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Modchip
A modchip (short for modification chip) is a small electronic device used to alter or disable artificial restrictions of computers or entertainment devices. Modchips are mainly used in video game consoles, but also in some DVD or Blu-ray players. They introduce various modifications to its host system's function, including the circumvention of region coding, digital rights management, and copy protection checks for the purpose of using media intended for other markets, copied media, or unlicensed third-party ( homebrew) software. Function and construction Modchips operate by replacing or overriding a system's protection hardware or software. They achieve this by either exploiting existing interfaces in an unintended or undocumented manner, or by actively manipulating the system's internal communication, sometimes to the point of re-routing it to substitute parts provided by the modchip. Most modchips consist of one or more integrated circuits (microcontrollers, FPGAs, or CPL ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Homebrew (video Games)
Homebrew, when applied to video games, refers to software produced by hobbyists for proprietary video game consoles which are not intended to be user-programmable. The official documentation is often only available to licensed developers, and these systems may use storage formats that make distribution difficult, such as ROM cartridges or encrypted CD-ROMs. Many consoles have hardware restrictions to prevent unauthorized development. Development can use unofficial, community maintained toolchains or official development kits such as Net Yaroze, Linux for PlayStation 2, or Microsoft XNA. Targets for homebrew games are typically those which are no longer commercially relevant or produced, and with simpler graphics and/or computational abilities, such as the Atari 2600, Nintendo Entertainment System, Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, Sega Genesis, Genesis, Dreamcast, Game Boy Advance, PlayStation (console), PlayStation, and PlayStation 2. Several groups within the homebrew community have c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Game Backup Device
A game backup device, informally called a copier, is a device for backing up ROM data from a video game cartridge to a computer file called a ROM image and playing them back on the official hardware. Recently flash cartridges, especially on the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS platforms, only support the latter function; they cannot be used for backing up ROM data. Game backup devices also make it possible to develop homebrew software on video game systems. Game backup devices differ from modchips in that modchips are used in conjunction with systems that use generally available media such as CDs and DVDs, whereas game backup devices are used with systems that use cartridges. Video game companies consider these devices as a tool for reverse engineering to facilitate copyright infringement. Most of the devices are made in China, but they are available globally. Recently, legal action has been taken by companies such as Nintendo to remove these devices from the marketplace, but t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Softmod
A softmod (short for software modification) is a method of using software to modify the intended behavior of hardware, such as computer hardware, or video game consoles in a way that can overcome restrictions of the firmware, or install custom firmware. Function Many softmods are exploit (computer security), exploits combined together, known as exploit chains. The first requirement is being able to run code signing, unsigned code, known as userland exploits. Web browsers are very common vectors for this, most of which use the WebKit browser engine, which is notably open source and as a result, vulnerabilities are widely known. Another common vector of userland exploit are Saved game, savegame exploits, which are specially crafted savegame files that exploit vulnerabilities in a game's code allowing for unsigned code. The second requirement is privilege escalation, typically compromising the kernel (operating system), kernel, unlocking secure parts of the system. Depending on the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Copyright Law Of Canada
The copyright law of Canada governs the legally enforceable rights to creative and artistic works under the laws of Canada. Canada passed its first colonial copyright statute in 1832 but was subject to imperial copyright law established by Britain until 1921. Current copyright law was established by the ''Copyright Act (Canada), Copyright Act'' of Canada which was first passed in 1921 and substantially amended in 1988, 1997, and 2012. All powers to legislate copyright law are in the jurisdiction of the Parliament of Canada by virtue of section 91(23) of the ''Constitution Act, 1867''. History Colonial copyright law It is unclear to what extent British copyright law, or imperial law, starting with the 1709 Statute of Anne, applied to its colonies (including Canada), but the House of Lords had ruled in 1774, in ''Donaldson v Beckett'', that copyright was a creation of statute and could be limited in its duration. The first Canadian colonial copyright statute was the ''Copyright Ac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Regional Lockout
A regional lockout (or region coding) is a class of digital rights management preventing the use of a certain product or service, such as multimedia or a hardware device, outside a certain region or territory. A regional lockout may be enforced through physical means, through technological means such as detecting the user's IP address or using an identifying code, or through unintentional means introduced by devices only supporting certain regional technologies (such as video formats, i.e., NTSC and PAL). A regional lockout may be enforced for several reasons, such as to stagger the release of a certain product, to avoid losing sales to the product's foreign publisher, to maximize the product's impact in a certain region through localization, to hinder grey market imports by enforcing price discrimination, or to prevent users from accessing certain content in their territory because of legal reasons (either due to censorship laws, or because a distributor does not have the rights ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Copyright Law Of Australia
