Hack1.Quit a Game Quickly

Hack 1. Quit a Game Quickly

You're in-between projects, waiting for a response from one of your coworkers, so you pull out your PSP and start up a quick race in Wipeout Pure. Knock-knock. The boss walks in. Here's how to quickly get out of game play, saving both your game and your job.

In designing a portable PlayStation platform, fortunately, Sony did a good job of accounting for the on-the-go nature of PSP game play. The power button on the right bottom corner of your PSP can be pushed up quickly to power down the PSP without harming the game you are currently playing. A quick movement of the power button up and then back down to the locked position should become rather habitual when the phone rings, it's time to switch buses, your favorite TV show comes on, or the boss walks in.

The only thing you need to make sure of is that the PSP is not writing to the Memory Stick Duo Card when you need to quickly power down. Check for a flashing orange light on the bottom-left corner of the device. If there's no light, then you're in the clear to simply power down. That's it. Simple.

Now, to quickly hide the PSP from your boss, I recommend keeping a bottom drawer of your desk open and one of its hanging folders filled with cotton. When the boss walks in, quickly (but calmly) put the PSP into power-save mode, drop it in the drawer (see Figure 1-1), close the drawer, and say, "Hi, boss. Just filing away a report. What can I do for you?"

Remember: practice makes perfect. Try several dry runs, so you'll be ready for the real deal.

Figure 1-1. PlayStation Portable being filed away