I didn't really catch it how they were able to install homebrews 6 months before us?

Could someone explain how..?

I still don't know, perhaps data transfer ( when were the lobbys)

They most likely just did what the PSJB exploit did, before PSJB themselves found it, then just coded there own homebrew FTP server/file managers e.g. in C++(really easy) or something.. There have been tools to package stuff into .pkg for use with PS3's for ages, it's just as of recent people w/o the PSJB stuff have been able to use it due to official signing tools.

The PSJB exploit could be written and just ran on an iPod or calculators that could run it, you didn't need those dongles...

What was the exploit? Was it an overflow method?