all about ipod

IpodLinux Installation From Windows

2007-05-20T14:26:00.000-07:00

Installing Linux onto your iPod is a non-destructive process and will leave all your existing configuration and music intact. The included bootloader will also allow you to choose either the Apple or the Linux software when you reboot (reset) your iPod.

Before installing iPodLinux, make sure your iPod is supported! If you try to install Linux on any of the unsupported iPods, there's a much higher chance of error or unworkability; tread carefully, and don't come crying to us when you think your iPod is broken. (It's not.)

Computer Connection

In order to install Linux on your iPod you first need to make sure your system is configured to connect to your iPod. If you are using Mac OS X, it is most likely already configured. If you are using Windows, make sure iTunes lets your iPod show up as a disk drive in My Computer.

Disk Mode

Connect the iPod to your computer and make sure it shows Do not disconnect on the iPod's screen. This is called Disk mode. The iPod should enter Disk mode automatically once connected. If it does not, for 1-3G iPods you can force it to enter disk mode by rebooting your iPod (hold down menu and play/pause for a few seconds (until the screen blanks out), and then quickly hold down rewind and fast forward). For later generation iPods, you can enter disk mode by holding down menu and select for about 5 seconds and then switch quickly to select and play/pause
once the screen display changes.

Components

iPodLinux consists of several components, some of which are currently being migrated from their original versions to second generation versions. Here is a overview of the components involved:

The Boot Loader. There is the original version which silently boots either the Apple firmware or Linux, choosing the other by pressing the Rewind key at startup. There is also a new version 2 which offers a menu with many more options, including support for Rockbox loading.
The Kernel. There is mainly one version that hasn't been changed in a while, which is stored in CVS and which you can download as a prebuilt file. There is, however, a side project on an improved kernel, which you may alternatively install once you have had success with the default kernel.
The Userland is a set of files and folders providing the basic functionality to using Linux on the iPod. It contains a shell, the /etc/rc startup file, among others. The default shell may be sash, a very dumb shell. You might want to install the Minix shell as a replacement.
Podzilla is the main user application for iPodLinux, being similar to what you use on a Apple-driven iPod: You get a graphical menu from which you can launch tools, change settings, browse music etc. There exists the original monolithic podzilla, which only supports older iPod models, and the new modular podzilla 2, which supports all current iPod models and allows adding new modules easily.

Partitioning

Linux needs a file system that supports Unix-style permissions.

WinPods use the FAT32 format, which is not adequate for Linux. Therefore, you need to add another partition, e.g. ext2, to install Linux on. This may require that you reformat your iPod, losing all your stored data on it. Make sure you have a backup of your iPod files before installing iPodLinux on it. The easiest way to add a ext2 partition to your WinPod is to use Installer 2, which takes care of the partitioning for you.

MacPods, on the other hand, use the HFS+ format, which Linux can be run from. Hence, you can simply store the Linux files on a MacPod from a Mac OS computer by copying them using the Finder or the cp in a command shell. You may have to use chmod +x on select files (/etc/rc and /sbin/* after the copying to make them executable.

Recommended Installation Procedures

There are several methods for installing iPodLinux. Here is a brief list of your options:

Using the new Installer 2 is probably the easiest solution to get a quick start. It is currently only available for Windows and Linux, not Mac OS X, though. Also note that it's still in development, and may not fully work in all corners yet. It is a good idea to use a "fresh" iPod, meaning that if you have already done any kind of modification to your iPod and the installer isn't working for you, you should go here: http://www.apple.com/ipod/download/ and get the restore/upgrade software and use it to return your iPod to a workable state.

Mac OS X users should try the new Mac Installer. That one is still under development as well, though.
If you had success with the basic installation, you can switch to using the latest Loader 2 manual installation instructions. with the Installer. You can also do it by hand with the

Note: Before installation, make sure that the path to your installer contains ONLY English letters. Otherwise, for instance, if you have Russian letters, installation will end with an error

Starting iPodLinux (and Apple's)

Eject (or unmount) your iPod from your PC, then reboot the iPod using the Key Combinations if it doesn't reboot by itself after the installation already.

Important: When you had connected your iPod to your PC, do not reboot the iPod while it says do not disconnect, because that might have the bad effect that the modifications you made to the iPod get partially lost. Make sure you eject the iPod so that it says ready to disconnect before you reboot it!

