But wait! Your old iPod is still a more than capable device that eats MP3s for breakfast and even takes advantage of a few old-school apps. If you’re short on uses for your old white chum these days, read on…

First: Make It Awesome

This is somewhat of a precursor to all these steps, and may be required depending on the state of your old jukebox. The older your device, the worse the battery condition is going to be and the more bad sectors will be found on the hard drive. You can actually replace both the battery and the hard drive, and the process isn’t too difficult with the right tutorial.

Luckily there are detailed instructions regarding battery replacement over at iPodHowToVideo and batteries for your specific model can be ordered from retailers like iPodJuice and iPodBatteryDepot. If you’re unsure about doing this (or would rather pay someone else to do it) then Apple offers their own battery replacement service. This will of course cost you considerably more than doing it yourself, and depending on the age of your device, service may not be available.

As for the hard drive – those of you with “dead” iPods might benefit from Josh Highland’s advice in this blog post and for a comprehensive guide to upgrading your hard drive (i.e. putting in a larger capacity drive) then there’s a detailed article all about it over at Command Tab.

Finally you might want to Rockbox your iPod. Rockbox is replacement firmware that comes with many benefits over the stock iPod firmware. No longer will you need to transfer music using iTunes, simply connect your iPod as a drive and play using a file-tree view. Rockbox supports lots of filetypes including FLAC and WMA and even comes with custom themes, a few basic apps and games to keep you happy.

A while back I wrote an article all about Rockbox, and I couldn’t recommend it more.

Car Jukebox

If you’re after a car jukebox then your old iPod is more than up to the task. I’d recommend upgrading the hard drive as per the steps above, though a new battery isn’t strictly necessary as your car should keep the jukebox powered for the time you’re using it.

Every FM car radio is compatible with an FM transmitter, and you won’t even need to buy a fancy iPod-compatible iTrip or equivalent (cheap 3.5mm converters on eBay will do fine). Many cars also accept 3.5mm line-in or even a basic cassette converter (for the decidedly old-school amongst you).

Turn It Into A….Something

Modern smartphones might make your grim greyscale LCD look particularly outdated, but that doesn’t mean old iPods can’t still be useful in their own right. Arguably the most basic thing you could use an old iPod for is a storage drive, which is as easy as enabling disk mode. You can then use it to store files, boot portable apps or do anything else a normal USB hard drive can do.

There are also a number of good apps, and though many of these are made somewhat outdated compared to our always-on-the-go smartphones, some might still prove handy.

Are you going away with no Internet or 3G for a while? You might want Wikipedia in your pocket (or bits of it). Would a dedicated dictaphone be handy? Pick up an old iTalk or Belkin Voice Recorder on eBay. Those of you with iPod Photo or Video models can even download maps!

If you’re particularly artsy or good with your hands you could even get creative and integrate your iPod into something. I suggest an old 1980′s boombox for instant modern-meets-retro chic.

An “I Don’t Want To Ruin My iPhone” Device

Why drop your expensive iPhone 4S in the mud when your iPod will do the job just as well? As an insurance policy, an old iPod can be taken all sorts of places (and fiddled with) whilst your expensive smartphone remains safe and dry in your bag or pocket.

Going on a filthy hike through the mountains? Keep your mobile phone hidden from the elements and save your battery by further butchering your iPod. It deserves it! This applies to all sorts of places that might ruin your favourite gadget – building sites, the garden, music festivals, the beach…

If you’re really concerned you could even buy (or improvise) a super-tough case, who knows you might find some iPod Armor pretty cheap on eBay by now.

Relive Your Earlier Days

If your device has been lying dormant for years, then there’s a good chance it’s packed with music you may no longer have. If this is a problem, a simple recovery with iPod to Folder (you’ll need iTunes installed for drivers and it works on both Windows and Mac) should allow you to simply grab a backup of the files.

Mac users can use an even more powerful tool called Senuti which makes transferring music and videos (if your iPod plays them) even easier. You can then rock out to all the awful music you thought would change the world when you were young.

Conclusion

Hopefully your old MP3 player still has a bit of life left in it. Spare hard drives and even batteries aren’t as expensive as they once were, and by the time you’ve improved both storage and charge capacity your iPod will be better than ever. Good luck, and enjoy reviving an old friend.

Do you still use an old iPod? Which version have you got and what new uses have you put it to? Share your ideas below.

Images: Gutted iPod (Josh Highland), In-Car iPod, iPod 1G

There are a plethora of goodies on the App Store that you shouldn’t miss out. On this page, you’ll effectively see 108 of the best (most are free!), hand-picked by our very staff, and broken down in 14 categories.

A lot of times when you’re purchasing loads of apps, you may run into issues with your Apple ID. You may discover that a cool and exciting app, for example, turns out to be offered only in another country. But worry not. Jeffry posted a detailed article on how to create a US iTunes account without a credit card to access US-only items (and judging from the comments in that post, the method seems to work for many people around the world).

If you want to actually change your Apple ID by either changing your current ID or switching to another existing ID, read on.

