iTunes 7.4.1 ringtones re-rename workaround discovered

So last night iTunes 7.4.1 came out which, among other things, blocked off the custom ringtone renaming method, which allowed users to add their own ringtones to their iPhone without buying them on iTunes. Well, as posters in our own comments have already discovered, it’s back, and here’s how to do it:

First, follow the steps of the original method

• Create your ringtone, save it as an AAC file.
• Rename the m4a extension to m4r.
• Double-click to play in iTunes.

Now, if you’re upgraded to 7.4.1

• Go back and re-rename that m4r file back to m4a. That’s it.
• Plug in your iPhone and that ringtone will be added to your syncable ringtones list — and it won’t pop up the error from before.
• Play your ringtones constantly for the next 10 hours until 7.4.2 comes out.

Polk Audio I-Sonic ES2 features iTunes song tagging

 

Already, new peripherals are popping up to take advantage of the new features in Apple’s updated iPod line-up, with Polk Audio’s I-Sonic Entertainment System 2 packing a poor man’s equivalent of the Starbucks song purchase feature over in-store WiFi. When songs are playing over the built-in HD Radio, users can press a tag button, which creates a custom playlist on docked iPods, allowing songs to be purchased later when at a computer. The ES2 also features XM Connect & Play capability, a CD/DVD drive for audio playback, an alarm clock mode, and 360-degree sound, whatever the hell that is. The ES2 hits next month for $499.

Wi-Fi iPods Expected

Though it is not official, those in the “know” say Apple is just hours away from announcing a new Wi-Fi enabled iPod designed to receive digital radio along with an option to buy content from the iTunes Store. It is not known whether the same functions will be included in the iPhone.

Other rumors about the new Wi-Fi iPod line suggest the inclusion of a wide-screen touch-screen interface like the iPhone, larger storage capacity, Flash based hard drive and a new version of the iPod Nano that can handle video.

On a personal note, I’m ready for a wide-screen iPod. Watching wide-screen formatted movies that I’ve ripped off of DVD on the small iPod screen has been giving me a headache.

Ipod Fashion

This pair of Lederhosen, on display at IFA 2007, comes with a set of controls for your iPod. Made by all-weather wear German company Lodenfrey, these lederhosen will let you listen to music with a distinct lack of style. Made of high quality layered suede, the controls are unobtrusively located down the left side of the pants and the MP3 player is integrated into the pants.

Lodenfrey is apparently the leader in the design and production of lederhosen and other pieces of high quality traditional garb. The company also seemingly refuses to acknowledge the existence of these devastatingly ethnic pants on their home site, therefore further purchasing information is scant.

Blinged out iPod Shuffle doesn’t come cheap

For the small price of 120,000 Norwegian Kroner (around $20,000) you can pick up a concentrated mix of gold, diamonds, and… iPod Shuffle. There’s not a lot more to this blinged out creation: why anyone would want to place twenty gees worth of precious carbon on a $99 gadget, we’ll never know.

5G iPod mod trades the hard drive for CF storage

 

We’ve seen similar flash memory mods for various iterations of the iPod family, like Mark Hoekstra’s CF swap, which spans generations one through four, but unfortunately we have yet to see anyone take on the 5G video iPods… until now. One apparently bored and crafty gentleman who goes by the name Tarkan Akdam has successfully replaced his untrustworthy, archaic, mechanical hard drive with a substantially smaller 4GB CF card (we suppose what it lacks in storage is made up for in peace of mind). Apparently, it’s not so tough to find a compatible solution to go from the factory-installed Toshiba drive to an off-the-shelf chunk of flash memory — as long as you have a custom circuit board made and don’t mind soldering 0.5mm pitch connections. If you’re reaching for your mini-screwdriver set right now, hit the read link and learn the whole process.