CutEdge.org

My iPod Video 5.5G, which I got as a gift for Christmas a couple of years ago, has been good to me. It does what it was made to do — play music — very well, and it’s still playing videos and that nice game of Pong. However, there are times when I get bored with the relatively dull iPod UI, when I wish I had more games on it, or when I wish I could use my own equalizer settings to play my music the way I want to play it. The beauty of having a popular device, like the iPod Video 5.5G, is its community of dedicated hackers, working night and day to improve it. There are many alternatives to the original Apple firmware, but amongst the various ones, I believe that Rockbox is the most reputable and trusted, and also the one that appeals to me the most for its simplicity (sorry, iPod Linux).

Capabilities

Rockbox can do a boatload of things with the iPod that the original Apple firmware couldn’t — like using Windows Explorer to import music to your iPod (meaning you don’t have to go through iTunes to upload or download your music), more flexible customizability (you can tweak even the fonts you want to see), and a support for a huge variety of file formats (http://download.rockbox.org/manual/rockbox-h10_5gb/rockbox-buildap1.html). But amongst all these, I found the following to be the deciding factors for me:

1. Themes

There are 14 themes for the iPod Video in the Rockbox Themes Directory. Granted, a good portion of them don’t look too hot, but I think there at least one or two that are pretty eye-catching. It’s just a guess — since there used to be a lot more themes that looked a ton better — but I’m assuming that Rockbox developers removed them due to the lack of Album Art capabilities. Works fine for me. If themes are your major concern, then I’d consider using iPod Wizard to tweak the current iPod theme, and just leave Rockbox alone — but if you’re looking for more than just a theme change, read on.

2. Built-in Gameboy

What? You can play Gameboy on your iPod? Yes. For free. Rockbox can play Gameboy and Gameboy Color files by default (granted, Gameboy Color files might be a bit laggier if I’m not mistaken). All you have to do is a quick Google search for ‘Gameboy Color ROMs’ and a ton of results will pop up. I have two things to warn you about: these sites will be shady, and this is not legal if you didn’t already buy a version of the game. I’ve got a legitimate version of Pokemon Red, so I can play it on my iPod. By the way, always go with Charmander — I know it’s a pain in the ass to play against Brock and Misty, but it’ll pay off.

3. Equalizer

I think the factor that sealed the deal would be the built-in equalizer that Rockbox offers. Unlike the iPod default firmware, which only offers presets (such as ‘Bass Booster’), the Rockbox firmware offers pretty full equalizer that allows you to put more emphasis on different frequencies (I think that’s the word for it). A must-have feature for audiophiles or people that get really into their music (but if you were an audiophile, you’d already be ranting about the shortcomings of the iPod, so I can’t see why you’d have one — haha).

Installation

In the olden days, we had to drag and drop files that we downloaded and unzipped from our desktop to the iPod’s drive directory. Not anymore! With the release of Rockbox Utility, Rockbox is a lot simpler to install (not that it wasn’t simple before), so there’s really no need to write a tutorial (plus I don’t really enjoy writing tutorials that much — sorry folks, there are just too many pictures I have to create, then crop, then upload, and then link to — it’s a heck of a process just for a couple of graphics).

Take the Leap!

If you’re afraid because you haven’t done anything like this before, remember that you can always return to your old firmware via iTunes (the iPod System Restore comes in handy). It can be undone! Just remember — follow instructions to the word, don’t do anything stupid like pull out the iPod USB cord while transferring, and relax. But I’d like to say here that if you do manage to brick your iPod, I hold no responsibility for it.

Good luck.

It’s obvious that OS X looks infinitely better than Windows (Vista included, even freaking Windows 7 included — I’ve seen those screenshots, and they’re not pretty). But my problem with Macs is that they cost an arm and a leg — for the price I’m paying, I could be receiving a ton more in hardware. Which might not seem like that big a problem — but I, much like many of yourselves, am on a budget. Meaning I can’t afford the Macbook Pro, which would’ve been fine had I been willing to sacrifice performance. I’m not. I want performance. I’m telling you straight up that my Dell Inspiron 6400 can perform just as well as a current Macbook (graphics not taken into account, because the nVidia Go! 7300 is a bit weak). Nonetheless, my point is my machine from two years ago for less than the price of a Macbook today, can perform just as well, or even outperform, one of today’s Macbooks (fancy wordplay).