When the iPod restarts, it'll show first the usual picture of an apple, then it should either:

Show a picture of the original happy Mac, and after another few seconds should be back in the normal Apple software.
Show a picture of a penguin, after which it will boot into Linux.
Show a menu with choices such as Apple OS and iPodLinux.

In the first two cases, you have the original loader installed - hold down the << (rewind) key after a reboot and before either the Mac or the penguin picture appears to have the alternative software loaded.

In the latter case, you have Loader 2 installed. Use the << and >> keys to select an item from the menu and press the center button to select it.

If you chose to boot into Linux, podzilla should start. It may show a few messages which you have to dismiss with the center button, and then you have a menu interface similar to that of the original Apple software.

Now you are ready to explore iPodLinux. See the Documentation page for further pointers.

Note that if you have a WinPod, you'll not be able to see the newly installed Linux files from your Windows PC. See Accessing ext2 to learn how to access those linux files and folders.

If you want to copy new items to the iPod, you'll have to get it into disk mode again, just like before. iPodLinux does not offer its own disk mode - you have to reboot it into Apple's software for that.

What if something goes wrong?

Be sure to have a backup of your music before installing iPodLinux (while Installer 2 offers to make a backup for you, that does not include your files on the iPod but only Apple's iPod firmware)! If anything goes wrong, you can always use Apple's handy Firmware Restore Utility (http://www.apple.com/ipod/download/) to reinstall Apple's iPod operating system (called firmware). This will remove iPodLinux and make your iPod work the same way it did when you bought it. If you follow the directions exactly, the worst case scenario is to lose your music and settings.

If you attempt to install iPodLinux on an unsupported iPod it is possible that the Apple restore utility will not be able to restore your iPod. In this case follow the instructions on the troubleshooting page.

First Ipod Virus

2007-05-20T14:24:00.000-07:00

So you thought your iPod was safe from malware? Well actually it is mostly, if you have installed Linux on your iPod you now have a device that is capable if infection. Last week a new virus was released that targets ipodlinux.

The virus is a proof of concept file infector that will infect iPods that are running ipodlinux only, your safe if you run a default Apple firmware ipod. Unlike malware for your PC and Mobile this new virus is not set to be popular, there are limited ways you can infect your iPod with this and it targets the geek that installs ipodlinux on their iPod.

It is however a typical proof of concept, it seems that it is a little temperamental and will not function all the time, but as the blog of the author states he only had his iPod to test it out on. Plus with ipodlinux being extremely experimental especially on 5th generation iPods you can understand why this proof of concept is less than stable.

This proof of concept virus it seems was written by someone called FreeOn who is part of a group called DoomRiderz. We suspect the number of copies of this iPod virus out there are limited to those sent to the Anti Virus companies, but as the author says on his blog he plans to release the code and binary after the DoomRiderz ‘zine’ release. In the mean time we have the picture from the author showing the virus running.

Altec Lansing inMotion iMV712 Portable Audio System

2007-05-20T11:23:00.000-07:00

Pros: An all-in-one speaker and video screen accessory for the iPod, with a remote control, top-loading Universal iPod Dock, and more audio horsepower than current add-on display rivals.

Cons: Overpriced relative to competing iPod-specific options and larger, full-fledged LCD TVs; lacks TV tuner and DVD player functionality of closest iPod-specific competitor. inMotion branding aside, it’s not portable in any sense of the word; larger than Altec’s biggest prior iPod speaker system and can’t run off of batteries. Despite large size of the enclosure, 8.5” screen is not as impressive as the ones found in the iPod’s top, truly portable video display add-ons; images are softer and too color-saturated, with limited user ability to adjust settings. Despite nano-sized Dock Adapter, offers no benefit over less expensive speakers.

iPod

2007-05-20T10:56:00.000-07:00

iPod is a brand of portable media players designed and marketed by Apple and launched in October 2001. Devices in the iPod range are primarily digital audio players, designed around a central click wheel — with exception to the iPod Shuffle, which uses buttons because of its size. As of October 2005, the line-up consists of the video-capable fifth generation iPod, the smaller iPod nano, and the display-less iPod shuffle. The full-sized model stores media on an internal hard drive, while the smaller iPod nano and iPod shuffle use flash memory. Like many digital music players, iPods can also serve as external data storage devices. In January 2007, Apple announced the iPhone, a device that combined the features of the video-capable iPod with mobile phone and mobile Internet capabilities.

