Release Thread]

 

This comes as an update for the VSH Rebooter PRX v0.2 app that MaTiAz released yesterday. He's re-releasing v.02 without the installer that came with the original bundle, meaning installation will once again be done manually. According to MaTiAz, people were attempting to run the bundle's topmenu_plugin.rco flasher, despite topmenu_plugin.rco being nonexistent in the PSP. He apologizes for any problems the miscommunication may have caused.

For those not exactly up to speed on this brew, Rebooter PRX reboots your PSP from the Network Update menu or Location Free TV menu. The plug-in also allows you to shuts down your PSP by hold the "L" button while selecting the Network Update/Location Free TV icon.

For now, we advise going through the README to hear the complete explanation for this change. Also be sure to check out VSH Rebooter PRX v0.1 for details on the installation. We'd like to thank MaTiAz for the heads-up.

Download [VSH Rebooter PRX v0.2 without installer]
Discuss [Forum release thread]

MaTiAz either has a lot of time in his hands or he sure is one fast coder. After releasing VSH Rebooter PRX v0.1 just two days ago, he's back with a bumped up version of his homebrew app, a plug-in for PRX devs.

The updates for this version may not be a lot but they're stiill definitely helpful, especially now that v0.2 comes with an installer (he added this because a lot of you guys were asking how-to's). So anyhoo, whaddya say we get this show on the road and bring you the all-important...

Changelog:

• Included an easy installer, which can install the PRX to Network Update or Location Free TV (or both if you like). Read the notes about the installer though.
• The Reboot PRX can now shut down the PSP too, hold L while selecting Network Update -> shutdown
  

As mentioned, this comes with an installer so installation should be a breeze. However, make sure you check out the installation notes just in case you're relatively new at this and not really sure about what you're doing. To install, just follow these steps:

1. Copy the rbprxinst folder to /psp/game/ like you would with any other homebrew (GAME, not GAME150 or GAME302)
2. Launch the Reboot PRX Installer
3. If you don't know what to do after these steps, you should NOT be using this or trying to install this.
   

As for warnings, precautions, and whatnots, let's get 'em straight from MaTiAz himself:

this program comes with NO WARRANTY AT ALL, so follow the instructions so you're safe. I'm not responsible for bricks, and I doubt there will be any, except for because of user stupidity (which I doubt will happen either).

Well, there ya have it. But before you go fiddling around your PSPs, know that the readme file was put there for a reason so go use it, okay? MaTiAz would like to give a shout out to "TUW, Mathieulh, kando, harleyg, Coldbird, Dark_AleX and lots of other people I've forgotten at lan.st and other places".

Download: [VSH Rebooter PRX v0.2]
Discuss: [Forum Release Thread]

Over at our QJ forums, MaTiAz has just posted a simple and yet very powerful plug-in for the PRX developers. The VSH Rebooter PRX v0.1, as the name implies, allows you to reboot the PSP through the XMB by replacing the Network Update function.

Here's how to install the plugin:

1. Flash update_plugin.prx to flash0:/vsh/nodule/ overwriting the original update_plugin.prx
2. If you want, you can also hex edit your topmenu_plugin.rco (flash0:/vsh/resource) to replace Network Update text with something sexier, like "Rebootz mah PSP"

Note that this wouldn't work in FW 1.5 since anything prior to FW 2.0 doesn't support the reboot function. MaTiAz also suggests that you should back-up your original update_plugin.prx so you can revert back to your previous setting in the future. If there are any doubts about calling this a Sony "hack", don't bother. Although his plugin is also called "update_plugin.prx", there isn't any copyrighted Sony code in it.

Frankie27 from the forums was even kind enough to upload a video of the plugin in action. Check it out below:

Download: [VSH Rebooter PRX v0.1]
Discuss: [Forum Release Thread]