PSPoste beta 7 released: full featured PSP email app

Want to send/receive email via your PSP? PSPoste is best way to achieve this. From PSPoste.org: "It supports the SMTP and POP3 protocols (possible future IMAP support), and provides a skinnable user interface allowing the user to retrieve, compose and display messages from multiple email servers. Several input methods are included with PSPoste, choose the one best suited for you.

Here's a list of what's changed in Beta 7:

• Support more IR keyboards by using the pspirkeyb library, see PSPoste/Data/pspirkeyb/ for configuration of your keyboard.
• Better random number generation for TLS based connections, acknowledgements to Zx81 for his work on PSPSSH and Theodore Tso for the original RNG work.
• On first start, users will be prompted to press buttons randomly to generate the random seed file.
• Use the extra RAM of the PSP Slim.
• Fix a crash when opening the settings window when no network connections are defined.
• Fix another crash opening the settings window that would occur randomly.
• Fix a bug in the logging mechanism that meant errors and output weren't properly being written out to the log files.
• Fix a problem connecting using a manually configured WPA connection.
• Make the cursor visible at all times while typing (as opposed to blinking throughout).
• Explicitly load the IrDA module so IR Keyboards work on firmwares > 3.03OE.
• Adjust heap and thread stack sizes.
• Fix some memory leaks and uninitialzed variables.
• Set the timezone to whatever the PSP has configured."

PSPoste has only been fully tested on the 1.5 firmware but there is some support for recent cfw's (see bottom of news page on PSPost.org). PSPoste is well worth giving a try if you have a serious need for a homebrew email app.

Download via Sourceforge.

NeoFlash Competition Results

Here is the outcome of the NeoFlash Spring Coding Competition for 2008:

The PSP APP division of NEO SPRING COMPO 2008

1 [PSP APP] Dow! 0.2 - Develop on the go bumuckl
2 [PSP APP] LightMP3 Version 2.0.0 BETA 1 sakya
3 [PSP APP] CTorrentPSP - Torrent client for PSP danzel
4 [PSP APP] Academic Aid Scholastic Suite 6 R769 - Education Mr305
5 [PSP APP] PSP-Maps royale

The PSP GAME division of NEO SPRING COMPO 2008

1 [PSP GAME] Bugz InsertWittyName
2 [PSP GAME] POLYGUNWARS v0.5 ahrimanes
3 [PSP GAME] BlowUp! - 1.0 RELEASED! gambiting
4 [PSP GAME] Orbid V2 Slasher
5 [PSP GAME] Dororo's Adventure b0rk
6 [PSP GAME] Tetriabetes 1.43 dragula96
7 [PSP GAME] Kitten Cannon sg57
8 [PSP GAME] Scogger 0.2 scognito
9 [PSP GAME] Sushi Rubik version 1.2 teamsushi
10 [PSP GAME] Motion Pong 0.2 bumuckl

I am a little surprised with the Apps results but the Games results are right on.

PSP Maps v0.6 Review

Here is another entry into the NeoFlash Competition: PSP Maps v0.6 by royale. Think of PSP Maps as a hybrid of Yahoo maps and Google maps that you can use on your PSP. You will start off by connecting to your preferred wireless access point. Then enter an address and PSP Maps will find it and zoom in or just use the analog or directional pad to move around and shoulder buttons to zoom in and out. The complete list of controls are:

• Digital pad: move the map.
• Analog pad: move the map smoothly.
• R button: zoom in.
• L button: zoom out.
• X button: next view type.
• [] button: previous view type.
• /\ button: enter an address.
• O button: show/hide crosshairs.
• Start: menu.

PSP Maps allows you to adjust the size of your cache so that you can store a large area of maps. This allows you to use it when you are away from your wifi. It also allows you to save your favorite location so that you don't have to enter the address every time.

There are 8 "view types" available that I have found. They are:

• Google Maps/Maps
• Google Maps/Satellite
• Google Maps/Terrain
• Virtual Earth/Road
• Virtual Earth/Aerial
• Virtual Earth/Hybrid
• Yahoo Maps/Map
• Yahoo Maps/Satellite

(Version 0.7, just released, adds Hybrid view to Google and Yahoo, and Hill view to Virtual Earth; also added is a Window's version)

PSP Maps has the "Wow" factor. When you start using this app it will blow you away. The map images are stunning and navigation is easy and intuitive. With almost every new move you make to the map the app has to load new images. This is only a slight annoyance because the load times are very short. I was able to move from Columbus, Ohio to Antarctica to Hawaii in a very short amount of time. A nice feature is the adjustable cache, allowing for offline use. I tried it out and found that it works surprisingly well. The size of the maps saved would be a very useful alternative to having a GPS unit in your car, assuming you aren't planning any cross-country road trips. If I were judging the NeoFlash contest (which I'm not), this would be my hands down favorite app. PSP Maps should be on your memory stick. I am adding this to my Best Homebrew list. Amazing work, royale.

