Friday, December 08, 2006

The Epsilon War.A howto fight an unknown virous..

After a little adventure I recently had I decided to share it in case someone shares the same problem with me,or is just having a virous that is so new/unpopular to be listed.Its mainly targeted to begginer users that would be interested in knowing a bit about their systems and like to get their hands dirty...

Chapter 1:Suspicion

It all started one day I tried to type in Greek.The first symptom was when I tried to input the accented epsilon (έ) which was typed as ¨¨ε.I then tried other combos to just find out I had totally lost ( ' ) .

Fist thought that crossed the mind was the unicode and language/regional settings.After messing with them for a while with no success it was Scan time.Updated and fully scanned the system with Norton Antivirous,Kaspersky,Nod32m,Antivir Personal,Spybot,Webroot.Apart from some cookies that they are always found nothing else suspicious appeared...The problem insisted.....


Chapter 2: Investigation

It was time to locate the source of my pain.And NO I was not willing to format the system.I would not give the battle that easily.So I did a series of tests

  1. Safe mode : The letters were working ok here.Ok then it MUST be application related
  2. Normal mode : I pressed Run and inserted Msconfig.On the box that appeared I selected diagnostic startup and rebooted windows.Again everything appeared to be ok.Time to find that @#^@^$@# aplication
  3. TaskManager : Reverted msconfig to normal,rebooted.Pressed Alt+Ctrl+Delete ,switched to Processes,Sorted them by UserName and starting killing them one at a time.Occasionally I was faced by a Timeout to shutdown the system but you can disable it by pressing Start->Run->Shutdown.exe -a .After Killing all processes I could the problem was still there and only the processes I could not kill were left.Ok we are facing Stealthed application
Since there is an application that I cannot see I decided to check the startup methods just to find the suspicious exe.


-Regedit : Start->Run->Regedit.exe .From there you have to browse to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
And check which programs are setup to start.My search resulted in nothing so I went to check HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\open\command
Since its a VERY sneaky way to startup a file.Nothing here too...

-Services : Start->Run->services.msc /s .Located all the services that are enabled to start ayto and made them manual.Also disabled all the Non Microsoft Ones.Rebooted system but with no luck

-Msconfig : Start->Run->msconfig .You can play with services from here too but it does not list the hidden ones that is why I preffer the previous method.Just go to autorun method and checkout everything that you don't know what it is and reboot.Again in my case that did not fix the system.

So that was it.Time to take the war into my own hands.Poor Xp have no way to defend themselves from malicious coders...

Chapter3:Foreign Weapons -> Victory

All the medium user will ever need is 2 free and simple tools.Courtesy of Systernals

Lets start with Process Explorer.Download it extract and run.You should get such a screen



The Blue ones are applications the User started.So if you got a virous,spyware its probably coloured Blue.Kill the ones you know and check or if you are more patient than me you can try to google them.If in the first 2 pages results you see any mention of words such as malware,spyware,worm,virous you have found the culprit.I took the kill method till I located the application that caused the issue.I had a name "csrss.exe" and even though listed it was not detected by antivir so I think its a new variant.


Now its time for autoruns.Download extract and run and go to Logon Tab.This is what you should see...



The suspicious exe WILL appear here as well as its startup method.In my case it used HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\Explorer\Run
So I unchecked it,Rebooted and tested.Oh the Happiness...Opened Regedit to delete the entry and then the file....Hope you are as lucky as I am..Did I mention the fulfillment feeling you get after all this trouble?



Saturday, November 25, 2006

How to customize Firefox Installation

A Firefox of your own

Beeing a Firefox user for a while I really like the way this browser is evolving.It seems that more seem to share that view,hence it became the browser with the fastest user infiltration.The thing that makes it fun is,the way its customizable and configurable.Simple and friendly if you wish to or the beast within if you are power user.The vast variety of extensions themes etc apart from the many advantages has one disadvantage:Unlike fully featured release pack in FF when you format the PC or just need to reinstall it you have to add each one of the extensions manually.This is both annoying and unnecessary.

But a sollution to this issue was expected to appear.Nowadays there are plenty of ways but I am gonna show you an easy method to create a personal release of FF containing all you need and requiring no user interaction.

