iPod touch Is it worth it?

[Tclare]

Hey!

I have a bit of a conundrum. I currently have an iPod Touch (16gig) sitting right by me, I have had it since release day. I am intrigued by all of the stories about Jailbreaking the iPod. However I am not sure if it is worth it for me. I am quite an experienced Mac user and I like to think that I know my way around the Mac, however I have never used Terminal before as i have had no need to. When I look at the Jailbreaking guides which involve Terminal a sense of dread fills me. Is it it easy to run the script necessary to Jailbreak the iPod? Also what would happen if I got it wrong? Would the process ruin my iPod?

The other questions I feel I have to ask, is, What do I actually gain from hacking my iPod? Will I get the installer app? Is the installer app even worth it?

I hope you can answer my questions.

Thanks in advance

Tclare

 

[clevin]

worst case, would be you lost all your content on iPT and need a restore.

what you gain?

google maps
email
weather
stock
notes
calendar(editable)
etc.

 

[triela]

I don't think proficiency as a "Mac user" gives you any advantage with the current state of the jailbreak; peace-of-mind would only come with actual Linux proficiency. Considering you've never ever used Terminal before, I'd suggest that you wait for a simplified jailbreak solution to be released. I doubt it will take too long.

 

[Mystikal]

3rd.party.apps.

 

[Tclare]

I don't think proficiency as a "Mac user" gives you any advantage with the current state of the jailbreak; peace-of-mind would only come with actual Linux proficiency. Considering you've never ever used Terminal before, I'd suggest that you wait for a simplified jailbreak solution to be released. I doubt it will take too long.

I feel I could do it from what I have seen. One thing I am not sure about is, would I be able to put the Installer.App on my iPod?

 

[elbirth]

I feel I could do it from what I have seen. One thing I am not sure about is, would I be able to put the Installer.App on my iPod?

yes, once the iPod is broken out of jail, you can install Installer.app, which will let you install additional software. The amount of command line usage is very minimal actually, and most of the commands you can simply copy/paste from the guide. You can do some of it through the Finder so you can just drag/drop instead of having to use the command line for moving files and such.

Here's a picture of my iPod touch fresh after installing a few of the iPhone apps... the first 2 rows of icons is what you'll have after the initial jail break and installation of Installer.app:

 

[Tclare]

One more question before I jump into the world of hacking the Touch. Say if Apple release a new update for the software. Will I have to do a restore, so I can install that update?

Thanks

Tclare

 

[Laurent]

First things first; MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A WORKING VERSION OF IPHUC. If you only have access to a PowerPC Mac, forget it for now. I heard jailbreaking works well on Windows and I did mine on an Intel Mac and the experiment went flawlessly. Of course there are some risks, but if you don't take the necessary precautions, you might end up with an apparent empty iPod (the process copy the music/videos to a different folder that neither your iPod or iTunes will see) with less space (say your music collection took 10 Gb on the device, then it's gone, unaccessible first without iPhuc).

 

[Laurent]

One more question before I jump into the world of hacking the Touch. Say if Apple release a new update for the software. Will I have to do a restore, so I can install that update?

Thanks

Tclare

YOU WON'T INSTALL UPDATES UNTIL TOLD OTHERWISE... I think it's safer that way!

 

[hdhanani]

Sorry just to clarify, does the jailbreak work on a Windows PC? I have been confused about this and if this is true then sh17 I am going to do this as soon as possible

 

[clevin]

Sorry just to clarify, does the jailbreak work on a Windows PC? I have been confused about this and if this is true then sh17 I am going to do this as soon as possible

yes, however, I would advise you to wait one or two days for a simple script to be released, the method offered right now is kinda geeky.

 

[Tclare]

I think I will hack my iPod but I will wait for the weekend. I am just a bit curious about what a previous poster said about transferring where your media files are kept on your iPod. Can somebody just clarify what this actually means.

Thanks

Tclare

 

[Laurent]

I think I will hack my iPod but I will wait for the weekend. I am just a bit curious about what a previous poster said about transferring where your media files are kept on your iPod. Can somebody just clarify what this actually means.

Thanks

Tclare

It means that in order to view your media again, you'll have to rename the alias Media to Media_sym and the folder Mediaold to Media. I don't understand exactly why the files have moved once you perform the "Safari crash" but I know that's what you'll have to do in order to see your music again...