Hacking the iPod Firmware 273
skreuzer writes "Earlier in the week, someone figured out how to get all the fonts and graphics off the iPod's firmware. Today, Engadget has an article that details on how to mod your own iPod's firmware and display just about any graphic for icons such as power, battery, status, etc."
Nothing to see here, please move along... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Nothing to see here, please move along... (Score:2)
Re:Nothing to see here, please move along... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Nothing to see here, please move along... (Score:2)
I disagree, in this case. For what this application is doing to the iPod, you should be able to get the same access to the firmware regardless of what OS you are using.
Re:Nothing to see here, please move along... (Score:2)
Re:Nothing to see here, please move along... (Score:2, Insightful)
But then... (Score:2)
...the iPod would be dead! This is all a plot to bring down the iPod High Council!
Re:But then... (Score:2)
Re:But then... (Score:2)
$40 and you should be good as new. If you look around some more, you could even find some larger capacity batteries for it.
And check around for FAQs on proper ipod charge usage (you should have it charging whenever you possibly can).
Re:Nothing to see here, please move along... (Score:2, Informative)
That way, you can always reboot any NetBSD machine into linux and access your iPod there. When your done, fall back to NetBSD.
adding in OGG? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:adding in OGG? (Score:2, Insightful)
When I came to choose a digital music player the choice for me was obviously an iRiver. Since I have an extensive collection of Ogg files and I generally rip CDs in Ogg format, an Ogg player was the best choice.
I'm sure I'm not alone in my decision and my situation, so giving the iPod Ogg support would have meant me buying that instead of the iRiver.
Having said that, the HP-120 is great and I highly recommend it to anyone with an extensive O
Re:adding in OGG? (Score:2)
The reason I checked is I was going to say that it was probably tagged as funny because squeezing another protocol into an existing limited space is probably next to impossible due to space constraints.
And if it isn't, saying it isn't like I just did will piss off someone enough that they will go do it just to prove me wrong.
Re:adding in OGG? (Score:2, Informative)
Re:adding in OGG? (Score:2, Informative)
Re:adding in OGG? (Score:2)
Re:adding in OGG? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:adding in OGG? (Score:3, Insightful)
Sure, it'd be nice, but it's as likely as a snowball in a fusion reactor.
Re:adding in OGG? (Score:2, Informative)
Quicktime OGG component [sourceforge.net]
It's actually been out for quite a while... the only problem is that the OGG support doesn't automagically carry over to the iPod.
Re:adding in OGG? (Score:2)
Re:adding in OGG? (Score:2)
1) The audio decoding chip doesn't support Ogg
2) iTunes doesn't support Ogg
3) The iPod wouldn't know how to parse tags in an Ogg file
I think the chances are pretty slim (outside of Apple supporting it, which is also slim). Number one is obviously the hardest nut to crack (it does support it or it doesn't), but the other two would also be difficult outside of Apple.
Re:adding in OGG? (Score:3, Insightful)
Yes, it is superior quality to mp3 at the same filesize.
Why not just rip your CDs you bought in ACC format?
Please tell me where I can find an ACC ripper. BTW I use Linux on all my machines.
Re:adding in OGG? (Score:3, Interesting)
As long as it's technically possible, every player should support every format. AIFF, WAV, AU, MP2, MP3, OGG, MOD, S3M, XM, IT, AAC (M4A, M4P), WMA... these should all be supported. Heck, iTunes (back when it was still SoundJam) supported 30+ formats and had a
integer OGG (Score:2)
The first thing I thought when I read the question, when will some one hack it to play Ogg?, was "as soon as the iPod gets a floating point processor." I didn't even consider someone might have made an integer OGG player.
Re:adding in OGG? (Score:2)
You forget to consider the cost of licensing and support. Every customer has to pay for each non-free encoder, whether they've even heard of the format or not.
There's just no excuse not to support everything, unless you're after a slice of the vendor lock-in pie.
Re:adding in OGG? (Score:2)
Re:adding in OGG? (Score:3, Interesting)
There's no question in my mind that Ogg sounds better than the Fraunhofer AAC encoder. That encoder sounds awful whenever there's near-continuous cymbal, with all sorts
Re:adding in OGG? (Score:2)
As far participating in the iTMS is concerned, this would easily triple the cost for the record labels or more. Aside from the extra encoding and listening time, you'll have to pay for the expertise to judge which encoding is better, because it's no longer something a cheap intern can do.
How likely do you think that would be,
Re:adding in OGG? (Score:3, Interesting)
I know MP3 is a patent encumbered format, the plain fact is that there is no realistic way of getting around it for consumer hardware, if it doesn't play MP3, it doesn't sell, so they will for the forseeable future, feature MP3.
I'm not sure how much more efficient OGG is, but unless it is 50% or more efficient for the same sound quality than MP3, I think that efficiency is kind of moot as storage capacity
Re:adding in OGG? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:adding in OGG? (Score:2)
I'm not sure what the benefit of using FP would be, because the input data is fixed-point, and the output data is fixed-point, converting to and from floating point anywhere in between would seem to be poor ways to do it.
