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Where to Go for Help

Installing the basic iPodLinux setup is a quick and easy way to make your iPod do much more than play your favorite tunes. But it is Linux, so getting down and dirty with it can be a bit intimidating. Thankfully, along with what can be a steep learning curve, iPodLinux also has an accessible community of users to help out if you get stuck on some obscure error message. Here´s where to look for hints, tricks and cool downloads.

1. iPodLinux.org: The project´s main site is a searchable wiki, full of user-submitted how-tos and links to other downloads.
2. iPodLinux.org forums: If you can´t find what you´re looking for on the wiki, there´s a good chance someone has been in a similar situation and has written about it on the searchable forums. And if it´s not already on there, ask away. Often you´ll get an answer back in a matter of minutes, and it just might be some of the project´s main programmers helping you out.
3. If you´re feeling extra bold, you can dust off the old IRC (Internet relay chat) application (or download one free for Mac or Windows), connect to the iPodLinux IRC channel (#ipodlinux on irc.freenode.net), and ask any questions there.

Encyclopodia Trick

If you follow the basic instructions, the iPodLinux Wikipedia reader, Encyclopodia-my favorite of IPL´s treasures-installs its own version of the Podzilla interface that overwrites all the other goodies that come with the basic installation.

But since the Encyclopodia application´s source code was, like the code for most Linux programs, opened up to the public to see and change, someone figured out how to install it without deleting all the other games and applications.This info was, of course, posted to the forums, where it remains public for everyone´s consumption.

If you´re using Windows, the instructions can be found in this forum post. For Mac, click here, and scroll to the bottom of the page for the post by â€dazmax.†When you unpack the Encyclopodia software, you will see an assortment of folders (like â€bin†and â€libâ€) that correspond to those that the iPodLinux installer copies to your iPod. To make Encyclopodia play nice with the rest of your applications, copy the files mentioned in the forum posts from the Encyclopodia folders to their matching folders on your iPod. If you are asked to overwrite any files, say â€no.†Then you can run the â€epodia†file from the Podzilla file browser.

Podzilla 2

Podzilla 2 is the next generation of IPL´s user interface, and it´s considerably snazzier. It can be outfitted with themes if you have a color iPod and also supports software modules that are easier to install. Podzilla 2 is still in development, but most of its functionalities are very usable at this point.

Depending on what version of the iPodLinux installer you´ve used, you may already have Podzilla 2 installed. If not, installation instructions are here. There is also an install tutorial for Mac on the forums.

Once you have Podzilla 2 installed, check the list of modules on ipodlinux.org, which is a great one-stop place to find the latest games and applications being cooked up, including Sudoku, Dance Dance Revolution-even a rock-paper-scissors simulator.