On Your Device (Will Probably Apply To iPad, Too)

First, let’s verify the account that you are currently using for iTunes and App Store purchases. Open either the iTunes or the App Store in your iPod, navigate to the bottom of the page you’re on. If you’re on an App Store product page for an app, simply go back to the main screen or tap on Categories or Top 25 (where you can see Top Paid, Top Free and Top Grossing apps) and just navigate down. If you have ever purchased an app, even a free one, you have had to either create a new Apple ID or sign in using an existing ID.

If you’ve created one in the past, you’ll see your current Apple ID at the very bottom of the iTunes or App Store.

Now that you’re sure what account you’re dealing with, press the Home button and launch Settings. Navigate down to Store and tap on it.

You’ll see two options: View Apple ID and Sign Out.

If you tap on View Apple ID, you will see the payment information associated with your account (things like credit card information, billing address and phone number). You can also see which country’s iTunes Store you’re buying from. If you choose to change your Country or Region, you’ll need to follow the on-screen instructions, agree to the terms and probably even change your billing information.

If you’re looking to change your Apple ID email, you can tap on your current Apple ID, and you’ll be presented with your email, password, security questions, etc.

If what you’re seeking is to sign in with another existing Apple ID, simply go back and tap on the Sign Out button and you’re well on your way.

When you’ve signed out, the next time your are purchasing apps or iTunes Store items, it will promptly ask you to sign in.

On iTunes Desktop

If you’re on your actual computer and thus, enjoy the glory of a full-sized keyboard, you can change your Apple ID email address, password, billing information and all that other good stuff by launching iTunes on your desktop. Head to Store > View My Account (some email here).

You will need to enter your password for verification, after which you’ll be presented with all the information Apple has for your account, which you can readily edit.

You can also head to the Apple website (appleid.apple.com) to manage and change your account information if for some reason you’re not on your primary computer.

Have you ever had to change Apple IDs on your iPod or iPhone? Let us know about your experience in the comments!

A single scratch, a broken glass, or malfunctioning hardware quickly destroy that fleeting beauty. Worse still, you find out that your warranty is up or doesn’t cover the damage.

Repairs for expensive toys never come cheap. Or do they? What if you could undo the damage yourself for a small percentage of the cost?

I have compiled a collection of sites that provide tutorials on how to fix various damages and problems that are typical for the iPod, including hard drive, battery, and LCD replacement. You will find iPod repair help for different iPod generations, iPod Touch, iPod Mini, iPod Photo, iPod Nano, iPod Shuffle, and even the iPhone or your Mac.

Warning: MakeUseOf is not liable for damages caused by iPod repair that you do yourself. If you decide to do it yourself, follow the instructions carefully, but do so at your own risk.

iFixit

As the screenshot below reveals, iFixit provides manuals for the iPod, iPhone and Mac. From the iPod product line the original device, the iPod Nano, iPod Mini, iPod Shuffle, and iPod Touch are covered, including different generations of each item.

Once you have tracked down your device, you’ll see an overview of available information.

The “Step-By-Step Guides” address specific issues and how to fix them.

The “Teardown” explains how to open your device and examine its inner beauty. This is also helpful if you need to replace single parts, for example the battery. Generally, each step of the guide also has user comments with questions or further information on what may or may not work as described.

“Related Questions” come from the “Answers” category of the website. If you’re having an issue that has not yet been described, you may find a hint in this section.

The “Troubleshooting” guides help you to track down the origin of your problem and finally you may need “Parts” to perform your own iPod repair. Here is a list of all Troubleshooting Guides.

ipodrepair

This site is mostly interested in selling you parts. However, they have produced PDF tutorials that show how to disassemble the iPod 3rd and 4th generation, the iPod Mini, and the iPhone 1st generation (2G) and 3G. A video is available for the iPhone 3G.

Sometimes it helps to consider several guides for the same procedure, as they may highlight different details in the text and images.

Do-it-yourself repair descriptions in pictures and text are all good. However, nothing beats a video, which reveals all the subtle details and difficulties of using tools and fixing devices.

ifixipodsfast

“I Fix iPods Fast” provides Video iPod repair Tutorials for the iPod Video, iPod Photo, iPod Mini, and iPod 3rd and 4th generation. More models are listed, but no videos are available, yet.

There is a list of available video tutorials in each iPod category and below each video you’ll find a summary of its content, a warning in case it’s especially difficult, and tools needed.

Further assistance may be provided at FixYa, a sited dedicated to free product support. You may also find help on wikiHow, Instructables, and YouTube.

Did you ever successfully fix your iPod? Which resources did you use?

Image credits: ugaldew

So, instead of buying a new DVD copy every time the old one has been scratched to bits; a better solution would be to convert the movie inside the fragile physical disc into a digital file, store it inside a computer hard drive or portable media player, and watch the copy as many times as you want.

Apple has succesfully made the iPod the most well known name of portable media players, thanks to the great design, intuitive interface, and the high quality of the product. This makes the iPod the perfect home for the converted DVD movies. This article will help you effortlessly put a DVD movie onto your iPod.

The missing ripper

No doubt the best free tool to extract the content of a DVD as a video file is Handbrake. This is like a one click solution for your DVD converting needs.

