Your iPod is Doooooomed!

June 21, 2006 11:38 AM

Your iPod is Doomed!
Or it can be, it can also be Zelda'ed if you prefer! ipodlinux.org has ported Linux to the iPod (for Linux, Windows and Mac) and, once its installed, you can load up all kinds of good stuff including the aforementioned Doom, as well as the entire Wiki or use your iPod as a Gameboy! And all without screwing up your existing music files (though there are no guarantees).
posted by fenriq (32 comments total)

I was playing doom on my nano before I'd even put the first song on it. I think that means I'm a geek :)
posted by -harlequin- at 11:56 AM on June 21, 2006

I would totally do this, but how do you play gameboy tetris with a click-wheel?
posted by mathowie at 12:07 PM on June 21, 2006

I'm thinking there's someone out there working on a game controller right now. At least, I hope there is.
posted by fenriq at 12:12 PM on June 21, 2006

I've had encyclopodia running for awhile. It comes in wiki-d (ha!) handy.
posted by zerokey at 12:18 PM on June 21, 2006

You could put X windows on it and do spreadsheets.

Rock on.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 12:28 PM on June 21, 2006

At least it can now play audio in real time on the newer iPods because they have more proccessing power to waste.

I can't tell if this effort is more or less retarded than people trying to use skype on their wifi cell phones. It's hard to choose, both are pretty goddamn stupid.
posted by blasdelf at 12:32 PM on June 21, 2006

Don't all of these mods require wiping out the iPod's UI and sync capabilities?
posted by mkultra at 12:37 PM on June 21, 2006

Nope, iPod Linux installs itself alongside the regular iPod software. So, you do have to reboot into Linux when you want to use it, but you can still use the standard UI and sync stuff.
posted by moss at 12:53 PM on June 21, 2006

The newer iPods can also use rockbox (i think you can add a .org to that to find the project's site)...and that'll let you play doom II.
posted by jbrjake at 12:59 PM on June 21, 2006

Don't all of these mods require wiping out the iPod's UI and sync capabilities?

Nope, iPod Linux installs itself alongside the regular iPod software. So, you do have to reboot into Linux when you want to use it, but you can still use the standard UI and sync stuff.

Suddenly, I'm a lot more interested.
posted by Atreides at 1:06 PM on June 21, 2006

I can't tell if this effort is more or less retarded than people trying to use skype on their wifi cell phones. It's hard to choose, both are pretty goddamn stupid.

I've been in towns where I my cell coverage ranged from patchy to nonexistent, but WiFi APs were readily available. So tell me, what's so retarded about it?
posted by George_Spiggott at 1:12 PM on June 21, 2006

I don't understand why apple dosn't make the interface for those things more video game friendly. Let people play more then pong and breakout :P.

I mean they have a little computer in millions of people's hands, and a content delivery system and (sadly) at least a little DRM. They could make a killing in the games industry.

And nintendo needs to add music support to the gameboy, too.
posted by delmoi at 1:15 PM on June 21, 2006

I've been in towns where I my cell coverage ranged from patchy to nonexistent, but WiFi APs were readily available. So tell me, what's so retarded about it?

It's retarded because I have no use for it, thus it is worthless!
posted by chrisroberts at 1:17 PM on June 21, 2006

I've been in towns where I my cell coverage ranged from patchy to nonexistent, but WiFi APs were readily available. So tell me, what's so retarded about it?

Not to mention that skype + wifi is free...
posted by delmoi at 1:17 PM on June 21, 2006

I have never owned an MP3 player of any kind, ever.

Just saw the screenshot of Doom running in color on the iPod nano. I'm in.
posted by Ryvar at 1:20 PM on June 21, 2006

You could put X windows on it and do spreadsheets.

No, they address this in the FAQ - without mmap you can't support X.
posted by Ryvar at 1:21 PM on June 21, 2006

George_Spiggot:

Your cell phone has very optimized stuff in it to be able to make reliable voice calls at great range for a dozen hours, with several days of battery life on standby.

