13.4 Linux on the iPod

When the Macintosh-only iPods appeared on the horizon, clever programmers created software like EphPod and XPlay that made them Windows-compatible, long before Apple created Windows-friendly iPods.

Not surprisingly, disciples of the Linux operating system weren't far behind. Linux is an alternative operating system for personal computers, created in 1991 by Linus Torvalds of Finland. (It's the system whose official mascot is a cute penguin named Tux.) Instead of starting his own company or selling his code to a large software corporation, Torvalds made his source code available for free on the Internet (as open source code) and invited other programmers to help him improve it, which they did.

Over the years , Linux has evolved from a hobby to a formidable operating system in its own right that runs servers and computers all over the world. Here are some of the iPod- related projects that the innovative Linux community has developed.

NOTE

Linux comes in several slightly different versions (called distributions in Linux lingo). Read the fine print on the Linux iPod pages about which distributions work with the software in question.

13.4.1 GNUpod

GNUpod provides a collection of free Perl scripts for power users, which make the iPod work with GNU/Linux systems, FreeBSD Unix, Darwin (that is, Mac OS X), and Solaris 9. Not for the technically faint of heart, the GNUpod tools can prepare an iPod for use with those systems, add and delete song files, make playlists, and carry out other standard iPod activities (http://www.gnu.org/software/gnupod).

13.4.2 gtkpod

gtkpod, a program with a graphical user interface for Linux and Unix, uploads songs and playlists to the iPod, edits ID3 tags on MP3 files, and alerts you to duplicate songs in your music database. The gtkpod program, which builds on some of the code written for the GNUpod scripts, is at http://gtkpod. sourceforge .net.

13.4.3 myPod

Not to be confused with the Mac OS utility program MyPod, the myPod program for Linux can create, edit, and transfer playlists to the iPod. It can also edit ID3 tags and organize music files on the computer. Since myPod source is written in Java, it works on any computer that can run Java-based programs and recognize a connected iPod as a hard drive (http://mypod.sourceforge.net).

13.4.4 The iPod on Linux Project

Bernard Leach has figured out a way to get Linux to actually run on the iPod, in a version of the system called uClinux. Although using the iPod this way hampers its natural abilities for playing music and responding to its own controls, Leach hopes that the iPod might one day do things like function as a storage bin for images from digital cameras . You can follow the project's progress at http://ipodlinux.sourceforge.net.

NOTE

Several Linus enthusiasts have described their own techniques for getting an iPod up and running with Linux. Two helpful pages, featuring personal stories and lots of links to other resources, are at http://pag.lcs.mit.edu/~adonovan/hacks/ipod.html and http:// neuron .com/~jason/ipod_archive.html.