It’s one thing to get an iPod working with Linux. But it is something else entirely to have Linux running on an iPod!

Macworld.com has an interesting update on the longstanding work to allow iPods to run a version of Linux.

An open source project now allows rudimentary image viewing and audio recording through Linux, while also allowing the device to quickly switch back to the standard iPod OS for music playback. It works on first-generation, second-generation and third-generation iPods. Developers are hoping to add 4G iPod and iPod mini support soon.

Things seem to have progressed quite a bit since early 2003, when an engineer got Linux running on an iPod, but the Penguin-powered Pod could not take advantage of key parts of the iPod, such as its scroll wheel and FireWire port. [Get the links]