In our last column, we covered the history behind the PSP homebrew scene. We hope that this has whetted your appetite, because today we will show you how you can enjoy the homebrew phenomenon on your own PSP!

As with any community created technology, PSP homebrew can be overwhelming, especially when you are new to it. Many people become confused and frustrated when searching for information on how to do things such as modding their PSP. We at Download Squad don't think you should have to spend a whole weekend getting to know Google better, so we did the hard work for you. We searched, cussed, and scratched out heads for weeks to deliver you this, the simplest and most painless guide possible, a full solution that will work on ANY PSP and ANY firmware, and even on "bricked" PSPs!

Before we go any further, we need to establish the following: the uncensored version of this game is rated AO in the United States, meaning that you should only follow this guide if you are 18 or older!

Now that we got that out of the way, Man Hunt 2 is a highly immersive game by Rockstar, the creators of of Grand Theft Auto. It was met with a great deal of controversy, and as a result, the ESRB forced the developers to censor the violence in order to receive an M rating. As a result, the murder scenes in Manhunt 2 are very stylized and blurry, making it hard to see what is happening. Some reviewers felt this detracted from the game, even if the brutal sound effects were still intact.

Thankfully, hackers saved the day, and there is now a patch for the North American version of the game. All you need is a modded PSP, some software utilities, and an ISO of the game. If you have a recent version of the M33 custom firmware, simply insert the game disk, press select in the XMB, and switch the USB function to UMD. Plug the PSP in, and copy the iso, it's a simple drag-and-drop.
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Now that you have the ISO, download the patch. Extract the program somewhere, such as your desktop. On Windows, you can simply drag the ISO on top of the program icon, and the patching will happen automatically. On Linux or OSX, you will need to use wine or darwine, respectively. On Ubuntu, just run sudo apt-get install wine. On OSX, well, ask Google. Once you have WINE, just open a terminal, and type something to this effect: "wine /home/ian/Desktop/Manhunt\ article/MH2Hack.exe /home/ian/Desktop/Manhunt\ article/manhunt\ 2.iso". You will need to change the path to where you have the files saved, obviously. This process takes a few minutes, and will prompt you when it finishes. Press enter as instructed, and it's done!

Congratulations, you now have an uncensored copy of Manhunt 2, as the developers intended.

PSP developer extraordinaire Dark Alex is at it again, pushing the boundaries of firmware hacking to whole new places. His latest creation, Time Machine, is perhaps his greatest feat yet. This gem of a hack allows one to run previous firmwares on the PSP by use of the Pandora Battery.

Why is this cool? The biggest reason we can see is this: the 1.50 firmware, which is generally the most popular base for homebrew code, does not run on the Slim PSP. However, DaX has managed to create a hybrid 1.50 firmware with modules from 3.40 that runs just fine with Time Machine! This means that PSP slim owners no longer need to worry about compatibility issues.

Check out Dark Alex's personal website for downloads as always, and let us know how it goes in the comments!

Whether you're looking for a beta invitation code to a hot new service, tips on making the most of your email service, or a Valentine's day present for that special someone in your life, we've got you covered. Here are some of our favorite Download Squad articles from the week that was.

Invites for Digsby and SugarSync

This week we looked at two new services in private beta. Digsby is desktop application that lets you manage multiple email, IM, and social networking accounts. It's sort of like Pidgin plus an email notifier and a desktop client for Facebook and MySpace. And we've got 5,000 invites to give away.

We also have about 500 invites for SugarSync, another new desktop/web service. SugarSync lets users synchronize files between their computer, mobile device, and a web server. Just add contact/calendar sync and we'd be in heaven.

Email user interface advancement - Emailers Anonymous

Google made a lot of waves when it launched an email service a few years ago. The idea of a web mail account that measured storage in gigabytes rather than megabytes was pretty revolutionary at the time. But vast amounts of storage aren't the only thing that set Gmail apart. In this week's edition of Emailers Anonymous we take a look at threaded messaging and how it changes the way we think of email.

The Playstation Portable is a jack of all trades. It plays music, videos, browses the Internet, and plays games. However, for an increasing number of people, this still isn't enough. With its powerful dual-processor configuration and Memory Stick Pro Duo slot, the PSP is a pocket powerhouse, capable of much more than just gaming and multimedia.

This is where the homebrew community comes in. With some modifications to its system software, the PSP can run 3rd party software, just like an ordinary computer. A massive community has sprung up online that is dedicated to these modifications. Read on to find out more.

During CES, we reported that Skype was coming to Sony's PSP. Today, anxious PSP owners can jump for joy as Sony has released the new firmware with Skype loaded and ready to rock.

If you have a Sony PSP Slim or Lite model, load up version 3.90 to get Skype on your portable piece of gaming heaven. Once you have it loaded and signed in, you can easily make free calls to your Skype contacts as well as see who is online form your contact list. Skype IM doesn't work, obviously, due to the lack of a way to enter characters.

Additionally, if you have SkypeOut credits to landlines and mobiles for cheap rates. The current rates for calling US/Western European phones is just under 2 cents a minute.

There are some signs that Skype VoIP software may be coming Sony's PSP. According to Sony's CES PR documentation, Skype is going to be available on the PSP. We tried to contact Skype's PR department for an official word, but they said "No comment at this time". We'll see what happens when CES kicks off this coming week.