Step 1 : Preparation

First lets pick our weapons shall we??


Note that in the addons part its important to DOWNLOAD them not install them only.To do this right click on the install button and select save link as.You will then be promted to download the .xpi or .jar file.


So you now should have the addon installed AND downloaded separately...Do the same thing with themes.


Step 2 Backing up and adjusting.


This part is important.We need to first backup our settings if we are existing FF users.For that reason I do suggest to either use Google brower Sync or FoxMark Bookmark Synchonizer
The Google Addon also backups Saved passwords and Browsing History.If you dont care about all those you can just export your bookmarks manually using FF Manage Bookmarks.

After we do the backup or if we are not FF users we need to install it and customize it EXACTLY as we want him to be on the installer.This is important because the settings will get copied.So please clean up your addon that contain login personal info,Adjust the Gestures that you wanna have as default and tweak every part of the browser as you would like it to end.Once done we can move to next step.


STEP 3 : Cooking the Fox

One we have all the files we can start.Extract the Sof.rar to a folder.Inside that folder put the official Firefox2 Setup you downloaded
.Afterwards run sof.exe. and select new project



Press next and press browse to locate the folder with the original firefox installer.Once you find it the Unpack button will be available.Press it and wait for the unpack to end and press next.





On the next screen don't get confused and try to select or browse files.Just press Copy my files.




Once you get successful message we have to make one little tweak.Because this tool was designed for Firefox 1.0-1.5 and is no longer being developed we have to manually copy 3 files.

You have to find your own path since the RED letters will differ from one pc to another
C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\1l3b10aj.default

Once you locate the correct folder copy bookmarks.html and mimeTypes.rdf and prefs.js to your SoF folder under the path SoF\Project\Firefox\Profile
There should already be 3 files there we are gonna replace.You can skip the Bookmarks part if you wanna have the default Bookmarks.Its only necessary if you want to have CUSTOM bookmarks in the installation.

Now lets add Extentions and themes.Its kinda simple procedure.Remember the xpi and jar files I told you to download?You just copy them to those 2 folders
\SoF\Project\Firefox\Themes
\SoFfoxes\Project\Firefox\Extentions
Do note that themes NEED to be jar and extentions XPI.So if you come across a theme in XPI you can simply rename it to JAR and vice versa.

Once done return to SoF application and now press the Pack Button.Wait till everything is finished and it will generate sfirefox.exe that will be the final outcome.


Feel free to test the outcome.Remember to remove older version of FF.If you make any changes later all you need to do to repack is Rerun SOF.exe and select existing project or just dont close it till its working....

I hope you found it usefull.I am also enclosing a Personal Release with Addons and Themes you may find interesting...

Get it HERE .

Note that due to ForecastFox poping an annoying window when first run I set the location cordinates to Greece to stop it from asking.If you wish to keep this addon remember to change it to your city.Also press check for updates for a couple of compatibility tweaks...

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Rapidshare - Megaupload File Sharing Tips

INTODUCTION

Nowadays the flow of information on the internet tends to get a totally new and unprecedented shape.The speeds rise with geometric rates and so does the size of files we do want to send or share.The email system or the IRC and other IM solutions fail to satisfy that need since they require a lot of time,stability and effort in both the sender and receiver that is getting worse when the file size is getting big or the amount people who want it increases. FTP could do it but apart from not user friendly it also requires some free space resulting in a process that demotivates common user from dealing with it and the last contestant P2P programs is quite chaotic and insecure environment for both looking for and downloading what you might need.

This is where the File Sharing Services came into the game.You can easily and one step upload a file with any web browser to their Space,for free and whoever types the file URL can download it.Innovation indeed which got endorsed by a large sum of people.For further details you can try them out yourselves.This is a small list of the most famous uploading services.Feel free to try them.




Now lets get in a little deeper.When you start using those services you will notice some annoying features they implement.I am gonna deal with Rapishare and Megaupload specifically but those fixes will prob work to other cases too.

Firefox
Firefox seems the best browser for that job.Let me explain to you how.All you will need is 2 extentions and a third party software.No need to be a computer genious to make it work.Lets see the tools

  1. TiX :Simple Extention that resets countdown to zero in many sites including Rapishare.
  2. User Agent Switcher :Extention that will enable us to bypass Megaupload limits
  3. RapidLeecher Or CMS Grabber:Third Party software that will make you bypass the Ip limit for Rapidshare
As far Tix is concearned you just right click and press TiX Now while rapidshare or megaupload timer is ticking.It will then skip to zero.

