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Installing iPodLinux on the iPod Nano

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the doing-it-just-to-do-it dept.

Joe Barr over at Linux.com (also owned by VA Sofware) has an interesting writeup on how he took his iPod Nano and installed iPodLinux on it, making it into a "dual-booting, sweet MP3-singing, iDoom-playing monster."

31 comments

  1. does it by raffe · · Score: 1, Insightful

    work on ipod mini??? I would like to do it on my ipod mini!

    1. Re:does it by Otter · · Score: 1

      It does...

      --
      What I'm listening to now on Pandora...
    2. Re:does it by rmezzari · · Score: 5, Informative

      Yes it does. I have it working on my 1st gen Mini. Im using Flydzilla too. I also have a game Boy emulator and several ROMs. You shoule be able to do the same using info from those sites below:
      http://www.dansfloyd.com/help.html
      http://ipodlinux.org/4G_Installer
      http://ipodlinux.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6099

      --
      "Emancipate yourself from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds !"
    3. Re:does it by TheMotedOne · · Score: 1

      work on ipod mini??? I would like to do it on my ipod mini!

      You could always RTFA.

      FTFA: Page 1, line 8:
      There are installation instructions for all flavors of the iPod on the iPodLinux project wiki.

  2. What's Next? by rtobyr · · Score: 3, Funny

    Doom on your iPod. Next thing you know, they're going to put Duke Nukem on the Atari 2600. Oh wait, they already did that.

  3. playing compressed video by vg1111 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I have linux installed on my nano for the past 3 months and I am still looking for a way to play compressed video on it. If it can play compressed video then I don't need iPod Video.

    1. Re:playing compressed video by kestasjk · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It can, but on such a tiny screen and without only enough battery life to watch a couple of episodes it's not much more than a gimmick.

      --
      // MD_Update(&m,buf,j);
    2. Re:playing compressed video by josh42 · · Score: 2, Informative

      The iPod video has a special decoding chip for compressed video. It's a BCM2722, if I recall correctly. (And we still don't know how to work it.) The nano doesn't have that chip, so playing compressed video on it is going to be much, much harder, maybe impossible. We're working on it though. -- Josh

  4. Video Ipod? by dbucowboy · · Score: 1

    Will this work on the Video ipod?

    --
    This just in! 3 out of 4 people make up 75% of the population.
    1. Re:Video Ipod? by Dash_Rantic · · Score: 2, Informative

      Yes, iPodLinux is currently running on 5G iPods. I think the screen refresh rate is currently pretty low, so it's not that useful just yet. They'll probably fix the problem soon, and then you wide-screen iPod people can be playing iDoom with the rest of us :) Read more: http://ipodlinux.org/ -Dash

      --
      I'm going to get out of this place alive, even if it kills me!
    2. Re:Video Ipod? by dbucowboy · · Score: 0, Troll

      the video ipod is 30GB or 60GB... will it work on those?

      --
      This just in! 3 out of 4 people make up 75% of the population.
    3. Re:Video Ipod? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "5G" refers to 5th generation, AKA video ipod, not the size of the disk

    4. Re:Video Ipod? by xerxesdaphat · · Score: 1

      Yes it does work, I have it on mine. The low screen refresh problem and sound issues they were having have been fixed.

      However, Podzilla 2 (think the desktop environment) is not letting me launch a terminal, or other applications, so I can't run a terminal or Doom or anything which kind of sucks. For the time being I'm 99% of the time booting into normal Apple OS.

      --
      The Shoes of the Fisherman's Wife Are Some Jive Ass Slippers
  5. google video by missing_myself · · Score: 2, Informative

    http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2998600329 06836240&q=ipod+linux

  6. Vorbis etc. by qrwe · · Score: 0

    As Ipod didn't supported vorbis, I wasn't even looking at its way after the release. If this is a working solution for playing vorbis (and more), I'm sure a Nano will do in my pocket after all!

    --
    There are 2 types of people in the world - those who understand decimal and those who don't.
    1. Re:Vorbis etc. by Fweeky · · Score: 4, Informative

      Rockbox is a working solution for playing Vorbis, MusePack, FLAC, WavPack, etc on the Nano, provided you're happy using daily builds.

  7. oh yeah, by sk8dork · · Score: 2, Informative
    I was pretty active in the IPL community, and as far as I know they've got it working on every ipod so far, except for the shuffle. When I say they, i mean the forum goers, meaning only the 1st 2nd and 3rd gen ipods are 'supported' by the IPL Core Team. The forums are overflowing with helpful tutorials to do it on any ipod, yes including the nano and "video" (5G)


    In fact, here's my personal instructional video (for installing on nano) that I've had on Google video for some time. enjoy.

