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How to Use Your iPod Under Linux

Posted by pudge on from the mp3-ing-into-the-new-year dept.

Jon writes "For those lucky readers who received an iPod for Christmas I've put up an article on LinuxLookup.com on how I got my iPod working under Linux. I've given a little overview on the different options available, and which one worked best for my needs. All in all, I'm extremely happy with the outcome. I can transfer my music, create playlists, and add all of my contacts. The only thing missing is a nice GUI."

28 of 194 comments (clear)

  1. iPod by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I don't know about you, but I was planning on being evil with my iPod. Pirating music, harvesting the Anarchists Cookbook, etc. Naturally I wouldn't do this under any other operating system.

  2. "All that is missing is a nice GUI" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Is that for Linux, or for the iPod??? ;-)

  3. Goodbye "Not Invented Here" days by Spencerian · · Score: 4, Insightful

    There was a time, not long ago, where Apple made interesting, even innovative technology--but designed it so it worked only with its Macintosh hardware.

    It's great for the industry and many others that Apple is slowly crawling out of the mindset that all of their products must work strictly with a Mac. Their move to Mac OS X would be contradictory to such a philosophy since *nix is a widely supported and tinkerable OS.

    The iPod is mostly a glorified FireWire drive, so this software doesn't impress me as much as the relative enthusiasm of developers to make it work. Even if you don't use it, Mac OS X and the iPod is a nice catalyst for a drab, uninventive computer industry at the moment.

    --
    Vos teneo officium eram periculosus ut vos recipero is.
    1. Re:Goodbye "Not Invented Here" days by IamTheRealMike · · Score: 3, Insightful
      There was a time, not long ago, where Apple made interesting, even innovative technology--but designed it so it worked only with its Macintosh hardware.

      So.... just like the iPod then, which works on other platforms only due to 3rd parties reverse engineering parts of the on disk format?

      It's great for the industry and many others that Apple is slowly crawling out of the mindset that all of their products must work strictly with a Mac

      No it isn't. Otherwise why are Apple buying up app vendors (I don't recall the name of the product i'm thinking of, some graphics/music program), and scaring all the customers silly because they think Apple will make them Mac only?

      Their move to Mac OS X would be contradictory to such a philosophy since *nix is a widely supported and tinkerable OS.

      Except OS X isn't tinkerable at all. Practically all the code Apple has written is closed source, and the Mac parts of MacOS are generally only capable of doing things one way. Unlike every Linux and Windows, MacOS is still not capable of being themed by 3rd parties (unless you consider a grey version of the default a "theme").

    2. Re:Goodbye "Not Invented Here" days by nullard · · Score: 5, Insightful

      So.... just like the iPod then, which works on other platforms only due to 3rd parties reverse engineering parts of the on disk format?

      Here is proof to the contrary. It took them a while, but Apple did release a Windows compatible iPod.

      Even Dell sells them.

      You must have missed the announcemnt a few months ago.

      Anyway, the Mac version just uses HFS. There are 3rd party HFS readers for *nix and Windows. I don't know if they were reverse engineered or created from Apple specs.

      Except OS X isn't tinkerable at all. Practically all the code Apple has written is closed source, and the Mac parts of MacOS are generally only capable of doing things one way.

      If you ignore the fact that you can recompile the kernel and change most OS variables using XML plists and NetInfo, you are absolutely correct. If I ignore my need for oxygen I can breathe in space too.

      --


      t'nera semordnilap
    3. Re:Goodbye "Not Invented Here" days by Eravau · · Score: 3, Informative
      Sure...Apple doesn't publish anything else but a gray version of aqua. They're proud of their interface and want everyone to use it. So what? You can download/create your own themes if you'd like.

