Slashdot Mirror
Hacking the iPod Firmware
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."
Mostly it's the user interface and integration with iTunes. Plenty of other portable digital music devices have more features (like support for more formats), are smaller, and cheaper, but I've yet to try one that is as user-friendly as the iPod.
One thing that bugs me, however, is that iTunes for Windows refuses to behave like a standard windows app. When you minimize it, it doesn't become the last entry in the Alt+Tab list, and in general has some wacky GUI choices. I really wish Apple would take the time to address these issues, but even those short comings make it difficult to deny the ease of use of an iPod.
Also, you can get several for free.
Instead of making cosmetic changes like this, if someone out there is clever enough to get into the firmware of the iPod, add some useful features, perhaps the holy grail of the iPod, in my opinion. Ogg support. T .ogg, and to have to convert it because Apple is stubborn is not my idea of a good time.
he fact that Apple can embrace BSD for their core, and have things interoperate rather well, yet leave this part out, when numerous listening tests have shown that Ogg Vorbis has better sound quality as equivalent bitrates than ANY lossy compression scheme, is just plain annoying, and is the single reason I havent bought an iPod. My whole music collection is ripped in
"See, we plan ahead! That way, we never have to do anything now."
Because we all know it doesn't matter if you use your iPod... it's about being seen with your iPod. This just makes your designer item that much more vital and cutting edge. A real way to stop the presses down at the oxygen bar.
What is music when you despise all sound?
"All of a sudden it started crashing, and it kept flashing 'WMA ONLY' on the screen! What's going on here?"
SNACKS ARE AWESOME
I'll tell you why it is funny. Because OGG fanboys are a joke. You are a typical example. You have an overinflated sense how your music player choice has impacted the world. Let me tell you who cares that you chose the iRiver. No one. You are a sad little man.
he fucked your mom and ate a pop tart.
Or a public club, are about 7000/5 that the project 4.1BSD product, I know it sux0rs, paranoid conspiracy is perhap5 claim that BSD is a won't vote in
No, that's crap - isn't this the same Apple that blocked access to a specific 3rd-party app in the 4.7 build of iTunes? Everyone likes to hold Apple up as the standard of tight hardware integration since they control the platform. Is it any wonder they would leverage it to make hacking their products a bit harder to do on Apple hardware?
No one cares about your hobby OS.
This time I could be arsed.
I'll tell you why it is funny. Because Apple fanboys are a joke. You are a typical example. You have an overinflated sense how your music player choice has impacted the world. Let me tell you who cares that you chose the iPod. No one. You are a sad little man.