But there are many online discussions mentioning that converting the DVD directly using Handbrake doesn’t always give users the best result. To keep the result as good as possible, the DVD has to be ripped first to the hard drive before being converted by Handbrake.

There’s only one name that keeps popping up as the best free tool to rip DVD: MacTheRipper.

This is a free app, but you actually have to do a little web searching to get the download link. There’s a story behind these extra steps : MacTheRipper is developed in a country where ripping DVD’s (even the ones that you legally own) is forbidden by law, so the developer had to take the down the link.  To honor the developer’s goodwill, I will not include any link here either. But worry not, finding the app is not that difficult. -cough-torrent-cough- ahem. ‘Scuse me.

Rip the DVD into a VIDEO_TS folder, then open the folder as a source from Handbrake.

Choose Your Configurations

In order not to mess things up with all the complicated configurations, the first thing you need to do is to choose the resulting file you want to produce out of the (ripped) DVD.

There are some pre-configured settings that you can choose from the preset pane on the right. Choose iPod because that’s the topic today. Choose Low-rez if you only want to watch the video on your iPod, but choose Hi-rez if you are also thinking of plugging the iPod to your TV and watching the movie from the real tube.

The video configuration will always change, reflecting what setting you choose from the right pane. Unless you understand what you are doing, I suggest you don’t change anything from the configuration in the main window.

Instead, go to the Audio & Subtitles tab. I also prefer not to mess with the audio configuration, but this is the place to go if you want to add subtitles to the converted video. Just choose one subtitle from the available option.

The last step is to click the “Start” button above and make yourself some coffee while waiting for the process to finish.

If you have more than one movie to be converted, click the “Add to Queue” button after finishing the settings for one movie, then move on to the next movie. After all the movies are standing in line, you can click the “Start” button.

After the conversion process is finished, all of the converted movies will be added to iTunes and automatically synchronized to your iPod when the gadget is connected to your Mac.

Now you can safely keep those discs and enjoy the pod.

Handbrake is also available in Windows and Linux version, while MacTheRipper is Mac only.

How do you use rip your movies for iPod viewing? Do you have an easier way to do it?   If so, why not show off your expertise in the comments below?

However, before I switched Windows Mobile, getting some decent games on my pre-historic cellphone was pretty much impossible, and one doesn’t string a PSP around his neck all day and expect to be popular with the ladies. So, imagine my joy when I discovered that there are free games for iPod that I can download!

These games, which were mainly meant to be downloaded from the iTunes store, could help you kill that little time that was still moving, and although gaming sounds highly impractical with a scroll-click-weel and a center button, they’re great fun.

However, paying for these games gets old quick. Especially because you’re paying 5 bucks (or 5 Euros  – people really don’t seem to know how to convert prices) for games you’ve played in your browser a few years ago, like Tetris and music quizzes.

The problem with the iPod’s freeware games market is Apple’s overprotectiveness. It’s not easy to put games on your iPod that weren’t bought in iTunes. But today, we’re going to show you how it’s done.

Note that the iPods supported by this tutorial are the iPod Video 5G and 5.5G (pictured above). Trying this with iPod Nano’s, iPod Classics, or any of the newer models will be bound to result in failure (and there is no other alternative but installing Linux on your device).

Either way, everything described in this tutorial, you do on your own risk. MakeUseOf is not responsible for any potential problems, or damage to your iPod.

Let’s get started, shall we?

Prepping your iPod for free games

The process consists of three parts. First, we’re going to make sure iTunes won’t undo all our hard work with the next synchronisation. Then, we’ll need to copy the necessary files and folders to our iPod, and finally, we’re going to patch our firmware.

Configuring iTunes

First of all, let’s fire up iTunes and disable a few options. In Devices – iPod – Options in the Summary tab, make sure that Enable disk use is checked.

Also, go to the Games tab and disable the Sync games box.

Now, close up iTunes and make sure your iPod is mounted. If not, remove it and plug it in again.

Moving the files

Next, configure Windows Explorer to display hidden files and folders. If you’re using XP, go to Tools – Folder Options. On Vista, this option can be found in Organize – Folder and Search Options.

In the View tab, make sure Show hidden files and folders is enabled.

Open your mounted iPod in Windows Explorer and navigate to iPod_ControlGames_RO and extract the hex folder of your downloaded games. Read more about where to get these games at the bottom of the article.

Patching your iPod

For this one, you’ll need to download iPodWizard (v1.3) and the right firmware file – 5G or 5.5G. If you don’t know for certain which you need, the 5.5G iPod is the one with search function.

Fire up iPodWizard and make sure the edit mode is set to Firmware File. Then, browse to the correct firmware. Finally, press Write to iPod and follow the directions on your screen.

Congratulations, you should now be able to find your games on your iPod under extras. Have fun!

Download Free iPod Games

If you do a quick Google search, a few sites will pop up where you can find free games for your iPod that you can download, one of those sites is Emobilez. This site offers a wide variety of free mobile/portable software, and has a healthy arsenal of games as well.

Although I’ve got my doubts with some of them (e.g. Lost and Zuma), all games are believed to be in the public domain.

How do you find gaming on your iPod? What are your favorite iPod games? Let it all out in the comments!