For now, we can only rely on the fact that Skype is listed in the PSP's feature list on their site, as seen below.

Just days after Sony announced it was pulling the plug on the Connect music download service, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Sony plans to launch a video download service to compete with iTunes.

Sony may have the goods to pull this off. Apple developed the iTunes music store in order to sell content that would make you want to buy an iPod. The hardware and software are made to work together. Sony already has the hardware (the Playstation3, the Playstation Portable, and Bravia television sets) and the content (Sony Pictures movies and TV shows).

Now imagine media service where you can go online using your computer, PS3, PSP, or even your TV remote control, buy a movie or a complete season of a TV show, and automatically download it to a device for viewing. No $300 AppleTV required.

Of course, in order to succeed, Sony will need to sign distribution deals with other TV and movie producers. But while Apple holds onto its number one position in online music sales with a strong grip, there's not clear leader in video downloads. So whether Sony can take the lead is kind of beside the point right now. We're just happy to see someone else moving into this space.

So you've got a blog and you want gamers to be able to read it easily on their Wii, PSP, or DS? Well, if your blog is built on WordPress, you're in luck! WordPress Ultimate Gamer's Pack is a set of WordPress plugins from David Harper that make your WP blog play nice with game consoles. There's one for the Nintendo Wii, one for the Nintendo DS, and one for the Sony PSP. They aim to eliminate or reduce zooming, scrolling, and changing modes, and they kick in automatically when a gamer logs on--no configuration necessary. The plugins are free, natch, and Harper is even promising an iPhone-optimized plugin within the week!

Another holiday has come and gone, and you've discovered nobody loves you enough to buy you an $800 video game console. But if you've got a Playstation Portable or a Windows Mobile devices (particularly a Dell Axim X50v or X51v), there's good news on the video game front.

Engadget's reporting that hackers have figured out a way to make the Playstation emulator for PSPs more useful. Now you can play pretty much any Playstation ISO on a PSP, and not just the titles you can download from Sony's online store.

In other news, FPSCE, a Playstation emulator for Windows Mobile devices has been updated to include support for Windows Mobile 5.0. The latest version is also optimized to take advantage of the Intel 2700g graphics accelerator in Dell Axim X50v and X51v models.

Videojug is a service that lets users share information. However, it's sharing information in an extremely intuitive way: Sharing through the use of videos. It's a really neat concept that I'm sure will take off pretty nicely given its sometimes funny approaches.

Take for an example, a video recently posted on how to make naan bread. The user has put together a nice little directional video on how to actually make it. It's a visual help guide, helping get points across easier, and with a little more explaining and nice visuals. Videos can be uploaded, tagged and searched which makes it extremely easy to find what you need help on. Each video also has a feedback form, text version, and iPod and PSP formats. Current sections on Videojug include Food, Drinks, DIY, Home, Beauty, Health, and Leisure. Each with a nice drop down list of sub topics.

There are some really interesting videos here too. Besides making nann, you can watch videos on applying bronzer, How to remove a foreign object from the ear, and How to unblock a toilet.

[Via Solution Watch]

We've got It Plays Doom, are we going to have It Runs Mac OS next? Intrepid hackers are busy putting older versions of Apple's operating system on some more modern portable devices, including the Nintendo DS (or an emulator, at least) and Sony PSP, and of course posted videos of them showing off their feats on Google Video and YouTube. Take a look below the break to see them in action.

[Via Waxy.org]

I've seen a couple of approaches to the whole "move your music around" thing, and obviously there's still no perfect method. If you buy Sony's ecosystem, it works OK. Apple's is good, but you are limited in devices. Microsoft seems to get better all the time with Media Center and a slew of devices... But Skatter Tech has a quick how-to on streaming your iTunes music to your PSP. Essentially it gets the PSP to subscribe to a live feed of your songs. The magic ingredient? iTunes-PSP-Server.exe appears to do the trick. Enjoy until the next firmware "upgrade" folks.

If you use Pinnacle Systems' line of Studio software, there's an update (10.5) that adds the ability to export your content to PSP and iPod. Even better though, is the coming export capabilities in their PCTV line. You'll be able to record TV shows, and fairly easily move them to portable devices. In addition, they are announcing new Mobile Media products, designed specifically to move portable content around.

Unfortunately, all this stuff is still through Pinnacle Systems. While AVID, the parent company of Pinnacle, creates world-class products for film and video professionals (they have a whole room of Emmy's and Oscar's to prove it), Pinnacle Systems has disappointed me time and again. In fact, I have yet to purchase a product from Pinnacle that didn't just suck. The hardware is good, but their drivers are infamous. They are also somewhat notorious for making a product, then not standing behind that later. Case in point: the video breakout box we purchased back in 2001 no longer works in Windows. XP broke it, and Pinnacle has said it will NOT be updated. Meanwhile, we (the school I work for) bought a Dazzle device. Again, the software went buggy. So I call Pinnacle for support. Your first call is free, so I made it count, walking through the process of reinstalling, updating, etc. with the tech on the phone. He wouldn't sit until I'd tested it, so I had to hang up before we knew the issue was resolved. Unfortunately, he marked the issue as resolved, so it'll cost our school money to even call them again. We've since quit using Pinnacle at our location. But if you're using it successfully, I guess this export thing is good news.