User agent switcher can be a little harder to fix.After you correctly install and restart FF you have to:
  1. Go to Tools -> User Agent Switcher -> Options
  2. Click on User Agents and Add one
  3. On the window that appears type in the following info:
  4. Description: Megaup(or whatever you want)
  5. User Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SV1; MEGAUPLOAD 1.0)
  6. Save and exit.
  7. Now whenever you are seeing the download slots full message press on Tools -> User Agent Switcher and select the one you created.
  8. Remember to switch to default after getting the file.
Last but not least the Rapidleecher is as simple as a game to operate.Type the link of the download and the image code.Whenever you wish to download more than the default you need to insert a new proxy which results in a new IP.Here are some lists but you can google for more:List1 List2

InternetExplorer 6 or 7:

In this case things tend to differ a bit.

  • Rapidleecher and clones do work here too since they are standalone and browser independant
  • TIX does not work on IE so users you need to type this in the adress bar the second the timer starts : javascript:alert(c=0) OR javascript:var c=0;
  • For Megaupload bypass this is the trick:
  1. Open Start menu and select Run.
  2. Type there regedit.exe and press Enter
  3. Carefull while you are here.Navigate to this place: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\5.0\User Agent\Post Platform if you got Internet Explorer 6 or
  4. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\User Agent\Post Platform if you got Internet Explorer 7
  5. Select Post Platform,Right click to it and Select New and String Value
  6. Input “ “MEGAUPLOAD 1.0” in that newly created Value
  7. Restart the Pc.
Last but not least if for any reason Rapidleecher is not what you are looking for you can manually change the IP unless you got a static one.This is kinda more advanced method and browser independent.To do this:
  1. -Clear the cookies or Browser Data in FF
  2. -Go to Start menu,Run,and input CMD.exe,press enter
  3. -type this in that black window:
  • ipconfig /flushdns (ENTER)
  • ipconfig /release (ENTER)
  • ipconfig /renew (ENTER)
  • Exit (ENTER)

I think that covers more than your basic needs.Have fun

Sunday, November 05, 2006

k750 / w800 Modding Guide

I am a proud owner of a Sony Ericsson K750 for a while now.Lately I decided to customize it to beyond recognition.This is a guide for those desiring the same.

Caution:
Everything here needs you to have a CID36 Phone.If you don't you just have to hope when CID49 breaks because its impossible to mount any loader at this time.

BEFORE you do anything create a full backup of your settings,numbers files as because they will prob get deleted.To do so use Myphonexplorer Create backup function.

Some of those procedures are delicate and require your full attention (and battery ofc).If you are not sure of what you are doing dont attemp those modifications.I am not responsible for any damage you might cause to your handset.If you do however reach an unresponsive state dont panic since its almost impossible to kill HW with Software mods.At any decent shop it can be restored to funcional state...

UPDATE:There was an accident and I got my hosting account hijacked.Due to this most download links will not work at the time.I will try to reupload them as soon as I get some free time.But you can still look them up yourselves too.I apologize for the inconvenience it may have caused..



Step 1 : Firmware Upgrade



The main plan is to install w800i firmware to it.For that reason the choice was the R1BC002 for its stability and the majority of tweaks available.There are mainly 3 routes to change the firmware of your phone

Prior to using the software we must get the files we need.By pressing >*<*<<* on the standby menu you get to SE service menu.Navigate to Software info and check on the part it says CDA... By that number go to to K750 CDA LIST or W800CDA LIST and check what language file you need.In my case I had CDA102337/3 which corresponds to Greek Eme3File.Now you have to download the files.You can either get firwmares your own way or just register to Topsony and get them from there.What we need is...

