Get More out of Your iPod and MP3 Players

An MP3 player, be it an iPod or any other model from Sandisk, iRiver, Cowon etc. can do much more than just play MP3s. I’m not talking about video playback, or anything else the manufacturer themselves offer you, but more than the what the manufacturer intended to offer. Thanks to homebrew firmwares, many MP3 players can now go beyond their set limitations to offer services that may even surprise the manufacturers.

For our not-so-tech savvy readers, firmware can be simply understood as a set of code permanently stored in any digital electronic device, which basically controls all the facets of the device. The graphical interface you see on your player, the player’s feature-set, its functionality options, etc. are all dictated by the firmware.

Every manufacturer obviously builds their own version, but that is not all there is to it. Open source designers also have made attempts, and today we will look at one such brilliant application. This application is called Rockbox, a freeware, open source firmware created for various MP3 player models. It is essentially a Jukebox software and expands the functionality of your MP3 player, including new skins, file format support, themes, and even small games. You can get Rockbox from here

Before we move on, I have to mention what brands and models this software works on, as not all models are supported. We have for Apple: 1st through 5.5th generation iPod, iPod Mini and 1st generation iPod Nano. It does not work with the Shuffle, 2nd/3rd/4th gen Nano, and iPod Touch.

I’m assuming they are working on a version for these players, we all know how Apple prevents bruteforcing their systems with labyrinthine encryption. Besides, there are versions for iRiver, Cowon, Archos, Toshiba and Sandisk. Full list of models is given on their page.

Installation is simple: a full fledged wizard like utility is available for download, that allows the user to go step by step and install. The thing is, there are few steps, as a bootloader has to be installed first, to instruct your device to load the new Rockbox firmware. Then one can install optional a variety of skins and fonts, and finally put to rest the old blue and white skin. Most important of all, there are downloadable plugins for various files' support including FLAC. Finally there are voice files (say for blind or really lazy users), MIDI playback sets, colorful icon sets etc.

Once downloaded and installed make sure you do one important step. Go to the settings in the Rockbox OS, and select 'update database'. IF this is not done, the system wont recognize your songs stored. This is because Apple stores your songs under totally different nomenclature in the iPods.

After this firmware is installed, you can drag and drop files — another big headache solved.