Fresh on the heels of update 3.80, Sony has released System Update 3.90 for the PSP. While this update does feature expanded support for PlayStation Network titles, the big news is the inclusion of Skype. Skype will be newly lodged under the Network menu. Older PSP owners shouldnt flock to this update, however. The Skype portion is only available/visible/useable on PSP-2000 systems. Yet another reason to keep a vintage PSP steadfastly fixed on the ever-hackable system software version 1.50.

[Note: This tip is being (re)printed for those readers who will be receiving a new shiny PC this season. If youve known about this tip since way back in 2003, dude, then take a pill and move on.]

If youre having trouble getting your Windows Vista flavor PC to connect to your wireless Apple Airport network, then your problem might be an incorrect equivalent network password. While Apple Macs can use the password that is assigned to the Airport router, other computers (including gizmos like Sony PSP) must use the hex-based equivalent network password. These two articles should help you sort out your errant password entries and get you Wi-Fied:

MSBBN: Cannot Connect to Apple Airport Wireless Base Station

Airport Extreme: Getting an Equivalent Network Password

I love the fact that more and more devices are sporting built-in Wi-Fi—the Sony PSP, smartphones, even Kodak’s EasyShare-One digital camera. The lone hitch: Wi-Fi is useless without a hotspot. Sure, thousands of spots are available, but few are free, and coverage is far from ubiquitous. What if you could marry the short-range power of Wi-Fi with the huge coverage areas of high-speed cellular services such as EV-DO to create a portable hotspot?