Doom in My Pocket

I travel a lot these days. When I get bored, one of the favorite things that I always do is get my 5th Gen iPod, not to listen to music or watch some videos, but play Doom with it. That’s right. The good old semi-violent first-person shooter game Doom, in 3D. Now how did I do it?

First, I installed Rockbox. Rockbox is a free software replacement for the firmware held on various forms of digital audio players (DAPs). Rockbox offers an alternative to the host device's operating system firmware (in many cases without removing the original firmware) which provides a plug-in architecture for adding various enhancements and functionality to DAPs which are not present in the original OS. Enhancements include PDA functionality, applications, utilities, and games. I made a tutorial on installing Rockbox HERE.

After familiarizing with the Rockbox firmware, I then installed Doom by following these simple steps:

To play Doom you need at least the "base wad" called rockdoom.wad plus one or more game wads.

1. Install rockdoom.wad
Create a directory called /.rockbox/doom/ on your player (i.e. F:\.rockbox\doom\ for Windows users - where F: is the drive letter for your DAP) and save the following file in that directory:
* rockdoom.wad: rockdoom.wad.

2. Install the game wads
Copy the Doom wad(s) you wish to play into that directory and start Doom. The wads doom looks for are:
* doom1.wad: Doom (Shareware)
* doom.wad: Doom
* doomu.wad: Doom
* doom2.wad: Doom 2 - Hell on Earth
* doom2f.wad: Doom 2 French
* plutonia.wad: Doom 2 - Plutonia Experiment
* tnt.wad: Doom 2 - TNT - Evilution
A free alternative for Doom 2 is Freedoom. This can be used in place of doom2.wad or it may be used as an addon in doom by placing it in the addons directory.


Some photos of my iPod running Doom:




Now let’s smoke those freaky aliens!

13 Not-So-Easy Steps to Install Linux on iPod

A few months ago, I wrote an article on how I installed Rockbox and Bootloader on my 5th generation iPod Video. This time, I will give be sharing to you the 13 not-so-easy but also not-that-difficult steps to successfully install Linux on iPod.

Disclaimer:
* The tutorial was tested on my 5th gen. 60GB iPod video.
* I am not responsible for anything that could happen to your iPod. Try this at your own risk and don't ever tell me that I did not warn you.
* Backup all your iPod files because all will be deleted during the process.
* A little knowledge in using Linux is highly recommended. Read and understand all my instructions first before starting and if you feel that this is not for you then leave.

The Installation:
1. Download a Linux LiveCD. Go to Distrowatch.com to choose a distribution, but I suggest you get Knoppix as it was the distro I used and tested.

2. Boot the LiveCD and once you are on the KDE desktop, connect the iPod.

3. Open Konsole and type "/sbin/fdisk /dev/sda" replace "a" in "sda" with the corresponding drive letter of your iPod. Then type in "p". A partition table should appear. Remember the “start value” for the second partition and write it down so that you can remember it.

4. Type "d", then "2". This will delete your music partition. Then, type "n", then "p", then "2", then the “start value”. Then, it will ask for last cylinder. Check the "default" and subtract 16. So, it’s default minus 16.

5. Type "n", then "p", then "3", then the last number you typed above PLUS ONE. Then, press enter for last cylinder, it will put the default value. Type in "a", then "2". Type in "t", then "2", then "b".

6. Type in "p". You should get your new partition table.
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 1 14 112423+ 0 Empty
/dev/sda2 * 15 7280 58364145 b W95 FAT32
/dev/sda3 7281 7296 128520 83 Linux

If you do not think it is correct, type "q" and then go back to step 3.

7. If you got it right, type in "w". It will change your partition table. A dialogue may come up asking to open sda3, cancel it. Now, format your partitions:
"mkdosfs -F 32 /dev/sda2" to format the fat32. Be sure the F is capitalized!
"mke2fs /dev/sda3" to format the linux partition
"tune2fs -c 0 /dev/sda3" to set the maximal mount count to 0. It will show up as -1, this is correct.

8. Open Konqueror and click on "storage media". Open sda3 and sda2. If they open alright, you have the proper partitions. (If you do not see one of them, try right clicking on the one you do see, clicking on "safely remove", and reconnecting your ipod.)
Download the userland: http://so2.sys-techs.com/ipod/ipod_fs_240206.tar.gz. Extract the downloaded file to sda3 (not sda2). It might give you an error about a file expected instead of a folder, just press skip.

9. Go here, and download “appearance” with the highest number. Extract it to the /usr/share/ folder in sda3. If it asks about overwriting anything, just press skip.
Go back to that same link above, and click on “pzmodules” with the highest number. Extract it to /usr/lib/ folder in sda3.
Go back to the site, yet again, and get "podzilla2" with the highest number, and this time just extract it to sda3, don't put it in any other folder.

