130w ago - Today NZHawk has shared on his blog (linked above) what he calls a little find, specifically how to place PS3 apps into different PlayStation 3 XMB categories.

To quote: "Well I was talking to DarkHacker about param.sfo files and that. He asked me to try changing the CATAGORY string to 'HM' and see what it did.

It made the package install under the PlayStation Network catagory on the XMB. DarkHacker and I then worked out the rest of the catagories that its possible to install and run hombrew applications to the XMB, and found them all except Users, Settings and Friends (which all seem to be filled with the XML files in the VSH flash folder).

String / Category
HM / Playstation Network
CB / Network
HG / Game
AV / Video
AM / Music
AP / Photo
AT / TV

I thought this was quite interesting, and would be great if we could add a Hombrew catagory to the xmb and make all hombrew apps install under it to make some hombrew standard, much like the wii has. (Also has anyone though about making a database of hombrew Title IDs to keep track?)

Oh, and its possible to change this location after install via application settings."

Thanks to PSGroove for the news tip and to Jes03 for posting this a...

131w ago - Sony's Senior Social Media Specialist Rey Gutierrez is here with the PS3, PSP and PSN releases for this coming week today, as follows:

Gran Turismo 5. Enough said.

Years in the making, thousands of hours in development and a healthy dose of excitement amongst the gaming community and racing enthusiasts -- the ultimate driving simulator that is Gran Turismo 5 arrives on store shelves this Wednesday, November 24th. You can breathe now.

Keep your eyes on the rear-view mirror though, we've got an exclusive un-boxing video of the Collector's Edition debuting tomorrow, which begs the question -- did you reserve your copy yet?

Your inner Picasso and Deadmau5 take center stage on the PlayStation Network with a sensory overload that comes in the form of Auditorium HD and Beat Sketchers.

You may need to stock up on cleaning supplies, your house may see a drop or two of blood splatter with the arrival (finally) of Splatterhouse. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Also, your criminal activities may seem extra smooth this week, when the King...

131w ago - A few days ago we saw a video of a PS3 downgrading, and today zAxis has released PSGrade which is a PSGroove implementation of PSDowngrade WIP for JailBroken 3.41 PS3 consoles.

Download: PSGrade - PSGroove PS3 Implementation of PSDowngrade / PSGrade Into GameOS System 3.15 / GIT

In related news, graf_chokolo has now detailed how to decrypt PS3 PKGs as noted HERE.

To quote: Today he's shared his work with the public, however, it still requires some work, before it is fully functional. Right now, his code still requires the dongle master key, one that is buried within the PS3 console. The good news, is zAxis feels this key can be retrieved via a 3.15 fw console.

He is asking the community, anyone with a 3.15 console, to help retrieve this key. Once retrieved, PSGrade should become fully functional. Below, is his request to the public.

131w ago - This weekend fl1pp13 has shared a guide on Dutch site PS3-Sense.nl (linked above) on how to use your PS3 Eye from the PlayStation 3 entertainment system as a Webcam for a Windows PC.

Download: PS3Eye Camera Setup v2.1.0.0130 (for the required PS3EyeTest.exe) / CL Eye Driver v4.0.2.1017

To quote, roughly translated: It is now increasingly common for laptops have a built-in webcam. Because of this chat is becoming increasingly popular.

Not everyone has the money for a laptop or an external webcam. But what if you already have the PlayStation Eye? For several months, this one with some special drivers to get working on almost every version of Windows.

The webcam has pretty good specs, but for the experts among us we have a list:

• 4 channel audio input:16 bits/channel, 48kHz, SNR 90db - 4 channel audio input: 16 bits / channel, 48kHz, SNR 90dB
• 56º or 75º Field of View zoom lens - 56 º or 75 º Field of View zoom lens
• 2.1 F-stop, less than 1% distortion, fixed focus (25cm to 8 at 75 º FOV)
• 640 x 480 at 60 frames/second - 640 x 480 at 60 frames / second
• 320 x 240 at...

131w ago - Today xttl has released a PS3 Doom homebrew port v0.01 with source code for JailBreak users, followed by v0.02 which also includes sound support and some more updates below.

Download: PS3 Doom Homebrew Port v0.01 with Source Code / PS3 Doom Homebrew Port v0.02 with Source Code / PS3 Doom Homebrew Port v0.03 with Source Code / PS3 Doom Homebrew Port v0.04 with Source Code / PS3 Doom Homebrew Port v0.05

To quote: v3 is now out. Sound effects should work pretty much perfectly now, there's a simple launcher that will allow you to select an IWAD if you have multiple ones available (no PWADs yet, and the launcher menu only lists the first 10 IWADs it finds which can happen if you have duplicates of them on different storage devices) and in case an error happens after graphics have been initalized, you'll see the error message on screen. (not just via ethernet debugging if enabled).

I also switched the license to GPLv2 now...