No, it didn’t. I don’t think.

I assume they were referring to the first version they got Rockbox running on.

Does anyone have more details on that part of the story?

This pdf[0] shows an iPod can view notes, but says you need to store them as a .txt.

This O'Reilly snippet[1] claims the feature wasn't implemented until 2003, and even then explicitly states it could only store plain text.

EDIT: The Notes app on the touch can import html files, but that doesn't sync up with either rockbox or disk mode.

So I'm completely lost at what mechanic they're referring to. Even if we assume that this was a txt file and not html, that explicitly excludes the first gen iPod.

[0]: https://manuals.info.apple.com/MANUALS/0/MA282/en_US/iPod_cl...

[1]: https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/ipod-and-itunes/0596008...

yah this is the part that most people who owned a 1st gen spinwheel 5 button iPod g1 are trying to figure out ;) the only logical spot I could think of is maybe the copyright/TOC item?

That wouldn't have been accessible via disk mode, though, so you can't write to it without first rooting it.

Reading down the thread they mention connecting to it over USB... the first iPods only talked Firewire didn't they? I had the 3rd gen (the odd-man-out design with the separate row of touch sensitive buttons above the wheel) and I distinctly remember the USB connection being a new and significant thing on that model.

Also, the first gen iPod didn't have encrypted firmware. It was just an unencrypted blob on the disk.