My Dell Inspiron 6400 has:

• Intel Core 2 Duo T5600 (Merom/1.83 GHz/2MB L2)
• Nanya Technology 2×1GB PC2-4200 @ 4-4-4-12
• NVIDIA GeForce Go 7300 128MB
• Seagate 320GB 5400RPM SATA
• 15.4-inch, 1280×800 pixel display

A current $1,399 Macbook has:

• Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHz
• 2GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2×1GB
• NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics
• 160GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
• 13.3-inch, 1280×800 pixel display

I know that most speeds are different, but I hope I got my point across — with similar processors and RAM, a larger hard drive, and a physically larger display, it wouldn’t be worth it for me to spend another $1,399 (before tax) on a Macbook juuuust yet. I’m a full-time student, so I have to keep my spending as tight as possible, for my own good (haha).

Point made — so, I want OS X on my Dell Inspiron 6400. Ordinarily, I would have stopped there, because it used to be technically impossible. Thankfully, Project OSx86 was created and we can now install a copy of OS X onto our ‘ordinary’ PC’s. I’m now going to warn you about some of the moral things wrong with this:

1. Users can’t install OS X on non-Apple hardware. Last time I checked, it was in the OS X EULA (I’m 92% sure it still is and always will be — how else would Apple make any money?).
2. Users also should have a licensed version of Leopard before they install Leopard on their PC’s. I just feel that this step is necessary to ensure that we are doing it for the right, honourable reason. I’m picking my copy up soon. I’ll post pictures when I do. And if I don’t pick a copy of Leopard up, it’s because…
3. Users should be intending to purchase a Mac, and using this version only as something like a ‘trial’ version to get them accustomed to Mac OS X. I intend to purchase a Macbook this summer (well, I kind of have to — the guilt of doing something like this isn’t right — see reason #1).

As long as we admit that we aren’t going to use this as a permanent solution, I think it’s justifiable even to Apple. For the reason that we are going to buy your product soon and need time to adapt to it (for example, finding software for it).

The Installation

Alright, moving on from guilt to the actual process. There are typically 3 stages of installing OS X onto your PC.

1. Preparation and Downloading — downloading and burning the actual disc. Also, partitioning would be a good idea.
2. Installing — booting up on the disc and then arranging your drive types.
3. Troubleshooting…because there will be trouble. Drivers, software, whatever.

1. Preparation and Downloading

Typically, this is the easy stage. Download an image (I found Kalyway 10.5.2 very friendly, but I can’t provide links — find it yourself). Try to download it all in one session, because I found that my success with Kalyway was mainly owed to the constant downloading. I’m paranoid of Torrents missing some data when I pause it accidentally or shut down the computer. So leave your computer on overnight, and/or while you’re at work/school, and don’t touch anything until the .iso image gets fully downloaded.

Burn it using CDBurnerXP. Typically, I’ve read stories about installations being more successful when burned onto a DVD-R, but I used a DVD-RW without a problem (I like their re-usability).

If you plan to use strictly OS X on your PC, then you don’t need to partition.

If you want to dual-boot Windows XP/Vista and Mac OS X, then you’ll want to partition your drives accordingly. Meaning one drive for Windows, and one drive for Mac. I have one for Windows, one for Documents, and one for Mac. The hard drive partition for Mac should be empty right now, so don’t worry about it. If you’re using Windows Vista, instructions for partitioning are here. XP users I can’t say for sure, but I found a post on how to partition here. Comments in the post are interesting too, read them.

2. Installing

If everything went alright, then you should have a burnt disc. Take it out, inspect it, and then put it back in your drive. Reboot your computer. At the blue/black manufacturer screen (mine says Dell, yours might say HP or Sony or something), press the according button to boot via CD/DVD drive (I think for Dell users it’s F2 or F12). You should see a bunch of text on a black screen, then after a few moments, the OS X installer should pop up. Proceed through the installer, pause on the last step before installing. You’re going to want to customize it according to your computer, because OS X typically isn’t compatible with all sorts of hardware by default. This will be a problem later on.