      Check out the 3rd-party utilities and web sites to get what you'd like:

      Are the themes as varied yet as something like Kaleidoscope allowed on pre OS X? Of course not. But the appearance themes aren't near as limited as you think.
    4. Re:Goodbye "Not Invented Here" days by bogie · · Score: 3, Interesting

      " There was a time, not long ago, where Apple made interesting, even innovative technology--but designed it so it worked only with its Macintosh hardware."

      I guess if Apple was actually in the habit of coming up with cool gadgets year after year you might have a point. But the only possibly crossplatform gadgets I can think of that Apple has even innovated in the past 15 years are the newton and the ipod. So while it may be all well and good that the Ipod hasn't specifically been designed so it won't work in Windows or Linux, Apple mostly continues to be a computer maker not a inventor of new technology for all platforms. So again I'm just not sure what your point was since Apple really only makes computers, not hardware for every platform that we can all benefit from.

      "It's great for the industry and many others that Apple is slowly crawling out of the mindset that all of their products must work strictly with a Mac."

      One product (the ipod) doesn't mean much. Especially when you consider its not Apple themselves making it work with other platforms.

      Sorry if I seem negative about this, but your whole post seems to try to give Apple credit for something they haven't earned. What you said is akin to sending congrats to MS because their mice are cross platform. Now you may be able to do so, but A) this wasn't intended and B) it represents a minority of MS's product line.

      Just something to think about.

      --
      If you wanna get rich, you know that payback is a bitch
    5. Re:Goodbye "Not Invented Here" days by SensitiveMale · · Score: 5, Insightful


      So.... just like the iPod then, which works on other platforms only due to 3rd parties reverse engineering parts of the on disk format?

      mmm, go to www.dell.com and buy an iPod for windows by ..... wait for it .... Apple. Or buy an iPod for windows by Apple. Or do you consider the manufacturer of the iPod a third party?

      Except OS X isn't tinkerable at all. Practically all the code Apple has written is closed source, and the Mac parts of MacOS are generally only capable of doing things one way. Unlike every Linux and Windows, MacOS is still not capable of being themed by 3rd parties (unless you consider a grey version of the default a "theme").

      I could list half a dozen OS X theme managers AND a few dozen themes. Sure, there a lots more for windows but OS X has been around much less time than Stardock.

      As for the "OS X isn't tinkerable at all' look at the hundreds of programs that 'tinker' with OS X. Fruitmenu, XSounds, WindowShadeX, ASM, CeePeeYou, A-Dock, Synergy, and tons of other cursor, menu items, haxies, and other enhancements.

      And if you want a full cocoa Finder you can get Path Finder from cocoatech.com.

      Just because you don't have the source code of OS X doesn't mean that you can't tinker with it to your heart's content.

    6. Re:Goodbye "Not Invented Here" days by mbbac · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I think he was talking about the general trend of Apple using (*and creating) standards where possible nowadays: Java, USB, FireWire*, IP, 802.11, ZeroConf*, IDE, ADC*, MPEG4*, WebDAV, FiberChannel. I'm sure there are many more examples of Apple's support of standards, those are simply off the top of my head.

      --

      mbbac

    7. Re:Goodbye "Not Invented Here" days by Phroggy · · Score: 3, Interesting

      No it isn't. Otherwise why are Apple buying up app vendors (I don't recall the name of the product i'm thinking of, some graphics/music program), and scaring all the customers silly because they think Apple will make them Mac only?

      You may be thinking of Shake.

      Except OS X isn't tinkerable at all. Practically all the code Apple has written is closed source, and the Mac parts of MacOS are generally only capable of doing things one way.

      Hogwash. Just because it's closed-source doen't mean it's not tinkerable. Perhaps not to the extent you'd like, but really, how many end users hack the source code of their GUI? OSX has a ways to go, but it's quickly becoming more hackable than OS9 ever was, and if you don't think OS9 was hackable, well, you haven't known many Mac users.

      Unlike every Linux and Windows, MacOS is still not capable of being themed by 3rd parties (unless you consider a grey version of the default a "theme").

