Thursday, April 17, 2008

TinyXML - A C++ Library








Just want to post this here so I don't forget... It's an XML Library for C++. I hope that I can find a way to program a QUIZ application with an XML BackEnd. It will help me prepare for my future License Exam if I can get it to run.

Well, here is to the future!

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

How To: Rip UMDs (via USB Connection)

Option 1: via USB Connection
  • 1. Configure "USB Connection"
    • ---> Open VSH Menu - (press SELECT key) (or HOME on earlier CFW)
    • ---> Set "USB Device" to "UMD Disc"
    • ---> Exit VSH Menu - (press SELECT again) (or HOME)
screenshot showing USB Device set to UMD Disc
  • 2. Enable "USB Connection"
    • Connect PSP to PC via USB
    • On XMB
    • ---> Settings
    • ---> USB Connection
  • 3. Copy Image to PC
    • Using Windows Explorer, simply copy the ISO file to your PC.
screenshot showing Windows Explorer accessing UMD Disc
  • 4. DONE but here are some more stuff you can do
    • - you can rename "UMD9660.ISO" to something more descriptive (i.e. MHF2.iso)
    • - you can also compress your ISO to CSO (request how)
    • - you can also remove "Update Files" from UMD Image (request how)
Other Options includes the use of PSP Filer or some other homebrew to dump your UMD directly to your Memory Stick (request how)

Sunday, April 6, 2008

How To: Take screenshots on your PSP

from: stylemo.com

I know a lot of you PSP fanboys out there are still wondering how I manage to get those cool screenshots from my PSP. well you can stop wondering now because after this post, you too will be capturing screenshots from your PSP just by pressing the NOTE button. Sounds simple right?

Requirements:

  1. A Fat or Slim PSP installed with 3.71 M33 or higher custom firmware. This means it will also work with 3.80 M33 custom firmwares.
  2. A USB Cable to enable connection between your computer and your PSP.

Instructions:

  1. Download the screencapture pack I’ve prepared to anywhere on your computer.
  2. Unzip the file you’ve downloaded.
  3. Connect your PSP to your PC using a USB Cable. Check if you have already the seplugins folder on the root of your memory stick. If you don’t have it yet then proceed to step 4. If you do already have it then proceed to step 5.
  4. Do this only if you don’t have the seplugins folder yet. Copy the seplugins folder from your computer to the root of your memory stick.
  5. If you did step 4 then skip this step. You only have to follow this step if you already have an existing seplugins folder. Copy screenshotbmp.prx from the seplugins on your computer to the seplugins folder on the root of your memory stick. Now go to the seplugins on your memory stick. If you have vsh.txt already present, you have to open the file and edit it. Open it in Notepad or any text editor and add these code in a new line: ms0:/seplugins/screenshotbmp.prx
    Check if you also have pops.txt and game.txt present on your seplugins folder in your memory stick. If you have it then do the same routine, edit it and paste that line of code in a new line. Otherwise you can just grab the game.txt and pops.txt from the file you’ve downloaded.
  6. Disconnect your PSP from your computer. Now open the recovery menu. How? Turn off your PSP then turn it on again while pressing the R button. On your recovery menu, go to Plugins and enable all the screenshotbmp.prx plugins. Exit the recovery menu.
  7. Try it on your XMB. Press the note button. You will know the screenshot plugin is working when an inverse color of your screen will sweep from the bottom to the top. The screenshot will be saved on your PICTURES folder on your memory stick and you can also view it by going to Photo > memory stick on your PSP.

If you have any questions or reactions about this guide, you can use the comment form below. The screenshot plugin was programmed by TyRaNID and ported by Weltall to the M33 custom firmwares.

