Firmware lets users rock iPods without iTunes
Ginger Cooley
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The Pew Internet and American Life Project estimates that over 22 million Americans own an iPod or other MP3 player.
"The iPod's small size but huge capacity and ability to double as a mini hard drive really changed the way I was able to work as a commuting professional graduate student," Philadelphia resident Edward Arrington said in an e-mail interview.
But Arrington didn't know he could trick out his iPod to do even more.
For example, Rockbox is a popular firmware program €" computer programming that used to be implemented through software but is now stored in read-only memory €" that some users install on their iPods.
According to Rockbox.org, the program features MP3 playback that sounds considerably better than the standard firmware that comes with iPods. It also comes with many plug-ins, like games and text-viewers, which allow users to do more with their MP3 players.
iPod users with Rockbox can use the firmware to download sound files in any format to their iPod; they're not limited to using iTunes alone. Users don't have to give up the iPod firmware to use Rockbox, though. Like a computer that can boot up in two different operating systems, iPod users can switch back and forth between Rockbox and iPod firmware.
Anyone can download Rockbox for free at RockBox.org.
"To add music to my iPod, I use EphPod," Lewis Upperton of Brighton, United Kingdom, said in an e-mail interview. "I felt that iTunes was too cumbersome to be comfortable to use, and I didn't need another audio player on my computer."
EphPod can be found at ephPod.com, and it's an easy alternative to iTunes for Windows users. It loads music to iPods faster than iTunes and also has the ability to download the latest news, e-books and movie listings.
For users who don't necessarily want to pay for iTunes movies, there's a free program called Videora Converter. It allows users to convert PC video files, such as .avi and .mpeg, into files that will play on an iPod. Videora Converter can also be used to load DVDs (after converting them on a PC) onto an iPod. The program is available at videora.com/en-us/Converter.
Other programs for expanding an iPod's versatility can be found at ZappTek.com. The Web site's listing includes iSpeak, which allows users to convert sections of text into audio tracks (Macintosh-only); iPresent It, which edits images for easier viewing on iPod; and iPDA, which gives users the ability to download calendars and RSS feeds €" file systems for receiving and reading Web pages €" to their iPods.
A similar program to iPDA is iPodCopy. The program allows users to copy music, videos, games, images, calendars and other files to iPods. The program is available at Wideanglesoftware.com for $20.
Users who aren't into downloading programs, or who are less computer-savvy, might choose to visit a local iPod dealer to expand their iPod's bag of tricks. The Alaska Mac Store in Anchorage is one place to start.
"We have Tune-Transfer here at the store. It allows you to transfer music from you iPod into your PC," said store manager Rick Long. "We carry lots of different accessories: cases, speaker systems, FM transmitters, voice recorders, charging stations and remote-controls [for iPods] too."