iPod Firmware Update

micah_lanier writes "I noticed that the new iPod hardware version was mentioned, but for all of us current owners, version 1.1 of the iPod firmware is available and was released alongside the new hardware. It adds all of the new improvements from the recently-released iPods (but not the 10 GB drives and laser engravings)."

Comments

New Features

[terbor]

The best new feature of Firmware 1.1 is the "scrubber". When playing a song, press the center button. The time bar changes to show a diamond and then you can use the scroll wheel to advance or back-up through a song with ease. MUCH better than using the forward and back buttons.

vCard Support

[TeamSPAM]

I think this is a nice improvement to the contact hacks we have been seeing for the iPod. The vCards will allow you to store more information that you could have squeezed into an ID3 tag.

Re:vCard Support

[TeamSPAM]

I haven't found a decent free address book that will export your contacts in vCard format. So I'm doing my vCards by hand (kinda like how I do HTML). Below is the basic information that I pulled out of the RFC for the vCard format. If your gonna use the notes field, use \n to delimit a new line and keep the text of the note to under 1024 characters.

begin:vcard
version:3.0
fieldType;property=propertyType:value
end:vcard

• Identification
  • fn:, n:, nickname:, photo;(value=uri|encoding=b):, bday:
• Delivery Addressing
  • adr;type=*:post office box; the extended address; the street address; the locality (e.g., city); the region (e.g., state or province); the postal code; the country name
  • dom, intl, postal, parcel, home, work, pref
• label;type=*:
• • dom, intl, postal, parcel, home, work, pref

Telecommunications Addressing

• tel;type=*:
• • home, msg, work, pref, voice, fax, cell, video, pager, bbs, modem, car, isdn, pcs, voice
• email;type=*:
• • internet, x400, pref
• mailer:

Geographical

• tz:, geo:

Organizational

• title:, role:, logo;(value=uri|encoding=b):, agent, org:

Explanatory

• catagories:, note:, prodid:, rev:, sort-string:, url:, version:
• sound;type=*;(value=uri|encoding=b):
  • Parameter values must be one of the IANA registered audio formats or a non-standard audio format.
• uid;type=*:
• Parameter values should be an IANA identifier format.

Security

• class:, key;encoding=b:

Extended

• X-*:, X-*;type=*:

Re:vCard Support

[JonBob]

More to the point, Apple's technote points out the fields in the vCard that are actually read by the iPod viewer: fn, n, adr, tel, email, title, org, url, note.

Re:vCard Support

[Anonymous Coward]

How are you formatting the file so that the iPod reads it as the address book? I exported my contacts from filemaker into a text file with the vcf formats you provided. But the iPod didn't seem to recognize it. I changed it's name to addressbook.vcf which didn't work. I also pasted the contents into the existing address book file and that didn't work either.

Thanks.

Hard Drive Upgrade Possible?

[Bklyn]

Anyone know if it is possible to swap the PCMCIA hard drive with a larger one? I'm assuming that since Apple is now selling a 10G model, this drive must be available somewhere in the wild and it might be possible to just plop on into an "old" 5GB iPod and double your storage.

Re:Hard Drive Upgrade Possible?

[paradesign]

In theory you could use Toshiba's 20g drive instead of just the measly 10g one. The only thing youll have to do is rip the HD image off of one pod, and put it on your new HD. Good luck reassembling your case though, ive read its pretty tough to get the seams flawless.

Re:Hard Drive Upgrade Possible?

[Van Halen]

Hmm, according to this comment over at MacSlash, the 20G drive is slightly larger and therefore wouldn't work. Take it for what it's worth, as it was posted by an AC... Maybe someone can find real information to back this up (or refute it)?

Re:Hard Drive Upgrade Possible?

[dhovis]

You know, I remember reading that somewhere too, but I just checked Toshiba's website and the specs they publish for the 1.8" embedded HDs. All of them (5, 10, & 20GB) are listed as 5mm thick, with the same height and width. Unless the specs on Toshiba's website are wrong, then it should be possible to put on in an iPod.

Start your engines geeks. First one with a 20GB iPod wins!

Re:Hard Drive Upgrade Possible?