How To: Display PSP Screen on PC (RemoteJoy)

====================
CREDIT:
from:
http://www.mypsp.com.au/GuideDetail.aspx?id=243

stuffs I have edited are in red italicized fonts.
====================


Compatible with:
3.52 m33
3.71 m33 (with or without 1.50 kernel add-on)
3.80 m33 (with or without 1.50 Kernel add-on)
3.90 m33 (with or without 1.50 kernel add-on)

Files Required: Download

Installation:
1. Extract the RemoteJoy files to your desktop

2. Open the PsP Files folder and copy the seplugins folder to the memory stick root, if you already have a game.txt just add these 2 lines to it:
ms0:/seplugins/usbhostfs.prx
ms0:/seplugins/remotejoy.prx

3. Don't enable the plugins yet leave them disabled for now

4. Copy the PSPLink folder to your GAME folder and then go to the xmb and run the program, the screen should go black with one line of text and pc should recognise a new device (PSP Type B) when the install drivers window pops up go to specific location and browse to the Lib USB Drivers folder and select either driver or driver x64 if you have a 64 bit OS, and then select psp.inf to install the drivers.

5. Shut down the psp completely and go to the recovery menu (Hold R-Trigger while switching on psp), go to plugins and enable remotejoy.prx and usbhostfs.prx then exit.

7. Once your psp has started run a umd or iso (leave USB unplugged for now), Double click on Start USB Host.bat then Double click one of the other bat files depending on what settings you want.

8. Insert your USB cable once inserted you dont need to keep taking it out to change games, when you change games it will go blank and then appear automaticaly when you start another game.

9. Your PsP screen should appear in the window that opened when you clicked on one of the four bat files.

Notes:If you are playing a game that auto loads your saved game at the start wait until it's finished loading before starting USB Host.bat, it can also glitch when saving your game.

Saturday, April 5, 2008

How To: Set your PSP Nickname

To set your PSP Nickname

  • On your XMB,
    • --> Settings
    • --> System Settings
    • --> Nickname
    • --> (enter desired nickname)
    • --> press START twice
PSP Nicknames are what is usually used to identify your PSP.

How To: Format your MemStick on your PSP

  • On your XMB,
    • --> Settings
    • --> System Settings
    • --> Format Memory Stick
    • --> YES on Do you want to format the memory stick

How To: Make Pandora v5

ASSESSMENT:
  • requires: Windows XP (has problems with Vista)
  • requires: Homebrew capable PSP
PLANNING:
  • Back Up your MemStick
IMPLEMENTATION
  • INSTALLING TIME MACHINE IPL
    • Format your MemStick on your PSP (how)
    • msformat your MemStick
    • Copy the TIME MACHINE folder into ms0:/PSP/GAME
    • Run TIME MACHINE
  • MAKING THE PANDORA FILES
    • Adjust Necessary Settings
      • Clear PTF Themes (how)
      • NickName your Unit as needed (how)
    • Copy the necessary files
      • Copy DC5 (Despertar del Cementerio v5) to PSP/GAME/
      • Copy the firmware 1.50 EBOOT.PBP as ms0:/150.PBP
      • Copy the firmware 3.40 EBOOT.PBP as ms0:/340.PBP
      • Copy the firmware 3.90 EBOOT.PBP as ms0:/390.PBP
    • Run Despertar del Cementerio v5 Homebrew
      • (Press cross to begin the insllation) --> press [X]
      • (Please keep pressed for some seconds the key which you want to use to boot DC...) --> press [L-Trigger]
      • (keep your eyes on the scree and follow instructions)
    • Run OS Pandora Battery Tool
      • convert your Battery into a Pandora Battery
EVALUATION:
  • When you hold the L-Trigger and turn on your PSP, you should see the pandora menu.

Things you can do on the net

There are a lot of things you can do on the internet. Here are a few.
  • Maintain an email account
  • Maintain a group email account
  • Watch flash videos on youtube (or download them)
  • See the updates on RSS-enabled site from one location (Google Reader)
  • Chat with your friends via these channels
    • mIRC
    • Yahoo Messenger
    • Skype (compatible with PSPs)
    • Google Talk
  • Be part of a Community
  • Research on topics
    • General Information: Wikipedia
      • I find it easier to just google (i.e. "wiki PSP")
  • Keep an online notebook (Google Notebook)
  • Log your interests on web log (or blog, as it is more commonly called)
  • Download Files
    • via IRC
    • via Torrents
    • via HTTP
    • via FTP
    • via Peer to peer networks
      • StrongDC (comic-scans.no-ip.biz:90210)

Portable Apps

I simply using Portable Apps. Being able to setup these applications one time to your liking and then running the application on most Windows system is truly a time-saver.

