Nikon D40 Support?

Question

Anyone have any suggestions as to whether the Nikon D40 RAW format can be used by Aperture? I've read about the config file hacks for unsupported RAW formats and am wondering if the sensor in the D40 is similar to the D50 or D80. Any thoughts?
Any speculation as to when Aperture might natively support this camera?
Thanks!
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Answer 1

There are several ways to do this. If you are familiar with VI you can use it to make the change to individual files. open the file in VI, hit :, type %s/D40/D70/g <enter> then save the file.
If you want to change all of the files in a directory, you can write a simple shell script to do it.
For example:
echo "%s/D40/D70/g" >> tmpscrpt
echo "write" >> tmpscrpt
echo "quit" >> tmpscrpt
for file in *.NEF; do
vim -e -s $file < tmpscrpt
done
rm -fr tmpscrpt
This will run vi in executable mode and perform the search (for D40)/replace (with D70) and then save the file using the same file name. To change the files back when D40 support is finally added, change the first line to:
echo "%s/D70/D40/g" >> tmpscrpt
If you are familiar with Automator, you can use it to create a workflow that prompts you for the files you would like converted using finder, and have them changed. Add the "Ask for Finder Items" task, then pass the results into a "Run Shell Script" task. The shell script would be slightly different to take the Finder results:
cd
echo "%s/D40/D70/g" >> tmpscrpt
echo "write" >> tmpscrpt
echo "quit" >> tmpscrpt
for f in "$@"
do
vim -e -s $f < tmpscrpt
done
rm -fr tmpscrpt
Once I do any of the above on a RAW D40 image, the image works fine with Aperture, IPhoto, Preview, etc.
As usual, PLEASE test this on files you are willing to sacrifice before trying on any master files you want to keep. If you are not familiar with the shell, scripting, Automator, or are generally uncomfortable with making ANY changes to your raw images, do not do this. Please wait for the official update from Apple.
I talked to several people at Nikon, and Apple at Macworld this week, and did not get an answer on when it might be fixed. Being impatient, I did all three of the above, and am quite happy with the Automator worklow solution.
Also, I do not profess to be a professional scripter. If anyone has a better way to do this, please jump in. I found a method that works for me, but I am always open to better options.
And last, many thanks to Brian C Toth for his post regarding the Hex change working. This was the spark I needed to get this working.