How one dongle dilemma destroyer synced an authentic iPod to their M4 MacBook

Key Takeaways

The unique iPod is taken into account iconic, however Apple has bullishly minimize assist for legacy applied sciences through the years.
Apple has made controversial strikes, like axing the headphone jack, citing a need to push the business ahead.
One X person efficiently synced a first-generation iPod mannequin to a brand-new M4 MacBook, and it solely took 3 separate dongles to attain.

The original iPod from 2001 is extensively thought of to be probably the most iconic devices of all time. The product line helped reinvigorate Apple’s management place within the client tech house, and it performed a job in serving to spawn the iPhone and the iPad just some quick years later.

The primary-generation iPod stays ubiquitous within the public eye, but it surely’s not precisely probably the most accessible piece of tech to stand up and operating nowadays. That did not cease one X person by the identify of NekoMichi from trying to sync his iPod through his brand-new M4 MacBook Pro.

Miraculously, this person was capable of efficiently sync the 2 Apple merchandise collectively, proving that something is feasible with a little bit of persistence and perseverance.

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So as to take action, nonetheless, NekoMichi was compelled to embrace the much-maligned dongle life to its absolute excessive — the setup course of required three separate cable adapters:

FireWire 400 — Firewire 800 adapter cable
FireWire 800 — Thunderbolt 2 through Mini DisplayPort adapter cable
Thunderbolt 3 through USB-C — Thundebolt 2 adapter cable

With these conditions in tow, NekoMichi managed to get the unique iPod to point out up and sync through macOS 15.2 Sequoia‘s Finder interface. Again within the day, for reference, iPods utilized the now-defunct iTunes software program to handle music and sync over person knowledge.

3 iPod nanos against an orange background of a person wearing jeans

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Quite a bit has modified within the tech business for the reason that days of the iPod

Symbolically, the unique Apple iPod is a relic of a bygone period

As an organization, Apple notoriously leads the cost in slicing off assist for legacy applied sciences. In latest many years, the tech big has made decisive strikes in axing such {hardware} as the three.5-inch floppy drive, the CD-ROM drive, the FireWire I/O port, the three.5mm headphone jack, amongst different once-popular elements.

Apple’s bullish tendencies have performed an simple position in pushing the tech business ahead.

Apple’s bullish tendencies have performed an simple position in pushing the tech business ahead, however they’ve invited criticism and backlash alongside the way in which. The corporate’s elimination of the headphone jack, in addition to its transition away from the 30-pin connector and towards the Lightning connector, come to thoughts as notably controversial strikes made by the tech big.

Person laying on bright color pop background listening to iPod playing Sound of Silence

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It is fascinating to see the longer-term penalties of Apple’s heavy-handed strategy to {hardware} in motion. If you happen to informed somebody in 2001 that their brand-new iPod would require 3 separate dongles to connect with a Mac within the yr 2024, I would think about that they’d have been downright baffled.

It is fascinating to see the longer-term penalties of Apple’s heavy-handed strategy to {hardware} in motion.

Apple cannibalized its personal iPod product line with the introduction of the iPhone in 2007, after which went on to discontinue its last iPod model in 2022. The place it was as soon as a revelation to hold 1,000 songs in your pocket, as we speak now we have entry to thousands and thousands of songs on demand by Apple Music, Spotify, and different streaming companies. However, the iPod stays probably the most iconic tech merchandise of all time, cementing itself as an all-time nice.