ipod shuffle with linux
 

not sure where the best place to post this was but though i would try here...i have search google and this site but have not seen anyone mention using the new ipod shuffle with linux. so my question is: can it be mounted like any other usb block device (ie my camera) and can i just copy mp3's onto as if it were a directory? being a flash player i cant image it uses the same database like structure as the ipod does for playing songs..

i now that the ipod shuffle is very very new and so maybe no linux users have picked one up yet and played around with it.

thank you for your time
cinchel

I googled for "ipod shuffle usb mass storage" and got this link:

http://www.webservertalk.com/message874962.html

So that answer says "yes, you can put files on it.", which is as good as you can do unless apple supports linux ;0

The one thing to add to cinchel's comment is that the ipod shuffle needs to be "partitioned" via itunes to work as a mass storage device... the problem is, that files reside in one partition and music on the other. If you mount it as a USB hard drive you can copy mp3s to it, but they are stored just like any other generic data file. You won't be able to listen to them.

There are several open source programs for transfering music to the hard disk based iPods, but they are currently having problem with the databasing the the shuffle uses. I'm sure that this will be fixed within a month or two's time.

this is more what i was asking...i guess i wasnt clear...so just filling up the shuffle with mp3's will not make it able to play those mp3's...so it still uses a database ....interesting....thanks for the response...


cinchel

Hmm, any updates on the status of getting ipod shuffle working with Linux? I googled and I also found nothing groundbreaking. :( I really want to get one of these (like this week), but I don't have a Mac or Windows (and don't want them) so I'm hesitant to buy one until I know there's some kind soul out there who has working Linux interface software. I wish I could help, but I'm just too busy with work and school and my own project. :cry:

i am trying to setup one of these but it is not recognized by the usb system... i tail my /proc/bus/usb/devices and get nothing read there. Can anyone help? Is there a itunes version for linux? If there is it could work... who knows?

I just posted a little bit over on the WebServerTalk forums about this... Yes, it seems to work perfectly fine.

See my reply here.

Adam

Well i finally got it working. I am using gtkpod with my ipod shuffle and it works perfectly now. i dont know why it wasnt working before, not yet. I just sync it and transfered all files to my linux to test it. Also charged the battery. I faced many problems to get gtkpod to compile tough but it is something we must face if we want some freedom. Thanks for your help.

alynch,

I read your post and did the same here. My shuffle is mounted autuomatically as a mass storage device and i can see all the directory tree. my files are there and i can even copy then in the command line to my linux box. I can also add files to my ipod using command line.

BUT, even though it all seems to work when i sync database using gtkpod i just cant use the shuffle anymore. It flashes the led indicating failure. I guess something maybe wrong in the gtkpod sw or, what is very possible, i am doing something wrong.

Is it too much to ask you all steps you need to take to:
1 - import files from shuffle
2 - add/remove files to shuffle

Thanks for any help, provided,

I got to exactly the same point as leosgb today: I can move files to the shuffle with gtkpod, I can see them on the ipod, I can see the control directory, but when I try to play a song, I get the blinking red light. However, I was able to play files with gnupod. I wiped the shuffle with rm -rf and then followed the gnupod instructions (http://www.gnu.org/software/gnupod/gnupod.html). I can now play songs on my shuffle.

Awesome. I'm going to order one of these today, I can't wait! :D

jaufrec i am trying to do the same now. I just typed the very first command to backup the firmware and this is the message i got:

[root@eyelet ipod]# dd if=/dev/sda1 of=backup_firmware
dd: reading `/dev/sda1': Input/output error
30848+0 records in
30848+0 records out

The final file is about 15MB long:

[root@eyelet ipod]# ls -l backup_firmware
-rw-rw-r-- 1 root root 15794176 2005-02-23 10:12 backup_firmware

Does that "dd: reading `/dev/sda1': Input/output error" message mean anything? did you get the same? i just used apt to update my fdisk and dd and it says it is up to date.

I am just afraid that proceeding w/o asking may ruin my shuffle...

Can help me?

Oh noes!!!11
 

I can't find the ipod shuffle anywhere! It's sold out at BestBuy and the Apple store says it will take 3-4 weeks to ship! And then I just ran across this article at NewsForge: Toshiba Can't Meet iPod Shuffle Memory Needs



Oh noessssss!!!!!! :cry: Well at least I have a new PC being shipped to me right now. That should give me something to play with in the mean time :D

iPod Shuffle
 

I'm really interested in what may I do to have my iPod Shuffle working in Linux. I tried gtkpod, I tried gnupod... It doesn't work.

A friend, using his WinXP, added a few songs to the iPod... but I can't add more... it throws the red light.

As said by jaufrec, gnupod supports iPod shuffle since the latest version 0.98. I finally have got mine today, after waiting for about a month (in Italy) and by the end of the day I managed to get it working. (Curiously it didn't work even under Windows, maybe cos I haven't SP2 :-)

I'll add just one little note: iPod shuffle use FAT32. Otherwise gnupod will fail with orrible SegFaults that will hang the device. Yes, it took very long for me to figure it out. So... go with GNUPOD!