To update firmware on a consumer device intelligently, two or more
application images are stored as firmware on the consumer device. If the
primary application image is corrupt, the back-up application image is
executed on the consumer device. The back-up application image can be
updated based on the primary application image. User configuration files
can be preserved during the update of an application image, or they can
be overwritten. This firmware updating scheme can be advantageously
implemented in a personal media broadcasting system.