Hardware Podcasts

259: Calculators Changed My Life

Embedded.fm · 7 Sept 2018 · 1h 12m · Episode 259

What this episode covers

Brandon Wilson, a software developer and security consultant, discusses his decades-long journey of hacking Texas Instruments graphing calculators, starting from middle school. He details the technical evolution of TI's security measures, including the use of Z80 and Motorola 68K processors, flash unlock exploits, and the eventual factorization of 512-bit RSA signing keys by the community. Wilson also describes his reverse engineering of a limited-edition Sega Genesis game cartridge and his work on abusing USB protocols to jailbreak the PlayStation 3 and modify cheap USB flash drive firmware.

Most relevant to

makers and hobbyists

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Texas Instruments, EFF
Products
TI-85, TI-84 Plus CE, Sega Genesis, PlayStation 3
Chips
Z80, Motorola 68K
Tools
IDA
Also
TICalc.org, Hardwear.io

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