Liberate Your iPod, Fri., 7-9pm, MIT Media Lab

[mako at debian.org (Benj. Mako Hill)]

Here's a quick rundown of a small event that I'm organizing on Friday.
If you have an iPod you want to try out RockBox or iPodLinux with, show
up. If you have experience with either and want to help others out,
please get in contact with me before hand. If you can't make it, there
will be other events. Details below:

Liberate Your iPod!

Friday, October 6, 7-9pm

MIT Media Lab
Outside "The Cube" E15-001
20 Ames Street
Cambridge, MA 02139

Map: http://whereis.mit.edu/map-jpg?mapterms=e15-001
     Close to the Kendall Square Subway Stop


Come celebrate Defective By Design's week against DRM this Friday. Free
Culture Boston and the Computing Counter-Culture group at the MIT Media
Lab are hosting an iPod liberation event. Attendees will be able to
switch their compatible iPods (or other mp3 players) to run on free and
open source DRM-free software.  Additionally, these iPods will work
without Apple's iTunes software (i.e., your music is not hidden), will
play patent- and royalty-free music formats (e.g., OGG Vorbis and FLAC),
and a variety of games and applications.

If you have already liberated your iPod (either with RockBox or
iPodLinux) you are highly encouraged to show up and to help others.

**PLEASE READ IF YOU INTEND TO INSTALL ALTERNATE FIRMWARE ON YOUR IPOD**

Disclaimer and Technical Details

We'll be installing iPodLinux and Rockbox onto iPods. Both firmwares are
meant to coexist with the Apple firmware. This means that you'll be able
to press a button on your iPod when it boots and return to the
proprietary Apple firmware.

Your experience, and the firmware you can install, will depend on the
type of iPod you have. The process will be more or less straightforward
based on the formatting of your iPods filesystem.

If you have a Windows (VFAT or FAT32) formatted iPod, the process will
be very simple and you will be able to preserve your data. If you have a
Mac formatted iPod, you will probably have to reformat your iPod in the
process.

IN ALL SITUATIONS, YOU SHOULD BACK UP ALL OF THE DATA ON YOUR IPOD. IF
YOU HAVE NOT BACKED UP YOUR DATA AND ARE NOT WILLING TO RISK LOSE ALL OF
THE DATA ON YOUR IPOD, WE WILL NOT INSTALL ALTERNATE FIRMWARE.

Migrating to a new firmware for your iPod is invasive and potentially
dangerous. THERE IS A SMALL RISK THAT THE PROCESS MAY DAMAGE YOUR IPOD.
PERHAPS IRREVOCABLY. This is the price we all must pay for freedom.

Almost all iPods, except the newest iPod Nanos, are supported by either
iPodLinux or Rockbox. Other MP3 players are also supported. For more
information, visit these websites:

-- 
Benjamin Mako Hill
mako at debian.org
http://mako.cc/

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