      Hogwash. I'm using a third-party theme right now. It happens to be an imitation of the Platinum theme from Mac OS 9, because that's what I happen to like, but there are others. Not a huge number of themes available, but it's a relatively new OS. They'll come.

      And yes, this Platinum theme is a little quirky - it's got a funny little piece of something at the top of the scrollbar, no window borders, and a few other details aren't quite right. And, I've combined it with the Mozilla Classic theme from Mac OS 9, which is even quirkier with the OSX version of Mozilla. I'll probably go back to Modern. Anyway, like I said, give it time.

      --
      $x='S24;r)>63/* h@<5+oZ)32"5cz';$me='phroggy'x$];
      $x=~y+ -xz+\0-Tx+;print$_^chop$me for split'',$x;
    8. Re:Goodbye "Not Invented Here" days by geek · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Umm, they pushed USB and they made Firewire to name just two. Think a little harder on that and then post again.

      To compliment their achievments in hardware they open or offer freely a lot of software now as well, Darwin and Rendevouz not to mention the quicktime streaming server.

    9. Re:Goodbye "Not Invented Here" days by SensitiveMale · · Score: 5, Funny

      Even the Windows registry does much better than that

      Well, that is the first time I have ever read anyone praising the registry.

      That damn registry is the worst thing ms ever came out with, including Bob.

  4. Nifty, but... by Badge+17 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Kneejerk response #1: Yeah, but what good does that do me if all my files are .OGG?

    Although I'd seriously consider going through and re-ripping all of them if I had the money... The iPod is just one of the coolest little gadgets I've seen in a while - especially the clean interface.

    Has Apple indicated any wish to support alternate compression? A quick Google didn't find anything.

    I suspect Apple should start researching OGG, as it seems much more likely than MP3 to remain un-DRM-contaminated... and Apple seems to be placing itself in the position of "use our computers - no stupid DRM!"

    I also wonder if Apple could be persuaded to issue a release of iPod software for Darwin... that way it could more easily be converted.

    1. Re:Nifty, but... by tbmaddux · · Score: 5, Insightful
      Apple should start researching OGG, as it seems much more likely than MP3 to remain un-DRM-contaminated...
      MP3 is already un-DRM-contaminated. For it to become contaminated, it would have to be changed, at which point I would argue it's not really MP3 anymore. And all the old MP3 files and codecs would still work just fine, unless Apple starts playing games with our software. And as you noted, Apple's cultural position is opposed to that.

      It's my understanding that OGG is a good format, but my gut says is you're more likely to see MP4 support on the iPod first.

      --
      Can't you see that everyone is buying station wagons?
  5. The only thing missing is a nice GUI. by digitalsushi · · Score: 4, Funny

    "The only thing missing is a nice GUI."

    *avoids smart alec temptation to link to apple.com

    --
    slashdot: where everyone yells sarcastic metaphors to themselves to understand the issue
  6. Re:iPod again? by rigga · · Score: 5, Funny

    Wow, Ill bet you just saved Apple millions. They prolly never thought that they could purchase the hundreds of thousands 5GB drives needed for iPods on Ebay. Stupid Apple, Why buy drives directly from manufactures at huge discounts when you can purchase them from Frank in Winsconsin who has 3 5gb drives for sale. Hmm, now they just need 999,997 more. Any more brilliant ideas?

    --
    RiGgA
  7. Been over this... by djupedal · · Score: 5, Informative

    I put up this iPod Comparison Chart/site for those looking to compare the iPod with other hd based players.

    While it hasn't been updated since the 20gb units w/remote came out, it does allow for review of more elements than most buyers ever consider (also tips, links and related trivia).

    Bottom line...FireWire is the only way to go (transfers and charging), and at 7 oz., an iPod will truly fit in your pocket. And yes, the new remote is backwards compatible...just be sure to update your iPod.

