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iPod Firmware Update

Posted by pudge on from the nice-n-firm dept.

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)."

14 of 37 comments (clear)

  1. New Features by terbor · · Score: 3, Insightful

    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.

  2. vCard Support by TeamSPAM · · Score: 2, Informative

    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.

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  3. Hard Drive Upgrade Possible? by Bklyn · · Score: 2, Interesting

    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.

    1. Re:Hard Drive Upgrade Possible? by Van+Halen · · Score: 2, Informative

      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)?

      --

      Say hello to zMac.

    2. Re:Hard Drive Upgrade Possible? by dhovis · · Score: 4, Informative
      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!

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      --
      The internet is the greatest source of biased information in the history of mankind.

    3. Re:Hard Drive Upgrade Possible? by paradesign · · Score: 2, Informative

      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.

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      I want 2D games back.
    4. Re:Hard Drive Upgrade Possible? by Bklyn · · Score: 2, Informative
      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.

  4. iPod Text Editor by JonBob · · Score: 4, Informative

    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.

  5. Re:Streaming media support? / Downloading web audi by ahknight · · Score: 2
    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).

  6. Contacts not Optional? by Phrogz · · Score: 3, Insightful

    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'?

    1. Re:Contacts not Optional? by sg3000 · · Score: 3, Funny

      > 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.

      --
      Insert simplistic political, ideological, or personal proselytization here.
    2. Re:Contacts not Optional? by JonBob · · Score: 4, Informative
      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.

    3. Re:Contacts not Optional? by Phrogz · · Score: 2

      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.

  7. brickel by Snuffub · · Score: 2, Informative

    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.

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    --aiee