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Kind of like this ?

Im not sure about GPL but what i do know is that the GP2X i brought is the best homebrew handheld out of all of them, the releases are fantastic for fans of emulators and ported games alike. Every day i check out Emuholic and GP2X News for new software for my beloved console.

Talking of ports theres been a number of great emulators and homebrew released, in the last few days you have had a Vectrex Emulator, an Atari 2600 Emulator, a Spectrum Emulator and even a Homebrew Starwars gane released. Although i do wish for Red Alert 1/2 for the DS :)

Other good places to look for PSP homebrew/emulators:

http://emuholic.emuboards.com/
http://psp-news.dcemu.co.uk/
http://www.pspupdates.com/

A lot of the psp homebrew developers hang out at:
http://forums.ps2dev.org/index.php?c=5

and for some self promotion, check out pspChess:
http://forums.ps2dev.org/viewtopic.php?t=1760

Looked at the GP32? I don't know how large it is in the world, but it has/had decent hardware and a homebrew scene. Console done right.
GP32 xtreme got news.
GBAX sells it.
Emuholic got emus.
GP32 devrs got the tools.

Reading the other thinks in the comments here (particularly this leading to this) shows that the only thing remotely obscure about the PSP is the form factor. Everything else is the path-of-least resistance; the standard solution was used wherever possible across all aspects of its design.

UMD uses a 660nm laser diode.
DVD uses a 660nm laser diode.

UMD is dual-layer.
DVD is dual-layer.

UMD uses AES for encryption.
AES is the well documented, academically recommended, military-standard algorithm for encryption of data streams -- it is The Right Algorithm(tm) to use.

Now, as this story confirms, UMDs use an iso9660 based filesystem. CDs and DVDs use an iso9660 based filesystem.

The only efforts Sony made to diverge from DVDs were those needed to (a) adapt the disc design to something more suitable for portable gaming, and (b) make the format a proprietary standard over which Sony would have independent legal and technical control.

It's a legal protection as much as it is technical. "Blowing it open" is of limited practical use, unless UMD writers are available; Sony can sue the pants off of anyone who ever tries to make a UMD writer before Sony decides it's time to have them on the market.

According to this:

Elf to PBP convertor v0.3 - homebrew now possible!
Internal Reality have released Elf to PBP convertor which is a program that allows you to convert a ELF file compiled for the PSP and convert it into a PBP file which is runnable on a PSP via the memory stick. This means that homebrew is now possible but there is one limitation to this which is you will need a Japanese v1.00 firmware to run the converted file, a v1.50 Japanese PSP or US PSP (any version) will not work.

If you are a developer and are lucky enough to have a v1.00 Japanese PSP then visit the homepage at http://www.internalreality.com/ for more information. You can discuss this news on the forum post here started by gbafan.
http://emuholic.emuboards.com/modules.php?name=New s&file=article&sid=486&tbid=6

UMD (Universal Media Disc) is a new, proprietary, high-capacity optical medium enabling game software, full-motion video and other forms of digital entertainment content such as movies and music, to be stored. The newly developed UMD is the next-generation compact storage media and at only 60mm in diameter, can store up to 1.8GB of digital data, making it perfect for a portable entertainment player like the PSP system. UMD stores a broad range of digital entertainment content including games, music, movies, and more.

Actually, there are two of them:
http://foon.pocketheaven.com/
http://www.emuboards.com/invision/index.php?showfo rum=18

Your point is well spoken; I may have been rash calling the GPL selfish. I see how the GPL helps an author by discouraging the actions you've illustrated. Unfortunately, although he only intends to protect his work from being exploited, using the GPL also discourages everyone ELSE interested in his work from benefitting from it, if they aren't interested in the GPL.

For example - Joe Shmo wants to use a slick piece of code that you've GPL'd. For whatever reason, he can't, or doesn't want to GPL his own code. Even if he isn't in competition with your own project and means no ill will, he has no choice but to pass up whatever he could have gained from your offering. Net loss to everyone.

Flubba, now the co-author of PocketNES, has said he was interested in working on it BECAUSE it was left wide open. He's made many improvements to it, and used the experience to go on making two other superb emulators (PCEAdvance and Goomba). Arguably none of this would have happened if a more closed license was used. Just a lame anecdote maybe, but it makes my point. Evildoers aren't the only ones being pushed away with a protective GPL scheme.

Now this MiniLZO issue looms over PocketNES. The MiniLZO library fits my needs perfectly, but beacuse I'm not interested in the GPL, I'm not allowed to use it, even though PocketNES is in absolutely no way a threat to MiniLZO.

What am I trying to say? I guess it's that while the GPL may protect an author, it does so at detriment to anyone who isn't a GPL fanboy. Your source is only accesible to those who like the GPL, or are willing to submit to the (whether real or percieved) arm-twisting it does. I'm having a hard time coming up with examples where a lesser (for ex., non-commercial) license can't do just as well as the GPL, while at the same time making your work more accesible to everyone.

Oops, that doesn't work... try this link.

This is already causing quite a stir on one of the more prominant Zodiac message boards.

A few relevant issues: Since the recent DMCA exemptions created by the Library of Congress, Nintendo's claim that "You're not allowed to play roms you own," is only valid for the GBA, since the Gameboy and Gameboy Color are both legally considered obsolete.

At any rate, the patent only refers to emulators running on "limited capability devices" (Cell Phones, PDAs, and embedded entertainment centers), not to emulators running on desktop PCs. Further, it only covers the Gameboy family of systems: NES, SNES, Virtual Boy, N64, Game Cube and DS are not protected at all.

As for prior art, the patent was applied for in 2000, but wasn't granted until Jan. 6 2004, but the patent acknowledges prior art in its own phrasing:

"A number of GAME BOY.RTM. emulators have been written for a variety of different platforms ranging from personal digital assistants to personal computers. However, further improvements are possible and desirable."

Even more interesting is its mention of Aaron Giles' MAME patent.

One thing that really makes me scratch my head: I've known of people getting patents in a matter of months. Was this one constantly rejected over the course of those 4 years or something?