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If you haven't heard, there's a "hidden" web browser in the PSP!
Apparently Sony built the functionality in but haven't
released a web browser that we can use yet. However, there's one game that
actually uses this browser, and with a little trickery we can take over and do
whatever we want. The game is Wipeout Pure, a great game
in its own right, but made even better by the fact that it lets us get to the
PSP Browser (called the PSP Navigator according to the User Agent it reports
itself as).
There are several "portal" sites that have popped up giving you a
list of general links and a textbox to enter any URL you want. One downside to
web browsing with the PSP is that entering text is a chore, and using a textbox
means you need to manually type in your URL each time. I wanted to eliminate
this typing as much as possible, so I spent yesterday building the RidingTheClutch PSP Portal. This portal is different
because you can actually save all of your favorite URLs and they show up as
links you can click on. But, before you can access the site, we'll need to the PSP how to get there.
Wipeout has a "Downloads" section that allows you to connect to their
website and download new vehicles, tracks, etc. The site isn't up yet and in
the meantime they have a simple JPG that says "Coming Soon." Someone
out there did a little packet sniffing and found out that the PSP is just
accessing a webpage to get that message:
http://ingame.scea.com/wipeout/index.html With the magic of DNS, we can
redirect requests to that URL to wherever we want, in this case a different
website altogether. All we need to do is tell the PSP where to go to look for
DNS records. By default this is your ISP (or the ISP of whoever's wireless
connection you're using). Instead, we're going to point it to the DNS server of
Cube6
Media which hosts the portal. We'll add this as a new network connection on
the PSP. When you want to get to the portal, use this connection, otherwise use
your default one and you'll be able to access the normal Wipeout download page.
(If you already know how to change the primary DNS entry for a connection,
set it to 64.5.48.92)
I'm going to try to do this with minimal text since the photos should be
self-explanitory:
If you aren't using DHCP and need to assign your own IP,
select manual instead:
You have to select Manual for the DNS setting:
It's kind of hard to read here. The DNS should be set to 64.5.48.92
And then you can test your connection to be sure:
Using the Portal
We're ready to go! Startup Wipeout, get past the 42 startup screens until you come to the Single Player/Multiplayer/Profile/Downloads screen. Go to Downloads. It lets you know that gameplay might change, click OK. For connection, pick your newly created one. If you followed the examples above, it's called RTC PSP Portal. After a few sections you should see the portal homepage:
From here you can use the Go to URL box and go wherever you want. If that's all you want to do then you're done! But if you want to save yourself a whole bunch of typing, and create some bookmarks for yourself, read on...
The PSP actually supports cookies, but not between browser openings. Meaning that once you exit the browser, your cookies are gone and the site can't find out who you are. This means I needed another way to keep track of who you are, and unfortunately that means a login. Sorry. I was trying to keep typing to a minimum, but I couldn't think of another way to find out who's trying to get their list of links. It's a quick, painless procedure, I promise. Go to the Create Login page and make yourself a username and password:
Verification that your account was created:
So, return to the homepage and you're ready to start adding links:
Scroll down to the Add a Site area and enter a new URL. The Title section is what you want it to be called in your set of links:
Click the Save button and you're done! You've started your list of links.
As an added bonus, you can go to this page with your regular web browser! This would be the quickest way to build your list of links, then they're ready to go next time you're on the road.
http://www.ridingtheclutch.com/wipeout |
Game Systems 