Re:adding in OGG? (Score:2)
Microsoft (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Microsoft (Score:2)
Slashdot your iPod! (Score:2)
Then the 9th level of circular [slashdot.org] hell will be complete!
I wish... (Score:4, Funny)
Lots of customers coming
Its only changing some icons & graphics. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Its only changing some icons & graphics. (Score:2)
Re:Its only changing some icons & graphics. (Score:2)
Re:Its only changing some icons & graphics. (Score:4, Informative)
The firmware is in the first partition of the disk drive, so updating the firmware (from Linux) is just:
dd if=new-ipod-firmware of=/dev/sda1
(where sda1 is replaced with the actual device on your system). The iPod expands the firmware and then reboots to use it.
The only tricky part is that Apple doesn't distribute the firmware file outside of their updater application, so you have to download the Windows updater and then use a resource hacking tool to extract it.
Re:Its only changing some icons & graphics. (Score:2)
Re:Its only changing some icons & graphics. (Score:5, Informative)
read on (Score:5, Interesting)
You can still use your iPod firmware pretty easily. I have Linux installed on my 3G iPod, and it's kinda like a dual-boot.
If you think about it, it's a lot easier to program in C, using documented libs (podzilla) for the iPod, rather than hacking the Apple firmware and trying to add functionality, which will probably break your firmware anyhow.
Comment removed (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Philosophical Ramifications (Score:2)
Re:Philosophical Ramifications (Score:2)
Mod up: +1 Sad But True (Score:2)
For
Re:Mod up: +1 Sad But True (Score:2)
The screen cover on it broke, but I have replaced it with a trimmed-down WriteRight cover for my PalmPilot, which works just as well.
if push comes to shove, it's fairly easy to polish an iPod back to new with an incredibly fine polishing material (I use toothpaste) and a soft cloth.
Re:Mod up: +1 Sad But True (Score:2)
Or what?
Re:Philosophical Ramifications (Score:2, Insightful)
- H.G. Wells
Re:Philosophical Ramifications (Score:3, Informative)
Like mo
Skinning hardware - almost (Score:2)
Interesting idea, though - what if Apple sold an iPod with electronic paper [mit.edu] in the case? You really could skin that hardware, and it would sell the same way that custom cases and faceplates for cellphones do today.
Re:Philosophical Ramifications (Score:2)
Is this a result of the plastic surgery generation? Or is it just human nature?
Why should someone have to live with someone elses idea of how something should look? Should the world have the same sameness everywhere? Boring!
Might as well ask, "Why do people decorate their houses?" Or "Why do they change the desktop pic on their computers?"
Or even better: "Why do children
Why do we change things? (Score:2)
Just human nature (Score:4, Insightful)
Artists have been creating their own designs forever. Couple hundred years ago here, speaking Latin proved you were a "learned scholar". 100 years ago the executives built housing on top of the hill, workers down the hillside. 60 years ago clothing was used to signalize if you were against the Nazis. 30 years you'd be wearing hippie clothes and join protests. And today you mod your iPod to show how "cool" you are.
The "plastic surgery" generation is nothing more than human nature with better tools for the job. People were just as willing to endure for the sake of beautey before as they are now.
Kjella
Re:Philosophical Ramifications (Score:2)
Seems that way 'cuz you read
But since you brought it up - If I own the hardware, it's mine to tinker with. If I bought it, I can break it.
Re:Philosophical Ramifications (Score:2)
Yes (Score:2)
Get back in step and start trolling and being reactionary like everyone else.
Cool (Score:2)
Re:Cool (Score:2)
Why not, this is a huge requirement that most people expect when buying equiptment.
I could see if it was many years difference, like NES to SNES where technology had changed so much (6-8 years right), but come on, it was 2 years between the different units?
or a change like OS9 to OSX,yes alot has changed, but you can still use the basic built in features (network OS9 to an OSX box etc).
If the features are there, and they went out of
Re:Cool (Score:2)
Re:Cool (Score:2, Interesting)
I know that my 4G has a different screen than yours, but it seems like the response time on my screen is really slow. Sometimes it's difficult to read the song title as it's scrolling. It would be nice if I could turn this off.
However, my #1 most wanted feature would be to decrease the sensitivity of song rating changes. I can't figure out why it doesn't just do one star per quarter-turn or so.
Funny battery monitor (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Funny battery monitor (Score:2)
Re:Funny battery monitor (Score:2, Funny)
Warranty and Apple's Defaults (Score:2, Insightful)
As far as I can tell, this can't damage the iPod's hardware, can it? I hope that companies grow more "hacker friendly" in the future--offer stronger warranties, and allow (even encourage) tinkering.
Also, I'd be more interested in hacks like this if I weren't so happy with Apple's nice default UI. Don't get me wrong--it's a wonderful technical achievement that these guys have hacked the iPod's firmware. I just think that most iPod owners are h
Re:Warranty and Apple's Defaults (Score:3, Insightful)
When the price of a device is set, is is set with an assumption that a certian level of support is needed. They do not count for people having un-flashable firmware, because they modify their firmware to the point of total failure.