DOW! 0.2 Develop on the go Review

Dow! 0.2 is a PSP app that allows you to write Lua scripts on your PSP. This entry in the NeoFlash Competition includes a text editor with on-screen keyboard (OSK) and lua code snippets. There are extra menu keys which can be assigned to your own presets or functions. Dow! allows you to save and load files for future use.

This app works quite well. There are obvious limitations to developing homebrew on the PSP; the lack of keyboard is the foremost. I and many others have requested that Bumuckl (developer) add IR keyboard support and he said he would look into it. The OSK works well within its limits. The code snippets and extra menu keys are a nice addition. Another suggestion I have (if it is even possible) is to include/embed the Lua player so that you aren't forced to exit Dow! each time you want to run your newly written scripts.

If you are looking for a way to develop homebrew in Lua while out and about then Dow! 0.2 is a fine solution.

NeoFlash Spring Competition 2008 submissions are in

The NeoFlash Spring Coding Competition has stopped taking submissions. The judging begins now. If you would like to be a judge then try out the apps and games and submit your reviews here. There are great prizes for judging as well as for coding. You can find the PSP apps here and the PSP games here. The competition has really got some talent and the homebrew has never looked better. I suggest you give some of them a try. I'll be reviewing a few of the entries that I find interesting.

Elephant 2.0

This was going to be a review but I was unable to get Elephant to work so this post will be about my experiences trying to work with this new app.

Elephant 2.0 is a syncing program for your PC. It is supposed to sync your music, pictures, video, homebrew, and ISOs. The app installed easily and the configuration is fairly straight forward. Input the path to your folders for music, pictures, etc. and Elephant should be able to see the contents. After I configured Elephant, it popped up a window saying that it couldn't find my picture, video, or ISO folders and that it would create them. It didn't ask if it could create them, it just said it was going to and gave me an OK button (see screen shot below). Creating the ISO folder wasn't a problem because I didn't have one. Creating the video folder had no effect on my memory stick. I can't even be sure that it tried to create the video folder. Although, creating the new picture folder overwrote my existing one. Yes, I did have a picture folder which contained 6 pictures and now my folder is empty. This isn't that big a problem because I keep a current backup of my memory stick on my PC since I am always testing new homebrew. I will say that this is bad behavior on Elephant's part. It should never change/create anything on my PSP without giving me a choice. It is irritating that my picture folder was there and Elephant was unable to find it so it overwrote it.



After that problem I didn't have high hopes for the app. It met these hopes by not doing anything that comes close to syncing. I was unable to get it to recognize or display the files on my PSP and couldn't figure out how I was supposed to create a list/folder for new items I want to put onto my PSP. There is no documentation which explains how Elephant is supposed to work which is also an annoyance.

I would steer clear of this app until the next version and if you decide to try it then, please backup your memory stick.

Despertar del Cementerio v4 Install and Pandora Battery Creation Guide

I have finally caught up with the masses. I now have a DCv4 memory stick and Pandora battery. I know that I am way behind in creating these but I didn't have a spare battery to use. Anyway, here is a little guide on how I created the memory stick and battery:

Creating Pandora Battery:

I used the BatTool v0.5 for 3.XX to create my Pandora Battery. It is easy to use, reversible, and allows you to dump the eeprom.

• Connect your PSP to your PC with a USB cable and enable USB mode.
• Extract the archive and place the "BatTool 0.5 for 3.xx kernel" folder in your GAME folder.
• Exit USB mode and go to the memory stick under Game in the XMB and run BatTool. There are several menu options, pick the one you want.
• Assuming you want a Pandora battery for future unbricking/updating then switch you battery over to service mode and then it'll be ready.
  

note: I dumped my eeprom just in case I had problems in the future.

Installing DCv4:

There are many installers available which will automatically install all the files needed to create a "magic memory stick" but I decided to do it the old fashioned way.

