Once Devhook added support for the 3.02 firmware it all began. People began creating their own versions of the popular "SE" firmware to run via Devhook. Well, the original devs of the SE firmware aren't too happy about it, and plan on creating their own version. This version will come with a new name that won't be announced until release according to Mathieulh. Here is what he had to say about the situation:

That's it, we were fed up of people using 3.xxSE name for lame unofficial projects, so I spoke to Alex and we both agreed of using another name (that will remain secret until release time) for the 3.02SE official project.

So No, it wont be called 3.02SE anymore.
If you liked the SE name, then you should complain to all the noobs that used it for their own projects.

As you can see, he is quite fed up with all the rip-offs of the name for unofficial projects. The good news is that an official project is coming, too bad it will be with a new name.

Do you believe in miracles? A TA-082 downgrader has been officially released today by a dev named, dark_thug! This downgrader is for use with 2.50 TA-082 PSPs. TA-082 users with 2.6-2.71 can downgrade to 2.50 using the Generic Downgrader. Alright, so here's how it works:

1. Use the DAX generic downgrader to change your ver. to 2.50 if it isnt already.
2. Downloaded the 2.50 TA-082 Check & Dump v1.20 to dump your firmware.
3. Enter your settings in the executable. Here is an example:
http://img344.imageshack.us/img344/1354/ta082dgvp8.png
4. It will generate the downgrader. Copy the folder ?UPDATE? (the folder it makes) to x:/PSP/GAME
5. download eLoader and put it on your PSP. Load it from the photo menu.
6. Choose ?UPDATE? from the eLoader menu. This will begin the downgrader. It will patch your bootstrap to make it a 1.5.
7.Reboot your PSP AFTER it has finished COMPLETELY! You should get a blue screen. Hit O and restore your settings.

Here's the files you will need:
http://www.psp-haxors.com/www.psp-haxors.com/wp-content/uploads/TA-082/TA-082_Downgrader.rar
http://www.psp-haxors.com/forum/downloads.php?action=view&did=258
http://www.psp-haxors.com/forum/downloads.php?action=view&did=256

There has been a reported problem with this downgrader however. According to dark_thug: : SE-C may lock-up while playing some games.
The catch? On 1.50, trying to change settings menu gives a Blue Screen of Death.
This means you can simply not change your Video options, System settings, etc."

As with all things that write to flash, there is a risk of bricking, so USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. QJ, dark_thug, myself, and psp-haxors are not responsible for any bricks!

If all this sounds good to you, try it out and you will hopefully be enjoying a 1.50 or 2.71SE-C PSP!

Yesterday when I discovered that the 3.0 manual had went live online, I was quite excited. Once I began to look through it however, I became quite dissapointed. As I began looking through it I noticed no VoIP, no Playstation Store, and a lot of other dissapointing things. I could only hope it would be different when it arrived...

This morning I woke up, and checked Network Update. Thankfully, the update was here! I went to install it, and was dissapointed with the feature list. I continued to install anyways. 100% and it was time to reboot.

Unfortunately, the startup was the same. I was hoping for something cooler, like the PS3 bootup, but you can't get everything you want. I began going through everything. The first new thing was UMD Auto-Start. This was a welcome addition and I immediately set it to off. I went to change my nickname and noticed they had added the PSP buttons onto the keypad in some locations. It was an alright change but nothing special. The last new feature under Settings was an updated About PS3 section. I noticed credit to a company called Sonaptic. I haven't discovered what they do yet, so I well need to investigate.

Next, was the photo menu. Not much new here except a camera icon. This isn't use as the Camera hasn't even arrived stateside yet. Now I have to scroll down just to access my Memory Stick photos. Couldn't they have put the Camera icon under the Memory Stick icon?

Music time. I was curious to see the visualizations. They are a welcome addition, but they need more of them. The few that are there are nice and I enjoy how it remembers your visualization preference. I then went to check Video. Nothing new there.

It was time to check out the game menu. The Game Menu is the highlight of the PSP, so I was hoping for something good. I discovered a new Certificate Utility, but then realized it's no use without a PS3. I hit Information on my Memory Stick icon, and noticed it now tells you if it has MagicGate support.

Finally, it was time for the Network Icon. The first thing in the menu is Online Instruction Manuals. Not necessarily that exciting, but a nice feature to have. The next new feature is Remote Play, but that needs a PS3. Finally, was the ability to set up the PSP to auto download RSS feeds at a certain time. This is a nice feature, and it is quite cool. You set it up, and put your PSP to sleep with the Wifi on. At that time, it will turn the PSP on and go through your Network Connections until it finds one that works. After that it downloads the feeds, based on the settings you selected under the RSS Channel Settings. If only they could implement an Alarm Clock or something with this.

That's it? No Playstation Store? How am I supposed to download PS1 games and PSP demos? Looks like I won't be for a little while. Does Sony not realize there are barely any PS3s out there? Way to mess up what was supposed to be an amazing update. What ever happened to the statement that we wouldn't need a PS3 for PS1 games anyways..?

I do have a theory for this, however. By Sony not giving us all the promised features at once in 3.0 this saves themselves. This way if 3.0 gets hacked, they still have features to offer us to convince us to update. Let's see how this turns out, but as of now I am quite disappointed.

http://forums.qj.net/f-psp-firmware-discussion-253/t-30-is-it-worth-the-hype-not-quite-79534.html

I walked in to my local Gamestop today, just to see what titltes are out there.  It seems Gamestop has a nice deal, where if you buy two used games(or dvds) you get a third one free!  This deal is quite good, in fact!  The game that is free will of course be the cheapest one though.  Why don't you use this oppurtunity to pick up some sports games, or some games to hold you off until the next great hit comes out for the PSP?  Anyways, check it out, and save yourself some money!

I am not positive if this offer exists in all Gamestops, but the majority, should be having the same deal going on right now.