The installation typically takes an hour including the disc check (I did it for my first couple of times), half an hour without. After rebooting, your computer should play the welcome video (if you have graphical stuttering, it’s because you have a dual core machine and OS X is being cooky. Reboot, type in ‘-v’ and press enter. Then type in ‘cpus=1′ and press enter. Everything should be fine. Type in the information (I didn’t use my real information because I’m really, really paranoid).

3. Troubleshooting

Drivers don’t work. It’s a normal thing. What’s not normal is if everything works fine with your OS X installation on your PC (which can now be dubbed a ‘hackintosh’). Proceed to InsanelyMac and search everything you can find about your specs. Even better — register and write about your problems, or thank them for their work.

Dell Inspiron 6400 users are in luck — user Devilhood has written up a comprehensive guide on how to get everything working on your Dell Inspiron 6400: from sound, to displays. Here’s the link to his guide.

The Secret

The secret is in two parts — the philosophy, and the methodology of installation. Your philosophy at all times should be that you have lived until now without OS X, and you can continue living without OS X. With this mentality, you will be able to sacrifice your stable installation to install some weird drivers to make everything work — which is your goal, to have a functional Hackintosh. Your methodology should be simple and easy — stick to Google and InsanelyMac for your problems. I can be of minor service if you are a Dell Inspiron 6400, but I will not go out of my way to help you find out whether your video card is compatible or something complex like that (sorry, but I’ve got my own things to work on too).

And always remember you can go back to Windows at any time. I know you don’t want to, and you know you don’t want to — but I’ve had to repeatedly agree to the concept of buying a Mac and actually overspending. Because of this though, I feel that I can actually move on and purchase a real Mac eventually. Haha.

I wish you luck. Feel free to comment or pose questions. If you need something silly, like the knowledge of how to get dual monitors to work on your Dell Inspiron 6400 or how to get sound to work, I think I can be of minor assistance.

And in the end, it took me a year and three months to figure out how to do this properly. So be persistent. Prior to 2009, I didn’t even get past the second stage of installation — so yeah, I didn’t get to see an actual working desktop until early March (during the break, when I swore to myself I’d get it working). If you want to see a result of my frustration (and a barrage of insults on my intelligence, haha), feel free to read this post where I wrote about my installing of OS X in third-person and referred to myself as ‘a friend’ because of my paranoia.

I’ve recently developed a philosophy of using things to their fullest potential: originally, I was forced to replace my older gadgets with new versions repeatedly. It wasn’t until a short while ago that I decided against my consumption for a variety of reasons:

• It wasn’t a healthy way of gaining happiness (an interesting topic on its own).
• It wasn’t a wise way to spend my money — I already had an iPod Video, why did I need an iPod Touch? I could be saving up for that Macbook I always wanted.
• It wasn’t satisfying me anymore. I think I’d exhausted all satisfaction that I might’ve gotten originally from buying gadgets. That’s the problem with consumerism.

Don’t get me wrong — I still buy new gadgets: but now, my new gadgets typically are used to replace something thats been lost/broken/malfunctioned, or for the sake of convenience (combining two gadgets into one). Or to introduce a whole new concept into my life (I’m looking into getting a PSP…we’ll see how that works out, haha).

But I’ve discovered an alternative to the constant consumption and re-consumption of gadgets — using basic computer knowledge, a keen eye, and a spirit of adventure to find out how to leverage your gadgets and use them to their fullest potential. I’ve done what I’d thought was previously unimaginable — my deeds (so far) include:

• Putting Leopard 10.5.2 on my Dell Inspiron 6400 (I don’t advise you do it if you are of the faint of heart — I should also mention that it’s against Apple’s agreement you have to click in order to use Leopard, because you’re installing Leopard on non-Apple hardware). Don’t get me wrong — it wasn’t easy, and I only recently figured out how to do it to near-perfection, with sound and dual-monitor support.
• Installing Android on my HTC Touch. That one turned out to be a fail (fail used as a noun — yep: an event where one fails miserably and hilariously at an attempt; http://failblog.org), as everytime I tried starting Android up (I installed it as a .cab file so it can be easily installed and removed) I was left with a white screen or my phone would turn off. Fail.
• Tweaking my iPod Video 5.5G so I could play Pokemon Red on it. I also installed other themes on my iPod 5.5G so I could make it look ‘fresher’ — like an iPod Touch, if I may. Both using custom firmware (which might void iPod warranty, so be careful with that — I figured since my iPod was so old anyway, I might as well give it a shot, haha).
• I’ve also managed to make my Wii play .mp3 files, .mp4 files, homebrew games (that should give the secret away), and even — DVD’s. That’s right — and I didn’t even have to touch the hardware.

photo credit: You Are The Conductor..

