Boogie Bass Hacked 102
vonmar writes "A 20-second re-recordable message has been hacked into the "Boogie Bass" talking fish. The audio is stored on an ISD 1420P solid-state chipcorder voice record/playback chip. The head, tail, and mouth movements are also re-recordable, and are stored in EEPROM inside an ATMEL AT89S8252 microcontroller. Read more about it at the creator's site."
Just 3 hours ago I sent in a hack for Iomega ZipCD (Score:2)
Re:Holy shit (Score:3)
the term "hacker" (Score:3)
So with the word "hacker" being used here, did the Indian "hackers" "Hack" the Boogie Fish? Or was the fish "cracked" or "defaced"?
You (Score:1)
( You said that you might consider selling your modified boogie bass at the bottom in the 'coming soon' section )
I've wanted that... ;) (Score:1)
Now, I can. Thank you slashdot submitters for brining new meaning to my borring and miserable life!
Re:here's the plan... (Score:2)
He didn't "hack it" (Score:1)
Still it's cool! Kind of like Disney's animatronic Mr. Lincoln, only in fish form!
Re:what a ./ troll would do.. (Score:1)
Moderate This Up! (Score:1)
> To the moderators : I already have a crappy plastic singing fish. Please don't humiliate me even more by modding me down
But noooooo, I wasn't picked to moderate today. And I bet all of the moderators are busy in the battle royale flamefest a few topics over about how much the USA sucks.
And seriously, don't mod my post up unless you mod the parent post up first. I'm still embarassed over the last time this happened.
Geoff
Dear lord, WHY? What the fuck is THIS?!?!? (Score:1)
"Duh... look Earl, I hacked a talkin' bass"
"Woo-wee Zeke, now that thar is just down-raht keen"
what a bunch of fucking retards.
GET A LIFE!
Babelfish (Score:3)
It would be more entertaining than a pager! (Score:2)
Re:An easier way... (Score:1)
Well, mebbe. It seems awfully unlikely that the publisher would not have had some VERY NOTICEABLE NOTICES on the package to let the vendors know they were not kiddie books. OTOH now they shrink wrap all of them, so maybe there was some confusion.
Eris must be pleased.
Pleasing Melody (Score:1)
um.. I done, you can stop reading...
I first saw one of these a couple of years ago (Score:1)
"Homo sum: humani nil a me alienum puto"
(I am a man: nothing human is alien to me)
Re:Dada (Score:1)
Friends? What friends?
what would be truly impressive (Score:1)
Here's a good use for it (Score:1)
Nice trick, but why not make it from scratch? (Score:1)
Here's an idea (Score:1)
A better idea... WINAMP + FISH (Score:2)
"A little investigation with an oscilloscope revealed that the control of the Bass' head/tail/mouth is extremely simple: energize the corresponding motor, and the head turns out, the tail extends, or the mouth opens. De-energize the motor, and the corresponding body part returns (by a spring) to it's "rest" state. We've got binary actuators here folks. And it was clear that we could tie in to the gate inputs of the motor drivers with some simple diode-or circuitry."
So you can access the motors directly from an outside source via cable leading into the fish.
Then rig up a conection to a printer port (much easier than serial stuff) for the fish cable.
Then write a winamp plugin (or something like that) that takes the frequency output (like other plugins do), and use that to send on/off signals to the printer port->cable->fish. You could have loud bass be the trigger on for the tail, loud treble will switch on the mouth motor, etc. Then hook up the soundcard to a stereo. That way, you have good sound and a talking fish that can be used with any audio file. The plugin part could be done in hardware if you are good with electronics, and then used with a radio or other audio source.
Good Idea, Eh?
Sigh (Score:1)
I really wonder what would happen if people like this applied themselves to creating something useful, like a really cheap, fully functional computer that doesn't have the bells and whistles but can be used/given to computer-deprived poor children to bridge the digital divide.
Mr. Fish-a-Phone (Score:2)
New from Ronco! It's the Mr. Fish-a-Phone!
"Hey, good lookin' -- we'll swim back to pick you up later!"
here's the plan... (Score:2)
The Barbie Liberation Organization [berkeley.edu] did this a while back by switching the voiceboxes of talking Barbie dolls with those of talking G.I. Joes and then putting them back into toy stores. Lot's of little boys and girls got more than they expected from Santa that year!
