Changes I'd like to see on the next Playstation Portable

Being a late adopter of the Playstation Portable (PSP), its only recent that I've started enjoying the console and it seems to have the games I am liking a lot (Resistance: Retribution, Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow, Metal Gear Acid 2, etc). I've been a Nintendo DS user from the start and have enjoyed it as well, but lately, it seems that the PSP has the games I really want to, not to mention the stuff coming out for this year.

But having the console for less than 6 months and with news buzzing around that Sony might be releasing details of the PSP successor, I thought of some stuff that could be beneficial to the next generation portable:

• Ditch the UMD format and use the Memory Stick for selling games in retail - this has been made possible with the introduction of legitimate game downloads via Playstation Network (PSN) and can even be backwards compatible to all PSP models with a firmware upgrade. While digital downloads seems to be the trend for most if not all online content providers, its still nice to receive something tangible on whatever you buy (Metal Gear Acid 2 includes a 3D viewer for example). The memory stick is pretty handy as well, just like the Nintendo DS game cartridges. One thing that needs to be added here though, is for UMDs to be transferred to Memory Sticks in a legal manner so that the investment made for UMDs won't go to waste, not to mention, still be able to play games on a possible PSP in the future that won't have a UMD drive.
  
• Place the analog joystick above the directional control pad - I've learned this the hard way after playing Syphon Filter for 2 straight hours while waiting for my car to get fixed at the mechanic. While I enjoyed the game immensely, my thumb hurt like hell all day. It's because the current location of the joystick is too low in my opinion to have a comfortable grip of the console.
  
• Slimmer model to make it more portable - if the UMD drive is removed, we'll have a slimmer PSP. I'm pretty sure of that. Not to mention that the console won't have any more extra moving parts aside from the analog joystick.
  
• Add a real browser (say Opera) - the existing web browser just plain sucks. The Nintendo DS has a web browser provided by Opera that also sucked (it was an old version), but at least their browser was able to render a lot of sites properly. Since the PSP has more horsepower, a real web browser should be added.
  
• Remove the RSS functionality - it's just crap. If they want to have some sort of subscription capability for free content, add it to the PSN, like a slimmed down iTunes. This should work since PSN already has my device profile anyway.

And here are some things that I hope they won't do at all:

• A slider form-factor to accommodate a keyboard *gasp* - there were some (obviously) fan-made mockups of the next PSP look like the mylo. Well come to think of it, if you look at the mylo, with the XMB interface, it looks like a game console.
  
• Touchscreen - please none of this iPhone, or heck even DSi wannabe crap. There's just no use for it for the PSP. Add a keyboard with the slider if you must, but just leave it at that.
  
• Anything else that is useless and will suck up more power - the LCD itself is a huge part of that power drain, but boy, that LCD is just glorious. Just leave it at that.
  

I can say I'm really happy with the PSP in a hardware perspective and hope they won't do radical changes for the next iteration. Let the PSP stay as a game console and nothing more. As for software, last year's game releases was pathetic, but this year seems good and with PSP sales in its home market (Japan) getting more positive, hopefully the platform offerings will get better.

Lessons learned in doing a podcast

Since we started Pinoy Tech Podcast a few weeks ago, I've learned some really basic lessons on organizing and managing a small show that is just starting. Everything is still D.I.Y. at the moment, but its been really fun on my part, mainly because its a new thing for me and seeing the stats gives some sense of accomplishment even if its small. Anyway, 200+ downloads for an episode is 200+ no matter how you change it.

Some of the things I learned are:

1. When you're the one organizing things in the background, you should be aware of the other hosts in the show.
2. Discussion of certain topics could take long, so be sure to fill the gaps quick and move to the next. This is especially true if you have 3+ people in the show where there could be a lot of ideas floating around.
3. Editing should be the last thing on your mind, especially if you want to capture the raw discussion.
4. Don't play around with the mic!
   

On the technical side, of course there are some things I still need to improve upon such as:

1. Getting a good USB mic which has noise cancellation or perhaps the ones on a fancy mic stand. I've been using a simple hands-free set from Polycom which seems to fit in the bill, but I believe in the long term, a proper microphone should be used.
2. A good capture software. I've been using a Skype plug-in for this, but I should go for something like Audio Hijack Pro in the coming episodes.
3. GarageBand has a ton of settings that can be tweaked to improve the show. I have to take some time to learn these things to improve the quality of the show.

Of course these are just a few of the stuff that I learned along the way. There are some more in my notes but I think these are good things to consider whenever I start clicking on that record button.