WiFi + VOIP is worst-suited to this. The WiFi connection and audio encoding is very processor intensive and power hungry. You need a fast, hot processor only available in big blocky PDA phones. Because you can't leave the WiFi on without the battery dying in an hour or two, it's only useful for placing calls, not recieving them.

It might be free, but it's a pain in the ass. GSM is cheap and works.
posted by blasdelf at 1:29 PM on June 21, 2006

This is OT, but PDA phones come tiny now, can decode and play MPEG-4 video (QCIF or better), and it doesn't really matter how optimal GSM is if you can't get a signal. And as far as battery life there's such a thing as a wall plug. Most phones come with one. Recently at a hotel in central Washington to call my wife before going to sleep I had a choice between leaving the hotel and walking six blocks up the street to get a signal, or using VoIP from the room using the free WiFi. Which would you choose?
posted by George_Spiggott at 1:37 PM on June 21, 2006

(Actually I meant QVGA or better. And no there wasn't a phone in the room, this was a historic hotel.)
posted by George_Spiggott at 1:41 PM on June 21, 2006

I'd have used my laptop.
posted by blasdelf at 1:48 PM on June 21, 2006

I did. But I don't always have my laptop.
posted by George_Spiggott at 2:00 PM on June 21, 2006

Rockbox also has Doom, among other things. It also plays music pretty well ;)
posted by Freaky at 2:27 PM on June 21, 2006

But I don't always have my laptop.

Heathen.
posted by Hildegarde at 2:29 PM on June 21, 2006

(Also, like Linux, it lives alongside the standard Apple firmware just fine; chances of bricking your iPod are very minimal)
posted by Freaky at 2:30 PM on June 21, 2006

"No, they address this in the FAQ - without mmap you can't support X."

Pffft, I didn't read the link, let alone the FAQ.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 2:32 PM on June 21, 2006

Thanks for confirming my long-held hunch, Senor Crash.

I've got Doom loaded up on my iPod but am having issues with seeing it, the contrast is all messed up and my iPod isn't a color one (I know, total loser). Maybe I'll go and get into some iBoy roms and see what works, I bet driving games will kickass with the wheel.
posted by fenriq at 3:41 PM on June 21, 2006

I would totally do this, but how do you play gameboy tetris with a click-wheel?

You really only need three buttons for tetris: left, right, and rotate. Every iPod has at least five buttons (left, right, up, down, center) and two scroll directions that can easily function as buttons. I haven't played tetris on my nano (I have played Doom), but I'd imagine the scrollwheel would actually be a more intuitive interface than an actual Gameboy.
posted by scottreynen at 4:00 PM on June 21, 2006

Arkanoid and Pong and other trackball games should work on the wheel. Katamari Damacy?
If you made a control pad that plugged into the ipod you could expand the gaming/work potential. Is that something it is possible to do?
Typing on an ipod?
posted by asok at 4:25 PM on June 21, 2006

The problem with rockbox is that the life of battery dramaticly drop
posted by zouhair at 7:53 PM on June 21, 2006

I can't tell if this effort is more or less retarded than people trying to use skype on their wifi cell phones. It's hard to choose, both are pretty goddamn stupid.
posted by blasdelf at 3:32 PM EST on June 21 [+fave] [!]

Have you seen IntyOS?
posted by juiceCake at 8:07 PM on June 21, 2006

The only possible reason that I could imagine for owning an iPod rather than my iRiver H320 is that the clickwheel thing would definitely make playing Doom easier, I'd think.

But I can live without playing Doom on the move, and I've been spoiled by zDoom/jDoom on my PC, anyway.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 12:20 AM on June 22, 2006

Looks like this only works on versions 1-3. They're working on the rest now, though.
posted by zardoz at 1:03 AM on June 22, 2006