You will need these files:

• Despertar del Cementerio v4
• 1.5 update OFW
• 3.40 update OFW
• 3.80 update OFW

Here is what DCv4 looks like after extracted:



It would be a good idea to follow along with the readme file Dark AleX has provided in DCv4. His "readme" is complete but not as noob friendly as I hope this guide will be.

• Insert the memory stick you want to install DCv4 into your PSP. We need to format it so go to Settings, System Settings, Format Memory Stick and format it.
• Next connect your PSP to your PC with the USB cable and enable USB mode.
  
• Open a Command Prompt (CP). Drag and drop mspformat.exe into the CP window. Hit the space bar and type the letter of the drive which is your PSP's memory stick and hit enter. It will ask if you want to continue and press y (no space this time).

Here is what it looks like:

• Remove the memory stick, disable USB mode, re-enable USB mode, and re-insert your memory stick.
  
• Next create a "PSP" folder on your memory stick. Inside the "PSP" folder, create another folder named "GAME".
• Copy the despertar_cementerio file into the GAME folder. Also copy the 1.5, 3.40, and 3.80 eboots into the root of the memory stick. Rename the eboots 150.PBP, 340.PBP, and 380.PBP respectively.

Here's what that looks like:

• Disable USB mode again and also disable any PTF custom themes you are running on your PSP.
• Now go to your memory stick under Game and run DCv4. Follow it's directions and after it has completed you will have msipl.bin in the root of your memory stick. Copy this to your PC somewhere you can find it easily, we'll be using it in a second.
• Open up the Command Prompt again. Drag and drop msinst.exe into the CP window and hit the space bar. Type the letter of your PSP's memory stick again and hit the space bar again. Now drag and drop msipl.bin file into the CP window and hit enter. It will ask if you are sure and type y (no space) and hit enter.

Here it is:



You can delete the 150.PBP and 340.PBP files, they are of no more use. Leave the 380.PBP because it is used when unbricking/updating.

You now have a DCv4 unbricker/updater memory stick.

Using DCv4/Pandora:

If your PSP's power cord is attached then unplug it. Insert the memory stick in which you installed DCv4 then insert the Pandora battery. The PSP will power-on automatically and give you a menu:

• Press X to install 3.80M33.
• Press O to install original 3.80
• Press [] to dump nand to nand-dump.bin. When done, psp will auto shutdown.
• Press L+R+HOME+START to restore nand from nand-dump.bin

I suggest you do a nand dump and save it to you PC for safe keeping. This is to be used in only dire circumstances/last resort. Restoring the nand from a dump has a possibility of bricking so don't do it unless you absolutely have to.

Hope this guide was helpful.

RS-GUI PopstationMD Version 3.0 Review

As you may have read in my previous post I thought that Red Squirrel's RS-GUI was o.k. but had some problems. Well, Red Squirrel has made a major update/improvement with the release of RS-GUI PopstationMD v3.0. Wow, this gui is your one stop shop for single and multiple disk PSX game conversion to PSP eboot. Here is the long list of features (the most important items are in green):

-Added Turkish, Norwegian, Dutch, Polish and Greek translations!
-Added popstation.exe support, now 1CD PSX games can be converted too! Only one program to convert ALL PSX Games!
-Thanks to Brisma, no BASE.PBP or KEYS.BIN is required by popstation.exe
-Added the zero compression level for 1CD PSX games
-Added a Splash Screen with a security check for the presence of program's necessary files
-Possibility to disable and re-enable aforesaid Splash Screen
-Added support for NRG and MDF CD images. Now program read these following formats: ISO, NRG, IMG, BIN and MDF!
-Now popstation.exe and popstation_md.exe will ask user to press any key before closing them, so users can understand what is the error which does not allow the eboot creation (if it exists!).
-Added a list of games titles-codes
-Possibility to search for a game title quickly from the listbox
-Auto-recognition of Game-ID from its title
-Added a security check for Game-ID correctness
-Added a "real time" preview of eboot personalization
-Possibility to enable/disable aforesaid real time preview
-Added the possibility to insert any image as PIC0, PIC1 and ICON0! All formats and sizes are accepted! Program will resize and covert images automatically
-Added the possibility to choose the output folder name (Noone, Game Title and Game Code)
-Added a check for the true existence of selected image
-Added the docmaker!
-Possibility to create a DOCUMENT.DAT standard alone or with the eboot itself
-Possibility to insert any image to DOCUMENT.DAT, program will resize and convert images automatically (so all formats and sizes are accepted!)
-Possibility to add, remove or clean the images list added to docmaker
-If DOCUMENT.DAT will be created together the eboot, it will created in the same folder of the eboot
-Many v2.0b bugs fixed
-Something other that I don't remember at the moment
(This was taken from Red Squirrel's release post)