Apple's iTunes software is used to transfer music to the devices. As a free jukebox application, iTunes stores an entire music library on the user's computer and can play, burn, and rip music from a CD. It can also transfer photos, videos, games, and calendars to the models that support them.

Apple focused its development on the iPod's unique user interface and its ease of use, rather than on technical capability. As of October 2004, the iPod is the world's best-selling range of digital audio players and its worldwide mainstream adoption made it one of the most popular consumer brands. Some of Apple's design choices and proprietary actions have, however, led to criticism and legal battles.

On Monday, April 9, 2007, Apple announced that over 100 million iPods had been sold worldwide.^[1] This makes the iPod the best-selling music player in history.

History and design

iPod came from Apple's digital hub strategy,^[2] when the company began creating software for the growing market of digital devices being purchased by consumers. Digital cameras, camcorders and organizers had well-established mainstream markets, but the company found existing digital music players "big and clunky or small and useless" with user interfaces that were "unbelievably awful",^[2] so Apple decided to develop its own. Apple's hardware engineering chief, Jon Rubinstein, assembled a team of engineers to design it, including Tony Fadell, hardware engineer Michael Dhuey, and design engineer Jonathan Ive, with Stan Ng as the marketing manager. The product was developed in less than a year and unveiled on 23 October 2001. CEO Steve Jobs announced it as a Mac-compatible product with a 5 GB hard drive that put "1000 songs in your pocket."

Uncharacteristically, Apple did not develop iPod's software entirely in-house. Apple instead used PortalPlayer's reference platform which was based on 2 ARM cores. The platform had rudimentary software running on a commercial microkernel embedded operating system. PortalPlayer had previously been working on an IBM-branded MP3 player with Bluetooth headphones.^[3] Apple contracted another company, Pixo, to help design and implement the user interface, under the direct supervision of Steve Jobs.^[2] Once established, Apple continued to refine the software's look and feel. Starting with the iPod mini, the Chicago font was replaced with Espy Sans. Later iPods switched fonts again to Podium Sans — a font similar to Apple's corporate font Myriad. iPods with color displays then adopted some Mac OS X themes like Aqua progress bars, and brushed metal in the lock interface.

The name iPod was proposed by Vinnie Chieco, a freelance copywriter, who (with others) was called by Apple to figure out how to introduce the new player to the public. After Chieco saw a prototype, he thought of the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey and the phrase "Open the pod bay door, Hal!", which refers to the white EVA Pods of the Discovery One spaceship. Apple had previously registered the name "iPod" for Internet kiosks, but never put it to use.^[2]

Software

iPod can play MP3, AAC/M4A, Protected AAC, AIFF, WAV, Audible audiobook, and Apple Lossless audio file formats. iPod photo introduced the ability to display JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, and PNG image file formats. Fifth generation iPods can additionally play MPEG-4 (H.264/MPEG-4 AVC) and QuickTime video formats, with restrictions on video dimensions, encoding techniques and data-rates. Unlike most other media players, Apple does not support Microsoft's WMA audio format — but a converter for non-Digital Rights Management (DRM) WMA files is provided with the Windows version of iTunes. MIDI files also cannot be played, but can be converted to audio files using the "Advanced" menu in iTunes. Alternative open-source audio formats such as Ogg Vorbis and FLAC are not supported. Each time iPod connects to its host computer, iTunes will synchronize entire music libraries or music playlists and the user can choose for automatic or manual synchronization. Song ratings can be set on iPod and synchronized later to the iTunes library, however only one host computer is allowed.

User interface

iPods with color displays use anti-aliased graphics and text, with sliding animations. These iPods have five buttons and the later generations have the buttons integrated into the click wheel — an innovation which gives an uncluttered, minimalist interface. The buttons are:

Menu: to traverse backwards through the menus, and toggle the backlight on older iPods
Center: to select a menu item
Play / Pause: this doubles as an off switch when held
Skip Forward / Fast Forward
Skip Backwards / Fast Reverse

