TechWag

Ars technica is reporting that the Ipod checksum that was going to cause Linux users so much problem with the new Ipods has already been cracked. We really thought it was going to take days not hours as we reported here.

Fortunately, community members have alerted us that a GtkPod developer has cracked the checksum and successfully tested the new database format support on two devices. Those who are already locked into Apple’s ecosystem will now be able to continue using the software of their choice with their iPods. Source: Ars Technica

While one group is calling for a boycott of Apple products as a way to protest the hoops that the GTKpod group had to go through to reverse engineer the database and ensure backwards compatibility, the odds of an actual boycott happening are fairly slim. We will be reporting live from Bellevue Square on the 28th of September when the system is finally released in 11 more days. The apple store there is already reporting that there is a major interest, and that they are not doing any kind of pre-order, nor allowing people to pay in advance for the system. They want to keep it strictly first come first serve, no reserves, no holdouts.

They are there to sell product.

Overall we really did expect the Itunes system to be cracked, there was no way that it was not going to happen in time. There is too much interest in the new Ipods, and there are too many clever programmers out there willing to take the time to make sure that gadgets work with everything that they can program it to work with.

Apple’s gadget security is fairly poor given the track record for the Iphone and now the new Ipods. As long as Apple stays neutral on the subject, and the ability to hack their devices, that kind of work will end up being a good thing.

The one thing that apple needs to do is extend and expand their ecosystems to sell more stuff. This has usually worked towards the advantage of the OEM by helping to build out an ecosystem for the product. Not the hacking to steal stuff, but hacking to extend, expand, and otherwise improve the service offerings to an OEM product.

Good on GTKpod Coders on making this hack happen in short order.

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