From: David Litchman <Davel23_at_rcn.com>
Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2004 11:28:29 -0500

I have no idea if something like this is possible within the scope of
Rockbox's capabilities, but I thought I'd throw it out there and let the
folks who actually have some programming skill hash out the particulars. :)

One of the main drawbacks of the FAT32 file system on large partitions is
the size of its allocation units. This, when combined with large numbers
of relatively small files (as most MP3 collections tend to be) results in a
great deal of wasted, or "slack", space. On my unit alone, my MP3
collection which takes up about 14 gig on my NTFS drive ends up using
around 17 gig on the Archos. That's 3 gig of wasted space! Now, I'm not
suggesting that the file system be changed, I know that FAT32 must be used
for compatibility purposes. What I am wondering is this. Would it be
possible to package all your MP3 files into one large, single file from
which Rockbox could then read the individual MP3s from? The packaging
would obviously have to be done on the PC side, and maybe it would be
possible to use the ZIP format without compression, as Zipping MP3s doesn't
result in much space savings anyway. But it would save all the wasted
slack space from all those part-full allocation units.

I realize this may be completely unfeasible, but I think it's a good idea
anyway. And at least it's not as crazy as my next idea, using the
Recorder's microphone and voice-recognition software to control
Rockbox! Just think, you could just say the name of a song, and it would
play! :)


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Received on 2004-03-14