  1. -W800 R1BC002 MAIN EU EMEA.bin (same for all languages)
  2. -W800 R1BC002 FS EMEA3.bin (Get the one with YOUR language,this was my own)
  3. - W800i_CDA102425_39_EMEA_3.zip (optional for advanced Users,ALSO Dependant on your CDA you have selected.To find your w800CDA use this list )

What we now need are to correctly setup drivers.If you have used the SonyEricsson Update Service you might skip this part.Else Download and extract those files to any directory and follow those instructions

  1. Download the zip file to your computer. Remember where you put it.
  2. Unzip the file to a temporary folder.
  3. Connect your D750/K750 to the PC using the USB cable. This will initiate the Windows Found New hardware wizard to be used during the installation.
  4. Follow the instructions in the wizard, and choose to “Install from a list ..”, press “Next”.
  5. Browse to the temporary folder created under step 2 above to point to the driver to install and press “Next”.
  6. When the driver is installed, press “Finish".


Now choose your Method:

Gflash

The easy way is GFlash a tool created by jagheterfredrik.Download and extract to any folder.
Run it and Press Read CID then connect the phone off while pressing C.You should get to this screen


Note the Marked Red Info.If you got a CID 49 this program will NOT work and if you got Brown you need to make it RED.

Lets move to flashing Tab.


Insert the files you downloaded in the corresponding location.Select w800 and input your language CDA.Press Flash and you are done.Just make sure battery is GOOD..You don't wanna run our while flashing trust me..

When its done we got a brand new W800Firmware.Open it to check it out and then close it again for customizing...

With Gflash you can apply vkp patches and expand sms memory.Check on the Extras tab and Select Extend SmS storage.This will give you unlimited sms but don't overdo it after 1000-1500 it will make phone slow.Now lets see about patches patches.Select the Repair/GDFS/pathing tab.


Its HIGHLY recommended to Read GDFS and create a backup before messing with your phone any further.If you don't and crash it you will need a service cable.After Backing up GDFS select patch and drag and drop all the vkp files you want into the blank area.To get those files visit
http://mobilefree.ru/modules/patches/ (Use Babelfish to translate the page)
or from www.topsony.com or from MaxWedges collection patches .The Russian site contains ALL known patches so I recommend it.

This concludes the Gflash usage guide.Easy and simple.Lets move to something more advanced..


FAR MANAGER & SEFP

First we need to donload the needed software.The firmware files stay the same and we Now need that optional file I said in the start.


Install Far and extract the SEFP in this plugins directory.We are set to go...Run Far manager and press Alt+F1,then 0(zero for selecting the plugin)You should be here now..


Select those options and press Enter The Matrix.Connect the phone turned off while pressing C and you should get this screen.If not disconect remove battery and try again before the 60sec timeout.



Right after you should see this screen.


This is where you get 2 choices.Either Flash the phone or mess with his filesystem.Lets begin with flashing turorials..

1)GDFS Backup
Like I said BACKUP your GDFS.To do this select Flash...


Then use this sequence.
  1. a)Left click on the memory to turn into yellow.
  2. b)Press F5 for Copy to the sected destination (You can use the right side for destination or manually input it on the white popup)
  3. c)Use this Mem Start 45F00000 - 00100000 And press Read.A raw file will be created in the destination Directory..

2)Flashing Main
Now lets see how we do flash the baby.When its done we are on the same directory.Navigate on the right side(local browser) and find the files we have downloaded in start.



  1. a)Locate the Main file in local pc in the folder you extracted it.Left Click to select it(yellow)
  2. b)Press F5 and copy
  3. c)Select BABE image
  4. d)input this MEM range 44020000 - 013E0000

3)Flashing Flash

Same procedure and for Flash with main difference the MEM range:45400000 - 00B00000 as show below:


4)Applying VKP patches


By the same way you can apply VKP patches we saw earlier.The only diffirence is the selection of process VKP script instead of Flash BABE and no need to input anything else...I highly recommend to apply patches after you have checked phone is working 100% for easier troubleshooting

Some notable patches:

This almost Concludes the Flashing procedure.We do have to finalize the phone.


5)Finalization


Disconnect the phone and remove the battery and exit and restart Far manager.Insert battery and connect the phone like you did before.


Now we pick the FS way.Its a folder layout similar to windows.We need you to navigate to tpa/preset/custom on the phone and on the PC to the folder you extracted W800i_CDA102425_39_EMEA_3.zip


Select all the files on the local folder (shift and arrows for fast selection) and press to copy the files on the left side.Carefull NOT have selected drm or they will be copied to that folder instead.So double check files are placed correctly.