Other operations such as scrolling through menu items and controlling the volume are performed by using the click wheel in a rotational manner, while an additional Hold switch helps prevent accidental button presses. iPod shuffle does not have a click wheel and instead has five buttons positioned differently to the larger models: It has a Play / Pause button in the center, surrounded by four buttons: Volume Up / Down and Skip Forward / Backwards. The later models automatically pause playback when the headphones are unplugged from the headphone jack, but playback does not resume upon re-insertion. An iPod that has crashed or frozen can be reset by switching Hold on then off, then pressing Menu and Center (Menu and Play on the third generation iPod) for 6 seconds.^[4]

Operating system and firmware

iPod's operating system is stored on its dedicated storage medium. An additional NOR flash ROM chip (either 1 MB or 512 KB) contains a bootloader program that tells the device to load its OS from the storage medium. Each iPod also has 32 MB of RAM, although the 60 and 80 GB fifth generation have 64 MB. A portion of the RAM is used to hold the iPod OS loaded from firmware, but the majority of it serves to cache songs from the storage medium. For example, iPod could spin its hard disk up once and copy approximately 30 MB of upcoming songs into RAM, thus save power by not requiring the drive to spin up for each song. Rockbox and iPodLinux offer open-source alternatives to the standard firmware and operating system, respectively.

iTunes Store

Main articles: iTunes and iTunes Store

The iTunes Store is an online media store run by Apple and accessed via iTunes. It was introduced on 29 April 2003 and it sells individual songs, with typical prices being US$0.99, AU$1.69 (inc. GST), NZ$1.79 (inc. GST), EU€0.99, or GB£0.79 per song. iPods are the only portable music players that can play the purchased music. The store became the market leader soon after its launch^[5] and Apple announced the sale of videos through the store on 12 October 2005. Full-length movies became available on 12 September 2006.^[6]

Purchased audio files use the AAC format with added encryption. The encryption is based on the FairPlay DRM system. Up to five authorized computers and an unlimited number of iPods can play the files. Burning the files onto an audio CD, then re-compressing to a different lossy format can create music files without the DRM, although this results in reduced quality. The DRM can also be removed using third-party software. In March, 2007, Steve Jobs announced in colaboration with EMI that the iTunes Store would begin to sell DRM-free song begining in June 2007 at US$ 1.29.

iPods cannot play music files from competing music stores that use rival-DRM technologies like Microsoft's protected WMA or RealNetworks' Helix DRM. Example stores include Napster and MSN Music. RealNetworks claims that Apple is creating problems for itself,^[7] by using FairPlay to lock users into using the iTunes Store. Steve Jobs stated that Apple makes little profit from song sales, although Apple uses the store to promote iPod sales.^[8] iPods can however play music files from online stores that do not use DRM, such as eMusic or Amie Street.

Additional features

In March 2002, Apple added limited PDA-like functionality: Text files can be displayed, while contacts and schedules can be viewed and synchronized with the host computer.^[9] Some built-in games are available, including Brick (a clone of Breakout), Parachute, Solitaire, and Music Quiz. A firmware update released in September 2006 brought some extra features to fifth generation iPods including adjustable screen brightness, gapless playback, and downloadable games (available for purchase from the iTunes Store).

File storage

All iPods can function as mass storage devices to store data files; this function is controlled by the "Enable Disk Use" option in iTunes. If the iPod is formatted on a Mac OS X computer it uses the HFS+ file system format, which allows it to serve as a boot disk for a Mac computer.^{[citation needed]} If it is formatted on Windows, the FAT32 format is used. With the advent of the Windows-compatible iPod, iPod's default file system switched from HFS+ to FAT32, although it can be reformatted to either filesystem (excluding the iPod shuffle which is strictly FAT32). Generally, if a new iPod (excluding the iPod shuffle) is initially plugged into a computer running Windows, it will be formatted with FAT32, and if initially plugged into a Mac running Mac OS X it will be formatted with HFS+.

Unlike most other MP3 players (including PlaysForSure devices), simply copying files to the drive with a file management application will not allow iPod to properly access them. The user must use software that has been specifically designed to transfer media files to iPods, so that the files are playable and viewable. Aside from iTunes, several alternative third-party applications are available on a number of different platforms.

iTunes cannot transfer songs or videos from iPod to computer,^{[citation needed]} although iTunes 7 allows it for music purchased through the iTunes Music Store. Media files are stored on the iPod in a hidden folder, together with a proprietary database file. The hidden content can be accessed on the host operating system however, by enabling hidden files to be shown.^{[citation needed]} The audio can then be recovered manually by dragging the files or folders onto the iTunes Library or by using third-party software.