I have used v3.0 to convert several multi-disk PSX games and they all play as expected. I would like to see the dev make the gui look a little more professional but that is personal preference and has nothing to do with how well the gui works. Here are some screenshots:







RS-GUI 3.0 definitely makes it easier to use DAX's popstations (single and multi-disk) and customize your eboots. I included images which were the wrong size for icon0 and pic1 and, as claimed, it resized them to the correct size. In my opinion, including the game title/code list was essential. The one major drawback for many people will be the installation of the .NET frameworks. I already had them installed but I know many people consider them bloat.

I recommend using RS-GUI 3.0 above other gui's that have come out recently because of it's feature set and ease of use. Well done Red Squirrel.

RS-GUI PopstationMD Version 3.0 released

Red Squirrel has released a huge update to RS-GUI PopstationMD. Looking at the new features, I have a feeling this is what I've been waiting to see. Check it out here, I will be.

Here is DAX's 1.50 slim PSP

Dark Alex has one awesome FF7 PSP slim. See it here.

P.S. Oh yeah, he has the 1.50 kernel running on it. DAX's 1.50 Time Machine will allow you to run 1.50 homebrew on PSP slims. DAX == GOD.

Last Version of IRShell released: IRShell 3.9

IRShell is one of my favorite and most used homebrew apps/shells. My heart breaks at the thought of Ahman retiring and there will be no new IRShells, but I wish him luck at his future endeavors. Thank you so much for what you have contributed to the PSP homebrew scene. I'm sure IRShell 3.90 will be excellent, like previous versions, but I'll let you know if there are any surprises.

FreeRadio Internet Radio Guide

Here is a short guide to help installing and customizing FreePlay's FreeRadio internet radio player.

Download FreeRadio from here. After you unzip the file you will see a "readme" and a folder. Read the readme.txt file. FreePlay wrote it for a reason.

Installation:

Open the folder named "Copy the stuff in this folder into the top folder of your memory stick!". Double click to open it. Then copy the "radio" folder over to your PSP's root directory (ms0:\, ms_root, G:\, etc.). Mine has the green circle around it here:


Copy the "PSP" folder from the download over to the "PSP" folder on your memory stick (circled in red above). It will add the needed files to your memory stick.

That's it. You can close your USB connection and navigate to the network icon on your PSP. You should have a new option: Internet Radio. The included Shoutcast stations FreePlay has included are quite good but if you would like to customize these stations keep reading.

Customizing your Shoutcast Stations:

Here are the instructions FreePlay has provided in the readme file:

"To customize the list of Shoutcast stations, podcasts, or raw streams, look in the 'radio\personalize' folder. 'MyShoutcast.js', 'MyPodcasts.js', and 'MyStreams.js' contain the lists of Shoutcast stations, podcasts, and raw streams displayed in the portal, as well as instructions for adding your own stuff. You can edit them in Notepad or any other text editor."

That's pretty straight forward but here is a screen capture in case you need help.


Double click "radio", then double click "personalize", and finally you'll see "MyShoutcast.js". I used notepad to open the file and here are the station names and i.d. numbers that Freeplay provided for our listening pleasure:

var shoutcast_stations = new Array(
'2680', '1.FM - Blues',
'6951', '1.FM - The Chillout Lounge',
'2541', '1.FM - Otto\'s Baroque Musick',
'7526', '181.FM - Christmas Mix Channel',
'5835', '181.fm - Kickin\' Country (Today\'s Best Country!)',
'2266', '181.fm - POWER 181',
'1553', '.977 The 80s Channel',
'1025', '.977 The Hitz Channel',
'8751', 'ChroniX Aggression',
'3201', 'DIGITALLY-IMPORTED - Chillout',
'1276', 'DIGITALLY-IMPORTED - Trance, Techno, Hi-NRG',
'1790', 'DIGITALLY-IMPORTED - Vocal Trance',
'3674', 'Drone Zone: Atmospheric ambient space music',
'841', 'Groove Salad: beats and grooves.',
'5067', 'idobi Radio: Music that doesn\'t suck!',
'6445', 'Japan-A-Radio',
'8771', 'Radio Paradise-modern, rock, world, electronica, more',
'333', 'S K Y . F M - 80s, 80s, 80s!',
'1568', 'S K Y . F M - All Hit 70s',
'1403', 'S K Y . F M - Absolutely Smooth Jazz',
'1914', 'S K Y . F M - Classical & Flamenco Guitar',
'2429', 'S K Y . F M - Mostly Classical',
'4977', 'S K Y . F M - New Age',
'8613', 'S K Y . F M - Roots Reggae',
'1677', 'S K Y . F M - The Christmas Channel',
'2207', 'Slow Radio',
'5890', 'SmoothJazz.com',
'9581', 'SmoothLounge.com',
'9036', '[XRM] - Alternative'
);