Further Customization
*If you want you may edit some things in customize.xml with notepad.This can take care of some default settings the phone gets after a master reset like profile time.I personally am not such curius about it and I only altered this line
W800i Resulting in displaying whatever you like in status menu and service menu.Yes you can make it Nokia3210 for fun :P.Each time you edit this file you need to MASTER reset the phone so its better doing it before first boss...

This conludes the Flashing Guide.Choose your tool that serves you best.Now if you thing we are done you are far from right...


Step 2: Firmware Tweaks



1)Edit the acoustic settings.

They are located in the ifs/settings/acoustic
Those files are responsible for the audio quality in walkman mode,ringtone mode and phone mode.

I highly recommend to use this
files w810acoustic .Remember to delete the mp3 extention so you can unrar it.Go to acoustic folder and after deleting the original ones ( backup if you are scared) copy them with far manager in their place.You will notice great change in quality and loudness.


Also note these 2 files :

  1. farfield_play.apf =High quality Lower volume used for Mediaplayer
  2. farfield_ring.apf =Low quality Higher volume used for Ringtones
If you wish to have louder mediaplayer copy the farfield_ring.apf to pc rename it to farfield_play.apf and replace it to phone after deleting the old one.Same way if you wish to have clear ringtones you you reverse the last procedure.

Do pay a visit a this Esato's Thread for more info on acoustic



2)Expand SMS memory,MMS size

We did it with Gflash lets see how it works here.
  • Go to folder /ifs/settings/messaging/
  • Find pref_store.txt
  • Press F4
  • Change the /smsdata to /tpa
  • Press F2(save) , F10 (exit)

  • For MMS size expand(send 3x bigger MMS)
  • Go to /ifs/settings/messaging/
  • Edit <>100<.message- swing -size > to <>300<.message- swing -size >
  • Save,Exit.Not all phones have this setting so dont worry if you are unable to locate it.



3)Edit Startup,Shutdown Images and sounds.

  • Go to /fs/tpa/preset/system/settings
  • The files listed there are:
  1. SPLASH=First image you see while starting phone png format
  2. STARTUP_IMAGE_SEMC=Animation when starting phone gif format
  3. SHUTDOWN_IMAGE_SEMC=Animation when Shutting down phone gif format
  4. SHUTDOWN_SOUND_SEMC.mp3=Startup sound
  5. STARTUP_SOUND_SEMC.mp3=Shutdown sound

  • You can use any k750 screensaver for startup and shutdown images as long as its 176x220 size and you make sure you have REMOVED the gif extension.Mind also that it should NOT be on infinite loop or it will keep displaying it till you press a key.
  • The splash can be set by phone firmware I think and its the easiest of them all
  • You can use any mp3 but I suggest you keep it short so the phone boosts faster.
  • Removing any of those WONT break the phone and will make it boot ultrafast.
  • I personally did this trick:When you apply this patch it will read for startup files on the folder other can you can access with any program including the phone menu.Just remember to place your startup files in that folder.

4)Edit default system sounds.

Those are located in FS/tpa/preset/system/sound
Some are mid but most are mp3 format.You can find your own sounds and use the same name to replace the original ones.Same procedure all over.In some cases if you need to replace a mid file with an mp3 you need to apply the needed patch.I personally changed failure.mid to failure.mp3.

Some notable sounds:
  1. Notification.mid=The sound when a message is delivered.Can be safely erased
  2. Messagealert1,2,3.... =The default sounds for SMS,MMS.Can be replaced but not removed.
  3. camerafocus.3gp=Camera sound can be safely removed.
  4. lowbattery.mid=Annoying sound when battery is low.The first I removed :P



5)Change Camera And Display Driver

  • On the mobile the camera driver is located in ifs/settings/camera/
  • The display is in ifs/settings/display/
  • Just browse there and replace the original with your downloaded camdriver0.dat.(Always backup before deleting original)
  • I didn't see any notable difference in display camera change so I suggest you skip that part but if you wish to try there it is Custom display_driver
  • You can also apply Move Drivers to other VKP patch for moving the driver folder to other so it can be changed without far manager.
  • Remember to have created the folder /tpa/user/other/drv and placed the Display AND the camera driver.If you forget this the phone wont display a thing when powered on.



