The year 2007 is almost about to end. The last 3 months of this year has been the best time for Stylemo. Before I had those PSP hacking tutorials, my blog was so fucking boring. I was searching in the internet for guides, walkthrus and tutorials about installing custom firmwares in the PSP and I found some which are really hard to understand especially by newbies. So I thought of writing one myself. One that can be understood by even a kid. Of course I have to base it on experience. I had to ask myself what was the hardest thing to understand in the other guides? Then I formulated an answer and there it was. The guide should always be specific and clear of what to do before and after the process. And of course it should be easy to follow. The most important thing was, the guide should be accessible and not requiring a password to view it.

I really thank all the visitors who came in and read my guides and my writings though i know I’m really not a good writer at all. I thank all the people who left all their great comments and all the people who asked for help. I felt like a rockstar but really I’m not. All the credits go to the one PSP Hacking God out there, Dark Alex. Without him, the guides wouldn’t have existed. And we’re all just doing shit with our PSP.

I’m really glad that I’ve helped a lot of people and kids out there who wanted to have the best out of their Playstation Portables. Homebrew capability is the best thing a PSP can ever have. I really love the homebrew apps. WiFi Sniffer, IRShell, PDF reader and Comic Reader. These are just some of the homebrew applications that I usually use.  And as much for games, I’m really picky when it comes to choosing games. I love racing, action and RPGs. I’m really not into sports and fighting but sometimes I do play those kind of stuff when I’m bored.

So what should all of you expect in Stylemo for the year 2008? I’ve been planning a lot of things for this site. But here’s something sure for you to expect: a website redesign early next year. I’m also gonna put up a gallery of wallpapers for the PSP and my first PSP XMB Theme. I’m also gonna fix up my online portfolio and integrate it here. So this site is gonna be a blog and a portfolio. I’ll be adding new topics like Web Design, and some more new topics other than the PSP. This is just a draft of all the things I have to do next year.

Again, thanks all guys and Happy New Year! Wishing you all the best next year.

Dark Alex has released days ago the 4th update for the 3.71 M33. This one’s easy to install but for newbies out there, I’ll still make you a very simple a guide even your grandma can follow. But what’s new on the 3.71 M33-4? Here’s the changelog according to Dark Alex:

• Bugfix: Multidisc psx games bought in the psn store would not work due to the format being different and M33 treating them as decrypted games.
• Added support for decrypted multidisc psx games created with popstation_md (supplied with this release)

So let’s go on now with the installation. The process is very easy but like I always tell you boys and girls out there, it’s better to read the instructions very carefully.

Requirements

This is the essential part of this guide. If you find that you don’t meet the requirements, better not continue the process because it won’t work or you’ll might end up bricking your precious PSP.

• PSP with 3.71 M33, 3.71 M33-2 or 3.71 M33-3 custom firmware. For newbies, you can see the version of your PSP on your XMB by going to System Settings > System Information. And again, for newbies, this doesn’t work with Sony’s official Firmware
• USB Cable for transferring files from your PC to your PSP

Instructions

1. Download the M33 Update 4 file here and save it to your computer. You can get it on Dark Alex’s website.
2. Once downloaded, extract the contents of the file to anywhere on your computer. Copy the UPDATE folder to your memory stick in the x:/PSP/GAME where x is the drive of your PSP.
3. Go to the XMB menu, scroll to Games> Memory Stick and run the M33 Update-4 program. You will be asked to press X to start the update. Do so. The program will exit automatically and restart your PSP. You now have a PSP 3.71 M33-4 PSP. Grab a Coke or a Pepsi. Eat spaghetti and celebrate.

Well that’s it. I hope you guys like this easy guide.

I know this post is a little bit late. It’s more than late, probably, but there are still a lot of guys asking me to make this tutorial. I’ve been very busy the past few days that’s why I haven’t been updating too much. But because you guys asked for it, I’ll give it to you. Well, here you go. This is the ultimate guide on how to add the 1.50 kernel add-on for your 3.71 M33 or higher.

REQUIREMENTS

Be sure you meet all the requirements before attempting to do this process.

• A PSP Fat (No it does not work with a SLIM) with 3.71 M33, 3.71 M33-2 or 3.71 M33-3
• Make sure you have the GAME folder configured to 3.71 or the program won’t start. How? Enter the recovery mode and go to Configuration -> Game folder homebrew. It should read Currently 3.71 Kernel
• A USB that will connect your PSP to your PC
• A keen and watchful eye and a brain that will help you follow and read the instructions very carefully

If you meet all those requirements then you are good to go.

