haplo
18th February 2005, 04:51 PM
Like most, I have a many mp3 files, but limited options on what hardware to use when I want to put them on a player. I currently have a MiniDisk player and have been annoyed over only being able to use windows to transfer the files onto the player.
I was looking at a HiMD player and 2 hard drive models Rio Karma and an iPod. I use both windows XP and linux at home but only linux at work. I wanted to find a player that could work on either O.S.
The HiMD player and media are hard to find here in the US and knowing Sony, probably only windows support, I thought the Karma would be a better choice since it has the network cradle to connect over the network w / java (also Ogg support), but I was concerned about the bad reputation the hard disk has, so I was looking at the iPod, but with the alpha support for the device in linux and the DRM features it has I steered away from that. While browsing around the net, I stumbled upon the SanDisk SDMX1 1Gb flash player, on CircuitCity.com (http://http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/SanDisk-1GB-MP3-Player-SDMX11024A18-/sem/rpsm/oid/108444/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do) and found this player.
Its features include:
USB 2.0
mp3 player
FM radio
voice recorder
works as flash drive
Does not support playlists but supports subfolders as a workaround
So for a price of $159 (US) I figured I would try it out.
On my linux machine at work (FC3) plugged it in system saw it as /dev/sda and HAL showed it as /media/NO_NAME. I found that annoying so edited /etc/hal/hald.conf to disable: <storage_media_check_enabled>false</storage_media_check_enabled> , restarted haldaemon and it now mounts automatically as /dev/usbdisk.
I copied mp3's to the player and after determining that it doesn't like multiple folders in /ROOT. When this happens the player would lock up on the boot screen.
To reset the player:
Remove and replace battery and connect the usb cable then you can access it on the system to remove the offending files.
I created one directory and moved the folders to that music directory. It worked flawlessly, mp3's sounded just as well as my MD player. The included earphones sound good, FM antenna is not build into the earphones since other earphones worked fine.
I have about 160 songs on the player (mostly 192 Kbs and up) and still have 100 Mb free.
So I would recommend this player to anyone who has a limited budget and wants to ensure that they are not locked into proprietary software and able to make their own choice in Operating Systems.
I was looking at a HiMD player and 2 hard drive models Rio Karma and an iPod. I use both windows XP and linux at home but only linux at work. I wanted to find a player that could work on either O.S.
The HiMD player and media are hard to find here in the US and knowing Sony, probably only windows support, I thought the Karma would be a better choice since it has the network cradle to connect over the network w / java (also Ogg support), but I was concerned about the bad reputation the hard disk has, so I was looking at the iPod, but with the alpha support for the device in linux and the DRM features it has I steered away from that. While browsing around the net, I stumbled upon the SanDisk SDMX1 1Gb flash player, on CircuitCity.com (http://http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/SanDisk-1GB-MP3-Player-SDMX11024A18-/sem/rpsm/oid/108444/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do) and found this player.
Its features include:
USB 2.0
mp3 player
FM radio
voice recorder
works as flash drive
Does not support playlists but supports subfolders as a workaround
So for a price of $159 (US) I figured I would try it out.
On my linux machine at work (FC3) plugged it in system saw it as /dev/sda and HAL showed it as /media/NO_NAME. I found that annoying so edited /etc/hal/hald.conf to disable: <storage_media_check_enabled>false</storage_media_check_enabled> , restarted haldaemon and it now mounts automatically as /dev/usbdisk.
I copied mp3's to the player and after determining that it doesn't like multiple folders in /ROOT. When this happens the player would lock up on the boot screen.
To reset the player:
Remove and replace battery and connect the usb cable then you can access it on the system to remove the offending files.
I created one directory and moved the folders to that music directory. It worked flawlessly, mp3's sounded just as well as my MD player. The included earphones sound good, FM antenna is not build into the earphones since other earphones worked fine.
I have about 160 songs on the player (mostly 192 Kbs and up) and still have 100 Mb free.
So I would recommend this player to anyone who has a limited budget and wants to ensure that they are not locked into proprietary software and able to make their own choice in Operating Systems.
