New hacking/fixing gaming book

[Gamereviewgod]

Sorry this is hard to read, I just cut and pasted it...

Syngress Publishing Announces the Release of "Game Console Hacking: Xbox,
PlayStation, Nintendo, Atari, & Gamepark 32"

Book Shows How to Hack Modern, Retro, and Classic Game Systems

Contact: Amy Pedersen
781-681-5151 x12
amy@s...

Rockland, MA--October 20, 2004--Syngress Publishing, Inc., today announced
the publication of "Game Console Hacking: Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo,
Atari, & Gamepark 32" (ISBN: 1-931836-31-0), a book written by Joe Grand,
Frank Thornton, Albert Yarusso, and featuring a special foreword by Ralph
H. Baer, the "Father of Video Games."

Amorette Pedersen, Vice President, Syngress Publishing, said, "Covering
the 'old favorite' consoles of yesterday, right up to the latest machines
from Microsoft and Sony, this book has something for everyone--from the
beginner hobbyist with no electronics experience to the self-proclaimed
gadget geek. Whether you like to get your hands dirty with hacking
hardware or whether you're an aspiring game developer, this book shows you
how to take an ordinary piece of equipment and turn it into a personal
work of art."

Hacks include:
-Revive your retro console! Turn your old Atari 2600 into a fully featured PC.
-It's Independence Day! Hack your PlayStation 2 to boot code from the
memory card.
-GP32?! Experiment with the Gamepark 32, the unfamiliar yet extremely
hackable handheld system.
-Have you played Atari today? Create an arcade-style Atari 5200 paddle
controller or transform the Atari 2600 joystick into one that can be used
by left-handed players.
-You can do that? Run Linux on your Microsoft Xbox.
-Let there be light! Add an Afterburner LCD frontlight to your GBA.
-Avoid the flashing blue screen! Fix the infamous cartridge slot on the
Nintendo NES

Chapter topics include: Introduction to Hardware Hacking, Tools of the
Warranty Voiding Trade, Case Modifications: Building an Atari 2600PC,
Modern Game Consoles, Xbox, PS2, Handheld Game Platforms, Nintendo Game
Boy and GBA, GP32, Retro and Classic Systems, Nintendo NES, Atari 2600,
Atari 5200 SuperSystem, Atari 7800, and Electrical Engineering Basics.

BOOK DETAILS
ISBN: 1-931836-31-0
PRICE: $39.95 U.S.
PAGE COUNT: 592 PP

AUTHOR INFORMATION
Joe Grand is the President of Grand Idea Studio, a San Diego-based product
development and intellectual property licensing firm, where he specializes
in the invention and design of consumer electronics, medical devices,
video games, and toys. His latest creations include the Stelladaptor Atari
2600 Controller-to-USB Interface and the Emic Text-to-Speech Module.

A recognized figure in computer security, Joe has testified before the
United States Senate Governmental Affairs Committee and is a former member
of the legendary hacker collective L0pht Heavy Industries. Joe's research
on mobile devices and embedded security has been published in various
periodicals, including Circuit Cellar and the Digital Investigation
Journal. He is the author of many security-related software tools,
including pdd, the first forensic acquisition application for Palm
devices. Joe currently has a patent pending on a hardware-based computer
memory imaging concept and apparatus (U.S. Patent Serial No. 10/325,506).

Joe has presented his work at numerous academic, industry, and private
forums, including the United States Air Force Office of Special
Investigations, the Naval Postgraduate School, the IBM Thomas J. Watson
Research Center, the Embedded Systems Conference, the Black Hat Briefings,
and DEFCON. He has appeared in documentaries and news for television,
airplane in-flight programming, and print media outlets. He has also
authored "Hardware Hacking: Have Fun While Voiding Your Warranty"
(Syngress Publishing, ISBN: 1-932266-83-6) and contributed to "Stealing
The Network: How to Own a Continent" (Syngress, ISBN: 1-931836-05-1). Joe
holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering from Boston
University.

