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Linux for iPod Matures
elinenbe writes "The Linux on iPod Project has just crossed a milestone. Currently their firmware works on all ipod models other then the new mini. Sound plays and for many people it has more features then the original iPod firmware!"
...although, as the announcement says, "Most things seem to be working but there are still some problems with IDE & the framebuffer."
Wired has an article on this, too.
The Army reading list
May I suggest the Rio Karma?
Douglas P. Price
3.3 Is there a OGG player
The Tremor player is running at about 80% real-time. Apparently an update is on the way so hopefully that will provide some speed-up.
Why would one run linux on an ipod?
So that you can put an OGG player on there and not have to convert your OGGs whenever you wanna listen to them on the go.
How do you use a command line interface on an ipod?
If you read the documentation, it says when the iPod boots the Linux kernel it will automatically configure its local ethernet device (ethernet over firewire/IEEE1394) and then starts inetd so that network connections via telnet may be made.
The default configuration is for the iPod to use 192.10.1.2 and to allow telnet connections. The default address may be changed by editing the /etc/rc script.
Will it transparently sync with itunes or will it be syncable the hard way only ?
Straight from the site's FAQ: Probably. At this point the software support is still very immature. I haven't tried any of the software available for accessing the iTunes database under Linux.
If someone donates me an iPod, I'll gladly try it out and tell ya if it works. ;)
Remember how Peter Jackson used an iPod as a storage method? This is an example of how an iPod can do more than just be an MP3 player. With a fully customizable operating system with the GNU tools you have no ends of the possibilities.
There's hope for real-time playback, not just 80%. See here, someone is working on it again, and others think the hardware is sufficient.
ipodLinux is based on uClinux, which is a version of Linux that runs on processors without an MMU (Memory Management Unit).
The research group where I work is quite involved in embedded linux work. Last year I ported the Linux kernel to an FPGA-based processor called Microblaze. I'm now doing all sorts of fun stuff involving dynamically self-modifying hardware and other bizarro stuff. All good fun.
uClinux is running in something like 20 million devices, ranging from DVD players to netowrking routers and embedded VPN servers.
Give it a couple of years, and the embedded linux market will make the desktop look puny. The talk on slashdot is all about the Linux desktop, but Linux is already winning the real war, embedded systems.
Well, the USB in the ipod is not host mode, so you can't really attach something to it; but firewire is a different story.. In theory you could do all kinds of things with that.
I have had 2 of the lovely little Karmas die on me. RMA'ed the first one after an HD failure only to have it replaced almost a month later by one that skips while playing most of my songs and has repeatedly required formatting just to get it to shut down.
Once I RMA this sucker for the 3rd time I will sell it and pick up the iRiver iHP-120 20 gigs of OGG, WMA, MP3, WAV, plus a remote with LCD, FM radio tuner, and can record into WAV or MP3 in realtime from a built-in mic or stereo line-in. Pretty kickass. Sure the Karma is about $75 cheaper, but for a unit that WORKS, it's worth it.
Plus, the Karma only has a 90 day warrantee. The iRiver has a 1-year warrantee.
Shouldn't You expect more from your DJ?
According to the site Tremor (the integer only implemnetation of ogg/vorbis) currently decodes at approx. 80% of real-time on the iPod.
Why not fork?
Oh right, you rather navigate through the nested folders to find your music!
You are the perfect candidate for Linux on iPod that proudly proclaims it plays MP3.
User Tools
The full uClinux distribution contains many basic tools (including Busybox) already patched for use with uClinux.
MAD is a MP3 player that does not require a FPU.
Tremor is an OGG player that does not require a FPU.
SoX is an audio processing application capable of playing a variety of music formats (.WAV is probably the most interesting here).
Intel's IPP package and IPP MP3 Sample program. Intel's IPP is a highly optimised set of libraries that includes MP3 processing. The sample program seems to work fine under uClinux.
Assuming Firewire is like USB the IPod will only work as a client, the CDRW will be a client making this impossible
You're making a false assumption. Firewire is a peer-to-peer bus, in theory, each device can talk to any other device on the bus. There is a root node, but that's elected on every bus reset ([un-]plugging of a device) as far as I know. So a CD-RW may well be possible. phil
Or you haven't heard of the Neuros: it has Ogg Vorbis, MP3, and WMA support.
They've got a dedicated development team based in Chicago and they just shared the source to their syncing application.
Disclaimer: I don't work for these guys, but I do own a Neuros 20GB and love the thing.
Tartanblue
TartanBlue
Just a question... have you met many bikers? Most of them are some of the nicest people I've ever met and have the utmost respect for life and property. Way to be prejudiced to a large lot based on the actions of a few. Also, typically on the roads, "real" bikers tend to be very conservative in their driving as opposed to the ricers who feel the need to weave between traffic at 100mph+.
"Nature doesn't care how smart you are. You can still be wrong." - Richard Feynman
Cloudmaster,
:-)
You're right on all those technical points but...
I'm sorry to say that the Harley Davidson company doesnot hold a copyright on the sound. They did try to Trademark it back in the 90's but gave up on that for two reasons.
1. its pretty much impossible to trademark a sound
2. The metric cruisers didn't really try to copy the sound (they produced engines than were in tune) and so lost the commercial incentive to protect the "sound".
But right on abou the belt
Rethin
You can already sort of do it with Griffin's media reader attachment. When your camera's memory card gets full, just take it out, plug it into the media reader, and all your pictures get stored on the iPod.