old imac and new ipod

how to make them work togther

[chrisday100]

A friend of mine uses an original imac. He has bought a new ipod and trying to figure a way to make them work together. any ideas?

[Macguru]

Hi chrisday100,

Welcome to the board.

Unfortunatly, I believe your friend is out of luck. There are both software and hardware conflicts to resolve.

According to Apple technical specifications [apple.com] :

Mac requirements
Macintosh computer with built-in FireWire port; Mac OS X v10.1.5 or later (Mac OS X 10.3 or later recommended)

First, a more recent OS is required. See this recent thread for more information about it:

OSX (Panther) on a revb imac? [webmasterworld.com] It's not as easy as it sounds.

Second, your friend will need a firewire card to connect the iPod to the iMac. This can be tricky, since some revisions of the iMac can lack the "mezzanine" slot to recieve the card. I heard of such cards but never shopped for them.

I believe Sonnet is sill making one wich also double as a processor upgrade, but this will more expensive then the iPod itself.

I am not sure the iPod will work with a simple firewire to USB adaptor.

I would start by phoning your local Mac shop to know if there is an inexpensive firewire card still available for the iMac. Keep the model # handy wile you talk for them to check if there is a mezzanine slot in the iMac.

I guess it's time to upgrade the computer...

[chrisday100]

Hi and thanks for your response, we figured the same, but as most mac heads, my pal is sentimental. I did suggest he recycled it into a goldfish tank....