6)Backup needed files

  • You can backup games you have purchased,java applications,voice dialing commands and image associations.
  • Voice Commands are located in tpa/system/voicecontrol/stby
  • Image associations are located in tpa/system/pbook/image
  • Java is located in tpa/perset/system/ams/
  • For the latter you can apply this patch for moving java to other folder and enabling you to backup and send files via Bluetooth.Remember to have created directory in other first.


7)Killing SE Links in folders

For some reason the SE menu are filled with annoying links that connect and download images,sounds,etc.To remove it just

  • Go to tpa\preset\system\custmenu select and delete (F8) all files there
  • Go to tpa\preset\custom and delete all the .itm files from there



8)Change the layout file

Layout.xml is located in /tpa/system/layout and is responsive of the overall apperance of fonts and some menu characheristics.I am not gonna get into how to create it just link some interesting layouts.

  1. Remove Opeator name It does what it says.Will not work correctly with some themes unless you disable one of their elements.Note that this layout is NOT made by me.If it fails to work with your theme you can make one of your own with the method I describe below.
  2. remove scrollbars Removes the little scrollbar on every menu on the phone
  3. Fonts Fine , Title Bold Without Logo and Scrollbars Does the same as the other 2 as well changes the fonts

To install replace with original layout.xml as done many time so far

I also suggest applying this VKP script so we move the layout.xml to other.DONT forget to have copied the file in the new folder

Some layout tips if you wish to make your own.

To remove operator logo:
  • Search for "StatusIndication"
  • "TitleMode" value="1" - Change 1 to 4
  • "OverlayStyle" value="0" -Change 0 to 2


To minimize the Numbers that appear when you manually dial on the desktop

  • Search for "MainInput"
  • Locate this line below sett name="FontType" value="FontD_24B"
  • Change FontD_24B to whichever you desire according to legend(I suggest FontE_20B)

Change the Fonts in the buttons Calls and Menu
  • Search for "SoftKeys"
  • Locate line sett name="FontType" value="FontE_20R"
  • Change the FontE_20R to what you like

Change the font size in sms input
  • Look for "StringInput"
  • Locate attributes count="13"
  • 2 lines below should be attr index="1" value="16"
  • Change to the number you like or the style you like (i.e "FontE_12R")




Just for a quick legend when you meet value FontA_20B
  1. A is the font type.Valid among A,D,E AFAIk
  2. 20 is the size.Valid from 12 to 28 AFAIK
  3. B is bold.Also there is R=regular ,I=Italic,BI=Bold Italic

My current layout if HERE and has overall smaller fonts,no operator or scrollbar,and changed waclman fonts.I also used the VKP patch for smaller inbox text.


For more info on layouts check here



9)Change the menu

It is possible to ENTIRELY change the menu looks and feel.To do this we need to mess with menu.ml file located in tpa\preset\system\menu

To pick your own style menu you can visits this Se-Nse Thread or TopSony Or Clubw800
Some interesting concepts are:

  1. Club pulse
  2. Break Beat
  3. Backstreet
  4. Supermenu

Download those files,extract them and copy to the tpa\preset\system\menu after deleting the original menu.ml

If you feel like creating you own you should check this thread

Last but not least this VKP patch for Redirecting the menu folder to /tpa/user/other/menu

Remember to have created the folder and placed the files there in advance bla bla bla...

*If you have applied the Blacklist.vkp patch and you are a perfectionist like me you can also edit the list name in the phones menu.To do so edit menu.ml and locate
AllowedCallers_Id.Then you can change the textid="MENU_SCREENING_TXT" to what you want but beware of the context rules

Just an update to those who wish to Link Directly Applications to Menu.For exemple suppose I want to change Internet Services menu with the new application From Gmail.
The main template is like that:


  • The red X can be any element we change.In our case it should be 4.
  • The name is the element id of what we replace.Carefull with that since an invalid element Id will make the menu.ml not work.I usually use "Applications" since its allowed to use the same element Id many times...
  • The Text you can input whatever you like.
  • On the 2 icon files you need to have correct sizes(check the ones you are replacing) and the first is for the unselected while the second is for selected.They need to be in the same folder as menu.ml
  • For Java Suite and vendor you can either go to applications menu on the phone and select properties or use the method below.They are under MIDlet-Name: and MIDlet-Vendor:


  • The Blue Part is the most important since failure to input the correct one will result in a non loading application.How do we discover it without being PshycoMantis?Its kinda simple.


