Q - [TheEvolution_PT] Is it Iker Casillas from real madrid? Why wear those gloves..?
A - The gloves were used for two reasons :P Firstly, to preserve the anonymity of those who helped us with the demo, and secondly, because we thought it would be hilarious.
Q - [wakka1, musashiro] Restarting the PS3 after each game selection looks annoying.
A - We have been testing the product for months, and we're pleased to say that ressarting the system is less annoying than you might imagine. The time needed to press 'quit game' or 'turn off system' is the same, and the time required to boot the PS3 is the same as the time the XMB takes to return after you quit a game, hence the only difference is the option chosen from the in-game XMB.
The reasons for selection of games in this manner are two fold. Firstly, switching to the new game after the console reboots will allow you to change your game selection in case you make an error. Secondly, the PS3 keeps a cache of the inserted disc's structure and even if we did switch the virtual disc on the selection of the game, the PS3 will cannot recognize it until it detects an eject or until reboot.
While we could emulate disc ejection, this would require more complex installation on the newer models such as 2k5, 3k and 4k, which we wanted to avoid. We opted instead for the easiest and most friendly installation possible with a single QSB on newer models and solderless on the older models.
In the interests of consistency in behavior of the ODE on all models, we have chosen to use the method of triggering the game selection upon reboot, and we are sure everyone will like this solution once they get to try it.
Note that restarting the PS3 is only needed when you wish to select your game in the manager. The game you selected will stay selected through several reboots, until you action the 'return to manager' event by either simulating a disc ejection (eject button or 'remove disc' from XMB on fat and slim or open/close the drive cover on the super slim) or by disconnecting or changing the hard drive connected to the ODE.
Q - [saxile, GregoryRasputin] ICO & Shadow of the Colossus is available on PSN.
A - This may be the case, but the COBRA Manager is not, and seeing the COBRA Manager run on the 4k model proves the validity of our product. We have used ICO & Shadow of Colossus (retail disc version) in the demo for two reasons, firstly, because the game is small enough for the USB Stick which we used, and we wanted to show the COBRA ODE working with both USB flash drives/ USB sticks and USB Hard Drives in our video demos. We also wanted to show that game since it's a special, as it executes separate .self files other than the main EBOOT.BIN, one for each of the individual games.
Q - [felino_31, mrKruger] Can a new hacked firmware/CFW be developed for the 3k and 4k through the ODE ?
A - Unfortunately not. The firmware on 2k5/3k/4k consoles can not be modified in any way due to the new security checks with lv0.2 signatures. The ODE works with the original firmware (OFW and CFW on earlier models)
Q - [carldenning] Was there another PS3 connected to the TV? What was the wire behind the TV?
A - There was no other console or any other trickery invloved in making the video. The cables behind the TV were the power and the antenna that were plugged directly into the wall. We showed the actual HDMI cable going from the PS3 to the TV, nothing in between. There were no other cables coming out of the TV and we do not know of any wall sockets in existence with HDMI connectors.
Q - [mrc1978] Why zoom in and out?
A - Zooming in was required since without doing so, the camera's white balance for the room and the TV's brightness would not match and the content on the TV would not be clearly visible, only a bright white image. We zoomed in at various intervals in the video to allow you to see what was appearing on the screen instead of a small, blurred, very bright image.
Q - [mrKruger] Is there a release date?
A - Production phase has commenced, which means that by the time the factory assembles the boards and tests them. then ships them to retailers, the release date will be upon us. While it is hard to estimate, we believe the ODE should be available in stores in the beginning of July.
Q - [3absiso, hellsing9] Was the Cobra Team working on the security of the device for the 4 past month?
A - Security of the device was completed over a year ago. As we explained in the announcement post, the additional research and development time which has caused the delays was due to a bug in the hardware with a specific drive model, and we had to eradicate that before release.During that time, we discovered a way to vastly improve the product and enhance the experience, in turn making it much easier to install and use the ODE. Consequently, we decided to delay the product a little further and deliver to our users a far superior product overall.
Q - [mrc1978] Can the COBRA ODE be hacked ?
A - Our device is well secured, so it cannot be hacked in the sense that you are referring to. A similar solution cannot be achieved through software only means.
Q - [musashiro] Can this ODE open up an eventual software solution ?
A - We resolutely believe this to be impossible. We do not think the security of the newer firmwares can be bypassed without a hardware device such as ours at this point.
Q - [Abkario] Has the COBRA Team discovered a new exploit or have the 3.56+ private keys ?
A - Unfortunately we have not discovered a new exploit. The method of running homebrew is the result of the hard work of the work of fail0verflow team two years ago, nothing has changed and if our product was ready at that time, it would have worked then just as it does now.
Q - [VIRGINKLM] Can running homebrew be done via a USB dongle instead of an ODE?
A - This is not possible. Had it been possible we would have released Cobra USB 2
Q - [BobbyBlunt] How did you manage to get a homebrew app to launch on PS3 OFW 4.41 ?
A - The only method currently known of getting homebrew running on those firmwares is if they have the 'discbind' flag. Detailed instructions on how to compile your applications or port existing binary .pkg into a valid homebrew .iso will be released with the user manual.
Q - [brenza] Did you make the homebrew work by matching it's SHA1 with one of the whitelisted SHA1? Can other homebrew apps work as well?
A - No, we did not. Following the instructions on the user manual will allow any and all homebrew apps to run on the OFW via the COBRA ODE (although peek and poke syscalls will not be available).
Q - [brenza] Can we bring linux back using the 'homebrew mode' of the ODE?
A - Unfortunately, that is not possible since all linux-enabling homebrew use peek and poke syscalls which are only available on CFW's.
Q - [itskamel] I know some people connected and they have the private keys!
A - We appreciate the sentiment, but unless those people are called "Kaz Hirai" or "Jack Tretton", that is mathematically impossible.