first-gen

Two 'first-gen' stories May 2012 - February 2015

Legacy Support! After 14 years, the first iPod still syncs to the latest version of iTunes

What happens when you hook up the original 1st-generation iPod with the latest version of iTunes? YouTuber Matthew Pearce attempted exactly that, and surprisingly found that the current version of iTunes (12.1) works just fine with the old 2001 iPod, and even prompts to set it up as a new device.

It appears that Apple is supporting the first-gen iPod, rather than it just happening to work: iTunes shows an icon for the original iPod design after connecting the device. The setup required a Firewire 400 to 800 adapter, and for newer Macs you’d also need a Firewire 800 to Thunderbolt adapter.

Check out out the full experiment in the video below:

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKJsl02f2BU]

Prototype iPad with landscape dock connector surfaces in eBay listing

As noted by MacRumors, an eBay listing popped up today showing what appears to be a prototype 16GB iPad with two dock connectors. The iPad has always included the same, single dock connector that allows docking in portrait orientation, but the prototype in the listing shows a second dock connector that would allow for docking in landscape view.

We heard rumors several times as far back as the original iPad launch that Apple was working to add a second dock connector. The rumors were supported by several patents that surfaced. They detailed possible advancements Apple could make to its dock connectors on iOS devices. As pointed out by the report, the prototype in the eBay listing does not actually have any iPad trademarks, but just a prototype ID number instead. Otherwise, it appears to be genuine with components carrying “part numbers and copyright dates from prior to original iPad’s components.”

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