Comment removed (Score:5)
Re:what a ./ troll would do.. (Score:1)
In a word, (Score:1)
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Re:the term "hacker" (Score:3)
If it was your fake fish and you reprogrammed it cleverly, it was hacked.
If it was someone else's fake fish, and you reprogrammed it cleverly, it was hacked and cracked.
If it was someone else's fake fish, and you reprogrammed it stupidly, it was cracked. (And you're a script kiddie.)
And there's no such thing as defacing junk like a Boogie Bass.
Re:woo hoo! (Score:1)
Selling modified boogie bass would not infringe (Score:1)
The company loses the right to tell you what you can do with your boogie bass once they sell it to you. You may be unable to manufacture new boogie basses due to possible copyright, patent, and trademark infringements. However, as long as the modifier of the boogie bass does not claim that it is an unmodified boogie bass, then the company that manufactured it would have no real legal claim to prevent the modified boogie bass's sale.
Note that it is a little different in the software world because software developers normally do not sell their products, but merely "license" them. This practice is legally questionable, but has been used to prevent selling modified copies of software such as Windows.
BTW, IANAL, so I suppose I could be wrong on the boogie bass issue.
Holy shit (Score:2)
Sacrilege!
Re:Just 3 hours ago I sent in a hack for Iomega Zi (Score:1)
Just imagine : Today we can manipulate a ...... eh ... plastic? ........ nevermind.
But on a serious note : my brother seemed to think that this was the ideal gift for me (what was he smoking?). So I'm stuck with one. So from my point of view this story has a higher priority than yours (btw I have a Plexwriter 12/10/32A, so your story does nothing but piss me off)
I can imagine that the slashdot editors might have similar experiences.
To the moderators : I already have a crappy plastic singing fish. Please don't humiliate me even more by modding me down :)
Er, hell yeah! (Score:1)
Thanks for all the details. When the chip part numbers are mentioned in the front-page summary, by Gods this is truly News for Nerds!
Proof that sometimes, the Slash editors/moderators really do read us nerds like open books, think like us, etc.
Thanks, again!
Re:here's the plan... (Score:1)
Either way, it's still pretty pathetic...I guess some people have way too much time on their hands.
I see... (Score:1)
Mine would say Hey! You fish lipped it! (from cheech & chong) or something stupid besides. "Take me to the river..."
Where's OSCARFISH [oscarfish.com] when we need some quick anecdotes?
I see lot's of useless uses for it.
lol (Score:1)
Re:the term "hacker" (Score:4)
---
Re:what a ./ troll would do.. (Score:2)
Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | http://www.infamous.net/
cats love them (Score:1)
Re:Holy shit (Score:2)
I think Billy Bass support was holding up the kernel release. They'll have it RSN. Promise.
Re:the term "hacker" (Score:1)
Agreed, however I am one of those people who tend to nit-pick over the difference between the two terms. Three or four years ago, when I was about 16, I wouldn't have cared at all how people used them. That changed for one good reason.
I like having a "label" for myself. "Geek." Which I proudly proclaim doesn't seem to carry any sort of power with it -- "hacker" does. Even Linus considers himself a "hacker." as do do most good programmers. When I label myself a "hacker" I carry the good connocation along with it. I am not a cracker. If I breech security it's becuase I don't have access to something I should, which I haven't done in years. And that's another subjhet all together.
I'm seeing more and more that those who nit-pick over the difference between cracker and hacker are those who would like an all-encompasing label for themselves. I am one of them -- "hacker" in it's true sense describes me. I'd like to be able to use this word, but the media has contrused it to mean something that it never really has.
Justin Buist
Re:Selling modified boogie bass would not infringe (Score:1)
Trademarks would only be a problem if he claimed that it was an original "Boogie Bass." If it was clearly a modified item, that would not be a problem. Copyright law (as well as patent law possibly) would only be a problem if he started manufacturing new fish instead of buying them, modifying them, and selling the modified versions. Patent law might be a problem if the company has filed a patent on boogie bass that lets you change what they say, but only after the patent has been cleared and the person making these modifications has been notified. In that case, he would need to license the patent in ordert to modify and sell the boogie bass.