Note: Some people have reported problems with extracting podzilla2, and have said that simply renaming it to podzilla works. Try it out if you have issues.

10. Start Konqueror, go to storage media, go to sda3, and right click on the podzilla2 file (it will have 3 numbers after it.) Click on "rename", and change the name to "podzilla". Drag podzilla to the "bin" folder, and when asked, click on "move here." It will ask you to overwrite, click on "overwrite". Double-click on bin, find podzilla, right-click on it, and press "properties". Open the "permissions" tab at the top of the dialogue, and check the "is executable" box. Click ok, and go up-one-level twice (with the up arrow near the "home" button).

11. Go here, download the latest build and extract it to sda2, not sda3. This will make updating the kernel from windows possible, if need be. Go to Konqueror, and click on sda2 (not sda3). Right click on the kernel file you just extracted, and rename it to "kernel.bin". Go up-one-level, right click on sda2, and click on "safely remove". Now, disconnect your ipod.

12. When the ipod is disconnected, it should restart. If it does not, reboot with menu + center. It will show the blue background, run some white text, and a menu will come up with three options: RetailOS, iPodLinux, and Disk Mode. If the white text keeps looping, then do step 11 again.
-RetailOS: Pretty obvious, will put you back to the normal OS. It will then always stay in RetailOS, unless you reboot with menu + center.
-iPodLinux: Boots Podzilla2! Try it out, the next step will show you how to use it.
-Disk Mode: Self-explanatory.

Do not restore your iPod as it will destroy all your hard work. Instead, go to disk-mode or RetailOS, plug it in, run iTunes (it will think of it as a new iPod,) and just put all your music back on. This is all that is needed.
Also, do not update as updating will do the same.

13. When you initiate iPodLinux, it will boot in verbose mode, and then you will see some loading dots and some error messages. Just press the “center” of the click wheel to avoid them as they are not essential. Enjoy.

* Some photos of my iPod running Linux for a little inspiration:

Hipster In-law

About a week ago, my wife’s mother got herself a brand new 2nd generation mint-green iPod shuffle. I find it really amusing that increasing number of people from the older age group are fast adapting to the latest gadget trend. But this article is not about my cool mother-in-law, it’s about the crappy iPod Shuffle and its software support.

As the only certified nerd in the family, I was asked to load some songs for the new Shuffle. And without any hesitation, I happily agreed to help. I decided to do the syncing before I went to bed as I thought it will only take a matter of time to finish. But I was wrong. At about 11:30 PM, when I connected the Shuffle to the USB port it was not detected by my computer hence it can’t be recognized by iTunes. I visited Apple’s website for support then I followed several troubleshooting instructions. The computer finally discovered the shuffle and I lived happily ever after. Not! The computer did detect the Shuffle but not in iTunes. So once again I patiently searched for help and with a little luck on my side, iTunes finally saw the Shuffle after several tries. I can at last relax and just watch cartoons while waiting for the iPod to finish syncing or loading the songs. Not! The syncing stopped with the following error message “Disk cannot be read from or written to”. So I tried restoring the iPod but now it gives another error message that says “The iPod could not be restored. An unknown error occurred (1418)”. Now I’m beginning to worry as the Shuffle will be needed in the morning for my mom’s travel.

It was already 1am and I’m now using a special tool called Google to look for help. I bumped into several articles telling horror stories about the Shuffle. There was also that website called 1418hell.com. I tried some of their suggestions to help solve the 1418 error but it was no good. I finally just took matters into my own hands and restored the iPod by formatting it first in FAT, not FAT32 and then restored it by way of iTunes. But, I still can’t sync the iPod and it’s now already 2am. I even tried MediaMonkey and a program called iShuffle for syncing but to no avail. Now I want to eat that little shuffle as I was hungry and sleepy at the same time. I uninstalled and reinstalled iTunes a million times because that’s what Apple says until I gave up at around 4am.

I slept tight for just an hour but it was good enough to clear my mind. I realized that the problem could be caused by iTunes; it could have messed up the Windows Registry. So I decided to use a computer with no previous iTunes installation which we luckily have in the office. Problem solved at 6:30 am.

I’m writing this article because I have been wanting to say to Apple to go to Hell. But I don’t want to say those bad words to them because I’m a good boy. I’m just hoping that Apple will fix these issues immediately because iPod, in this case the Shuffle is a great product and bugs like these are inexcusable. I pity those who have just bought their shiny new iPod Shuffle and are very eager to listen to it already but then have to experience the same problem that I had with it. There's nothing I can do but to wish them luck.

