Sony may open up PSP UMD format

So the control freaks at Sony might take a big step and do something smart: allow other manufacturers to use the PlayStation Portable's Universal Media Disc (UMD) in their own devices. Other companies would not be able to play PSP games on their machines—that will be exclusive to the PSP, of course—but obviously Sony thinks they have a shot at making the UMD a popular format for music and videos on portable devices. They'd be opening up the format to potential piracy (since they'd inevitably have less control over the discs' use, as well as their manufacture and distribution), but loosening the reins is really the only way they're going to put the "universal" in "Universal Media Disc," right? If they really want to impress they'd take the next logical step and sell UMD recorders that would let consumers burn their own movies, music, and yes, even games to the discs, but we probably shouldn't get ahead of ourselves.