I’m no expert. I’m just an ordinary guy — probably a bit nerdier, but still pretty ordinary. And if I can do it, you most definitely can — so here are a few lessons that I learned along the way.

• Google will be your best friend. That’s right. You’ll get by just typing in ‘(insert gadget name here) modifications’ or ‘(insert gadget name here) hacks’.
• If you fail once, brush yourself off and try it again. And if you fail again, then change something. Or Google it again.
• Forums will be your second-best friend. Register if you have to (I registered anonymously on InsanelyMac). Use their search functions regularly, because you probably won’t have been the first person to experience a certain kind of problem.
• Don’t try modding new gadgets. Unless you can afford to replace it — because typically warranties don’t cover that kind of stuff.
• Don’t be afraid to push it! I remember when I was installing OS X, I installed a bunch of incorrect drivers that eventually required a format. It was discouraging, and I had to start over again, but I remembered that I used to live without it just fine, and so I can continue to live without just fine. If you can’t live without it, then you might want to pay for it (legitimately — not that leveraging is usually illegitimate).
• Not all gadgets can be leveraged — here’s the Herbert rule: if it has a screen/screen output, it can be leveraged.

I’m not sure if anyone’s ever associated the term ‘leveraging’ with ‘gadgets’, but I recently learned of the term in a business course and I wanted to use it. That and the word ’synergy’ really jumped out at me. If the public demands it, I will begin posting general guides on how to leverage gadgets, so it can be a learned process (these won’t be step-by-step though, I don’t like writing comprehensive stuff — sorry). And even if the public doesn’t demand it, I think I just might.

Sound and aesthetics typically haven’t always fused together in an effective way. Meaning the nicer-looking headphones or earbuds, like the iPod earbuds (admit it, they look alright) can sound terrible while a more simplistic set of headphones (like the Able Planet NC200 set of headphones we’d looked at not too long ago) can produce great sound. Never judge a set of headphones by its looks.

Note: In this review, I use the term ‘headphones’ and ‘earbuds’ interchangeably. I apologize in advance if this causes any confusion, and if it does just substitute the word ‘headphones’ for ‘earbuds’ (or ‘headset’, now that I think about it). Enjoy!

Usually, I don’t bring my Able Planet SG500 set of headphones on a regular day — because I know that:

1. I won’t need its performance.
2. It’s better off I don’t isolate the music, because I like to be aware of my surroundings.
3. I’m scared to look like a doofus and don’t want to get mugged.

Okay, so you might be thinking I’ve got some self-image issues to work out (that’s a whole other discussion) — either way, I’m trying to say that headphones haven’t always looked too hot. It’s not that they shouldn’t — because I think that no matter what happens, in the end, aesthetics do matter. Why have Macbooks sold so well? And iPods? And iPhones? Sure, they’ve got novelty and character — but it’s the streamlined look and feel that Apple’s got mastered. It’s not just Apple, either — a while ago, we looked at the Das Keyboard which nearly knocked my socks off with its performance — but also its flashiness.

Ideally, I’d have a set of headphones that were inconspicuous (yet looked good), but still played good music. I’m no audiophile, but I like to think I can tell the difference between iPod headphones and a live orchestra. So when the opportunity came up for me to have a look at the V-Moda Vibe II set of headphones, I jumped on it. I’d heard great things about the first set of V-Moda Vibe headphones, so I was only expecting more.

A bundle of accessories is included with the V-Moda Vibe II headphones.

Design

It’s freaking beautiful. I know it sounds cliche — but nothing else comes to mind. It’s just…beautiful. I think that the V-Moda Vibe II set of headphones is…really flashy. Seriously, I could see a celebrity or a model wearing the set of headphones.

