I just want to (for the umpteenth time, perhaps) recommend an internet service that you might find of use:
del.icio.us
I know the name sounds like something cooking-related, but no! It's bookmarks. Social bookmarks. (that thing IE users call "favorites"... a word that should only be used to tag male slaves.)
Recently, a good friend found herself losing a bunch of her bookmarks by accident, and I was reminded of what a fine service del.icio.us provides.
del.icio.us is like... portable bookmarks. You store bookmarks in there and they are available to you from any computer.
Of course, these bookmarks are public, so don't go posting anything too private there, as others will also see it.
But for the rest of the stuff (especially if you want to check something at home that you bookmarked at the office) it's priceless.
=]
Be sure to give it a look.
If you want to check my portable bookmarks, they are here. Signing up is free and if you use firefox you can get the del.icio.us extension that adds a button to your navigation bar allowing you to tag and save stuff to your del.icio.us account with just one click. It's really simple, and as usual, if you feel like using it but have questions, don't hesitate to ask me. =]
I've chosen to share my bookmarks openly (hence why they are linked in my journal's layout) but you might choose not to. It's up to you. ^_~
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
iPod on GNU/Linux
A very dear friend sent me an iPod nano as a present. (His motivations will remain undisclosed. =P)
As I've mentioned quite often, my beautiful compie runs a beautiful operating system: GNU/Linux.
GNU/Linux is wonderful because it's FREE (as in freedom), which means you get to tweak things you wouldn't be able to tweak with proprietary software.
Lots of people seem to believe you cannot use your iPod with GNU/Linux. I've found this to be completely false, and for that reason I'll explain here how I've gotten my iPod to work under the OS that I love.
So, basic stats of what I'm running:
Computer Architecture: PC, intel P4 processor
iPod: iPod Nano 1Gig (smallish and cutish and black)
Operating System/s: GNU/Linux
Distro: Debian (etch) (has a bad rep, but it's not as complicated as people make it look)
Kernel: 2.6.11-2-686
Stuff that your kernel needs to have: hfs support (hfsplus) Unless you have a windows iPod, in which case you need to be able to read vfat (which all distros do). I'll explain later on.
Earlier kernels (2.4 family) will need to enable hfs.
Stuff you will need to download and install: gtkpod (I haven't been very lucky using Amarok to copy music to my iPod. Maybe that is because I am missing some step in the configuration.
Stuff you will need to read: This.
Now let's proceed.
1. Plug in your iPod to your computer using the usb cord.
2. Wait until it gets automagically mounted.
3. Let it charge until the battery icon is full.
4. Open gtkpod (go to your console of choice and type "gtkpod". -minus the quotation marks-) (yes, that's how complicated it is to run applications from console.) Go to edit ->Preferences and specify your mount point.
You will notice that two removable devices are detected. In my case, they were named sda1 and sda2.
This is because the iPod drive is partitioned. sda1 (in my example) is smaller and contains the iPod firmware. (I don't like firmware, I believe in freedom... I'll try my claws at GNUpod for this reason, but I'll do so later.) The other partition will be sda2, and that's where the iPod stores your data.
Mount the sda2 partition only. You don't need to touch the other partition.
Note: If you have root access, you could especify the mount point, but I'd rather not, since I use other usb gadgets and it could get messed up. Besides, that's why autodetection of the filesystem is there. Duh.
If this is the first time you run your ipod nano, the default filesystem is mac's hfs. If you want to be able to use it with Linux and Windows, you might want to follow the instructions in the link I provided above, and format it into vfat.
If you want to be able to use it with Linux and Mac, do no formatting and keep reading.
If you want it to use GNUpod... wait until I post again. >]
Your brand-new, pristine, virgin iPod doesn't have an iTunesDB file. You will need to create one.
In order to create one, click the last button on your right, the one that reads something like sync to iPod or just sync.
It will warn you that the world will come to an end if you do this. Ignore it. (who cares about the world, anyway?) None of that will happen, and you'll get a new and blank iTunesDB file.
Now, this is where all the fun begins.
Import your media folders from your hard drive.
All files will be checked. Uncheck those you don't want to transfer or create a new playlist (New Playlist button) and drag and drop the files you want to transfer into it.
Once you are done, click the sync button again.
Again, it will warn you that you are a horrible creature from hell that will bring the world to an end and destroy your iPod. Ignore it. Go ahead, nothing bad will happen.
Once it is done, close gtkpod.
Unmount (safely remove) the mounted partition (in this case sda2).
Unplug the iPod from your computer.
Enjoy.
If you want to append files to your iPod...
Plug it in using the usb cord, wait until the device is shown among the available devices (a few seconds wait) and mount the largest partition.
