Casio BE-300 - Hacking and Reinvention

Hacking and Reinvention

The BE-300 became popular with hackers and enthusiasts alike, due to the ease with which the stripped-down version of Windows CE could be modified. The early days were originally spent on a forum on the Brighthand website where the early BE-300 community overlayed the default Top Menu that Casio had installed with other software that gave them desktops. The first programs found were KCmenu and SQ with GSfinder. Both of these options gave great results to the users and allowed them to get more from their devices. As time progressed the community decided to move to a more private website after the discovery of a modified HPC shell being used on a Windows CE device known as Epod by a member of the community known as GreyWolf. Many people attempted to get this shell to boot on the Be-300 using the instructions used to boot it on the Epod, but were unsuccessful until a member going by the name of CButters succeeded in both booting the shell and later keeping it from crashing.

Many of the other members of the community were busy working on taking apart the cab files of software and renaming the files based on what they found in the installer's code using a Windows CE Cab manager, then injecting the files into their BE-300 devices and finding ways to make them work. Much of this required locating the necessary dll files, which they would harvest from other Windows CE MIPS devices. Many of these members of the community would repackage the programs in the form of Casio PC Connect software installers, which would allow people to use the software on their BE-300s. A number of the community members would beta test and troubleshoot mips processor versions of developer's software, then report back to the developers with the sheer numbers of Casio Be300 users on the forums and encourage them to make changes in their software so that it would run on the Be300. A popular replacement dll file at the time was the gx.dll, which had the almost magical ability to enable many of the games to just work on the Be300. There was much going on with the Be300, and it seemed every member of the community was doing something to further the experience of the device. More than anything else, the community wanted the Casio Be300 to be uncrippled and operate as a low-cost Windows CE device that would allow them to run the same software as the Pocket PC devices which cost hundreds of dollars more than the Be300. On average the Be300 sold for around 100–150 dollars, while the Pocket PC devices sold for 300–500 dollars. It was obvious that there was a benefit to spending the time unlocking the potential of this device.