Categories
Accessory iPod

Hack Your iPod With Your Mac

Want to change your iPod’s graphics using a Mac? AlterPod v0.3b from
Podite is the second release of a cool application for extracting and replacing your iPod’s display graphics. AlterPod can also backup and restore your iPod’s firmware partition to your Mac’s hard drive.
To edit the extracted graphic files you’ll need an image manipulation application that is capable of opening and saving *.PGM files (Portable GreyMap). I.E. Graphic Converter.
Sluggo at podite.com writes:

I successfully altered the “Do not disconnect” image on my 60GB iPod photo using a combination of alterPod, Graphic Converter 5.4, Photoshop and iPodIcons.
1. Backed up my existing firmware with alterPod.
2. Viewed the firmware file with iPodIcons.
3. Created a 100×100 pixel RGB graphic in Photoshop.
4. Saved it as a TIF and opened in Graphic Converter.
5. Saved it as a “PPM” (instead of PGM because it’s color).
6. Back to iPodIcons, selected the existing “Do not disconnect” image.
7. Right (or control) click and selected “Import Image”, selecting my
saved PPM file.
8. iPodIcons shows my replaced image.
9. Selected “Export Firmware” from File menu.
10. Back to alterPod.
11. Selected “Firmware Restore” tab.
12. Restored my firmware using my altered firmware file.
13. Once alterPod said it was complete, I just ejected my iPod, and it
automatically rebooted sitting in the dock.
14. Once it re-started, my replaced image was there in all it’s glory.
iPodIcons 0.2.3 is similar to iPodWizard but it runs on Mac OS X and Linux (thanks to Qt).
iPodIcons makes use of ipodedit. See http://austin.mit.edu/ipod/ for more information about ipodedit.


Want to change your iPod’s graphics using a Mac? AlterPod v0.3b from
Podite is the second release of a cool application for extracting and replacing your iPod’s display graphics. AlterPod can also backup and restore your iPod’s firmware partition to your Mac’s hard drive.
To edit the extracted graphic files you’ll need an image manipulation application that is capable of opening and saving *.PGM files (Portable GreyMap). I.E. Graphic Converter.
Sluggo at podite.com writes:

I successfully altered the “Do not disconnect” image on my 60GB iPod photo using a combination of alterPod, Graphic Converter 5.4, Photoshop and iPodIcons.
1. Backed up my existing firmware with alterPod.
2. Viewed the firmware file with iPodIcons.
3. Created a 100×100 pixel RGB graphic in Photoshop.
4. Saved it as a TIF and opened in Graphic Converter.
5. Saved it as a “PPM” (instead of PGM because it’s color).
6. Back to iPodIcons, selected the existing “Do not disconnect” image.
7. Right (or control) click and selected “Import Image”, selecting my
saved PPM file.
8. iPodIcons shows my replaced image.
9. Selected “Export Firmware” from File menu.
10. Back to alterPod.
11. Selected “Firmware Restore” tab.
12. Restored my firmware using my altered firmware file.
13. Once alterPod said it was complete, I just ejected my iPod, and it
automatically rebooted sitting in the dock.
14. Once it re-started, my replaced image was there in all it’s glory.
iPodIcons 0.2.3 is similar to iPodWizard but it runs on Mac OS X and Linux (thanks to Qt).
iPodIcons makes use of ipodedit. See http://austin.mit.edu/ipod/ for more information about ipodedit.

By Jason O'Grady

Founded the PowerPage in 1995.