1. Open gtkpod (I already told you how to do this.)
2. Click the read database button (leftmost)
3. Once the database is loaded, drag and drop items to the playlist.
4. Sync. (the button that reads "sync" actually syncs.)
5. Once it's done, unmount the iPod partition.
6. Unplug iPod.
7. Enjoy.
You could, of course, do all this from the console using the mount and umount commands, but I'm going for the eye-candied way here because I know people like eye-candy. ^_~
Well, enjoy yourselves. I'll go have something to drink while listening to Chopin on my iPod as soon as I've clicked "publish post" and finished my cigarette.
Ahh... sexy.
As I've mentioned quite often, my beautiful compie runs a beautiful operating system: GNU/Linux.
GNU/Linux is wonderful because it's FREE (as in freedom), which means you get to tweak things you wouldn't be able to tweak with proprietary software.
Lots of people seem to believe you cannot use your iPod with GNU/Linux. I've found this to be completely false, and for that reason I'll explain here how I've gotten my iPod to work under the OS that I love.
So, basic stats of what I'm running:
Computer Architecture: PC, intel P4 processor
iPod: iPod Nano 1Gig (smallish and cutish and black)
Operating System/s: GNU/Linux
Distro: Debian (etch) (has a bad rep, but it's not as complicated as people make it look)
Kernel: 2.6.11-2-686
Stuff that your kernel needs to have: hfs support (hfsplus) Unless you have a windows iPod, in which case you need to be able to read vfat (which all distros do). I'll explain later on.
Earlier kernels (2.4 family) will need to enable hfs.
Stuff you will need to download and install: gtkpod (I haven't been very lucky using Amarok to copy music to my iPod. Maybe that is because I am missing some step in the configuration.
Stuff you will need to read: This.
Now let's proceed.
1. Plug in your iPod to your computer using the usb cord.
2. Wait until it gets automagically mounted.
3. Let it charge until the battery icon is full.
4. Open gtkpod (go to your console of choice and type "gtkpod". -minus the quotation marks-) (yes, that's how complicated it is to run applications from console.) Go to edit ->Preferences and specify your mount point.
You will notice that two removable devices are detected. In my case, they were named sda1 and sda2.
This is because the iPod drive is partitioned. sda1 (in my example) is smaller and contains the iPod firmware. (I don't like firmware, I believe in freedom... I'll try my claws at GNUpod for this reason, but I'll do so later.) The other partition will be sda2, and that's where the iPod stores your data.
Mount the sda2 partition only. You don't need to touch the other partition.
Note: If you have root access, you could especify the mount point, but I'd rather not, since I use other usb gadgets and it could get messed up. Besides, that's why autodetection of the filesystem is there. Duh.
If this is the first time you run your ipod nano, the default filesystem is mac's hfs. If you want to be able to use it with Linux and Windows, you might want to follow the instructions in the link I provided above, and format it into vfat.
If you want to be able to use it with Linux and Mac, do no formatting and keep reading.
If you want it to use GNUpod... wait until I post again. >]
Your brand-new, pristine, virgin iPod doesn't have an iTunesDB file. You will need to create one.
In order to create one, click the last button on your right, the one that reads something like sync to iPod or just sync.
It will warn you that the world will come to an end if you do this. Ignore it. (who cares about the world, anyway?) None of that will happen, and you'll get a new and blank iTunesDB file.
Now, this is where all the fun begins.
Import your media folders from your hard drive.
All files will be checked. Uncheck those you don't want to transfer or create a new playlist (New Playlist button) and drag and drop the files you want to transfer into it.
Once you are done, click the sync button again.
Again, it will warn you that you are a horrible creature from hell that will bring the world to an end and destroy your iPod. Ignore it. Go ahead, nothing bad will happen.
Once it is done, close gtkpod.
Unmount (safely remove) the mounted partition (in this case sda2).
Unplug the iPod from your computer.
Enjoy.
If you want to append files to your iPod...
Plug it in using the usb cord, wait until the device is shown among the available devices (a few seconds wait) and mount the largest partition.
1. Open gtkpod (I already told you how to do this.)
2. Click the read database button (leftmost)
3. Once the database is loaded, drag and drop items to the playlist.
4. Sync. (the button that reads "sync" actually syncs.)
5. Once it's done, unmount the iPod partition.
6. Unplug iPod.
7. Enjoy.
You could, of course, do all this from the console using the mount and umount commands, but I'm going for the eye-candied way here because I know people like eye-candy. ^_~
Well, enjoy yourselves. I'll go have something to drink while listening to Chopin on my iPod as soon as I've clicked "publish post" and finished my cigarette.
Ahh... sexy.
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