[GLLUG] MP3 Players

[Matt Graham]

On Thursday 16 May 2002 15:30, sreiner@fnba.com wrote:
> I am considering purchasing an MP3 player, something capable of
> storing a large number of files.  Anyone have concerns, experiences,
> hate, joy, etc with Archos or Ipod or another player?

Archos 6000 (both 6G and 20G versions) works just fine with Linux, as a 
"normal" USB-storage device.  Plug in, "mount /dev/sda1 /mnt/archos" , 
transfer files to/from the thing--whee.  Filesystem is FAT32, no 
Windoze bits necessary at all--just copy the 80K firmware file 
"archos.mod" to the root directory of the Archos (Google for the place 
to download that file, Archos.com just has some stupid Windows 
executable available.)  Problem is, the user interface on the 6G model 
is horrible and there's no belt clip, making it tough to wear while out 
doing stuff.

The iPod is not *really* supported yet under Linux (darned HFS+ 
filesystem) but the interface is good and it's smaller/lighter than 
almost any hard-drive based player out there.  If you have a Mac 
sitting around and can afford an iPod, it's sweet... Shark D, one of my 
cow-orkers, has one and he loves it.

There are a lot of CF-based players out there, but storage capacity is 
pitiful compared to the hard-drive based ones, and a 1G CF card is 
quite expensive.  Conversely, these things are very small and light 
compared to the hulking behemoth that is the Archos.  The cheaper ones 
are *cheap*.  Of course, you have to spend $$$ on the CF cards for it, 
so consider that when pricing.

Linux support depends on the specific player make and model, but I'd say 
about 75% of the CF-based players with USB support will work just like 
the Archos.  Google for "Linux $PLAYERNAME" if you had a specific model 
in mind, or hunt for the player at http://qbik.ch/usb/devices/ under 
"storage".

-- 
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