Notice that there isn't a comma after '[XRM] - Alternative'. That's important, make sure you leave out the last comma if you add or remove stations from your list. Also, if you add a station that has an apostrophe like "181.fm - Kickin' Country (Today's Best Country!)" above; make sure that you include the backslash before it \'.

Here is a list of the top 50 stations, with their i.d. numbers, on Shoutcast from Jan. 22, 2008. The additional five stations, at the end of the list, play a lot of game soundtracks. Thought you might like them.

'3394', 'French Kiss FM',
'4757', 'HOT 108 JAMZ',
'942319', 'HOT FM',
'5635', 'The Alex Jones Show',
'526', 'S K Y . F M - Top Hits Music',
'4253', '181.FM - Classic Country Hits',
'8591', '181.fm - The Buzz-Your Alternative Station',
'8848', 'PulsRadio',
'4870', 'POWERHITZ.COM',
'5427', 'Musik.Main',
'9956', 'FREQUENCE3',
'8303', 'HitzRadio.com',
'5327', 'KQED Public Radio',
'6422', 'Musik.Goldies',
'757', 'Blue FM',
'524', 'TechnoBase.FM',
'4866', 'Discollection-Radio.De',
'2897', 'DIGITALLY-IMPORTED - EuroDance & HiNRG',
'4869', 'SomaFM presents: Indie Pop Rocks',
'320792', 'PJ BeeVBoY For Sodazaa',
'6409', '1.FM - Top 40',
'3654', '1.FM - Bay Smooth Jazz',
'9462', 'Radio ENJOYSTATION.NET',
'1057', 'frisky R a d i o',
'6967', 'DIGITALLY-IMPORTED - Lounge',
'7790', '1.FM - Otto's Classical Musick',
'6201', '1.FM - Dance Hits',
'1187', '1.FM - Channel X',
'6617', 'Angel Fire Radio's Classic Rock&Roll.FM',
'1568', 'S K Y . F M - All Hit 70s',
'2502', 'AM 1710 Antioch Old-time radio',
'706105', 'GCN Network 3 Live Stream',
'3103', '181.fm - Energy 98 - Dance Hits',
'3911', '181.FM - The Beat * #1 For HipHop',
'2916', 'Bassdrive - Music Beyond',
'2762', 'Fusion Radio. The Future of Dance',
'185033', 'Beatles Radio.com',
'4267', 'Musik.JaM',
'2399', 'Secret Agent',
'7963', 'Radio Caraibes FM - Haiti',
'706105', 'GCN Network 3 Live Stream',
'1952', 'Play Classical UK',
'1968', 'FG DJ RADIO',
'8589', 'H A P P Y D A Y - New Age EZ1 Channel',
'2464', 'Musik.eXTreMe',
'5295', 'k a w a i i - r a d i o',
'819988', 'yaxiradio 9275 FMz',
'2086', 'KCRW Music',
'5438', 'Radioseven',
'3392', 'Radio VHR',
'209054', 'Power of the Games',
'369667', 'Final Fantasy XI - RGoNots Linkshell',
'463697', 'All Games Radio',
'4177', 'Radio GOSU: 24/7 Video Game Music',
'3292', 'WoW Radio',

Just add these to the list of Shoutcast stations and save the file. Replace your "MyShoutcast.js" file on your PSP's memory stick with this new file and you'll have a bunch more great stations.

If neither FreePlay's selection of stations, nor mine, has what you want then feel free to head over to Shoutcast.com. Find a station that you want to add and right click on the "Tune In" button. Select the "Copy Link Location" option and inside of your preferred text editor program hit ctrl+V and paste the link into a new document. You will find a number toward the end of the link, that is the station i.d. number. Using the format above ('i.d.number', 'station name',) add this info into the list of Shoutcast stations in the "MyShoutcast.js" file.

