PSP 3.40 OEA

Aside: This is my first post on WordPress. It’s fitting that it’s got to do with looks, because I think this new page is looking pretty hot with the Blix theme (and my own header image). I can’t edit my CSS on the standard, free web version but with themes as clean and functional as these, it’s not a big deal.

I’ve been killing it on my custom firmware for the past month or so and honestly, I don’t understand how people can get by without it. I mean, yeah, the standard come-with Sony firmwares are fine and all (not to mention pretty) but there’s just so much you can do (i.e. not very much at all) in terms of customization. I mean, you can change the hue of the icons/ shadows/ text and the image used as a background but that’s about as far as it goes when it comes to the basic Sony-brand firmware. I’ve yet to install my own theme yet but I intend to once my PSP is done charging (I have a tendency to be a complete battery whore). So, did I brick up?

Actually, many tutorials on how to edit the flash memory on your PSP state that you should only make changes to your PSP’s flash memory (i.e. its internal memory where its main functionality runs off of) if and only if you’ve got it fully charged and can follow the instructions exactly without botching it. Otherwise, you might end up pwning yourself into a brick’d PSP. I think a brick’d PSP is about as effective as a ring-o-death’d Xbox 360.* TKO. Even if you’ve got warranty on your PSP, bricking it means you violated the terms of that warranty and you’d be hard-pressed to find a Sony that’ll replace it for you. Well, replace it free anyway. You could always pay them ~$150-200 for a “replacement” (read: new one).

Anyhow, I’m gonna be venturing into the brave new world of playing with my PSP flash memory and I really hope I don’t brick anything (which I shouldn’t did about 30+ times) because I’m sure I’d miss my pretty white mistress a lot. In preparation I’m reading up on this stuff as much as possible so that I know of all the little quirks you usually discover upon actual trial and error before I do anything drastic. That, and hoping for the best. There’s a certain thrill, that I think is a tiny slice of heaven, that comes whenever we risk things.

Edit: I’ve completed my flashing and customizing and here’s what I’ve got. The background is taken from a Samurai Champloo wallpaper I cropped for PSP. The Ultimate Black theme looks and sounds great and I’m quite happy with how it turned out many recovery modes later.

* This is not how you sell a console. Rafael, Joshua and I went down to Best Buy at Scarborough Town Center today and I spotted this headshot’d Xbox 360 on display which made me laugh so hard that I had to take a couple photos and even a short video. How ridiculous. I then proceeded with walking down the lane and getting owned on some off-road racing game for the PS3.