Homebrew developer Dark_Alex must have some kind of messianic complex, because he is nearly worshiped by all in the PSP homebrew community. His series of "open edition" firmwares include all the functionality of Sony's official firmware ... and then some. Recent releases unlocked full-resolution video, and allowed users to overclock their system, remove region coding, and more.

Sony released firmware 3.10, which patches vulnerabilities that allowed the PSP to be downgraded to a homebrew-capable version. A few days later, Dark_Alex has followed suit, allowing homebrew users to gain all the benefits from Sony's latest firmware while running hombrew.

Details on how to download and install this latest open edition firmware can be found here.

[Via DCEmu]

It shouldn't come as a surprise that the homebrew community has miraculously decrypted the latest PSP firmware in less than 24 hours. The homebrew community seems to be at war against Sony, who's desperately trying to close the security holes in their firmware and slow down the rampant piracy that can jeopardize the PSP as a viable platform.

Firmware decryption isn't helpful for the average PSP user, but it will be for other homebrew coders. Undoubtedly, PSP whiz kid Dark_Alex is working on a new open edition firmware for the system. Will Sony ever be able to regain the momentum in this battle?

[Thanks, cyanide! Via QJ]

First Korea ... now the world! Firmware 3.10 is now available for PSP owners that can access a wi-fi point and hit "Network Update" on their systems. As previously mentioned, the update includes the following enhancements:

• Support for PLAYSTATION Network titles has been expanded.
• Support for the MPEG-4 AVC format has been added under [Location Free Player]
• [Dynamic Normalizer] has been added as a feature under [Sound Settings] in [Settings].

Also included is a memory saving mode for the internet browser (In the internet browser, go to Tools -> Settings). Japanese PSP owners will also notice a PlayStation Spot icon above P-TV in Network.

It should be noted that this upgrade will render homebrew useless on your system, and may prevent you from downgrading indefinitely. While we fully support Sony's endeavors on the system, we want you to make an educated choice before deciding to upgrade or not. Of course, this upgrade is but a taste of things to come: Sony will most likely include an even more robust feature set in the next major upgrade.

For those of you unable to access Network Update, feel free to download the upgrade from us. Connect your PSP via USB and save in PSP/GAME/UPDATE.

[Update 1: News from QJ suggests that people with custom firmware should not upgrade, as your systems may become bricked.]

A new firmware upgrade was inevitable, considering how the PSP has been completely blown open by homebrewers. The latest update, 3.10, includes a variety of new functions, such as dynamic normalization in music (yes!), and a new "memory economy" function for the web browser that should lessen the frequency of those annoying memory errors.

However, this update seems to only be available on the heavy-hit, sluggish Korean PS site. Undoubtedly, this update should hit the other global sites shortly. Will you make the upgrade, or is the temptation of 3.03OE-C too great for you?

[Via DCEmu]