Apple iPod

For the final 2021 entry in my never-ending “Zscaler Logo on an Old Device” series, here is a fully-restored and upgraded iPod 3rd Gen! I recently was given this totally-dead, very-beat-up iPod. The previous owner let me know that it was completely lifeless, but threw it in as a bonus item in case I might use it for parts someday.

I plugged it into a known-good USB charger with my last remaining 30-pin-to-USB cable and confirmed that it was totally dead... but something about it kept tickling the back of my brain. This was the model of iPod that was selling like hotcakes when I first started working for Apple back in early 2004, and some mix of my usual retro-obsession + a little personal nostalgia made me want to try resurrecting it.

Finally, it hit me: this particular model has a funny "spanning the eras" quirk: it uses the same 30-pin-to-USB cable that many other iDevices over the years used for syncing to a computer (before Lightning took over, anyway), but in a final bit of heritage from the original 1st-gen iPods, this model will *sync* from USB but will only *charge* if connected to FireWire! I picked up a FireWire AC adapter and cable on eBay, and sure enough, the trusty little iPod sprang back to life. I also replaced the battery and gave it a deep-cleaning, and I'm happy to report that it's working like a champ. The 15gig hard drive works well (though it’s funny how loud it seems and how strange the mild gyroscopic effect of spinning metal in a handheld device feels today in the era of boundless flash memory!), and I was able to install the super-cool RockBox alternative firmware, which includes a photo viewer that runs even on non-color iPods. From there, it was a cinch to get the Zscaler logo onscreen.

Anyway, I hope that like this old iPod, you all feel recharged, refreshed and ready to rock out in 2022!