[paradesign]

Yes, this may be true but if youve seen an ipod opened there are built in tolerances currently filled by foam tabs, possibly in anticipation of the 20g. I dont know first hand though, I dont plan on opening mine any time soon.

Re:Hard Drive Upgrade Possible?

[PythonOrRuby]

There also might be battery life issues with the 20GB drive.

Re:Hard Drive Upgrade Possible?

[Binky The Oracle]

Given that the physical specs for the drives are all pretty much the same, I'd bet that this is possible.

That being said, however, the thought of opening up my iPod scares the bejeebus out of me. I normally laugh in the face of voiding a warranty, but this is one that I think I'll wait out. I also think I'll wait until some soul braver than I does it and posts a how-to with pictures on their site.

Of course, the warranty isn't that long on an iPod.

Re:Hard Drive Upgrade Possible?

[Bklyn]

Not really. I had to pop my case once when the iPod totally locked up and wouldn't reset no matter WHAT I did. I used a pocketknife to pry it open, disconnected the battery lead, reconnected it, and all was well in the world again. Re-sealing the case was just a matter or popping the metal half of the cover back on, and I don't think you can tell that its been opened.

FWIW, I know several iPod owners and at least 2 others have had this same total-system-lockup issue one or more times. This was the first and only time its happened to me.

the best part?

[paradesign]

Elapsed time and remaining time are now simultaniously displayed.

Oh yeah, the v card thing is nice, but when am i going to be able to back up my cell phone data on it. Im far to lazy to put it on by hand

iPod Text Editor

[JonBob]

I hacked together a little Cocoa app that allows storing arbitrary text files in the Contacts directory (not just business cards from Entourage and Mail). Get it, try it, send me feedback.

Streaming media support? / Downloading web audio..

[Anonymous Coward]

I've been thinking about getting an iPod...

Can you capture streaming media sources and then have them downloaded on the next sync? eg. If I want to download some foreign news radio each morning via ftp/http from http://www.wrn.org and have that queued to sync on to the iPod before I leave for my morning commute? Does it support realaudio? Can realaudio be converted to mp3? What about for 'live' streams?

Are there applescripts to do this on OS X?

Re:Streaming media support? / Downloading web audi

[ahknight]

Can you capture streaming media sources and then have them downloaded on the next sync? eg. If I want to download some foreign news radio each morning via ftp/http from http://www.wrn.org [wrn.org] and have that queued to sync on to the iPod before I leave for my morning commute? Does it support realaudio? Can realaudio be converted to mp3? What about for 'live' streams?

Are there applescripts to do this on OS X?

Okay, that would be no, no, no, no, no, and no.

At least, not by default. With a little work an AppleScript might be able to pull that one off for static content on the site, but not for streams (at least, not in iTunes).

Contacts not Optional?

[Phrogz]

The new Contact storage mechanism is neat (albeit a bit clunk--you have to manually drag vCards you want on your iPod from the Address book or Entourage, rather than automatically syncing them), and it's rather pretty (a nice display of the information on the iPod) but it's not optional (AFAICT).

That kinda irks me: I bought my iPod as an MP3 player and harddrive, not as a PDA. I don't want Contacts taking up a top menu spot. (I'd far rather have an albums category, for all the compilation albums which are not by the same artist, but that's another issue.)

I'd try to go back to the older firmware, but I really like some of the new features in this firmware (like the ability to quickly jog forward and backwards through the song to find a specfic spot). Can anyone find a way to turn off the contacts 'feature'?

Re:Contacts not Optional?

[sg3000]

> I don't want Contacts taking up a top menu spot.

I think you're out of luck.

Just pretend like the folder is a banner ad for that Jodie Foster movie or for Bausch and Lomb and then ignore it. If you can learn to ignore these new giants ads on slashdot, a single folder should be easy.

I personally like the contact feature since it means I won't have to carry my Palm V around anymore.

Re:Contacts not Optional?

[JonBob]

you have to manually drag vCards you want on your iPod from the Address book or Entourage, rather than automatically syncing them

Well, you can download the iPod AppleScripts that grab all of your contacts from Entourage or Address Book in one go, to make this easier on you.

