New iPod Checksum Cracked, Linux Supported

An anonymous reader writes "After 36 hours of reverse engineering, the method for producing the checksum on new iPods has been discovered." You can also get linux support working if that's what you crave for your shiny new toy.

usable?

[lutz7755]

Does anyone actually use an ipod that runs linux, or is it just a "neat to have" type thing?

Good because linux support is better

[Tweekster]

iTunes doenst even come close to the power of gtkpod

I hate poorly named mp3s, gtkpod can get my entire ipod properly organized in a matter of minutes because of the nifty variety of views.

Re:What's the draw?

[Constantine XVI]

Sansa View.
Launches October, roughly the size/shape of old Nano, 3:4 screen taking most of the face, plays most sane video formats, retains muSD slot, gains SDHC support
8GB for 150, 16GB for 200

Re:Good because linux support is better

[Tweekster]

You have to play with it, everything in the various lists is editable. Which means I can rename my "Techno/Trance" category to "Trance" in one single rename, extremely quickly. I can rename all the "Lincoln Park" to Linkin Park.

iTunes doesnt even come close to that ease of use and power.

itunes honestly isnt that great looking either but atleast gtkpod has features that take advantage of its layout (the multi tab panes and lists)

Re:Interesting news but..

[suv4x4]

Apple likes to keep things a secret until the show so they get the "oh my gosh" factor going.

Not just the "oh my gosh" factor, but as we learned with the last iPod introduction, learning that there's something hot out there makes people buy Apple stock, and short right after the event for some speculative profit (which results in the Apple stock falling).

I guess this the Apple stock falling is what pisses him off most.

Re:What's the draw?

[fastest fascist]

I'm not sure what it in your description of the software that other software like Amarok on Linux, or Mediamonkey on Windows(not the best I'll admit) can't do... Both can build a database of music stored on your computer, both support MTP devices, is there something else you want?

Or maybe you're a Mac user, I don't know if there's anything for OSX that does the trick other than iTunes. If there is, let me know, please. I occasionally have to use a Mac at school and I can't abide iTunes, personally.

Re:What's the draw?

[NiceGeek]

"It's not actually integration with iTunes (it's the most bloated piece of crap I've seen since RealPlayer)"

Only on Windows. It runs very, very nicely in OS X.

Maybe it's for a faster sync

[ishmalius]

A third possibility is that it is for a faster sync with the host. If you maintain hash digests on the ipod and the host, then you can test for equality by just comparing the hashes. If they are identical, then there is no need to sync. You can skip comparing everything else bit-by-bit.

Re:What's the draw?

[rapiddescent]

ex-Rio Karma owners who want Radio, USB mass storage, full support for Linux, gapless, colour screen, Ogg Vorbis - should really look at the Trekstor Vibez [trekstor.de]. It has the same software and sounds excellent - it's like a 2007 Karma.

If you just want to connectup the old karma to linux then look no further than the splendid karma on linux project [sourceforge.net]. It's amazing what some seriously clever people, fuse and some helpful hints from Sigmatel folks can produce. it integrates with Amarok as well!

rd

Re:iPhone

[b0s0z0ku]

Why have use WiFi that consumes battery, and have a manual sync, when instead you could sync automatically with no user intervention during the 2 hour charge cycle?

Because I don't want to keep the dock near a computer all the time. Also, I may want to pull tunes from more than one source -- get music off a friend's box for example without having to carry a cable around all the time.

Not to mention if you could sync OTHER things like contacts and calendar over WiFi or EDGE, that would solve one of the main problems of business usage -- how to sync everything over the air for mobile users. Just set up a VPN and have a protected share containing contact and calendar data. Over the air sync is a big deal in the business world, and why not have the iPhone be sellable to as many people as possible? It's not like the code for air sync would be difficult to write.

-b.

Re:What's the draw?

[mrchaotica]

They don't want you to get your music anywhere but from a very narrow distribution channel... The iPod is a very nice gizmo for people who are ready to sign on to the whole Apple/Record Label "program" and not deviate in any way.

Way to take my quote out of context! What part of "not necessarily the store" did you not understand? Aside from the "free music Tuesday" stuff and a few Pepsi caps, I've never used the store and I don't intend to start!

if I make it recognize my iPod as a hard drive, I lose all the playlist functionality

That's not true. If you enable disk use it has to be unmounted before it's unplugged, but it still functions as an iPod.

It doesn't recognize my ogg files, or my flac files

That's the only complaint in your post that makes sense.

Re:Sansa what?

[penp]

Does anyone have any experience with installing Rockbox [rockbox.org] onto an ipod as to whether or not it would affect sound quality? I wonder if that would help resolve DRM / Itunes issues.