But in any case, this company is likely to act a little more intelligently about people selling modified versions of its product than companies in the entertainment or software industries. This company manufactures a good. Why someone buys it, whether to use "as is" or to modify and resell, does not affect the bottom line. If they get more sales from people buying modified bass who would otherwise not buy a regular bass (I personally would not buy either of them...they're rather tacky and obnoxious), then they are not going to make a big fuss about it.
Get my hopes up... (Score:1)
What do I do, when it seems I relate to Judas more than You?
Re:This guy's my roommate (Score:1)
--
Re:If ONLY they could make it like this: (Score:1)
This guy's my roommate (Score:1)
--
Re:here's the plan... (Score:1)
It's too bad you didn't include a link to something verifying this info. A lot of fairly reputible sites contain BLO info and don't say anything about it being a fraud. These include www.syntac.net [syntac.net], www.everything2.com [everything2.com], and ®(TM)ark [paranoia.com] which claims to have funded the operation. (A quick Google search [google.com] will turn up many, many more.)
Besides a couple of USENET postings, the only info I could find regarding the BLO being a myth was this article [pomona.edu] which says that the only myth is the myth of the incident being a myth.
Of course this is neither authoritative nor exhaustive and I'm sure we would all be wiser if you would reveal the source of your wisdom.
As useless as my modified snowblower... (Score:2)
You know, I really must congratulate the guy who hacked this stupid fish. I mean, that's about the tackiest thing in the world; it might at least be fun if it reminds you that you're fat and ugly or makes some other nasty remarks.
"Hey! Buddy! You think I look stupid? Look in the mirror!"
Anyway, having said that, I completely understand the creative genius. You see, I have a snowblower.
Snowblowers seem to be a hot commodity this year, and the recent snowfall here has spurred me into motion on a recent project that I had started in the spring and then had allowed to languish.
I have a 1973 Ariens 2-stage 24" snowblower. And the engine was cooked. I needed to put on another one.
I'm cheap, though, so I didn't want to buy one. Especially not since I had one kicking around...
...one that had lots of power for the purpose...
...one that always started in the insanely cold weather in my hometown of Ottawa...
...one that was sitting around in my garage...
...and my neighbor got into a pissing contest with me because his snowblower had a bigger engine than mine (new 8hp Craftsman to my 27-year-old solid-as-a-rock 5hp Ariens)...
And so I did it. I got out the tapemeasure, and I figured out how I could make it fit. Stretch the snowblower chassis 7" between the drive section and the blower section, weld on some angle iron as motor mounts, and I was all set.
Now, my neighbor concedes defeat. Comfortably.
I have an electric start, 4-cylinder, water-cooled, overhead cam, 2-barrel carbureted, 1.6L snowblower. Coolant taken from the heater core ports on the water pump is circulated through fine copper tubing in the hand grips (no mittens required!) and the discharge chute, which keeps it clear of snow by forming a slippery coat of ice inside. Horsepower, according to 1980 Chevette sales brochures, is about 90.
Sure, it weighs over 400lbs with the battery, but that just gives it more traction on the wheels, and allows it to churn into the biggest and nastiest snowbanks, even without tire chains.
And, unlike the reliable but worn out old Tecumseh Sno-King that it replaced, with just a crack over idle, the snowblower won't bog down when I run through the crap blocking my driveway that the snowplow left behind. It throws slush and ice the same 9 feet or so that it used to throw light powder snow with the old Tecumseh.
It threw first snow on December 30th.
Talking bass, my ass. I'm taking photos of the blower tonight, I'll post them somewhere when I can.
Now, if only I could find some good Grade-8 bolts that will properly fit the shear pin holes on the auger...
Here's a suggestion for your bass: (Score:1)
Jeez, now you could have it do a variant on a Beatles tune, Hey Jude. "Take a bad idea, and make it lamer."
John
Re:It would be more entertaining than a pager! (Score:1)
to keep all of your equipment nice and stable...
to avoid activating the damn fish.
This could revolutionize the IT world.
what a ./ troll would do.. (Score:4)
"IMAGINE A BEOWULF CLUSTER OF ME"?