    1. Re:Been over this... by Oculus+Habent · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It's really too bad that so much effort was put into USB 2.0 when FireWire was available.

      They have virtually identical practical transfer rates, so the additional capabilities of USB 2.0 go to waste - unless, I suppose, you find yourself doing huge amounts of simultaneous data transfer to multiple USB 2.0 devices on the same bus.

      FireWire also sports two great benefits: more power (requires the 6-pin verion that is sadly not found on many smaller devices and x86 laptops) and no host-specific controller. People talk about putting Linux on a PDA and using USB to control devices from it, but until USB On-the-Go becomes pervasive, this cannot be a reality. On the other hand, Any FireWire device can communicate with any other.

      FireWire is a more flexible standard, and with planned upgrades to 800 Mbps and higher, there's no shortage to it's possibilities.

      If someone would just make a drive that doesn't use an IDE/FireWire bridge but actually has an on-drive FireWire interface, the benefits could be substantial.

      *sigh*

      As a note, you can get FireWire hard drives, , scanners, printers, and the Kodak DCS Pro 14n 14 megapixel camera will use FireWire

      --
      That what was all this school was for... to teach us how to solve our own problems. -- janeowit
  8. my 20GB works great :) (and howto) by warrior · · Score: 5, Informative

    Apparently the site is already /.'ed. Here's a way to get it working with a nice GUI.

    I'm using the latest stable kernel (2.4.20). 1394/ohci/sbp2 are all working great. Be sure to check "prompt for development drivers", then add the 1394 module and be sure to add OHCI and sbp2 (these also help if you're into dv ;). Be sure to have SCSI compiled in or as a module!! Also be sure to inlude the HFS (if you've got the mac version) or msdos/vfat (for windows ipod) if you don't want to reformat your ipod. Reboot with you new kernel.

    modprobe the 1394 and ohci modules. Do a tail -f on /var/log/messages and plug in your ipod and wait for the magic :) You should see Apple iPod being added as a (5/10/20)GB SCSI disk. Add a mount point for the drive in /etc/fstab using vfat if you've got windows or hfs if you've got a mac. You should now be able to access the iPod as a removable SCSI drive! modprobe -r sbp2 to safely remove the ipod (you have to unmount it first, too).

    Now, for the GUI. Download ephpod. Install it using wine (wine ephpod.exe). Change your wine config (probably ~/.wine/config) to use wherever you mounted your ipod as a drive. Startup ephpod. Be sure you've added some nice fonts to your wine install.

    Enjoy!

    --
    Intel transfer the difficult from Hadware to software, for get more power, programmer need more technology. -- chinaitn
  9. Re:iPod again? by Toraz+Chryx · · Score: 5, Informative

    Find me a 5GB >>>1.8" Toshiba harddisk on ebay (or otherwise) for $15 and I'll eat my hat.

    The price/capacity is even worse for the IBM Microdrive, but I'd rather stick one of those in my camera than a 120GB WD1200JB

  10. Re:iPod is great but.... by MasterOfMagic · · Score: 3, Informative

    It already works under Linux. It is accessed as a USB Mass Storage device using the ISD-200 chip with a VFAT filesystem. The driver is in the vanilla kernel, and the web site for it is here. Also, there is open source firmware (which Archos will be including on its CD-ROM with future players) located at this page. This firmware doesn't support recording yet, but it will very soon now according to the web site.

    I have my whole MP3 collection on it, and it's great. Although I have to admit that it's not as visually pleasing as an iPod.

  11. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  12. Re: Learn to be a Luddite by Jeffrey+Baker · · Score: 3, Interesting
    To use your own example, CNN doesn't scale at all. Whenever a major news even happens, CNN goes offline, along with MSNBC, et. al. CNN actually has a "breaking news" mode that eliminates all the database-driven crap from their front page. Yahoo scales well because they make extensive use of pre-generated files. Imagine that! For example, the charts on finance.yahoo.com are generated periodically, not custom generated on every request.