    --
    ...all cock-blockery aside...
  8. No! No! No!!! by generic-man · · Score: 5, Funny

    You're not supposed to load Linux on your iPod Nano. The iPod Nano is for playing music and viewing photos only. Apple has clearly stated this right up front.

    • If you want to play Doom, then buy a Nintendo DS and the Doom cartridge. You should probably get a Game Boy Advance too so that you can play other games too (the GBA will play original Game Boy games, but the DS cannot). What the hell, get a PSP with the old firmware so you can load other games as well.
    • If you want to watch videos, then buy a portable DVD player. You can get them at Wal-Mart for less than $100. Burn your own DVDs, though... the MPAA doesn't need any extra money.
    • If you want to run Linux, buy a laptop. You can get a low-end Dell for $500, but buy it used so Microsoft doesn't get its tax from you.
    • Lastly, if you want to carry all this around, it's probably not going to fit in your pocket. So buy a Nissan Pathfinder and modify it to run on biodiesel. Then you're going to want to set up a small laboratory to refine your own biodiesel fuel. Trust me, this is going to save you a lot of money.

    Thank you for following all the rules.

    (that was a joke son)

    --
    For more information, click here.
    1. Re:No! No! No!!! by Onymous+Hero · · Score: 1

      I don't think the biodiesel idea is bad actually - its not too hard to do, depending on the car of course.

      More info here: www.greasecar.com

  9. Will it work on a Shuffle? by madnuke · · Score: 3, Interesting

    It could be a portable usb linux firewall!

    1. Re:Will it work on a Shuffle? by donutz · · Score: 1

      It could be a portable usb linux firewall!

      I know people run headless servers, but short of SSH'ing into the shuffle, how would you get any feedback at all? redirect stdout to the headphone jack? That can't sound very nice...

      Also, I can't imagine a music player without any network interfaces working very well as a firewall.

    2. Re:Will it work on a Shuffle? by generic-man · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The shuffle has an LED. Either you can send output to the user in Morse code, by blinking patterns of colors*, or by rigging up one of those cool systems where you wave the device around and it "draws" words in the air.

      Or just set up festival and pipe all messages through text-to-speech, outputting them through the headphone jack. Be creative! :)

      * This is how the Airport Express gives you feedback on its operating status. It's reminiscent of BIOS beep codes.

      --
      For more information, click here.
    3. Re:Will it work on a Shuffle? by forkazoo · · Score: 2, Funny
      Also, I can't imagine a music player without any network interfaces working very well as a firewall.


      That's why it's so secure! You just set the Cat.5 next to the iPod, and *nothing* malicious will get through!
  10. Dieting by matt+me · · Score: 1

    iPod nano? Tux has lost weight.

  11. iHavent really been keeping up by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    but iDoom? iKnow iT's from iD software, but is this where the marine wears white camo or a black turtleneck? Fighting hellspawn and other non-FLAC formats on Phobos, of course.

  12. So, now I can... by lampiaio · · Score: 4, Funny

    So, now I can finally play Doom on my iPod Shuffle!

    ...by ear, that is.

    --
    My other account has mod points.
    1. Re:So, now I can... by generic-man · · Score: 2, Funny

      They can use a modified version of Doom for Touch-Tone Phones*.

      "Hello and welcome to Doom! There is a barrel in front of you. To shoot it, press PAUSE."

      (pause)

      "You have shot the barrel! The barrel explodes. You die! To respawn, press VOLUME UP."

      * Does not exist yet

      --
      For more information, click here.
    2. Re:So, now I can... by tddoog · · Score: 1

      "So, now I can finally play Doom on my iPod Shuffle!" If you were this kid you could. http://www.wired.com/news/games/0,2101,68333,00.ht ml

  13. Re: ... and doom by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    The doom plugin has made it into rockbox main cvs, so it'll also be in recent daily builds.

  14. Dupe? by zanglang · · Score: 1

    No really, getting really old now.

    While running Linux on iPod is really novel, but seeing it coming up as headlines every few days on Digg (especially digg, christ!) and every other news site since, last year or so... Anyone else thinking the same?

  15. Re: ... and doom by Fweeky · · Score: 2, Informative

    Yup. Just confirmed it working in build 20060406. Runs pretty well too; better than some of the desktop machines I've played Doom on, ignoring the tiny screen and awkward controls ;)

    Now, where's my iPod keyboard, mouse and VGA-out adapter...