In life, it helps to have someone who can hold you accountable for your actions. In the case of electronics companies, it seems that Greenpeace is their accountability partner. The organization has recently released the current company rankings in its Greener Electronics Scale. To find out how certain companies fared, get "green-minded" and turn to the full article after the jump.

Sony's looking all green as they launch their new recycling program. By next month Sony will be launching a new nationwide campaign where people will be able to dispose of their unwanted electronics in an environmentally safe manner.

The Sony Take Back Recycling Program will be putting up 75 "eCycling" centers throughout the US where people can drop off their electronics.

Once the program takes off, the program is expected to increase the number of eCycling centers to 150. The idea is to have an eCycling Center within 20 miles of 95% of the US.

The program was made in collaboration with WM Recycle America. Sony products will be recylced free of charge while other brands will include a recycling fee. Consumers can either drop if off personally or ship it in through specific WM Recycle America locations.

Stan Glasgow, president and chief operating officer of Sony Electronics, says about the service:

Providing the highest level of service and support doesn’t stop once a purchase is made. We believe it is Sony’s responsibility to provide customers with end-of-life solutions for all the products we manufacture. Through the Take Back Recycling Program, our customers will know that their Sony products will be recycled in an environmentally responsible manner.

Thanks to Surftycoon for the tip!

This was sneaky. Both the QJ and Exophase forums have discovered that Network Update's been picking up a FW 3.30 (yes, that's 3.30) firmware update in the airwaves. Exophase even has a downloadable EBOOT of it. It's not up on PlayStation.com as we write this, though...

(Yes, we know the pic to the right says 2.71. It was either that or the internationally recognized symbol for recycling.)

Which is why there's no full changelog to bring for now. Wait for the update to this when PS.com decides to play catchup, or when one of us bravely decides to sacrifice his or her personal PSP to the all-consuming maw of FW 3.30 to see what's changed (or at least far enough to see the changelog). Or we'll just update this article after the results of that ultimate sacrifice (until they come out with a downgrader...) reveals the changelog.

Otherwise, here's what's known to be the changes in 3.30, so far, via both sources (and we also don't know why they'd skip 3.2x...):

• display thumbnails under RSS Channel
• expanded support for PlayStation Network-downloaded PSOne games (but what specific support?)
• support for displaying thumbnails for files in VIDEO folder (more reason to use a file stealthing device now, ain't it?)
• option to set Disc-Load speed to Fast or Normal

Downloadable below conveniently comes in a folder named "UPDATE", thus saving you the hassle of having to create that folder on the PSP Memory Stick/PSP/GAME subdirectory.

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Update: We had a hard time grabbing this update because the official PlayStation site suddenly became tricky and sneaky as the FW 3.30 itself. In the site's System Update page, details on the new firmware update went up and then it suddenly reverted to February's 3.11 update. We had to refresh our page over and over and when the latest update was on display once more, we immediately took a snapshot of the changelog.

With that jazz out of the way, here's the real deal:

* This update is for those who own PSP units with model number PSP-1001. If you happen to have purchased your handheld outside North America, don't attempt to perform this update at all.
* It is true that video game compatibility has been improved as the list of supported PlayStation Network (PSN) titles has been expanded.
* It is true that thumbnail images of items has been added t o the RSS channel.
* It is also true that thumbnail images of videos stored in the "Video" folder of your memory stick.
* Speaking of which, the following formats are also now playable in the said "Video" folder: MPEG-4/H.264 AVC Main Profile (AVC CABAC) with sizes 720x480, 352x480, and 480x272
* Most importantly, a "Use Wireless Hotspot" feature has been added under Network Settings.

As always, we recommend assessing whether you're ready to download the new firmware or not. You can also try and wait until the loyal homebrew stalwarts have given this a thorough look.

Thanks to Hockeyroks33 and TwistyValhalla for the heads up!

Download: FW 3.30 Update
Discuss: PSP Updates Firmware Discussion Forum