Frank Thornton runs his own technology consulting firm, Blackthorn
Systems, which specializes in wireless networks. His specialties include
wireless network architecture, design, and implementation, as well as
network troubleshooting and optimization. An interest in amateur radio
helped him bridge the gap between computers and wireless networks. Having
learned at a young age which end of the soldering iron was hot, he has
even been known to repair hardware on occasion. In addition to his
computer and wireless interests, Frank was a law enforcement officer for
many years. As a detective and forensics expert he has investigated
approximately one hundred homicides and thousands of other crime scenes.
Combining both professional interests, he was a member of the workgroup
that established ANSI Standard "ANSI/NIST-CSL 1-1993 Data Format for the
Interchange of Fingerprint Information." He co-authored "WarDriving:
Drive, Detect, and Defend: A Guide to Wireless Security" (Syngress
Publishing, ISBN: 1-93183-60-3), as well as contributed to "IT Ethics
Handbook: Right and Wrong for IT Professionals" (Syngress, ISBN:
1-931836-14-0). He resides in Vermont with his wife.

Albert Yarusso is a principle of Austin Systems (www.austinsystems.com),
an Austin, Texas-based firm that specializes in web design programming and
hosting services. Albert's background consists of a wide range of projects
as a software developer, with his most recent experience focused in the
game industry. Albert previously worked for Looking Glass Technologies and
more recently for Ion Storm Austin, where he helped create the highly
acclaimed PC game Deus Ex. Albert co-founded AtariAge (www.atariage.com)
in 2001, a comprehensive web site devoted to preserving the history of
Atari's rich legacy of video game consoles and computers, which has become
one of the busiest destinations on the web for classic gaming fans. In
2003, Albert helped bring the first annual Austin Gaming Expo
(www.austingamingexpo.com) to Austin, an extremely successful event that
drew over 2,000 visitors in its first year. Albert is also a contributor
to "Hardware Hacking: Have Fun While Voiding Your Warranty" (Syngress
Publishing, ISBN: 1-932266-83-6).

Ralph H. Baer is an engineer and a hacker from way back, as well as a
prolific inventor with over 150 US and foreign patents to his credit. He
is best known as the "Father of Video Games." For over fifty years he has
had one leg in the commercial and defense electronics development and
production business, and the other leg in toy and game design. Many
well-known handheld electronic toys such as "Simon" came from his lab. His
early video game hardware already resides in such places as the
Smithsonian and the Japanese National Science Museum and replicas are on
display all over the map. His home has been Manchester, New Hampshire for
the past 48 years.

Background Information
Syngress Publishing (www.syngress.com), headquartered in Rockland,
Massachusetts, is an independent publisher of print and electronic
reference materials for Information Technology professionals seeking skill
enhancement and career advancement. Distributed throughout Europe, Asia,
and the U.S. and Canada, Syngress titles have been translated into twenty
languages. The company's pioneering customer support program,
solutions@s..., extends the value of every Syngress title with
regular information updates and customer-driven author forums. For more
information on Syngress products, contact Amy Pedersen at 781-681-5151 or
email amy@s.... Syngress books are distributed in the United
States and Canada by O'Reilly Media, Inc.

[Hovoc]

nice idea


but you can find that stuff on the internet for free*




*normal monthly internet fees may apply

[max 330 mega]

damn i need that so i can finally buy a gamepark 32 and make it play other systems.

[chadtower]

Note that Joe Grand is a founding member of NECG.

[Ed Oscuro]

This info looks like rather basic stuff, unfortunately - I hope that they have enough interesting stuff in there to catch purchases from more advanced hackers (they SAY there's more advanced hacks in there, but I don't see any listed in fact).

Great idea though!

[Half Japanese]

Interesting, but as stated before, any of this info can be found on the internet for free. It's essentially the same thing as people who buy programs to rip cd's. Sure, it'll get the job done, but getting it for free doesn't make you feel like quite as big a schmuck or horse's ass. $39.99 is way too much to ask for a book of that nature...sorry!

[omnedon]

Sounds too 'lite' to me.

I want AV schematics. I want video IC pinouts.

Squeezing a PC into my 2600? Bleh. That's PC modding. Might be a good book, but the stuff I really need (and the online help to actually troubleshoot it) is on the net.

I hope it does well tho!