An iPhone with No Phone

Big news; to go with Apple’s annual tradition, today, Steve Jobs introduced a new iPod named “iPodTouch”, shown on the photo. I’m not kidding and you are definitely not dreaming. It does look like an iPhone but actually a fraction smaller and slightly thinner than the iPhone. Most of its multimedia features are identical to that of iPhone but it is the first iPod ever that has internet capability with its Safari browser via wi-fi. Its multi-touch screen’s size is same as the iPhone but it comes with 8GB and 16GB storage models to choose from. Some other features of this new iPod are not that spectacular as I have already heard about it on the iPhone. It’s basically iPhone, iPhone, iPhone, but with no phone functionality.

Other important products that Steve have announced today are new line-ups of iPod Nano and iPod Video which he appropriately called the iPod Classic because as he said, “it is the original iPod”; makes sense hehe. I love their new design (click on the images below for a larger view). It looked fatter but the metal enclosure is sleek. The new Nano, with 4GB and 8GB models can now play video on its 2-inch screen. Meanwhile, the iPod Video now has a 160GB model and has a much improved battery life (that’s what Mr. Jobs said). The screen size is still the same as the older 5th generation models but the new one has a new UI (User Interface).

My Verdict:
If you already have an iPhone and wanted to buy a new iPod, don’t buy iPodTouch. I would recommend buying the new Nano or the Classic model. If you don’t have an iPhone and an iPod and planning to buy an iPod, please don’t buy iPodTouch. Just buy an iPhone, it is a phone with iPod + ability. For Filipinos wanting to buy an iPodTouch, just say no. Wait for the iPhone which is coming early next year with surely affordable prices. But if you lack patience, just buy a Nano today.

Visit www.apple.com for more product info.

Installing Rockbox and Bootloader

So here it is. Before you begin pimping, please carefully read the following:

1. I am not responsible for anything that could happen to your iPod. Try this at your own risk and don't ever tell me that I did not warn you.
2. Backup all your iPod files because all will be deleted during the process.
3. Be sure that you have a little computer experience. Read and understand all my instructions first before starting and if you feel that this is not for you then leave.

For Windows OS:
I. Installing the firmware

1a. Download your version of Rockbox here.
1b. Connect your player to the computer via USB.
1c. Take the file that you downloaded above, and use the “Extract all” command of your unzip program to extract the zip file onto your player's root directory. If the contents of the .zip file are extracted correctly, you will have a folder called /.rockbox, which contains all the files needed by Rockbox, in the main folder of your player’s drive.

II. Installing the Bootloader

2a. Connect your Ipod.
2b. Download ipodpatcher.exe from here and run it.
2c. If all has gone well, you should see some information displayed about your iPod and a message asking you if you wish to install the Rockbox Bootloader. Press i followed by ENTER, and ipodpatcher will now install the bootloader. After a short time you should see the message “[INFO] Bootloader installed successfully.” Press ENTER again to exit ipodpatcher.
2d. Make sure that you have correctly extracted a build of Rockbox so that you have a "/.rockbox", which contains all the files needed by Rockbox in the root of your player’s drive and that you have also installed the fonts package. Visit Rockbox.org to learn more.
2e. Safely remove your iPod. The Bootloader is now installed.

Note: You can now use your iPod with the Rockbox firmware. This is the easiest part of my tutorial. You could thank Rockbox for developing the new installer. You don't have to go through command line installation like I did before. The hardest part will be installing Linux. I will post a tutorial regarding Linux installation right here soon.

Pimp my iPod

Do you own a 5^th generation iPod with 30 or 60GB capacity and want to get the most out of it? Are you tired of looking at Apple's gay and dull-looking GUI interface and want to customize it to better suit your personality? Do you want to play Doom II, Pac-Man, and a lot more cool games to choose from other than the few silly games that came with the iPod firmware? Do you want to zoom at your tiny saved pictures, edit and view notes thru your iPod? Do you want to comfortably transfer songs to your iPod without even syncing it via iTunes? Do you want to install Linux for an added geek-factor to your iPod?

I do and I did it to my 60GB version iPod. I can change the theme, font, and wallpaper. I love playing Doom (I'm currently at level 3) with it when I travel. The zoom interface on my picture viewer is very useful. I saved my notes and programming codes on it. I transferred songs by simply copying from my computer and pasting it to my iPod. And oh, yes I have that little penguin named Tux on my iPod.

You can let your iPod do all these cool things and more as long as you are willing to take the risk that comes with it. So to all the extremists (he he), or shall I say the risk-takers, I will post tomorrow a step by step instruction on how I pimped my iPod . See you.