I received the ‘Nero’ version of the Vibe II, and I approve. Its chrome touches match the black very well, giving it a more ’sophisticated’ look in comparison to other sets of earbuds.

I was really impressed by the ‘versatility’ of the Vibe II earbuds — originally, since they were designed as a really, really fancy headset for the iPhone (and Blackberries), I would have assumed that the mic would be a pain in the ass and doubly as annoying if one didn’t have an iPhone to use it with. I can’t say that I like it, but it’s really not that noticeable. It blends in well with the rest of the Vibe II, and is positioned perfectly for me to speak into without using my hands to lift it up, like I see so many people having to do awkwardly with their Sony Ericsson headsets (hypothetically, since I don’t have a phone compatible with it).

The other piece of the Vibe II that I was initially a bit iffy about would be the call answering button. I thought it was weird how V-Moda decided to separate the mic from the ‘answer’ button, but it actually turned out to be quite a good idea — it’s very inconspicuous and doubles as a piece to secure the earbuds — adding to the build quality.

The Vibe II seems to be very sturdy, and it comes with a great case to shield it from travel damage. The case is made of leather, and again, really contributes to the ’sophisticated’ and ‘fashionable’ feel of the Vibe II earbuds. I’m actually also a really big fan on the case, because it’s just..sweet, haha. I’ve wanted a case that could contain my earbuds/headphones safely for a long time, and I could never find one, which makes this one all the more enjoyable.

V-Moda was considerate enough to include both white-coloured earbud slips (they go over the actual speakers) and black ones — 4 different pairs of each colour, accomodating 99% of mankind’s ear sizes. I found that the default set fit into my ears pretty well, so I didn’t bother changing it. Taking them off (for cleaning — because they do go deep in the ear) was a bit of a pain, because they seemed really fragile and I didn’t want to cause any damage, but they turned out fine (for now). Putting them back over the speakers went a lot more smoothly.

The V-Moda Vibe IIs also introduced two very interesting features to me — the first being its threaded wiring, which makes it more durable in comparison to typical rubber wiring.

The second would have to be the interesting headphone connector design — I haven’t seen anything like it before, but it really makes sense and functions well. It’s a great balance between the pure 90-degree headphone connector (like the JVC Gumy headphones, which I thought was awkwardly fitting and also a bit susceptible to wear and tear), and the straight-up plug-in headphone connectors (like the iPod headphone connector, which would be very susceptible to wear and tear).

Sound Isolation

The V-Moda Vibe II uses a more passive form of sound isolation — because they go in-ear, they don’t need an active filtering system like LYNX Audio to cancel out noise. I did find this to be equally as effective though, because I couldn’t hear people standing eight feet from me carry a conversation (their voices became barely distinguishable when they were four feet from me) while I was listening to music on my Dell Inspiron 6400 at 1% of Windows Vista volume in Windows Media Player.

I was initially a bit skeptical about how well these in-ear headphones would feel; I always had the notion that in-ear headphones felt a lot more intrusive and disturbing, and would fall out a lot. Although they did fall out quite a bit (sporting clips included to solve that problem), the ‘proper’ way to put the Vibe II earbuds would ensure that they stayed in your ear. I never really got around to using that method, because I grew tired of trying to learn how and I personally thought those sport clips looked really cheezy (plus I couldn’t put them on very well…my hand eye co-ordination isn’t the greatest).

I had trouble hearing a lot of things that were going on around me, which got to a tipping point when I couldn’t hear a telephone on my desk (of course, I’m kind of easily swept away by music). But in all honesty, the background noises were masked very well by the V-Moda Vibe II in-ear headphones — for better, or for worse.

Sound Quality

I’m going to say straight up — they were good, but they weren’t really that outstanding. Don’t get me wrong — the sound was rich and there weren’t many tinny or weak spots, but I just expected more from the V-Moda Vibe IIs. Then again, sound testing is very subjective — and I’m not always the most accurate judge (hey, I’m just a man).

