From: Bluechip <csbluechip_at_gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 18 May 2007 16:33:13 +0100

In case it helpes ...Fast error messages can be recorded on a
video-camera or most telephones nowdays - you can then freeze-frame
to read the message :)

BC


At 16:10 18/05/2007, you wrote:
>This all started back about a month ago. I reinstalled several times,
>including flashing the bootloader. Basically it seems to not hold a charge
>in the battery, and sometimes we get errors but they flash across too fast
>for our sighted friend to be able to read them. I'm not sure if any
>significant changes have been made to the iaudio version of rockbox lately,
>but I can try reinstalling again and see if it helps at all. So far though,
>the most we get is the rockbox flash screen, then the unit just shuts down.
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: rockbox-bounces_at_cool.haxx.se
>[mailto:rockbox-bounces_at_cool.haxx.se]On Behalf Of Paul Erkens
>Sent: Friday, May 18, 2007 8:45 AM
>To: Rockbox
>Subject: Re: question to all blind rockboxers
>
>
>Christy,
>
>Did you try to reinstall with a newer version of rockbox? If the unit is
>useless for you now, and there is no warranty anymore, it won't harm to try.
>
>If you did, how far did you get? Won't it boot up anymore? What happens if
>you attach the I Audio to your pc on USB and then turn it on? If you can get
>
>to its hard disk, you can try to reinstall and have a precious device again.
>
>Paul.
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Christy Schulte" <christy_at_faylen.com>
>To: "Rockbox" <rockbox_at_cool.haxx.se>
>Sent: Friday, May 18, 2007 3:17 PM
>Subject: RE: question to all blind rockboxers
>
>
> > Knowing how to install isn't the problem. It's just that, after our
> > previous
> > experience of getting an IAudio, installing Rockbox, only to find it isn't
> > working and now the warranty is voided because we did this, we're a bit
> > nervous about buying another unit. As it is, I'm not sure what to do with
> > the one we already have. By the way, I'm Amy's roommate.
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: rockbox-bounces_at_cool.haxx.se
> > [mailto:rockbox-bounces_at_cool.haxx.se]On Behalf Of Paul Erkens
> > Sent: Friday, May 18, 2007 8:04 AM
> > To: Rockbox
> > Subject: Re: question to all blind rockboxers
> >
> >
> > Hi Clement,
> >
> > You or I could help Amy install Rockbox on a regular I Audio x5, once she
> > buys herself one, over skype. It's not that hard. I have done it to a
> > friend's Iriver too, and my own I audio was even easier. Amy, drop me a
> > note
> >
> > if you want some step by step help.
> >
> > Paul.
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: <chou.clement_at_gmail.com>
> > To: "Rockbox" <rockbox_at_cool.haxx.se>
> > Sent: Friday, May 18, 2007 5:14 AM
> > Subject: Re: question to all blind rockboxers
> >
> >
> >> Well, a question, on Amy's behalf. Does anyone have an IAudio with
> >> rockbox
> >
> >> installed and operating that they could sell for a low price?
> >> ----- Original Message -----
> >> From: "Amy" <amy_at_faylen.com>
> >> To: "Rockbox" <rockbox_at_cool.haxx.se>
> >> Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2007 6:24 PM
> >> Subject: Re: question to all blind rockboxers
> >>
> >>
> >>>I wish I could get mine working. Still waiting to look for a decent price
> >>>on eBay. I would prefer one with rockbox installed already, but I'm
> >>>thinking it very unlikely at this point. sigh
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> ----- Original Message -----
> >>> From: <chou.clement_at_gmail.com>
> >>> To: "Rockbox" <rockbox_at_cool.haxx.se>
> >>> Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2007 6:03 PM
> >>> Subject: Re: question to all blind rockboxers
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>> Actually, just one minor correction if I may, Paul. The fourth whole on
> >>>> the subpack as you described is not a line jack. Rather, it's not a
> >>>> line
> >
> >>>> out jack. It's actually a line in / out jack, ad I believe it can be
> >>>> changed via the firmware and settings. The other jack that is right
> >>>> next
> >
> >>>> to your usb is actually a remote jack. And the slit's purpose is
> >>>> unknown
> >
> >>>> right below the headphone jack. Under the slit is actually a piece of
> >>>> plastic, which reveals the USB 1.1 OTG port. If you feel carefully, you
> >>>> will feel something that is not quite smooth. It should be noticible..
> >>>> I
> >
> >>>> Thought it was the internal microphone, but you don't want to get that
> >>>> mistaken... that's where you said it was. Just a few things I thought I
> >>>> would point out.
> >>>>
> >>>> Best,
> >>>> Clement.
> >>>> ----- Original Message -----
> >>>> From: "Paul Erkens" <pjealt_at_xs4all.nl>
> >>>> To: "Rockbox" <rockbox_at_cool.haxx.se>
> >>>> Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2007 3:48 PM
> >>>> Subject: question to all blind rockboxers
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>> Hi,
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Since I got my IAudio x5, I really had a whole bunch of stuff to
> >>>>> learn.
> >
> >>>>> I was rather a novice. The information on the net aimed directly at
> >>>>> blind people is there to some degree, and that's wonderful already.
> >>>>> But
> >
> >>>>> it is not very extensive up till now.
> >>>>> I'm writing a document right now, from which other blind folks can
> >>>>> learn what I had to learn. I started writing this afternoon, and I'd
> >>>>> like to know from you guys out here, if you think I should do it
> >>>>> differently, keep going this way, or leave it altogether because I'm
> >>>>> completely wrong.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> If any of you cares to take a look at my first attempts, I am pasting
> >>>>> it below. If the reactions are okay and I can get it finished in the
> >>>>> near future, I'm planning to send it off to the rockbox team, and see
> >>>>> if they find it useful enough to place it on their site for other
> >>>>> blind
> >
> >>>>> adventurous souls to use. Rockbox is made by very knowledgeable
> >>>>> people,
> >
