gnuPod plays Linux

By Alun Williams

Posted on 30 Sep 2002 at 17:16

All you iPod lovers out there may be interested to know the device can work with Linux.

gnuPod 0.2 has just been released, reports Slashdot, and it lets you use Linux for loading and managing your iPod tracks.

The developers behind the gnuPod have 'hacked' the iTunesDB file on the iPod system ('the most important file on your iPod,' they say). While they have not decrypted the iTunesDB 100 per cent, they declare that 'we know enough to write our own working file and therefore use an iPod with Linux (and others)'.

A download, and more information, can be found at the gnuPod Web site.

Note that the set-up is not for the faint hearted. As well as a FireWire card, you will need the scripting language Perl (version 5.6), the Perl modules MP3::Info, File::Copy, Unicode::String and XML::Parser, and a 'basic knowledge of the shell'.

And those who may be interested in delving into the iTunesDB format should browse here.

gnuPod 0.2 is released under the GNU GPL (General Public Licence), which ensures the software can be freely accessed by users and, in turn, any other program whose authors commit to using it.

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