From: Fred Maxwell <rockbox_at_anti-spam.org>
Date: Sat, 26 Jun 2004 12:47:37 -0400

There has been no small number of people who have dropped, knocked to the
floor, or otherwise subjected their Archos units to high G-Forces. Although
I feel for these people, I'd also like to see others avoid damaging
accidents.

The Archos players should be treated as you would a laptop computer. They
have hard drives spinning in them and the drives are not designed to survive
a one meter drop onto a hard surface. Neither are the thin plastic cases or
the LCDs. If you use the player in a car, do not just set it on the seat
next to you. If you do, the first time you slam on the brakes to avoid an
accident, the player will slam into the dashboard or floor. Do not put the
Archos player in the bottom of a backpack that you toss onto desks at
school. Don't wear it on your belt if you will be active -- all it takes is
one bump into a wall, doorway, pillar, post, etc. to ruin the Archos. If
you need a player for use while active, get a solid-state player and leave
the Archos at home. Whenever possible, keep the Archos player in its
neoprene case. They made it out of neoprene to add an additional level of
protection. When getting in and out of vehicles, have the unit in your
hand, not on your belt where it can get smashed against the center console,
door, door jam, and so on. If you are listening in bed at night, don't
leave the Archos where it can be pulled to the floor if you fall asleep and
roll over. Make sure that you don't leave cables (charger, USB, headphone)
dangling where people can trip on them or snag them as they go by, as that
will lead to the unit toppling to the floor.

I got a small, padded bag like one uses for small cameras. I use it to
carry my PDA, cell phone, Archos (in neoprene case), and the accessories
(chargers, BlueTooth headset, cables, GPS module for PDA, etc.). It's
small, light, and I've not broken a single item that I carry in it.

If that all sounds like too much trouble, then maybe a hard drive based
player isn't for you. That's not an insult or put-down -- just a comment on
matching gear to lifestyle.


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Received on 2004-06-26