  1. Take the gmail.jar file or any jar you wanna put in main menu.
  2. Shift+Right click on explorer and select Open With.
  3. Choose Program
  4. Select winrar from the list or winzip or winace.Any decent archiver can open jar files.
  5. Inside it WILL contain a folder named Manifest.MF
  6. View that file with wirar or just extract to desktop and open with notepad.
  7. There will be a line MIDlet-1: Gmail, GmailIcon.png, com.google.gm.MiniGMail
  8. The Red is what we need to locate.Then its the icon we dont care about.Right next to the icon we get the BLUE line we need...



10)Change the looks of mediaplayer


This will change the way the Walkman looks.
Excatly same procedure as before but with tpa\system\multimedia\mp as the folder we are working.Again you can find skins on Se-Nse forums and Topsony


Some interesting skins
  1. ClubPulse_by Topsony
  2. Wmp11 by PRinCE87

I have yet to locate a VKp script for redirecting this to other.Also DO mind that there is a memory issue with that one and playing the camera while in walkman can revert the skin to original.Not seen it yet on my w800 but if you notice instability restore the original files.


11)Add a language to the existing firmware

  • First go to Topsony and donwload the language file you want.For our example say you want to add Portuguese to my system languages.Donwload w800_Language_EUROPE_1.rar
  • Then Go to tpa/preset/system/language and put there pt.t9 and pt.lng
  • Delete(f8) lng.dat and lng.lst
  • Go to tpa/preset/custom and download customize.xml to your pc.
  • Open it with notepad
  • find allowed -language part and add this line pt
  • Do a maste reset.If all is done correctly the new language should be available.
  • Language files are firmware Dependant.If for some reason the previous fails make sure you have correct version.Try flashing your phone with the corresponding FS file if you need to extract a specific language pack.In the expample to make sure its correct you can flash the FS with the w800Europe1.bin leaving the main intact and when you get the files reflash it to the version you desire...




Step 3 : Hardware Modding



I have to admit the black k750 is nice but kinda common around here.Since our baby after all those procedures is all but common thus we should apply a case mod too.Those are the possible combinations if we use official parts

-The Base(middle one) can either be black(w810),silver or orange(w800)
-The face and the Back can be Black,Silver(k750 Vodafone),Gold(W700),White(W800)
-The leds can be any colour you wish since k750 has initialy white leds so you can apply this mod to change the colour
-The lens cover,buttons, can take any combination of the following models..

You can also locate custom colours on the ebay.I will personally go for Silver Orange combo.Will Post photos as soon as it arrives...

To dismantle your phone the instructions are on this thread Part1 & Part2 or this file

I hope you find all those info Usefull.I Tried to be as explicit I can be for new users in high tech stuff...


Gallery
This is the final result of what once was a normal K750.Hope you enjoy it.

  • Back Side (k750 Silver cover,W800mirror,W800 Middle):



  • Right,Left Side,Walkman Logo (W800middle,k750 Buttons):







  • Front Side (K750Silver Chassis,Orange Membrane for keyboard,W800Joystick)









  • Menu and Layout.xml Changed,Operator Logo removed,Small Fonts VKP patch.











Credits


Special thanks to Esato and Se-Nse Forums communities,to Mobilefree , Clubw800 , Topsony , The Laser , Joker XT , SiNgle , jagheterfredrik ,Darkmen , gbrooks3 , hendrix ,1X10N and all those who made this possible.All credit for the software and custom files listed here should go to their creators,owners.I just tried to sort it out and sum it up in a friendly guide...

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Video Game Parody

Last night while I was wathing my little brother with my cousin play on the Ps2 an old idea occred to me.I have been around for videogames since I can remember0 (Amstrad,Basica Games and Atari ST) and it always made me wonder.Why there have been no Video Game Parody so Far?

