A new source code destined to let you run homebrew on your beloved PS3 was released into the open and this time there is nothing Sony can do to stop it, other than a new firmware, of course. But let’s start with an explanation: All the modern consoles, media players, smartphones, etc. contain some kind of DRM (Digital Rights Management) technology that allow only the signed applications to be run on them. This have a double edge: On one hand, it prevent the device to run unsigned code thus eliminating any applications not approved by the hardware vendor (see the iPhone Apple’s App Store) and on the other side preventing cracked games (with DRM removed) to play. If there is a successful breach in the above mentioned DRM system in the device, the device become jailbroken (which was recently declared legal by the government) and it can be used to run any kind of software, regardless of who wrote it. Since the game consoles are usually sold under their cost and the profit is expected to come from selling games/media, it is obvious that the manufacturer will stop at nothing to prevent a successful jailbreaking.
The new open source code PSGroove also called ”open source PSjailbreak” and it can be used with the well known USB development modules that are sold at various electronic stores. One of them is the ATMEL AT90USBKEY which is somewhere around $35 depending of the vendor, the other possible one is the Teensy++ USB which goes for around $25 (see pictures below). It looks like for the moment the software does not contain the technology to run pirated games (presumably because of the liability) but since the code is released as open source it obviously won’t take too long.