"HOT NAKED PETRIFIED NATALIE PORTMAN?"
"GOATS***"
assuming anyone ever bought one of those things. I mean, the question is: WHY would you want one?
Re:Holy shit (Score:1)
--
Everybody who's anybody has one (Score:1)
^.
( @ )
Soylent Foods, Inc.
What would you get if.... (Score:5)
No, I want to use it to... (Score:1)
license (Score:1)
This product is proof: (Score:1)
Pope
Freedom is Slavery! Ignorance is Strength! Monopolies offer Choice!
wha?! (Score:1)
Stuff That Sucks?
Re:what a ./ troll would do.. (Score:2)
not vegan? (Score:1)
oops. -Daniel
Not more.... (Score:1)
Thanks.... really....
Re:This product is proof: (Score:1)
Okay... (Score:1)
Re:Jesus ... now every dipshit on earth will want (Score:2)
You mean instead of saying stupid fucking things that NO ONE finds funny... like they do now?
I gotta admit that hacking those god-awful talking fish trophies is a good idea. Almost as good as hacking the Taco Bell dogs (which are even more annoying than the singing bass IMHO). But buying them pre-made? Where's the fun in that?
Re:Thinking outside the fish. (Score:1)
I want my Singing Rock Lobster to scream out a pornographic soundtrack as it humps its rock. Can I assume it would work the same way?
Also, Killfrog has the best [killfrog.com] Boogie Bass [killfrog.com] around.
Re:here's the plan... (Score:1)
Hack it, then take it back to say... Kaybee toys.
Imagine the Chaos that insues,
"Hey Baby, give it to me."
"I want you, NOW"
Re:Holy shit (Score:2)
Yet.
You never know what those talented fish-hackers will come up with next.
Re:This product is proof: (Score:1)
--
Re:Selling modified boogie bass would not infringe (Score:1)
First Pork! (Score:1)
Re:An easier way... (Score:1)
Re:what a ./ troll would do.. (Score:3)
To modify and return to the store, of course. The proper messages in the proper community would be most entertaining...
Interactive version (Score:3)
Re:Holy shit (Score:1)
Re:the term "hacker" (Score:1)
Re:Babelfish (Score:1)
And any translation software you could fit in it would be pretty sorry, since it would have to fit in about 1k.
Yes, I know you're kidding.
--
Re:the term "hacker" (Score:1)
Hacking is a feat of technical prowess, be it finding a way to root Bill Gates's PC or making a fish say pork. Cracking is breaking into something. Either way, the overlap each other for the most part.
Heck! (Score:2)
I bought one of these when it first became a "hit", I think it was last Christmas (99), or maybe it was later - early last year, anyway.
I had mounted mine to the wall (none too securely), and it fell off - breaking the mouth actuator in the process.
Figuring this was as good of time as any to open it up, and see how it worked, I went ahead, pulled it apart, and took the actuator assembly out of the "skin" - kinda freaky looking, but I found the busted part. A little superglue and some struggling with the skin, and it worked like a champ afterward.
After seeing how simple the thing was, I knew it wouldn't take anything to hook the thing to a computer, and write drivers, etc to control it (I was thinking the parallel port route, or maybe a PIC with a custom serial interface - nothing too fancy) - but at the time, it was just "one of those projects", that I seem to have a million of running in the back of my head. I shelved it, figuring someone would do it sooner or later.
I guess it has been done, to an extent, at least - pretty cool. Since the Boogie Bass came out, others have been available - I have seen a trout, an alligator, a lobster, a shark, a fish with no skin (just bones - for Halloween), and one with a stocking cap for Xmas.
Other cool animatronic animals I have seen are a line of moving "creatures" that perform an action when you press a hidden "under-the-skin" button - I have seen them at toys-r-us.
Never thought when I was a kid that audio-animatronic devices would be sold cheaply. I remember being fascinated by the Chuck E Cheese characters, going to the point of trying to build my own "dancing" robot (I actually got a head working that would "sing" to a radio - built the trigger circuitry for the motor using a Radio Shack 150-in-1 kit!). I loved seeing how they worked, listening to the compressed air pistons, etc.
