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Changing the selection bar highlight using iPodWizard.

I've been trying for literal months to change the selection highlight using ipodwizard. For those who don't know, this software (which will be referred to as ipw from hereon out) is a sort of GUI for a hex editor, specifically made for editing the firmware on iPods. Back when iPods were popular, there was a site which hosted themes people made, but this site, along with most of the themes and guides, have long since 404d. That leaves us in the dark when trying to figure stuff out. The simple stuff has been passed on through word of mouth, I've shown quite a few people how to do basic text and image edits on the discord server for example. Yet no one knew how to do the selection highlight, since it relies on extensive hex editing. But after several months and extensive messaging around I got it working with the help of u/MZ6Alex on Reddit, who explained the process to me. So how is it done? The colour of the selection bar is controlled by the values "Z5" and "...
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Easiest way to flash mod 3rd gen iPods

  A lot of people agree that the 3rd generation iPod looks the best, but up until I found this method it's been a huge pain to use. Stock you'd be dealing with the mechanical hard drive which is fragile, slow and unreliable - this is a device from 2003, hard drives don't survive years of abuse in a portable device. So the solution is to flashmod it right? Well yes, but look at any write up of a 3rd gen flashmod and you'll find a tale of despair, of man pushed to his absolute limit, nay, past that, to the brink of tears and beyond. All for the sake of putting flash storage in an old iPod. Alright enough of that bollocks, here's a method I've found to flash an iPod 3rd gen as fast as any other model. You'll need the iPod, a 1.8IDE adaptor board as shown to the right, a CF card or an iFlash CF to SD adapter*, a USB cable, a FireWire 400 to 30 pin cable, a computer and either a FireWire wall brick or a computer with a FireWire 400 port on. *avoid unbranded red v...

iPods - a retrospective of single purpose devices

All major design revisions of the full sized iPod - minus the 2nd gen I once heard someone say they missed the late 90s and early 2000s because we had technology which impacted our lives just enough to improve them, without controlling them. That idea is very much part of this article and my thoughts. I use an iPod in 2021, and more people than you may think do the same; in fact the use and modification of these obsolete devices is a growing hobby. When I joined the iPod discord in late 2019, there were around 2000 members, same goes for the subreddit, now there are close to 12 and 15 thousand members respectively.  We've all read the lists: "Why I use an iPod in 2021", they all bring up the same points surrounding the storage and battery life. However, one point which gets made and which I think is more interesting is how they like that no one can interrupt their music; there are no notifications and there are no calls - the iPod is a single purpose device. That's th...

My vintage hifi setup

I've been putting together my own hifi for a while now, and I've now got the ability to play all the formats I want (read as: can afford), in a good quality.  Firstly, and most crucially, is the receiver. I've had a few in this setup, an old Sony AV receiver (STR-D790), then a Panasonic (Technics) SU2800 from the late 70s to early 80s, and now, a JVC R-S5L. Other than a bit of the text wearing off near the power button and volume knob, the unit is in excellent condition, especially when you consider its age. The full specs are available  here  from hifiengine. It pushes a modest 25 watts into 8ohms, which works out as 33 watts into 6ohms; a great match for my speakers, which I'll get to. Next in the stack is my Minidisc deck (bottom) which is a MDS-JE480. While I would love to have a JB-980, 940 or 930, with the metal facia, the prices of those are much higher than I can justify paying, when this deck has Type-S MDLP, and cost me £40. For NetMD I have a MZ-NE410 walkman...

iPod mini flash storage upgrade.

I decided to upgrade my iPod to flash storage due to filling up the 6GB capacity very quickly and needing more space. I still like to use iPods for the better DAC as well as the fact having a separate device for music means that no calls or texts will mute my music. I use a 30gb iPod video with a dock in my hifi, and have a 2nd generation iPod mini to take when I go out, but it is only 6GB, and could only hold around 600 songs at 320kbps. Not only this, but since it uses a 1" microdrive, battery life isn't as good as it could be, and skipping songs has a delay. All of these issues can be fixed by switching to flash storage. The plastic end caps must be removed first by inserting a thin metal pry tool between the plastic and the aluminium case. There are also two small philips head screws on either side which must be removed. This metal clip needs to be removed from the bottom next. The arms can be pushed in with cir-clip pliers, or with a small screw driver. T...

Pictures taken in Lewes

A selection of photos taken in Lewes, just the raw shots straight from the camera (Canon EOS 400D), no editing and only the compression google adds through blogger.  Left: me in front of the Harvey Brewery, taken by my sister, all other pictures by me.