First of all let me define parody what I mean by saying parody.Its sort of comedy that is mainly adressed to people who are aware of the matter.So imagine a video game adressed to people who have been around that trend for a while.Take for exemple the movies.There are horror movies,action movies,romance movies,and comedies as mainstream categories.In the game industry we have seen the first 3 in all possible combinations but the latter is practically non existent with very few games adding a humorus touch in their feel.I bet everyone has seen a Leslie Nielsen film.Imagine that in a game


The best way to do this would be to make a multiply character game with rather simple controls but not lacking in gameplay and swift transitions.Let 's see how would such a game be if I had the lyuxury of owning a video game company.


As the curtain rises the player would find himself in a stadium playing what it would seem to be a soccer game but amongth the 2nd quarter the referree would start to behave in a bizzare way(sold out the game).This would be the initiative of a massive fans riot.At this point the camera changes to a strategy view and you are asked to place your hulligan teams inside and outside the stadium(kessen Way or any RTS ).Then a brief cinematic of a stone hitting the refferee and backtracking time so the player sees who threw it.


This is your new char.A brief loading screen with the commands and we are into good old double dragon action.Move freely and kick everyones ass around there using any enviromental object at your disposal(figting force,and that Rockstar Riot Game) while beeing carefull of not getting arrested .While you do have fun soon the game will switch you to your new char who this time will be a law enforment officer whose clubs happens to meet with your face.This turns to Co-Op mode (Hallo)with the cross directional button issuing voice commands in the rest of your team and our main objective is to secure some points among the massive chaos.When you succeed you loose the suit and go with a colleage for a coffee...

At this point the camera changes to one inside the windshield of an unknown car speeding and you can see the your previour char while a button will flash leting you choose accelerate or break.No matter what you choose you run over him and your new hero is a guy in a hawai shirt who had just lifted a car and was on his escape...A high speed chase could follow in Most Wanted style till you get yourself safe in a deserted town...Or isnt it??And what is that DAMN fog around here??(Silent Hill for those who are not aware of it)

Anyway this could go on forever but I think you pretty much get the idea.A composition of quick and simple gameplay and character transitions would offer much more than enough fun to any gamer around here.And this is all games are about,fun...Offcourse apart from the transitions there are many little touches that could make the whole issue much more interesting.

-Not always the good guys win.For start I would make a boss so elite that would instagib your toon and would be your next char breaking havoc.Like that Collosi in the "Shadow of the Collosus"inNY city or that ancient arcade game that you get monsters to destroy the cities...

-Time lapse.Everyone can mock about the way time passes in video games.Imagine a save room typewriter way (Resident Evil) that the camera is facing so you can see your charand while you take your time to write your story you see monsters pilling up and waiting for you to finish.That can also be achieve while in a tight situation that you need to switch weapons.You see your char say to the bad mob "one sec" and you see him start searching his bags..When he gets it "ok lets move on now" and the fight continues

-Inventory space.I dont know about you but I would LOVE to see the char hardly moving because he is carrying a 1mx75cm bag filled with everything he got.Or even better imagive your char getting caught in prison and to put the results of the body search to a big pille :P

-Stupid Riddles.Imagine a door that gives you to solve a hard mathematic equasion.And after 3 tries the char gets pissed and knocks it down or just blast it with that grenade launcher.

-Famous battles.Every gamer out there knows of the console wars.Imagine your char geting attacked and by grabbing the first thing he sees to trow into the attacker he grabs a PsTWO(the small one).He looks at it and reconsiders so by grabing the XboX breaks his attakcers head...The Scene closes with the Char Smiling and holding the box as if it was one commercial with a stupid punchline...

-Battles no2.I dont even wanna get into the Mario Vs Sonic battle,Link Vs Solid Snake etc because this can get endless...But the majority of flashes out there can show the vast interest in this area....

Anyway lets conclude this already long post.I do believe that this section of Video Games is still unexplored and has a lot to offer and even more raw materials to choose from.Right now we are the at a point that the media (DVD ,Blue Ray)offers plenty of space to fill.If there is such a game to go out this would be the best time..Now as far copyrights are concearned they can be dealt with the same way to the movie.Change the name to something similar.They can also be cross platoform so noone would bother starting a legal war...Let me know what you think of it...