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| iPodLinux | |
|---|---|
 | |
 MandelPod, aMandelbrot set running in iPodLinux | |
| Written in | C,assembly language |
| OS family | Linux (Unix-like) |
| Latest release | 2.3 (x86) / January 7, 2007; 18 years ago (2007-01-07) |
| Repository | |
| Supported platforms | seeCompatibility |
| Kernel type | Monolithic (modifiedμClinux) |
| Userland | uClibc,BusyBox |
| License | GNU GPLv2+ |
| Official website | www |
iPodLinux is aμClinux-basedLinux distribution designed specifically to run onApple Inc.'siPod. When the iPodLinuxkernel isbooted it takes the place of Apple's iPod operating system and automatically loads Podzilla, an alternativeGUI and launcher for a number of additional includedprograms such as avideo player, animage viewer, acommand line shell,games,emulators forvideo game consoles,programming demos, and other experimental or occasionally unfinishedsoftware.
The project has been inactive since 2009, but its website is still online. Further development offree andopen source software for iPods have continued with the Rockbox Project, zeroslackr, and freemyipod, which have largely supplanted iPodLinux. Some third party installers are still available.[1]
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iPodLinux in essence consists of a Linux kernel built from μClinux sources using theuClibcC standard library withdrivercode for iPod components (orreverse engineered drivers where available). It includesuserland programs from μClinux and/orBusyBox, aUNIX-stylefile system (which can be created withinHFS+ formatted iPods, or anext2 partition onFAT32 formatted iPod), and the Podzilla GUI (and its modules). Apple'sproprietary iPod OS in contrast uses an invisibleboot loader and is based on anARM processor kernel originally written byPixo, and the iPodMiller Columns browser program, aGUI written by Apple and Pixo using the Pixoapplication framework, and otherfirmware and component drivers written from manufacturer's reference code to support the standard behavior Apple wanted the iPod to have.
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Besides thekernel, iPodLinux features as a primary component podzilla and podzilla2, applications which provide:
Thebootloader for the 4th generation iPod was extracted by Nils Schneider, a Germancomputer science student. Previous software methods to extract the necessary bootloader no longer worked. Bernard Leach had previously discovered how to operate the piezo buzzer inside the iPod. Schneider was able to use his program with some modifications to make a series of clicks for each byte of the new iPod's bootloader. The extraction process took 22 hours to complete and required Schneider to construct a soundproof box to prevent outside interference with the process.[3]
On June 11, 2008, the organization's website was suspended and replaced with a redirect to a blank page.[4] The server had its services restored incrementally.[5] On October 1, 2008, theiPodLinux.org DNS address was updated and the server was online again by October 5, 2008. On June 22, 2009, the server was pulled offline again. The server was back online again on September 8. In September 2010 the server went offline again and has not got online again yet. Alexander Papst, one of the developers, has posted amirror of the site atipodlinux.wiki.[6] In 2015, the site was offline. However, in 2019, it has gone online, with embedded text advertisements.[7]
According to the iPodLinux wiki, "developers have succeeded in getting [the following features] to work- it does not imply that the feature is ready for widespread use."[8]
| Generation | Date[note 1] | LCD | Input | Serial[note 2] | Hard drive | Piezo | Audio playback | Audio recording | FireWire | USB | Power management | Video out |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1G | October 2001 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | — | No | — |
| 2G | July 2002 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | — | No | — |
| 3G | April 2003 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial[note 3] | Partial[note 4] | — |
| 4G | July 2004 | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Partial[note 5] | Yes | Partial[note 6] | Partial[note 3] | Partial[note 3] | Partial[note 4] | — |
| Photo/Color | October 2004 | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Partial[note 5] | Yes | Partial[note 6] | Partial[note 3] | Partial[note 3] | Partial[note 4] | No |
| 5G | October 2005 | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Partial[note 5] | Yes | No | — | Partial[note 3] | Partial[note 4] | No |
| 5.5G | October 2006 | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Partial[note 5] | Yes | No | — | Partial[note 3] | Partial[note 4] | No |
| Classic | September 2007 | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| iPod Touch andiPhone[note 7] | September 2007 | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Mini 1G | January 2004 | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Partial[note 5] | Yes | — | Partial[note 3] | Partial[note 3] | Partial[note 4] | — |
| Mini 2G | February 2005 | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Partial[note 5] | Yes | — | Partial[note 3] | Partial[note 3] | Partial[note 4] | — |
| Nano 1G | September 2005 | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Partial[note 5] | Yes | No | — | Partial[note 3] | Partial[note 4] | — |
| Nano 2G–7G | September 2006 | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
As of August 5, 2006, only the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd generation iPod are officially supported by iPodLinux,[citation needed] although newer generations are also partially compatible.[9] The iPodLinux project does not plan support for theiPod shuffle due to the lack of aGCC compiler for the shuffle's DSP57000 core, as well as the fact that the iPod shuffle lacks a screen.[10] While later generations work fine for many uses of iPodLinux, not all features work; these later generations will not be officially supported by the project until most or all features from the earlier iPods work on them. Installers are in the process of being made. As of now, there is Installer 2.3 forMicrosoft Windows orLinux which can install on any generationiPod (except for the iPod shuffle andiPod nano 2nd generation). As of April, 2008, iPodLinux does not work on the new iPod firmware included with the second and third generation iPod nano or the 6th generation iPod Classic, and installer 2 cannot be used to install iPodLinux on 5.5th generation iPod. In addition to that, the much spoken about audio recording feature currently does not work on the latest ipodlinux/zeroslackr builds. In ipodlinux, an under development message is given under recording, while in zeroslackr, recording is not displayed at all.
Arguably one of the project's more notable accomplishments is itsvideo player, released months before rumors about Apple's Video iPod began to spread. This video player only plays uncompressedAVI files, which are basically just a series ofbitmap formatted frames with an audio overlay that commonly loses sync with the video output. A new compression technique calledMoviePod, released in 2006, enables people to put more video content on their iPod. This function continues to be developed and is a useful function for users of older iPod (especially nano users that, with the help of iPodLinux, can get an extremely smallmedia center that can be held in the palm of the hand).[11]
podzilla 2, the second generation of podzilla, and commonly known as pz2, has superseded the original version of podzilla. It included several new features, most notably modularity; users can install new applications without recompiling all of podzilla. This version is the only working set of Podzilla official that will run on 5.5G iPods.
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