PS3 firmware 2.0 released
We have a poke around.
Sony has released PlayStation 3 version 2.0 firmware into the wild, if by wild you mean actual PlayStation 3s. You can watch a video of it in action over on Eurogamer TV.
As promised, it doesn't add the ability to access the CrossMediaBar (XMB) in games, but it does allow for custom themes and turning on your PS3 using the PSP.
The latter is an extension of the console's "Remote Play" functionality, which already allows you to watch videos and stuff using the PSP when you're lying in bed (and only there if your wireless signal's as rubbish as mine).
Firmware 2.0 also introduces playlists for the Music and Photo sections, the ability to group content under Video and Game, and a new "PlayStation Network" category on the XMB, which now houses the PlayStation Store icon and settings button.
Finally, there's a "Notification Board" - a news ticker bubble in the top-right that alerts you to updates on PlayStation.com, which can then be opened in the web-browser by going to Network, then Information Board, hitting X, expanding a particular story bubble with X, and hitting X again.
Like previous firmwares, 2.0 is compulsory and will need to be downloaded either via the PlayStation 3's System Update menu or by downloading it to some sort of media and then firing it up when you get home.
Which we'd recommend, because getting up early to play a bit of PES 2008 against a friend and then having to sit there for 20 minutes downloading crud you don't care about is a bit annoying.