INSTALLATION GUIDE

1. Get the 1.50 Kernel Addon on the QJ download site. Once on the page, scroll down a bit, and you’ll see an orange button that is labeled “Download”. Click that button and save the file to your computer.
2. Extract the file and you will see and UPDATE folder. Connect your Fat PSP to your PC with a USB cable. Copy and paste the UPDATE folder from your computer to your PSP ms0://PSP/GAME/
3. Download the 1.50 Firmware here. Connect your PSP to your PC and copy the 150.PBP you’ve just downloaded into the ROOT of the memory stick.
4. Disconnect your Fat PSP and on the XMB menu, go to GAME > MEMORY STICK and you’ll find the 1.50-2 update. Run the update and press X to agree with the installation. After the installation, the program will auto-exit.
5. Done! You can now install homebrew applications. Visit this post for a list of 1.50 homebrew apps and learn how to install them.

Now, wasn’t that too easy. Remember, before asking for help on the comments, please read this post very carefully. Make sure you meet the requirements and make sure you follow the guide step by step. Thank you and if you have more requests about the PSP just leave them on the comments are.

Before I went to work this morning, I dropped by at the post office to pick up a parcel. I can’t believe I still have to pay 35 pesos for it. Didn’t the sender paid the postal fees already? I checked where the address came from and it’s from Lisa Sabin-Wilson, the author of the WordPress FOR Dummies book. I wasn’t really surprised because I was already expecting this to arrive but only sooner. Lisa sent it a month ago and I can’t believe how long it took for the book to arrive. That’s how slow the Philippine postal service is.

I opened the envelope and inside was the WordPress FOR Dummies book. As for now, I think there are only 3 owners of this book in the Philippines since it has not yet been released here. The first is Nika Catbagan, the second one is me and the third owner is Miss Joni Ang, my fellow Ewebscapes designer. I guess that’s just how lucky we are. The books are signed and autographed by Lisa.

So what’s inside the book? I haven’t read the entire dummies book yet but I have already scanned through the pages. The foreword is written by Matt Mullenweg, the famous co-founder of the best blogging Platform of all time - WordPress. there are also nice illustrations by Rich Tennant. The book is not only for beginners but also for experienced users too. You need to be able to understand on how a blog works, what a blog is, and how to post a blog. I also saw some PHP codes somewhere inside the pages. And I think you must be able to write and code HTML and CSS. The book is more than just a guide. I think it would be helpful not only for beginners but also for experienced WordPress designers like me. I have been blogging and creating WordPress themes for clients for more than a year and I still find some new helpful things in the book. I don’t think the book covers everything about WordPress from A to Z but I think it covers all the common things we need to know about WordPress. But as I said I haven’t read the entire book yet so this is just an assumption.

One part of the book teaches us how to create custom themes for our WordPress blogs. The other sections contains walkthrus on the Wordpress Administration Panel. I think part 4 of the book talks about the implementation of WordPress MU. This is the multi-user version of WordPress. I haven’t tried this one yet so with the help of this book, I might be installing MU sometime in the future with no problems at all.

For bloggers out there who really want to know more and be the best on blogging, this book is for you. This book is also for Web Designers who are looking for a nice and sturdy Content Management System. It’s not just a blogging platform but can also be a CMS. When the book arrives on the stores here in the Philippines, you better grab one right away and learn the art of blogging thru WordPress.

I’m wrapping up this post now because it’s time for me to read the book. Why don’t you get your own copy? Again, thanks to Lisa Sabin-Wilson for this wonderful Christmas present.

My PSP got damaged with a crack on the top left side of the screen a few months ago. I was supposed to replace the faceplate but I decided to wait and go for the full body replacement with a clear case. When my clear case finally arrived last week, Boy was I so excited. So I searched the internet for detailed instructions on how to disassemble the PSP. I found one on the Acidmods website. Nice and very detailed tutorial but it doesn’t have detailed instructions on how to assemble it back.

It took me more than an hour to disassemble and assemble it back again. But sad to say, I damaged my LCD. Well I can’t blame anyone but myself. I was putting back the last four screws when I placed the wrong screw on the the wrong place. Well I guess it was a lesson learned for me. So I advise other modders out there to label your screws if you don’t want to ruin your device. Here are some photos for you to look at.