Two problems I found:

• When adding stations, keep only the stations you can't live without because the FreeRadio player starts to lag when you have more than 40 or 50 stations. I believe it is caused by the E.Q. plugin. One thing that helps is to open the "Plugins" folder and rename the "equalizer.plugin" to "equalizer.disabled". FreeRadio will ignore the plugin and the lag is greatly reduced. To re-enable the plugin just rename it back to "equalizer.plugin".
  
• AAC and MMS streams are not supported.
  

These issues are minor and do not detract from the experience.

I hope this guide was helpful. Please enjoy FreePlay's great homebrew internet radio player: FreeRadio.

PSP Internet Radio Alternative: FreeRadio

FreeRadio 1.7 is a serverless internet radio portal for Official and CFW 3.80. Due to the use of Javascript inside the PSP's browser/internet radio player this is able to run on official Sony firmware, as well as custom firmware.

Features include:

• Shoutcast playback
• Streaming MP3/AAC playback
• Podcast browsing/playback
• Remote playlist streaming
• Web browsing
• Links to both official Sony radio players
• Customizable lists of Shoutcast stations, podcasts, and raw audio streams
• Support for custom plugins

This is an impressive internet radio player which FreePlay has created. FreeRadio allows you to consistently and accurately pick the exact radio station you want to listen to, unlike Sony's players which have you pick a genre and then you have to scan the dial to find what you want. FreeRadio also allows you to add your favorite Shoutcast stations, podcasts, or streams. Open the "radio/personalize" folder and find the "MyShoutcast.js", "MyPodcasts.js", and "MyStreams,js" files. Use notepad or another text editor to open these Javascript files to see the lists of the Shoutcast stations, podcasts, and the raw streams displayed in the portal. Instructions for adding your favorites are included (look for my guide to adding Shoutcast stations coming soon).

I can't wait to see some of the plugins that users create. I wish I knew more Javascript.

This is an excellent piece of homebrew and is the only way I will use the new Internet Radio option on my PSP.

GPS for PSP in U.S.

Sony has officially announced that the GPS unit that has been available in Japan for quite some time will be available in the U.S. No release date has been set. Maybe we aren't the red-headed step child I thought we were.

Skype for PSP coming

This has to be the biggest news I've heard in a while on the PSP scene. Sony unofficially released news of Skype coming to the PSP. ComputerandVideoGames.com broke the story here.

RS-GUI PopstationMD and ImpalerPSX Eboot Creator

RS-GUI and ImpalerPSX are gui interfaces for DarkAleX's multiple disk popstation. I was going to do a head-to-head comparison of these two apps but I don't believe either one is really near a final version. I will give you my findings up to now:

RS-GUI:
Pros:

• Supports img, cue, bin, and iso
• Interface is O.K.
• Full preview of icon and wallpaper png's (along with error messages if the sizes of images are incorrect, nice touch)

Cons:

• No automatic game codes. This feature is coming but not implemented yet.
  
• I received an error message and that's pretty much all it said: "error occurred" during my first attempt at creating a multidisk eboot. After using PSX2PSP to find my game code, I had input "slus " in lowercase letters. I changed to uppercase and no error.

ImpalerPSX:
Pros:

• Interface is nice and clean.
• Input the game's name and it will give a list of possible game codes.

Cons:

• Only supports iso. Since my game images are img, I had to use UltraISO to convert them to iso.
  
• ImpalerPSX has to copy your game iso's to another folder to work on them. This takes a long time: 4 disk game X 650 MB (minimum) each disk = a long wait.
• The app consistently locked up on me. I wasn't able to complete the eboot creation process. I tried to contact Impaler but his feedback page on his website gave me a 404 error and I couldn't find a forum thread to get help. I think that converting the img to iso is the problem.

I am going to put this comparison on hold. Please don't take these criticisms too seriously since neither of these apps seems complete. Here is what I would like to see if I were going to use one of these to create multidisk eboots for all my PSX games:

• Red Squirrel needs to add automatic game codes. I hate opening another app to find the code for this app. Also, better error messages: tell me what I'm doing wrong.
• Impaler needs to add other image formats other than just iso. I shouldn't have to use another app to convert to iso. I will continue to try and get a usable eboot out of this app, hopefully the problem is something I am doing wrong.

