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Today in computing history: The iPod Server [NanoRaptor@bitbang.social] (files.bitbang.social)
submitted 9 months ago by NanoRaptor@bitbang.social to c/tails@lemmon.website
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The iPod server was a powerful first iteration music sharing device. While not designed for convenience, its internal RAID can still be expanded with modern compact flash cards for 1.25TB of on-the-go storage.

Image transcription: A photo of an early iPod with colour display running macosx server 1.2. It looks cumbersomely thick, but also desirable.

(Originally published earlier today on bitbang.social)

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[-] DickFiasco@lemm.ee 14 points 9 months ago

cumbersomely thick, but also desirable

Go on…

[-] carl_dungeon@lemmy.world 10 points 9 months ago

ITT, it’s unclear if people realize the image is a joke.

[-] Alexstarfire@lemmy.world 5 points 9 months ago

Man, I thought I was crazy for a minute and just never heard about this abomination.

[-] Cort@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

I think the thing that’s throwing everyone off is the kernel of truth that you can upgrade iPods internal storage with modern flash cards

ETA: Obligatory DankPods

[-] DickFiasco@lemm.ee 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

That’s the most unrealistic thing about this post.

[-] Cort@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago

Compact flash cards work great on the iPod minis

[-] JoMomma@lemm.ee 2 points 9 months ago

What?!

[-] skrrp@meow.social 9 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

I once had a Mac guy turn up at my workplace and tell me 'the document you need is on this iPod'.
I plugged it into a Linux machine and it mounted the filesystem just fine.
The horrors I saw in that filesystem, how it was laid out and how the iPod needed to use its database to present real names to the user ....
I never want to see that again.

[-] bjorney@lemmy.ca 7 points 9 months ago

how the iPod needed to use its database to present real names to the user

I mean in Apple’s defense you wouldn’t want a media player to show filenames to the user anyways, you would want to display the artist/track name from the mp3 tags. The 4 letter filenames are a hash table presumably due to length restrictions in the firmware and/or performance reasons

[-] prettybunnys@sh.itjust.works 4 points 9 months ago

The track data and everything is stored in the file, the file name is irrelevant.

[-] Spiralvortexisalie@lemmy.world 5 points 9 months ago

Iirc thats what OP is referring to, they would strew the files stripped of meta data across the partition in various folders with little discernible structure, track data was written to the database and would be queried on song plays. I believe the advantages were faster bootup (Scan db instead of thousands of files) and the random file names were to ensure unique keys in db and help the “random” algorithm.

[-] bjorney@lemmy.ca 2 points 9 months ago

iPods didn’t even strip the files of metadata, it just renamed them on disk

[-] yakkoj@fosstodon.org 2 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

it needs a Firewire keyboard!

[-] ncommander@social.restless.systems 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

the fact that you used OS X Server 1.0 was the *chief's kiss* o this one.

[-] venthewolf@meow.social 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

a sudden austrailian audiophile would love this

[-] Tijn@dosgame.club 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Best feature was its ability to stream locally over either wifi or bluetooth to nearby devices without requiring an internet connection.

[-] AngryAnt@mastodon.gamedev.place 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

I really liked that art installation where they used the brick-like shape to build a literal audio library.

[-] mhbaker@mas.to 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

250,000 songs in your (large) pocket

[-] giovan@mastodon.social 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

you are using alt text for evil

[-] screambiogenesis@mastodon.social 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Maybe an unpopular opinion, but I preferred the prototype version with Rhapsody and the ClickBall™ trackball in place of the wheel.

[-] cwiek@mastodon.social 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

i nadal stare machaniczne walkmany działają dłużej na tej samej ilości prądu.To jest dramat. Dlaczego nie ma grajka który by działał tydzień na jednym ładowaniumamy 21 wiek

[-] chkuendig@ioc.exchange 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Using the wheel as a pointing device also was a bit annoying as you could only move the cursor on a single dimension

[-] sinewave@mastodon.dragoncave.dev 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

...i could actually see this being useful as like, a music player for house parties and such; think bluetooth speaker without the speaker

[-] womble@infosec.exchange 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

I hate that I love this.

[-] jaseg@chaos.social 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

If made a rackmount studio version of tangara, it could look like this.

this post was submitted on 11 Feb 2024
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