It would have been cool if not for the broken LCD. Well, I’m getting a replacement for it. But if anyone out there wants to donate then it would be cool. Though I could afford to get one but a little help from you guys won’t hurt.

I’m really not a fan of the iPod but when I saw iPod Touch promotional videos on the web, I was really amazed. It was weeks ago when I told myself that I’m gonna be buying this thing. But not for me, it’s for my significant other. Although my first priority was the iPhone, I decided to go for the iPod touch first. I can have my iPhone later.

I synced it with my iTunes and tried every stuff available to do with it. I tried putting movies and songs in it. I really love the cover flow. It’s one of the best ideas apple came up with. I mean who would have thought of making that. By scrolling through the album covers and making a few taps, you will be able to play the right song you are looking for. That’s great.

And then I tapped on the videos icon to try out how the videos would look like. My reaction? Amazing. Although yesterday I was watching “Powerless”, the 11th episode of Heroes second season, the sound was disappearing at some point of the video. Maybe it was the video but I have to find it out later.

Another nice feature of the device is the YouTube application. It’s nice, really. It makes up for the absense of a Flash Player on the Safari browser on the iPod Touch. Yeah you read that right, there’s no Flash Player for the iPod Touch’s browser. Apple intended not to include that. Well, I just read about it on the web. The Photo application for the iPod Touch is also nice. But I’m really wondering why did Apple not put a camera for the device. It could have been a lot more better.

The calendar application is not really helpful at all. You can’t even add an event. Well that was before my firmware was 1.1.1. If you upgrade the firmware to 1.1.2 you’ll be able to add events now. But that’s it. No more nice features. I actually upgraded to 1.1.2 just to get that add event feature on the calendar. Then I realized there must be something more. So I searched the internet about hacking the iPod Touch and that’s when I learned about Jailbreaking the iPod Touch.

Last two days ago, I downgraded the iPod Touch to 1.1.1 again and then had Jailbreak performed on it. It’s actually really easy. Unlike the PSP which you always have the risk of bricking but with the iPod Touch, all you have to do is restore and you won’t have to worry about bricking it.

I’m really quite happy now that the iPod is Jailbroken. I had installed lots of apps on it. Mostly the useful ones, like the Last.fm scrobbler, weDict, SMBPrefs, NES Emulator and lots of neat stuff. The ipod Touch actually has 32 apps running on it now. Compare that to the 7 stock applications that comes with the device when we first purchased it. What are you gonna do with just 7 applications? You can’t live with that. So for those new owners of the iPod Touch, learn to Jailbreak it. Here’s a video on jailbreaking the iPod Touch if you want it easier. It’s easy, even a kid could do it.

You can view a gallery of the iPod touch on my flickr page.

So who’s a fan of The Simpsons around here? I’m guessing everybody is. How did I know that? Because it’s a fact that it’s the best damn cartoon series ever. One proof is that it has been plagiarized by many wannabe cartoon makers out there. I’m gonna mention one cartoon show. Family Guy. Sounds Familiar? Yeah because it sucks. But I’m not here to talk about the cartoon show. I’m here to talk about the game.

Last last week I finally got my own The Simpsons PSP Game. I’ve been anticipating the release of this game since I bought a PSP. The graphics are cool and just the way that I want it to be. It’s like watching cartoons while your playing a game. I love the game cliches that pops out when you discover something new. It’s like funny but in a way it’s true.

But like all games, everything has a bad side. An almost perfect game, I really don’t like the camera view of the game. I mean it looks kinda stiff and it’s really hard to control. It’s like a pain in the ass and I get dizzy just trying to rotate the camera and stuff. It’s really hard to turn to directions because the camera is real bad. I saw the Wii version of this game at my brother’s house and it looks kinda same except for the controls. The graphics, story and gameplay on the Wii is much finer of course but yet the same.

This game review may be a bit late but I’m still posting it anyway. I love The Simpsons and I love the game too. I haven’t been able to play the game and the other games for quite sometime. My wife has my PSP and I have her iPod Touch. I have a lot of stuff to write about the iPod Touch so hold on your horses.

I have no screenshots for the game yet but I’ll be posting it later once I get my hands on my PSP.