    Thanks for sharing your expert knowledge of httpd.cond.dist.

  13. your site is way out of date by g4dget · · Score: 5, Informative
    Both Archos and Creative have entirely new product lines out there. Some Archos drives are much sleeker and more capable and support both FireWire and USB2 (as well as MPEG4 video and audio).

    The Creative Nomad Zen is sleek and small, and supports both FireWire and USB, as well as recharging through USB.That alone makes it a much better choice for Linux users than the iPod. It also seems to have somewhat better battery life, and it supports recording.

  14. D'oh! by PCM2 · · Score: 4, Funny

    When I first skimmed the headline for this story, I was saying to myself: "Wow, cool! They have iPod tools for Linux? Maybe I can get them to compile under Mac OS X!"

    --
    Breakfast served all day!
  15. Re:alternatives by geek · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Nothing from Archos even comes close but the Nomad Zen is nice for the money. It just lacks a decent interface which has been creatives problem with all of their products for years. I have a Nomad IIc right now from Creative and love it. I've dropped it several times and the case is all scratched up but it still works like a charm and iunes plays quite happily with it.

    I really like the looks of the iPod but I refuse to pay that much money for it right now. Maybe when I find a new job but even then it will be a serious decision.

  16. Re:Learn to run a website by PCM2 · · Score: 3, Funny
    Indeed, let's examine this situation:

    http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl?

    This Web site is using dynamic content with Perl. Already we know the site isn't set up for high concurrency. Plus, it's using open source software, so it can't possibly be up to the enterprise standard of robust scalable architectures.

    sid=02/12/31/175213&

    It also appears that the main content is being loaded from a database by ID number. New flash: Why not a flat file? Hell-ooooo, haven't they ever heard of CSV?

    mode=thread&tid=106

    And it looks like the programmer decided to respond to a user action on every request. Call me an old relic, but I do miss the days when every programmer didn't have to worry about some stupid "UI" and instead concentrated on what computers were intended for: outputting incessant streams of meaningless data.

    If this guy expect this site to hold up to the Awesome Powers of the Slashdot Effect, he'd better think again.

    --
    Breakfast served all day!
  17. Re:Been over this... USB 2.0 has a Purpose by puto · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I have 5 USB 2.0 80 gig drives in the field. I get them for 140 bucks a piece.

    1. They offer another back up option. My networks have tapes but they also have this extra redundancy. Connect it to a plane jane windows box running 2000(any old box). And you can have it back up your entire network quickly and easily in the wee small hours. 80 gigs is a lot space and you can restore from it rather quickly, much quicker than a tape. Still keep the tapes but for an 80 gig back up that will run for about 3 years constantlym you can beat the price.

    2. I have one that does in my tech back with 4 20 gig partitions, one is mp3's for me to listen to. One is just about every software tool imaginable. The third is ISOs of all the redhats, windows, solaris,office, you name it i got it. And the fourth I use to grab files with that need fixing.

    I also carry an interface card with me. Because now I dont carry around all those cds. If I have to dump a lotta data, i just pop in the 2.0 card(if the machine doesnt have it) and I boogie.

    USB 2.0 is fast enough for me, will be more widepread than firewire. And I have never had a problem with it.

    Now my 'doctor' bad is just a Leatherman, this drive, and the adaptor card, and one cd with the drivers.

    Firewire is great technology but Apple forced intels hand when the wanted to charge per installation per motherboad. They reneged but way after the fact. That is why it didnt take off so quick.

    I have an ipod, and an ibook. And firewire is fast. But I gotta say when I can dump 10 gigs in hardly anytime. No messing with tapes(I still use em but this is quicker) if it fails I always have the tape.

    My other USB 2.0 personal drive gets the same treatment as my clients. I leave the house for the night, it goes with me.

    Puto

    --
    The Revolution Will Not Be Televised