In any embedded device, it is not hard to write over the wrong part of your firmware, which will block you from restoring your firmware. If you do this,
Of course it might break the HW (Score:5, Interesting)
As far as I can tell, this can't damage the iPod's hardware, can it?
How do you know? In many highly cost-reduced platforms, critical control is moved into software, so that it might be quite easy to break the hardware by breaking the software. Fiddle with the power management (charging) firmware on some mobile devices and you might blow up the batteries or at least create a serious overheating condition. This kind of thing happens often enough to cause recalls and firmware updates even in "official" firmware to easily back up a claim that hacking the software can break the hardware.
The earlier sibling's response is also sufficiently valid on its own: the vendor has no obligation to diagnose your problems if you've changed the (software) platform that provides the basis for their diagnosis capability. You didn't pay for an advanced hardware-only diagnostic service.
Apple is generally chill with warrenty restriction (Score:2)
when a lot of companies seal the whole box up, Apple started using the "el capatian case" (B&W G3 and G4 towers) that allowed anyone to add PCI cards, memory, hard drives e
Isn't it Ironic (Score:2, Redundant)
Re:Isn't it Ironic (Score:2)
I've always liked Macs, but never bought one because I hate the lock-in.
True Mac users seem to like the fact that Apple and only Apple makes good products for the Mac (Microsoft Office aside).
Re:Isn't it Ironic (Score:2)
I've been a Mac user for a long time, and I've experienced very little lock in. Sure, many of the Apple apps are in common use because they're well designed -- I chose the operating system, only makes sense that the apps work like it.
i started playing with this yesterday (Score:2)
thanks, the blank white paper problem wasn't quite giving me the optimum level of frustration.
BETTER iPod HACKING GUIDE (Score:4, Informative)
http://cnowak.blogspot.com/2004/12/ipod-hacking
Not for me... (Score:2)
So, no more firmware hacking or mod for me.
At least for now.
Re:Not for me... (Score:3, Informative)
Then again, you might have nuked that too, I don't know.
Negatory (Score:2)
Killer App... (Score:3, Interesting)
With Baen distributing free books in RTF format with many hardbacks, and me getting an iPod for Christmas, this just got a lot more interesting.
If anyone figures this out, I'd be happy to send a couple Baen CDs (copied) as a thank-you.
Hebrew support (Score:2)
changable themes (Score:2)
I competely agree, my Canon digital camera allows me to upload new spashscreens and samples to it which I think is a very nifty feature.
Most companies will probably worry too much about brand preservation to implement this though which is a
It's possible to customize text also... (Score:2, Informative)
Can't be far off. (Score:2)
How long before there's an ipod emulator?
(I'm only half-joking.)
Re:Can't be far off. (Score:2, Interesting)
Realistically... (Score:2, Interesting)
Not sure how many people will actually take the time to change the graphics???
Don't get me wrong... the idea of changing the pictures on your iPod and personalizing your iPod is really cool! I just don't know how many will take the time and effort to do it.
Really clever firmware hack by the way.
http://allwaysmusic.modblog.com/ [modblog.com]
Suggested Image Project (Score:4, Funny)
Any hacks for iRiver? (Score:2)
Re:Anyone do this to a non iPod photo model? (Score:4, Funny)
It's a *really* clever firmware hack...
Re:Anyone do this to a non iPod photo model? (Score:2)
in 'colour'? really? it didn't work for me... is that only for U.K. and Aussie models? ;)
Re:Anyone do this to a non iPod photo model? (Score:2, Informative)
Re:This is great (Score:2)
Re: Bad Thoughts (Score:2)
before i got one, i actually had dreams about killing or seriously maiming people for their ipods.... so i bought one, before my dreams had a chance ot come true
May I suggest you lay off the Doom 3 and other FPS games for a while?
Oh, and if you wanted one THAT bad, you could have just done the free ipod spam in your sig here like all of the other hypocrites.
Re:This is great (Score:3, Insightful)
I'd gladly pay another three hundred dollars for a new one, because the iPod is, quite simply, the most useful device I've bought in ages. I can (and do) take several days'
Re:This is great (Score:2)
Wake me up when it can do what a $10 portable cd player can do, i.e. play back a live cd without inserting breaks between tracks.
Re:This is great (Score:3, Insightful)
It always illicits the same responses: "I got it because it's the best, not because it's cool", "I hide my iPod to not get mugged for it", and "you slashdot geeks just don't get it". Then the comparisons come up between the iPod and less "hip" players.
It is absolutely a troll, because it sets out to offend iPod owners and get them to defend their gadget. And what do you mean, "
Re:useful features (Score:2)
Re:useful features (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:too much possibilities (Score:2)
Re:Linux (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Forget that, just install Linux on the thing. (Score:2, Interesting)
You're not making much sense, there. An MP3 decoder is an MP3 decoder. They're all the same. Some are faster or slower, but they all should produce identical output. MP3 encoders can vary, MP3 decoders cannot (short of implementation bugs, of course).
The MP3 decoder for the iPodLinux project isn't wholly finished yet because the kernel has some issues with the dual processors in the iPod. Work on making it faster is therefore progressing rather slowly. It's no