Finally, the most awaited PSP firmware has been released by Sony. I know this news is kinda late but it’s still worth posting here.

So is this news really good or bad? For me this is kinda good, because it’s a major update. It’s 4.0! The disappointing thing about this new update is that there are very few features added. There’s the new Internet search feature and an option of slowing up or speeding up playbacks of movies. I mean who needs those? We could use a new XMB design for the PSP. Or maybe an email client.

Another good thing is that the 4.0 firmware has been decrypted already by Team GEN. Is that a good thing or what? While it’s a good thing, I also feel sad about DAX not making any steps for it. Well, we can’t blame it. The firmware update isn’t worth the trouble of hacking it. So does this mean that 4.0 M33 won’t be released soon? Well, it seems that’s the case but the good part is Team GEN is working on it. So let’s just wait for Custom Firmware 4.0 GEN.

Meanwhile, I’ll stick with my 3.90 M33 firmware.

Months have passed by since the last release of Dark Alex’s custom firmware. The last custom firmware Dark Alex released was 3.90 M33 and right now we’re still waiting for him to release 3.95 M33 that is if he’s working on it. I checked out Dark Alex’s website and I found out that he’s working on the PS3 too. That’s uber cool.

According to QJ, the new 3.95 custom firmware was reverse engineered from Team M33’s work. Does that mean Team 33 isn’t working on the new custom firmware? If it is, then who is working on 3.95 custom firmware. Also, QJ reports that the new custom firmware will not support Popsloader. If so, then what good is a custom firmware without Popsloader?

There has been no reported date yet when this next firmware’s gonna be released yet but the question here is, is it worth the wait? According to rumors PSP Official Firmware 4.0 will be released this May and maybe PSP OFW 4.0 will be released first than 3.95 CFW.

I’d rather wait for Dark Alex to work on 4.0 M33 which I think is more worth the wait than to grab 3.95 CFW with only a few additional unimportant features added. Well, that’s just me. If you have something to say about this then please feel free to make the comments below.

Hey guys, due to popular requests, I want you guys and faithful Stylemoers out there to take a look on the next version of this site. It would still be using the same cool icy colors, but it will be much richer in content. I will be needing writers and contributors and if you like to share reviews, or your knowledge about the PSP and the iPod, well go on ahead and send them to fatfingur [at] gmail.com.

Here you go. Here’s a sample screenshot. Feast your eyes on it.

Thanks guys and in the next few weeks the site will be updated to a newer better design.

God of War: Chains of Olympus is already out on the stores now! This is the most anticipated PSP game of all-time. Since the rumor of it’s release has spread out last year, thousands of PSP fans out there are eagerly awaiting for this bad ass game. This game has all the killer stuff many of us hardcore PSP gamers look for in a game. The combat, the awesome levels, the nudity, myth, blood, sex and gore — you better admit it, this is the formula of one kickass huge game!

You can visit the God of War official website in here. Before you can view the site it will ask you for your birthday since the game is rated Mature, only 18 and above can view the site. But this is the web, you can always cheat your way in. Just be sure your mom doesn’t catch you.

If you haven’t seen the God of War trailer for the PSP yet, feast your eyes on the video below.

I’ve been very busy the past few weeks I wasn’t able to post any updates. So I think you’ve heard a bit of the news already that Dark Alex has release the 2nd update of 3.90 M33. Haven’t upgraded mine yet since I don’t have my PSP with me. But I’m guessing you could update your PSP thru the native Network Update. Just go to settings and choose Network Update. The update will be automatically updated and you will be asked to install. Not only that, the second version of the 1.50 Kernel for 3.90 M33 is also out. I’m guessing that the installation will be much the same as installing the first version. But for newbies out there, I suggest you wait till I find time to write on a tutorial.

Anyhow, this site has been down for a day. I contacted the hosting provider and they didn’t tell me what the problem was. The important thing is this site is up again. Officially today, I’m already a fulltime freelance Web Designer slash developer. So if any of you guys out there need a special advice on Web Design, I’m here to help ya all out.

Now that my time is really mine, which means I’m in control of it, I’ll have time to update this site’s look and functionality. I hope you guys are still rocking out there with your PSPs. Dark Alex has been cooking a lot of things for your PSP.

I was browsing thru the Apple.com website and I learned that Apple has just released the new iPod Touch software. This software update will install the missing applications in the iPod Touch that the iPhone has. Here’s a list of the “new” applications you’ll be getting:

• Mail Application - Email client for the iPod Touch. This one lets you view rich html documents, PDF, Word and Excel attachments. This is very useful.
• Maps - Google maps. Very nice, indeed.
• Web Clips - creates a shortcut icon for web clips. Not really that great.
• Customizable Homescreen -let’s you customize your homescreen. You can rearrange the icons in the dock and the screen. SMB can do better than that.
• Stocks - Checks your stock. This isn’t really useful at all for people like me.
• Notes - Let’s you take notes and reminder. A very helpful application.
• Weather - Tells you the weather forecast.
• Movies and Music - Let’s you rent a movie from iTunes and watch it on the go. Enables you to view the lyrics from your favorite music while a song plays. Pretty useful.

That’s totally cool but wait — the software update is NOT free. How shitty is that? I mean What the Fuck?! I’ve already spent more than $300 buying the thing. Why can’t they just give it to you for free? This is a big disappointment for iPod Touch owners out there. Well, blame Apple.

The thing is I’m really not disappointed because I had those applications since I had my iPod Touch jailbroken. So my advice to all iPod Touch owners out there, if you want those applications but you don’t want to pay for it because you’ve already spent a lot of money just for the device, jailbreak your iPod. You’ll get more applications than you could ever imagine.

I really hope Sony doesn’t do this stupid thing too - I mean make the PSP owners pay for a firmware update. Because that is not the right way you treat your loyal fanboys.

Update: 3.80 M33 has now been released. You can follow my very easy 3.80 M33 installation guide if you want to install this custom firmware.

Dark Alex will soon be releasing the latest custom firmware for the PSP according to Mathieulh. Mathieulh is one of the forefathers of the PSP hacking scene in case you don’t know. He works with Dark Alex right now and the N00bz team.

So what’s new with the 3.80 M33 Custom Firmware? The new custom Firmware will have all the new features included in the official 3.80 Sony Firmware plus the capability to run homebrew apps. In case you don’t know yet, here’s the list of the new features that are added on the latest Sony Firmware.

1. Internet Radio Feature has now been added under Network. How does that work? We will soon find out but I’m sure you will be needing a wifi connection to connect to the internet radio stations available.
2. You will now have the ability to preview each scene of a video using the Scene Search feature. for example, if you selected a thumbnail using the Scene Search function, wait for a few seconds and a video preview will begin. The screen will return to the thumbnail of the scene after a few seconds of the preview clip. How cool is that?
3. New visualizations has been added! That’s freakin’ awesome.
4. Under the Network tab, you can now view photo RSS feeds. That means you can view RSS flickr photo feeds on your PSP. Way too cool! OPML is also now supported.

I really can’t wait to install the new Custom Firmware on my PSP. I mean who wouldn’t get excited on the new awesome features? While we’re waiting for the new custom firmware to be released, let’s just enjoy the last days of our 3.71 M33 PSPs. Creating custom firmware’s not an easy task so I think we should just wait. As the elders say, “Good things come to those who wait.”, and I totally believe that!

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.

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.

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.