Now they can be bought at Walgreens...sigh.
Worldcom [worldcom.com] - Generation Duh!
Order mp3-player, get fish. (Score:1)
A friend [swipnet.se] of mine ordered an mp3-player from toga [toga.com] but recieved this stupid singing fish instead.
Needless to say, said company hasn't been contactable. No phone. No email. Just a void.
The package recieved was even marked as to indicate it contained the player. Of course, he paid by CC, so they drew the money for the mp3-player and sent a singing fish. Makes one wonder...
End of Consumer Information Message
Re:Your Sig (Score:1)
Doh!
I'm going to stand in the corner and think about what I have done.
Re:Selling modified boogie bass would not infringe (Score:1)
What the hell... (Score:1)
Dada (Score:1)
You hack little childrens' toys.. why? to show your friends?
NO! To sneak them back onto the shelves in order to indoctrinate little kids with counter-cultural messages....
right?
PLEASE tell me you are spending all this time with the hopes of doing something USEFUL...
...please??
woo hoo! (Score:3)
I can see it now. Billy Bob holding his bass up to the pay-phone making
illegal phone calls with pre-recorded phone phreaking tones.
Thinking outside the fish. (Score:1)
Christmas gifts ... (Score:1)
I can't figure out how sales of this thing could actually have been good enough to create all the knock-offs that exist on the market. Someone's obviously buying the things. Fortuneately, it's not anyone I know (or else I would have to seriously reevaluate my friendship with that person).
ai.mit.edu??? (Score:1)
WAW! Relevance of this little news tidbit.... (Score:1)
WHOOP-DEE-FUCKIN-DOO!!!!!
If ONLY they could make it like this: (Score:1)
and:
http://www.killfrog.com/00/dab.html
What a beautiful thing (Score:1)
Re:what a ./ troll would do.. (Score:4)
(for those who haven't heard this piece of musical genius, you don't want to, and neither does RMS, I'd imagine).
An easier way... (Score:1)
Back in the mid-80's I happened to be walking past the kiddie trade book section at WaldenBooks when something grabbed my attention. I couldn't exactly say why, since all the books were the same size, thickness, and similar color schemes ... but one just wasn't right. I homed in on it ... roses? What's the one with the rose on the spine? It was the first effort of A.N. Roquelaure (known now as Anne Rice), The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty, which, in case you haven't heard, is in fact a retelling of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale but most certainly isn't the Disney version.
Naturally I couldn't leave it there where some practical joker had left it in the potential grasp of prepubescent kiddies, so I swallowed hard and did my upright citizenly duty and bought it :-)
Re:the term "hacker" (Score:2)
Just because some people don't use the term 'hacker' in some circumstances, doesn't mean that everyone must follow suit, or even care.
Most of the media, even computer industry rags, still uses the term 'hacker' for both the good and bad intent. The people who moan about "GNU/"Linux, and "cracker" endlessly really need to find a new hobby.
Not a flame, just my opinion. Mark it down, call me troll, but really, I think people have more important things to think about than trying to get everyone to follow some individual's pet agenda.
What I'd do... (Score:1)
"Hey, bite me, pal! I ain't singin SQUAT for you!"
And then leaving hanging in my hallway for some poor guest of mine to come over and try to make it sing.
Or even better...
"Redrum! RED-RUM!"
And have it hanging on my front door to scare of Jehovah's Witnesses...
Re:Jesus ... now every dipshit on earth will want (Score:1)
Re:This guy's my roommate (Score:1)
Re:Your Sig (Score:1)
Of course, they may be a good reason for this policy that hasn't occurred to me, and you are all welcome to point it out to me.
Perfect sound file for this.. (Score:1)
a hacked talking fish..
"My name is Linus Torvalds, and I pronounce
'linux' as leenucks"
Send it to your favorite Linux-hater for
a holiday gift.
My efficiency improvement (Score:2)
Wow, it would be really funny to make it say #JOKE. Would really freak out somebody on acid. If its waterproof, you can pretend to catch it and make it say #JOKE2.
Just doing my part to speed things along.
My mom is not a Karma whore!
Jesus ... now every dipshit on earth will want one (Score:2)
Just one more reason to never leave my house, I suppose.