Testing my Old iPod Classic
I started using my old iPod Classic again! Using the iPod is a weird mix of nostalgia, convenience and sound quality.
My iPod is a 120GB iPod Classic (6th gen or sometimes referred to as 6.5 gen) from around 2008. This was my main mode of listening to music before I moved on to smartphones and Spotify. I have a pretty decent collection of mp3's (ripped by me from my personal CD collection) and some FLAC files I've bought from Bandcamp or directly from the artists.
Rockbox
I installed Rockbox on the iPod. It's an alternative open source operating system that can play FLAC files and a lot of other formats. The best part is that thanks to Rockbox I can use whatever software I want to transfer my music between the iPod and my computer.
Rockbox makes me feel that I really own the device. Using iTunes always felt uncomfortable and I don't want to be tied to Apples' ecosystem.
Modding the iPod
If you search the web for iPod Classics you'll soon run into a pretty serious modding scene around iPods. This is super interesting!
My battery is in a pretty bad shape and I think that might be the first upgrade I will make. Replacing the hard drive with an SD or CF card might also be a good idea.
Ownership
We'll see if my iPod will fall permanently into my daily flow of listening to music and podcasts, but so far I like it. There's something liberating in concentrating to listening to music without any distractions.
With Rockbox I feel like I really own the device and that I can do whatever I want with it. Listening to ripped mp3's or FLAC files I feel like I own the music I bought. Using my iPod I'm totally out of reach from Spotify's or Apple's music algorithms.