Chikuma¶

ipod classic · firmware · in development

Not a game this time. I'm rebuilding the iPod Classic's retail firmware as modules I can recompile and change. I want it to behave like the original; I don't care about matching the compiler's output byte for byte.

It has its own site: chikuma.ringum.net.

The language picker, drawn by the rebuilt firmware

How I check it¶

It runs on a QEMU model of the iPod Classic. The original firmware boots on the same machine with the same disk, so I can drive both through the same screens and compare screenshots pixel by pixel.

Every milestone gets a check the emulator can run. Anything I had to invent rather than recover is labelled.

What works¶

The real-time kernel: service calls, task records, scheduling, and timers, recovered and relinked.
34 firmware tasks, named mostly from the firmware's own strings.
Screens and menus built from the firmware's own UI archive, not redrawn by hand.
Navigation from Home into Settings and back, matching the original's screens.

Current state¶

It boots in the emulator to the language picker and the main menu. Playback, accessories, and the rest are still in progress. Nothing to install yet.