alterPod

Name: alterPod
Rating: 2.3125 (5 reviews)

0.7.1b

08 July 2005

Modify your iPod.

Overview

alterPod is an application for extracting and replacing your iPod's strings and display graphics.

alterPod can also backup and restore your iPod's firmware partition to your Mac's hard drive.

What's new in alterPod

Version 0.7.1b:

A small bug that prevented the Editor panel from passing the correct image to the external application has been fixed.
I've also made some small changes to the help docs, namely the list of iPod Firmwares.

alterPod Screenshots

8 alterPod Reviews

It's a wonderful idea, but simply doesn't work. The primary task of backing up the firmare is blocked by an applescript error telling me the "device is busy." And of course, NOTHING other than a forcequit cmd-opt-esc will stop it and it's barberpole. Though it may be free, if it doesn't work with the first thing you HAVE to do with it, then it's really not worth the hassel. Get this major issue fixed and I'll give it another try. OSX 10.4.7, G4 1.2Ghz AGP, MP103 40GB Clikwheel iPod. And for possible updates, maybe an option that would allow you to change what tags are desplayed while playing... many of the secondary tags are more important than the main ones for some of the stuff I listen to.

Like (1)

Version 0.7.1b

I had high hopes for this software but it's just riddled with bugs. Not to mention the confusing interface. Suggestions: Make it a 2 step process to get the files one needs from the iPod, 1 select the ipod 2 press a "get data" button, and a 1 step process to upload the changes While getting the resources it sat there chugging away for a few minutes, then error'd out telling me it couldn't find the destination folder that I pointed it to. Even though the folder was still sitting right there! Then it refused to quit. It would just beep at me each time I tried to quit. So, Force Quit, and right to the trash with this one.

Version 0.7.1b

Like (1)

Version 0.7.1b

I did everything according to the directions, but no change at all. Tried modifying several pictures and text strings, but no change occured. A little frustrated, hope this improves with more development, it's a neat idea.

Version 0.7.1b

1 answer(s)

Anonymous

04 August 2005

Same thing for me sadly.

Version 0.7.1b

It's a pretty good concept, but I think it could be done much better. For instance, the user shouldn't have to interact so much for the loading. I should be able to select my iPod and have it automatically extract the firmware, back it up to my ~/Library/Application Support/. When it extracts the firmware, it should also read all the resources simultaneously (also out of sight). Having the user do this interaction is not very friendly. If they're going to be working with the same firmware file (or its extracted resources), why have them manually select it for each operation? The same goes for saving it to the iPod. I think an "upload" button would be in order, which would just save all of your changes to a new firmware file, then send it to the iPod. If you want to restore from a backup, it ought to just present you with a list of them (which are stored in ~/Library/, remember?) with dates and let you select them. I think a search feature for strings would be a good idea. There are hundreds (thousands?) of them to sort through. Also, I don't think it's a very big deal if one is empty, so it shouldn't display an obnoxious sheet window every time one happens to be. What does "Preparation" do? There's no documentation for this. I say get rid of it completely, it's very confusing. Although the firmware file is 32 MB, it compresses down to a mere 3 MB with the Finder's built in zipping capabilities. This would be a good way to store backups. Also, please check your spelling and grammar. I swear I saw a "No iPod's detected." somewhere in there.

Version 0.7b

1 answer(s)

aprodite

08 July 2005

Hi, Thanks for the extensive review. It's really appreciated. I understand what you mean about alterPod being a bit complicated, but I wanted to give users as much flexibility as possible. You'll be glad to know that I'm working on an Express version that will make the process much simpler. The original version will still exist for those users who want the "advanced" options. The reason you have to manually select the firmware file for each operation is because people are not ALWAYS working with the same file. Please note that the Editor Panel is new, and there are lots of features still to come. Until I have added a search facility, The best way to find a string is to open the alterPod-Stinglist file in text edit, that way you can search for a string, and see the relevant file name. With regards to Preparation, alterPod cannot write an image or string file to the Firmware without preparing it first. This converts it into a resource file (*.rsrc) which can then be inserted into the Firmware. The included tutorial explains this process. Feel free to compress your backups with whichever compression tool you prefer. I will not be including this functionality into alterPod. I'm sorry for the gramatical error, I'll fix it when I get a chance.

Version 0.7b

Hiya all, The first bug to be found in alterPod 0.7b is in the Editor panel, and is purely my fault. When you try to open an image in your external editor, alterPod will only send the first image in the list, and not the image that is currently displayed. This bug was reported by sjonke1 in the version tracker comments. Thanks for catching it. I'll fix this and send out a new version within the next 48 hours.

Version 0.7b

1 answer(s)

Anonymous

12 November 2005

You're amazing and I want to have your babies. Any chance we could see an updated version that works with the video firmware? (10-12-2005)

Version 0.7.1b

neat idea! is this piece of software also abole to change the font the iPod uses?

Version 0.7b

2 answer(s)

aprodite

29 June 2005

Hi, Strifer, Unfortunately alterPod can't change an iPod's fonts yet. However we are working on this, and will update it as soon as we can.

Version 0.7b

Anonymous

29 June 2005

Personally, I'd only want to tinker with my iPod's font.

Version 0.7b