[postulio]

you dont need no guide to run emulators on your gp32. theres plenty of info out there for free =]

[christianscott27]

i'd give it a big thumbs up for joe grand's involvment, joe is a serious engineer and he wouldnt put his name on untested, unsound mods. if i'm going to hack into a valueable console thats the sort of thing i'd consider first.

[Sylentwulf]

I'm sure it's a great book, etc... but $40 is pushing the limit quite a bit as far as a price goes... I'm sure it'll sell great though!

[chadtower]

If you want one collected, diagrammed, clean source of all of that information that you can take around with you, this book is good. Yes, all of that information is publically available on the net but not in one compiled and clean compilation. That's the value of the book. Or do you want to take all of those hacking pages, compile everything into one place for yourself, clean it up, and print it out? That would be more than $40 of your time and materials.

What information in 90% of books isn't available on the net if you look long enough?

[Sylentwulf]

What information in 90% of books isn't available on the net if you look long enough?

Exactly. Even fiction new releases can be pretty easily downloaded and read for free online. Doesn't make it feasible or easier to do so.

[rbudrick]

Looks like its only about 27 bucks w/ free shipping at Amazon...

-Rob

[Ed Oscuro]

Sounds too 'lite' to me.

I want AV schematics. I want video IC pinouts.

nfg.2y.net/sales still has a Game Labs mook (book-size magazine) or two; very cool stuff is covered.

As for getting a book of this sort to cover these issues...well, once again, it's Lite stuff, and by the time you've bought it the parts they're using are obsolete. I don't know how much emphasis they put on general pointers, but I'd rather look for help in an online forum with people who do this stuff all the time, rather than take the word of authors who aren't communicating about the procedure (if they do, my mistake - this is one of the features of the Game Programming Gems series and its spinoffs which have made the hardcover format so popular - you get two-way communication, feedback, AND the hard copy, so you never lose).

[kevincure]

I'll third the sentiment that Joe Grand's a quite talented engineer and is one of the good guys. This isn't a fly-by-night operation.

Also, Baer wrote the intro; can't beat that for an opening statement.

[slapdash]

Does anyone know if there's any duplicated or crossover material from the other book Joe & Albert had a hand in? I didn't get that one since it wasn't ALL about videogame hacking, but I'm wondering if there's any overlap or not.

[joesmooth]

Whoops. Hey guys! Man, I didn't notice this thread until now. I'm sitting here with a broken foot trying to catch up on my forum reading

Thanks for all the support about the book. It was a ton of work and I can only hope that people enjoy it, benefit from it, and learn something new. As far as the material being "lite," I beg to differ - there are some basic hacks, but there are also some that took me a while to wrap my head around. You can take a look at the full table-of-contents here: http://www.grandideastudio.com/files/books/gch_toc.pdf and you can read my Introduction here: http://www.grandideastudio.com/files...roduction2.pdf Those might give you a better idea if you think the book is for you.

Slapdash, there is some overlap with the Atari chapters in my original Hardware Hacking: Have Fun While Voiding Your Warranty book (http://www.grandideastudio.com/portf...p?id=1&prod=22) We've updated some of the material and added some new content, but I wouldn't buy Game Console Hacking specifically for Atari stuff if you already have Hardware Hacking.

Well, thanks again!

Joe

[Gamereviewgod]

Edit:
Never mind.....

[rbudrick]

I have this book. It's pretty damn comprehensive, too! I wouldn't even want to try digging up all that info online. My time is worth way more than $40, considering the amount of days it would take to find all the stuff in this book. Put it on your Xmas list.

-Rob

[joesmooth]

So not all the Atari info from the first book is in the 2nd, but the info that is has been updated/expanded, is that right? They both sound like they're worth having, but $40 for one is a bit high considering as someone mentioned, most of this info is readily available for free. Is there a deal if you purchase both?

Actually, all of the 1st book is in the 2nd, but the 2nd has more than the 1st

The list price for the book is $39.95, but Amazon is selling it for $26.37 (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...l/-/1931836310) and Bookpool has it for $24.50 (http://www.bookpool.com/.x/zwa45wnkt...acking&x=0&y=0), so it's really not that expensive. As for deals, you'll have to check the book seller for that - I have no say in that, I'm just the lowly author.

Joe