TRENDY GADGET

Want your beloved iPod to play dozens of free games or better-quality music files, such as “lossless” FLAC files? What about changing the look of your iPod interface? You can do this -- and for free -- with clever open-source software called Rockbox. Here’s how to do it:

1. Visit Rockbox and download the free open-source software and manual. Rockbox works with first through fifth generation (video) iPods, iPod minis and first generation iPod nanos. For video iPods, you’ll need to download the free fonts package, too.
2. Connect your iPod to your computer. Because you need your iPod recognized as an external hard drive, open iTunes and check off where it says to enable disk use. Now close iTunes.
3. Extract the Rockbox zip file to the iPod. You should now see a file called .rockbox on your iPod drive (e.g. F:, viewed in Windows Explorer). Unzip the fonts folder onto the .rockbox folder, too. But you also need something called a “bootloader,” so the iPod knows how to run this new software. The Rockbox manual tells you where to snag it online. With the iPod still plugged into your PC, run the bootloader software.
4. Disconnect the iPod, reboot it and you’ll see the Rockbox theme. You can change the theme if you don’t like the way the interface looks, or better yet, download new ones from Rockbox themes. Click “initialize” under Database to access all of the music you already have on your iPod.
5. Customize your “new” iPod by installing fun and free third-party plug-ins to your iPod, such as great games (Texas Hold ‘Em, Duck Hunt, a Bejeweled clone) and some handy utilities, too (word processor, paint program). Or drag and drop new music files onto the iPod to play them -- including increasingly popular audio formats like Ogg Vorbis and FLAC files.

Oh, and if you want the original iPod interface, don’t worry as it’s still here. Simply reboot the iPod by holding down Select and Menu; when you see the Apple logo, set the hold switch to On.