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Rockbox mail archiveSubject: Re: ipod rockbox justification (was: rockbox Digest, Vol 7, Issue 43)Re: ipod rockbox justification (was: rockbox Digest, Vol 7, Issue 43)
From: ian douglas <id_at_w98.us>
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2006 17:38:22 -0800 Your post seems to be on the edge of what I'd otherwise consider a troll, but I'd like to step in and offer my $0.02 worth. Also, because sorting things by subject for archive tends to make more sense for me personally, I've altered the subject line away from the mailing list digest name. > the idea that we can just simply turn off the firmware > and go back to the ipod firmware is laughable I don't see how you could consider that a useless feature - if there's a bug in the rockbox firmware that you can't get out of, how else would you ever hope to recover? I guarantee you that Apple won't replace a 'defective' iPod that simply has bad firmware on it. To that end, the development team has spent a lot of time ensuring that some recovery mechanism exists. Consider how you'd feel if your $400 MP3 player was now useless (what we call "bricked" here at Rockbox) because you couldn't get back to the original firmware? Besides, having access to the original firmware would give you access to your iTunes video files. (I hope I'm right on that point, I'm sure someone will correct me if that's not accurate) > Why is rock box not using a form of platform like apple > osx or windows for the codding so that we blind or arshley > sighted user can take full advantage of there ipod videos. Aside from the question of "what do you want for free", as far as I recall, video playback is working for non-proprietary formats like MPEG video. If you're asking whether it'd be more useful to run an embedded OS like Windows Mobile PC or whatever they're calling the old Windows CE these days, then hey, if you want to do the development work to get it running on the slow processor and limited about of RAM/Flash that you have in your iPod, you're more than welcome to. But you've asked a question that's been asked previously a few times, which is essentially "How can I watch my iTunes videos or listen to my iTunes music", and it's already been answered as effectively as possible. Proprietary formats like iTunes or Windows Media cannot be played back on Rockbox for obvious reasons of licensing and the power needed to decrypt a file on the fly while you play it. Studies have already shown that battery life is reduced by 25% by playing DRM music on MP3 players. But I'm getting away from my point a little: Rockbox is an open-source firmware setup that is based on open-source codecs like OGG, to let people with hardware like the iPod series have access to a huge range of features they'd have never had otherwise. I'm sure I can safely guarantee you that Apple will never offer support for FLAC or OGG formats on their iPods, yet Rockbox will allow you to do just that. If I'm correct (and others will correct me if I'm wrong), Rockbox will also give video playback capabilities to older generation iPods to play MPEG or other videos. > you say that rock box is also for sighted users, but do you > know anyone who is sighted who uses it Um, yes, there are plenty of sighted people using Rockbox on their various players. Some developers who were very generous with their time, have developed the voice menus so that users without sight could still navigate. This was a feature built in explicitly to the benefit of users who could see their screen for whatever reason. And I'm pretty sure they won't enjoy reading your critical questioning about a feature that they built specifically for users like you so you could get more usefulness from your player. > most people who are sighted would just go out and buy an ipod or > other mp3 players. For what other purpose? I am a sighted user, and I didn't buy an iPod simply because it only supported MP3 files other than proprietary (encrypted) formats, not to mention that it wouldn't even play WMA files. And I wanted access to codecs like OGG Vorbis which sound as good as MP3 files at lower bit rates and smaller file size for players with less disk/flash capacity. In the end, I bought an iRiver H320 because it had every feature I could have wanted - a photo viewer, many codecs for playback, built-in recorder, built-in photo and text viewers, AM/FM radio ... Rockbox just extends those capabilities even farther, and gives me access to even *more* open-source formats that even iRiver didn't think to include... But before this turns into another "I don't want to give anyone my real name" debate, perhaps you should read more about what Rockbox IS and who those features are intended for, before asking questions that make you look like you're just trying to start a fight. -id Received on 2006-03-21 Page template was last modified "Tue Sep 7 00:00:02 2021" The Rockbox Crew -- Privacy Policy |