Again, same ol’ test playlist:

• Back in Black by AC/DC (for the guitar intro)
• Devil’s got a New Disguise by Aerosmith (electric guitar performance)
• Good Life by Kanye West featuring T-Pain (bass)
• Janie’s got a Gun by Aerosmith (vocals)
• Live & Let Die by Guns N’ Roses (instruments)
• Live Your Life by T.I. featuring Rihanna (bass)
• Sweet Child O’ Mine by Guns N’ Roses (guitar solo)
• This Love by Maroon 5 (vocals and instruments)
• Whatever You Like by T.I. (synthesizer and bass)

For one thing, I expected punchier bass. The bass was already quite strong on the V-Moda Vibe II set of headphones, but it just lacked the punchiness that would have made it perfect.

Songs with midrange and treble were reproduced quite well with the V-moda Vibe IIs. In fact, the midrange really stood out for me — acoustic/electric guitars sounded very clear. I think that the snare drums weren’t very distinct though, but that could’ve been a file/encoding issue.

What’s the Verdict?

In comparison to the Able Planet NC200 set of headphones I took a look at earlier this year, I would say that the V-Moda Vibe IIs can stand their ground. They’re a lot more portable, fashionable, and produce comparable sound quality — which says a lot. However, the V-Moda Vibe II set of headphones were not as comfortable, and personally I felt that the the NC200s produced a punchier bass, which I really look for in headphones (I feel that it’s overlooked sometimes).

And although I love its fancy designs, personally, I feel that if you don’t care about aesthetics as much and you want better sound quality, you’d be better off with another set of headphones (Able Planet NC200?).

What would you think if I told you that I figured out two ways to connect my iPod to my car — for less than $20? You might be skeptical. $20 is awfully cheap — does it really work, Herbert? I actually just stumbled upon the first alternative a week ago, and it’s been working well for me and my ‘98 Chevrolet Cavalier (yeah, I’m on a really tight budget haha).

I was sick of not having a CD player in my car, and not being able to play my own music. I’d been spending more and more time in my car, and so I decided it was about time I figured out a way to connect my music to my car. Just to try it out. Well, it really does improve the driving experience — although it might become a bit…distracting. Keep that in mind. My advice would be to leave it on a pre-made playlist and only hit the Next and Previous buttons.

1. The FM Transmitter

There’s this idea that FM transmitters are expensive. I know I entered the market with that notion. Before I did anything, I decided to visit my local TigerDirect (yeah, a retail store) and pick up an FM transmitter. They had two different kinds in stock — one by Monster (sold for upwards $100, which I considered for probably a second) and one by Prolynkz. Unfamiliar? So was I — but hey, it’s $14. What could go wrong, right?

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3896269&CatId=193

And it did go off without a hitch. Initially, my friends and I found it a bit sketchy — it came without a battery, and I don’t think it works on the cigarette charger alone (didn’t work for me, anyway), so I had to find a couple of AAA’s to plug in. Also, there were no english instructions — which added to the iffiness of the product.

Still, it works well. Its transmission quality varies upon location in the car (weird, eh? But I’m sure this ‘issue’ isn’t unique to this product). Typically, I’d be pointing out the poor sound quality issues — but my Cavalier didn’t have good speakers to begin with, so I can’t really criticize. If you’re on a tight budget, or if your car can’t perform up to par anyway, then I’d suggest picking the Prolynkz product up. However, if you’re looking for great sound quality, I’d suggest either spending a bit more on the transmitter or even getting a custom deck installed inside your car. Or, if you’ve got a tape deck…

2. Cassette Tape Adaptor

Initially, I had my eye on this solution because it was cheap. A ‘legitimate’ version created by Belkin (a trusted name in my books) can be found for a mere $19.99.

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10033668&catid=25017

I like that in comparison to the FM Transmitter, the Cassette Tape Adaptor would probably be less trouble. For one thing, you don’t have to seek out a station without any airwaves bugging it — I know that my transmitter’s music includes even a bit of static at the best of stations (I use FM 89.3 for now). Also, I would feel much safer with Belkin than with Prolynkz initially (even though Prolynkz is acceptable, haha).

Get in my Car!

Driving is just that much more enjoyable now — I can listen to what I want, when I want. No more changing radio presets or listening to that bad ol’ rap music (just kidding guys, I love rap). Life is good.