These developers are very good at what they do. I have to utmost confidence that both of these apps will eventually become what we need them to be. Can't wait for updates....just need to be patient....

Head to Head Multidisk Popstation GUI's

I was hoping to do a 3 way comparison of the new gui's created for DAX's multidisk popsloader (after the holidays) but Kingsquitter isn't showing signs of updating PSX2PSP anytime soon. I don't feel like waiting so I am going to just compare 2 gui's: Red Squirrel's RS-GUI PopStationMD v2.0 and Impaler's PSX Eboot Creator. Look for the comparison post soon after the new year.

Happy Holiday's and a Happy New Year to all.

Dev Kit for PSP Internet Radio Player

Is Sony letting up (a little) on the homebrew war? Here is a post on Playstation.com that says Sony will be putting out a development kit for people who want to create their own internet radio player for the PSP. This is a shock to me. Anyone else?

Targus Wireless IR Keyboard PA87OU

I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the box containing my Targus Wireless IR Keyboard PA87ou. This thing is small. As you can see it is about the same size as the PSP and only a little thicker. This is a full Qwerty keyboard minus the F1-12 keys. There are some special PDA function keys on the right hand side that won't be used with the PSP. It is amazing how Targus packed a keyboard together in such a small package and still made it very comfortable to use. The keyboard itself is smaller than my laptop keyboard but the keys are larger. That doesn't sound possible does it? Targus was able to make the letter keys larger by making the less important keys like brackets, curly brackets, caps lock, tabs, etc. smaller. Obviously this makes it very easy to type on (if you are used to typing on a laptop keyboard). I am very pleased with this purchase (only $24 plus shipping).

I have a few complaints: The cradle that holds the PSP/PDA seems a little flimsy. The "loops" that the PSP sits on are plastic and could be stronger. Also, the infrared arm that swivels up and down could get snapped off if you aren't careful. There isn't much that could be changed about the arm since this keyboard is supposed to be generic enough to be used on almost any PDA with an ir port. My last complaint is the one that really bothers me. I wish there were arrow keys. There is a silver oval on the bottom right corner of the keyboard which is the arrow keys' replacement. This oval is functional but a poor substitute for the real thing. Often I found myself moving the cursor up when I meant to go right. The oval takes up less room than four more keys, I get it, but at least make it square so that it is easier to use. Don't get me wrong this is not a deal breaker, I love this keyboard. I use the arrow keys quite a bit and I just wish they were better implemented. I would recommend it to any PSP homebrew user that wants an easier way to input text. Now I need to find a homebrew browser or app that supports the ir keyboard, for the web, because Sony's text input is a joke.

UPDATE:

I had heard about πkey (pikey) before but didn't know exactly what is was. Well it is the holy grail of ir keyboard support. Fanjita has developed a standalone and plugin which will allow you to use an ir keyboard in the xmb, games, browser, etc. Here is Fanjita's site (Noobz) and info on pikey. I will do a review of pikey once I have enough experience with it.

PSPWrite v1.0.2 (and 1.0.3)

PSPWrite is a text editor created by zx-81. This app is very well done like all of zx-81's stuff. You can create, save, and load text files with PSPWrite. Customize your documents by changing the text color, background color/image, and use tab spacing. Write also has ir keyboard support (waiting on my keyboard to get here). You do not have to have your own ir keyboard because PSPWrite has its own virtual keyboard. I will update this post when I can evaluate the ir keyboard support. If it works well then this will be a candidate for Best Homebrew.

UPDATE:

Flawless. This app works as you want it to. All of the above features work without problem and the ir keyboard support couldn't be better. I will have a separate review of the targus ir keyboard but PSPWrite and keyboard are a match made in homebrew heaven. There are some keys on the keyboard that are PDA related, so you wouldn't expect them to work, but all other keys work like a regular keyboard. I wasn't going to give this app a rave review because I thought the font was too small and was difficult to see. Well, zx-81 just released an update (PSPWrite v1.0.3) which makes my complaint less relevant. V1.0.3 now has another font size. Choose between the original or bold. The actual "size" doesn't change but it does make the text bold which helps greatly with readability. Zx-81 has also given you the ability to choose what processor speed you want: 133, 222, 266, 300, and 333. You can also adjust whether the cursor is tied to your text or can move anywhere on the screen. This is definitely going on the list of Best Homebrew.