I don't want Contacts taking up a top menu spot.

Was "About" any better?

I'd far rather have an albums category, for all the compilation albums which are not by the same artist

It's one more step, but just select "Artists" then "All" to get a list of albums.

Re:Contacts not Optional?

[Phrogz]

I'd far rather have an albums category, for all the compilation albums which are not by the same artist

It's one more step, but just select "Artists" then "All" to get a list of albums.

Ack! Pure genious! That's *exactly* what I wanted! Thank you so much...I feel like such a fool :)

Re:Contacts not Optional?

[terbor]

The new Contact storage mechanism is neat (albeit a bit clunk--you have to manually drag vCards you want on your iPod from the Address book or Entourage, rather than automatically syncing them)

There are a pair of AppleScripts that will allow you to automate this process.

ipod scripts

Re:Contacts not Optional?

[Anonymous Coward]

Has anyone thought of ProVue Development, isn't this basically Apple stealing from another company, or has it been licensed? sigel@l7.net

Re:Contacts not Optional?

[Slur]

Did you try deleting the Contacts folder?
I haven't tried it, but I suspect it would work.

Re:Contacts not Optional?

[Phrogz]

Hrm, no...I tried deleting all the contacts from within it, but not the folder itself. Let's see what happens if I delete that folder...nope, no glory. Several other people have asked why this bothers me, especially since previously it was just the 'About' option up there. The reasons are that 1) The About menu item IS useful, for finding out your capacity, but more importantly the iPod name. When I'm around other people who have iPod's, it was nice to be able to turn on the iPod, go straight to About and see if it was mine or not. 2) Conceptually, it's sullying the purity of the iPod UI as a music player. Sure, it's cool that you can store contacts on it...if you're into that. I'm not. Adding 5 more menu options (calculator, alarm clock, stopwatch, etc.) off the bottom of the screen would be similarly gross, even though I could 'just ignore them' and maintain the same level of functionality. It takes the iPod from a pure, well-designed music player into the realm of PDA, and while that's more powerful, it also adds complexity and fuzziness of purpose. And I don't want that.

Re:Contacts not Optional?

[twiztidlojik]

and EVERYBODY knows how DREARY it is to carry around one of those HUGE, THICK and HEAVY palm V's.

brickel

[Snuffub]

No one panic the easter egg where you hold down the center button and it lets you play brickel is still there, it's just moved into Settings>Legal.

Beware! This update killed my iPod!

[Anonymous Coward]

Posting anonymously b/c I am too lazy to dig up the password that I haven't used for 15 months or so....

I updated my iPod today using the 1.1 updater tool, and now my iPod reboots every time I try to play a track. Oh, I can put contacts on it, play brickle, have all the new settings options... But I can't get it to play a song. I have tried every permutation of playback settings, I have tried lots of different tracks, I have even gone through a full restoration to factory defaults using the 1.1 updater, all to no avail.

YMMV, but I hope it's a hell of a lot better than mine.

AYB

[Drake58]

http://www.brainlink.com/~stacman/Images/base.jpg

Re:AYB

[peperone]

404 Error...

iPod on Sourceforge

[User 956]

I'm working on a similar project on Sourceforge. The initial goal is to effect interoperation with Linux, but eventually, we plan on having a full GUI, and visualizations a la Winamp, which utilize the iPOD's screen.

I like it - one feature needed tho

[sulli]

I REALLY like the EQ feature. Much better when switching between music types and when driving in the car.

The feature I want is playlist-on-the-fly. Particularly when in a car, or at a party when it's plugged into the stereo, I would like the ability to click on songs ahead of the one I'm listening to, and have them added to a playlist - that way I don't have to always wait for the song to end before I select the next one. If you're reading, Apple, add this!

Re:Beware! This update killed my iPod!

[sulli]

I am also experiencing random reboots. A full charging seems to have helped. Plug it in overnight, that may help you.

iPod battery indicator still problematic

[KH2002]

I was hoping v1.1 would improve the battery indicator, but my four-bar indicator still has only two states:

• Four bars (full)
• Three bars

After three bars it dies.