Here is a list of what Portable Apps I use the most:
  • Portable Apps (Menu)
    • - The official launcher for Portable Apps
  • Firefox Portable
    • - for browsing the world wide web
    • - I simply love the bookmarks
    • - Plug-Ins give this a lot of versatility
  • VLC Portable
    • - plays most kinds of media files
link http://portableapps.com/

== UNDER CONSTRUCTION ==

My PC's HDD Partition Configuration

First of all, I have partitioned the 80GB Hard Drive into
  • Partition 1: 30GB: For Windows
  • Partition 2: 50GB: For Portable Apps and Data
The reason I have partitioned my hard drive as such is so that I can re-format and re-install windows on the 1st partition without having to touch the data on my 2nd partition. This saves me a lot of time when re-installing windows XP.

My PC Configuration

My laptop is a Dell Inspiron 6000.

  • A. Partition (80GB is split into 30GB and 50GB, respectively)
  • B. Operating System (Windows XP)
    • 1. Drivers for my laptop, naturally
    • 2. Default Settings that I modify
  • C. Security Tools
    • 1. Firewall = Zone Alarm FREE Basic Firewall
    • 2. AntiVirus = Symantec Corporate Edition
  • D. Standard Apps (Portable whenever possible)
    • MS Office 2007
  • E. MultiMedia Apps (Portable whenever possible)
    • VLC Player
  • F. Internet Apps (Portable whenever possible)
    • Yahoo Messenger
    • Skype
  • G. Helpers/Utilities
    • Clear Type Fonts
    • Copernic Desktop Search
    • PowerISO
  • H. XDA Related Softwares
    • MS ActiveSync 4.5
    • Windows Mobile Power Toys
== UNDER CONSTRUCTION ==

How To: Download Youtube Videos

I practically use two options for this.

option 1: via firefox plugin, Fast Video Download
option 2: via web links, like TechCrunch

and of course, you can playback the downloaded video using VLC Player Portable

Firefox Portable: My Standard Plug-Ins

Here are the standard plug-ins I use with my firefox portable.
  • Ad Block Plus
    • - gets rid of pesky ad banners
    • - makes browsing safer for kids
    • - saves bandwidth by not downloading ads graphics
  • Google Notebook Plug-In
    • - allows me to access Google notebook more conveniently
  • Flash Block
    • - saves bandwidth by playing only flash files you want to see
    • - gets rid of annoying flash banners with sounds
  • Fast Video Download
    • - allows me to download youtube videos

Normal Uses of Your PSP

These are what you can normally do with your PSP. I have grouped them according to the XMB groupings (to save me some mental energy. hehehe)

How To: Use PTF Themes

TO SET A PTF THEME:
  • copy the .PTF file into your ms0:\PSP\THEME directory or folder
  • on your XMB,
    • go to Settings
      • --> Theme Settings
      • --> Theme
      • --> (Icon of Theme)
      • --> Apply
TO UNSET A PTF THEME:
  • on your XMB,
    • go to Settings
      • --> Theme Settings
      • --> Theme
      • --> Original
Here are some helpful post on the pinoypsp forums:

How To: Determine your firmware version

To see your "System Software" or firmware version,
go to Settings --> System Settings --> System Information

I know it's overkill to give this its own post but your wont believe the number of people that I have to instruct about this. Besides, this will fit nicely into the grand design of this blog.

How To: Watch DivX Files

you can watch div-x files by simply installing a copy of the homebrew called PSPTube. Place your divx videos in the favor.
  1. Download PSPTube 2008/02/28 and install it; if you haven’t already
  2. Copy DivX video file(s) to PSP/GAME/PSPTube/favorites; ensure the video file extension ends with .divx
  3. Run PSPTube and start watching.
source: PSP Hacks

Personal Notes: It doesn't seem to handle large resolutions or AC3 sounds well. Still, it's better than nothing at the moment.