A hefty update post has been put up by Mathieulh on the Utopia kernel project and it was noted that it'll be released for everyone soon. For those of you unfamiliar with it, this is a new kernel designed for homebrew and it'll be used in future custom firmwares. See the details after the jump.

Thanks to Mark M for the tip!

After a few months since the last release, Dark AleX has finally updated his Despertar del Cementerio universal unbricker. The app now stands at version 4 and now installs 3.80 M33-5 instead of 3.71 M33-3. Check out the changelog in the full article.

Download: Despertar del Cementerio v4
Visit: QJ.NET PSP Development Forum thread

Since Sony's demonstration in Las Vegas, you may have wondered how the process of transferring Blu-ray movies from your PlayStation 3 to your handy PlayStation Portable actually ran. Details at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show were flat-out dry, but thanks to new info running around, you'll be able to see a bigger picture. More on the popular BD Live feature at the full story.

Here's some good and bad news for PSP music player users.

Steve Jobs had recently made a move of making DRM-less music available on iTunes. Files embedded with DRM, or Digital Rights Management, cannot be played on the PlayStation Portable due to restrictions. This recent update from iTunes can be also translated as letting the PSP download music from iTunes, as long as you're connected to the internet, which is easy.

Now here comes the bad news: While you'll be able to download music, playing them will require you to connect your PSP to the computer in order to move the music files from the iTunes folder into the PSP's music folder, which kind of kills the purpose of being able to download music with the PSP on the go.

We can hope for a firmware update for the PSP that will fix this problem, though. Maybe even in time for the PSP firmware 3.50's release.

This next one will send shivers down your spine. It's the official trailer video for Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII for the PlayStation Portable (PSP). We would have made the download available for you but we're having some problems with digital rights management (DRM). So we turned to good ol' YouTube and found that a certain user, valiant217, has already uploaded it.

The trailer video is in Japanese, of course, but we are rather certain that fact won't stop you from wearing your headphones, turning the volume up, and clicking "play" - all this time having a wide grin on your face and with fingers fumbling every time. Why not, this is Final Fantasy. The same exact video game series that has withstood the test of time.

Anyway, the trailer mainly focused on Zack Fair and his discussion with Lazard, the head executive of the Department of SOLDIER of Shin-Ra. We couldn't understand it but it seems that this very discussion is very pivotal to the development of Crisis Core's story. Towards the end, there are a couple of in-game footage so don't you dare push that "stop" button. Enjoy!

Who says all the juicy stuff from GDC need to be strictly games-related? This one here was overheard from the conference's showfloor, so while it's juicy and coming from a Sony employee, it will be best for us to tag this first as a mere rumor.

As you all may very well know, Sony initially had plans of offering full-resolution downloadable movies for the PSP. But as luck would have it, certain "DRM problems" became way too much of an obstacle for the plan to push through. Now here's the scoop. Apparently, fingers are now pointing to Disney as the culprit for the non-fulfillment of Sony's movie download service.

As what was overheard, Disney's refusal to make its movie catalogs available to Sony has got something to do with its deal with Apple's iTunes Store, thereby restricting their movement for external deals. Hmmm... and the plot thickens, indeed.

However, a question does come to mind: Is Disney necessarily the end all-be-all for this movie download service? Could Sony not have found other companies to work with them on this cause? Or is Disney merely the unfortunate scapegoat in Sony's failed promise?

Stay tuned for more unfolding drama.

The ability to download high-resolution PSP formatted AVC video through the P-TV service has been one of the highlights of PSP gaming for many Japanese gamers, but unfortunately, Sony hasn't even thought about bringing the service to the U.S. or other territories across the globe - or have they?

Using this guide, courtesy of IGN's nixice, you can browse the P-TV website on any computer with an internet connection (no Japanese IP address required), and using a temporary account, browse through the store and download free videos, some of which are in English!

You don't have to be fluent in Japanese either, as with a quick glance at this tutorial and a bit of patience, you too could be watching full resolution 480x272 AVC video on your PSP; previously only possible using homebrew and converting your own video. all thanks to P-TV Japan. The trick is to identify which content you would like to watch and wouldn't mind listening to in Japanese rather than downloading some feature length film which you won't understand.

Find out how to get free high-res videos for your PSP after the Jump!

Well, Pox and Ragable are at it again with the ninth installment of their CommuteCast series, which has absolutely nothing to do with irate DHL truck drivers and their yellow vans.

In this episode, step into the minds of Pox and Ragable as they talk about whatever comes into their heads, which happens to be related to zombies and inflatables this week, as their release log shows:

• 12-Foot Inflatable Home Theatre
• Why Dell Laptop batteries explode
• Xbox 360 Camera out early at Toys 'R' Us?
• Dead Rising is dead without HD but still sells like crazy
• PSP light
• Downgrader hope for TA-082
• Pox's Rant on Blue-Ray and HDMI, DRM and HD (again)
• Ending music by jamrop

Enjoy!

Download: [PSP Hacking 101's CommuteCast 9]

Okay, this may seem like a very stupid question, especially on a website that specialises on PSP gaming, homebrew and news. The thing is, it's true: Sony wouldn't like anybody calling the PSP just a gaming machine as this does make it seem like an updated version of the GBA. After all, Sony's PSP website does say that with the launch of the PSP, "The Portable Entertainment Revolution has arrived". Ever since its launch, the PSP has been described as an entertainment machine for use anyway, not just your simple gaming machine.

With the drastic failure of Sony's UMD format designed specifically for the PSP, is the PSP still an entertainment machine - or is it just a gaming machine? Sure you can still watch movies or listen to music from your memory stick, but it isn't the same as having off-the-shelf media in the form of films and music videos to just put in and play. Surely something that you have to spend ages converting can't be considered as a portable entertainment machine as you can't just access it straight away! You need the aid of a computer in order to pretty much do anything decent on the PSP.

Although this won't apply to most of the readers of this website, a large proportion of PSP owners wouldn't be able to get a movie in the correct format to play on their PSP. Call me stubborn for not reading a readme or/and FAQ, but I still remember the first time I tried to get my PSP to play an MP4 video, it took me hours to figure it out, and then more hours for it to convert.

The only way Sony can redefine their portable console as a portable entertainment gateway is through the release of digital media available directly to download on your PSP. In response to DRM'd media being available on the PSP, John Koller, Senior marketing manager for the PSP said “That’s still something we are debating here. We need to see how the Connect site works out.”

The Sony Connect website has supported the PSPs web browser for a while now, and once DRM has been secured for the PSP, I'm sure music and more copyrighted entertainment media will be available through this website. Maybe after better media hits the Sony Connect website we can call the PSP a portable entertainment revolution. Until then, we still have homebrew.

Visit: [Sony Connect PSP website]