The copyright law of Australia defines the legally enforceable rights of creators of creative and artistic works under Australian law. The scope of copyright in Australia is defined in the ''Copyright Act 1968'' (as amended), which applies the national law throughout Australia. Designs may be covered by the ''Copyright Act'' (as sculptures or drawings) as well as by the '' Design Act''. Since 2007, performers have moral rights in recordings of their work. Until 2004, copyright in Australia was based on the plus 50 law, which restricts works until 50 years after the author's death. In 2004 this was changed to a plus 70 law in line with the US and European Union, but this change was not made retroactive (unlike the 1995 change in the European Union which brought some, e.g. British authors, back into copyright). The consequence is that the work of an Australian author who died before 1955 is normally in the public domain in Australia. However the copyright of authors was extended ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Linux For PlayStation 2
Linux for PlayStation 2 (or PS2 Linux) is a kit released by Sony Computer Entertainment in 2002 that allows the PlayStation 2 console to be used as a personal computer. It included a Linux-based operating system, a USB keyboard and mouse, a VGA adapter, a PS2 network adapter (Ethernet only), and a 40 GB hard disk drive (HDD). An 8 MB memory card is required; it must be formatted during installation, erasing all data previously saved on it, though afterwards the remaining space may be used for savegames. It is strongly recommended that a user of Linux for PlayStation 2 have some basic knowledge of Linux before installing and using it, due to the command-line interface for installation. The official site for the project was closed at the end of October 2009 and communities like ps2dev are no longer active. Capabilities The Linux Kit turns the PlayStation 2 into a full-fledged computer system, but it does not allow for use of the DVD-ROM drive except to read PS1 and PS2 discs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
AVR Microcontrollers
AVR is a family of microcontrollers developed since 1996 by Atmel, acquired by Microchip Technology in 2016. They are 8-bit RISC single-chip microcontrollers based on a modified Harvard architecture. AVR was one of the first microcontroller families to use on-chip flash memory for program storage, as opposed to one-time programmable ROM, EPROM, or EEPROM used by other microcontrollers at the time. AVR microcontrollers are used numerously as embedded systems. They are especially common in hobbyist and educational embedded applications, popularized by their inclusion in many of the Arduino line of open hardware development boards. The AVR 8-bit microcontroller architecture was introduced in 1997. By 2003, Atmel had shipped 500 million AVR flash microcontrollers. History The AVR architecture was conceived by two students at the Norwegian Institute of Technology (NTH), Alf-Egil Bogen and Vegard Wollan.Archived aGhostarchiveand thWayback Machine Atmel says that the nam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition to the information produced by ''GameSpot'' staff, the site also allows users to write their own reviews, blogs, and post on the site's forums. It has been owned by Fandom, Inc. since October 2022. In 2004, ''GameSpot'' won "Best Gaming Website" as chosen by the viewers in Spike TV's second ''Video Game Award Show'', and has won Webby Awards several times. The domain ''GameSpot.com'' attracted at least 60 million visitors annually by October 2008 according to a Compete.com study. History In January 1996, Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein quit their positions at IDG and founded SpotMedia Communications. SpotMedia then launched ''GameSpot'' on May 1, 1996. Originally, ''GameSpot'' focused solely on personal computer games, so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Copyright And Information Society Directive 2001
The Copyright and Information Society Directive 20012001/29 is a directive in European Union law that was enacted to implement the WIPO Copyright Treaty and to harmonise aspects of copyright law across Europe, such as copyright exceptions. The directive was first enacted in 2001 under the internal market provisions of the Treaty of Rome. The draft directive was subject to unprecedented lobbying and was considered a success for Europe's copyright laws. The 2001 directive gave EU Member States significant freedom in certain aspects of transposition. Member States had until 22 December 2002 to transpose the directive into their national laws, although only Greece and Denmark met the deadline. Provisions Rights Articles 2–4 contain definitions of the exclusive rights granted to under copyright and related rights. They distinguish the "reproduction right" (Article 2) from the right of "communication to the public" or "making available to the public" (Article 3): ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Digital Millennium Copyright Act
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is a 1998 United States copyright law that implements two 1996 treaties of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). It criminalizes production and dissemination of technology, devices, or services intended to circumvent measures that control access to copyrighted works (commonly known as digital rights management or DRM). It also criminalizes the act of circumventing an access control, whether or not there is actual infringement of copyright itself. In addition, the DMCA heightens the penalties for copyright infringement on the Internet. Passed on October 12, 1998, by a unanimous vote in the United States Senate and signed into law by President Bill Clinton on October 28, 1998, the DMCA amended Title 17 of the United States Code to extend the reach of copyright, while limiting the liability of the providers of online services for copyright infringement by their users. The DMCA's principal innovation in the field of copy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Linux For PlayStation 3
OtherOS is a feature of early versions of Sony Computer Entertainment's PlayStation 3 video game console, allowing user installed software, such as Linux or FreeBSD. Software running in the OtherOS environment has access to 6 of the 7 Synergistic Processing Elements. Sony implemented a hypervisor that restricts access to the RSX Reality Synthesizer graphics chip. IBM provided an introduction to programming parallel applications on the PlayStation 3. The feature was controversially removed by Sony since system firmware update 3.21, released on April 1, 2010. A class action lawsuit was filed against Sony on behalf of users, but was dismissed with prejudice in 2011 by a federal judge. The judge stated: "As a legal matter, ... plaintiffs have failed to allege facts or articulate a theory on which Sony may be held liable." However, this decision was overturned in a 2014 appellate court decision finding that plaintiffs had indeed made clear and sufficiently substantial claims. Ultima ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