> >>>>> but introductory docs for the unknowing like myself, I haven't found
> >>>>> so
> >
> >>>>> far. Would you as a blind reader find this a useful document?
> >>>>> Especially the section describing the IAudio mp3 player itself.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Comments welcome. It is my first attempt to write it, unfinished nor
> >>>>> polished. I'm not a native English speaker. I just want to know if I'm
> >>>>> on the right track to really make a difference when I get it done. I'd
> >>>>> like to contribute my little bit.
> >>>>> ---
> >>>>> Guide for the blind: rockbox on your IAudio x5 mp3 player.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Contents ideas:
> >>>>> ========
> >>>>> introduction
> >>>>> What are we talking about?
> >>>>> -walkmans and accessibility
> >>>>> -what is mp3 really?
> >>>>> Description of the IAudio x5
> >>>>> Hearing the demos on the unit
> >>>>> an explanation of firmware
> >>>>> what is rockbox for us?
> >>>>> How the speech system works
> >>>>> About the files to download and what they do
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Introduction
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Welcome. This guide is intended for blind folks, wanting to have an
> >>>>> accessible mp3 player. I am blind myself, and from the directions on
> >>>>> the internet, I finally managed to get rockbox to work on my player.
> >>>>> The information I needed was not bundled in one place, and most
> >>>>> documents were very brief. Now that I have my own player going and now
> >>>>> that I've seen how great rockbox just is for us once it's running, I
> >>>>> want to share my knowledge and experience with you, so you don't have
> >>>>> to invent the wheel again.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> In short, if you already know what an mp3 walkman is: with rockbox,
> >>>>> you
> >
> >>>>> can now navigate almost all menus, configure almost all options and do
> >>>>> almost anything a sighted user is capable of, using the display screen
> >>>>> on the unit. New functions and possibilities are added constantly, and
> >>>>> what you can't do today, may be possible next week. Rockbox makes your
> >>>>> mp3 player talk, so you will know what you are doing as you operate
> >>>>> its
> >
> >>>>> controls. That is what rockbox is all about for blind people. A work
> >>>>> in
> >
> >>>>> progress, already working on many different mp3 players, talking to
> >>>>> you, and improving continuously.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> This is not a technical document, because I'm not technically inclined
> >>>>> myself. I will explain what you are required to do, why you must do
> >>>>> it,
> >
> >>>>> and in our case without vision: how it should be done.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> I can only describe the procedure for the IAudio x5 mp3 player. Other
> >>>>> players, I don't have any experience with so far. If you have
> >>>>> something
> >
> >>>>> other than the IAudio x5, this document will provide you with
> >>>>> background information so you will understand what's up, but the
> >>>>> specific installation details for other players than the IAudio x5 are
> >>>>> not covered here.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> We will begin by providing you with some useful background
> >>>>> information.
> >
> >>>>> Only read it if you're interested. We will discuss audio compression,
> >>>>> and similar background topics. Then, we'll dive into describing the
> >>>>> IAudio x5 unit, showing you how to get started with rockbox.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> In many cases, I will refer to the IAudio x5 rockbox manual on the
> >>>>> rockbox site. This document is an addition just to get you started;
> >>>>> It's by no means a replacement for anything.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> If you have any suggestions for this document, please write me at
> >>>>> pjealt_at_xs4all.nl. I can't provide support for general rockbox
> >>>>> problems,
> >
> >>>>> because all I do is write and maintain this document. Please write me
> >>>>> only if you think an important concept is missing from this document.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> What are we talking about?
> >>>>> =====================
> >>>>>
> >>>>> So, what are we talking about in this document in the first place?
> >>>>> Simply put: until rockbox came, we did not have good access to digital
> >>>>> walkmans. But now we do. If you buy yourself an x5 walkman from
> >>>>> IAudio,
> >
> >>>>> this document tells you how to set it up for yourself, so that it
> >>>>> talks
> >
> >>>>> to you as you operate it.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> walkmans and accessibility
> >>>>>
> >>>>> If you like music, talking books, radio plays or other forms of
> >>>>> recorded audio, it is great to have a mobile device, on which the
> >>>>> audio
> >
> >>>>> you want to listen to is stored. When I was young, I used to have one
> >>>>> of the first walkman players that could play cassette tapes. It
> >>>>> weighed
> >
> >>>>> almost two American pounds, which is near to 1 kilo gram in European
> >>>>> measurement. It required six pen light batteries, it had head phones
> >>>>> attached, the batteries lasted less than two hours, and I was
> >>>>> extremely
> >
> >>>>> proud to walk around with that brick. But after two months of
> >>>>> intensive
> >
> >>>>> use, the tape started to slow down, the sound became bad and I did
> >>>>> away
> >
> >>>>> with it finally. Not only had the player been expensive, but it wore
> >>>>> out pretty quickly.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> These days, walkmans have improved dramatically. The music is no
> >>>>> longer
> >
> >>>>> stored on cassette tapes but on different media. The modern media are
> >>>>> digital in nature. How digital audio works exactly, falls outside the
> >>>>> scope of this document. The advantage of using digitally stored audio
> >>>>> in your walkman is however, that its sound quality is much better.
> >>>>> Besides, it is now much easier to instantly play a song of your
> >>>>> liking.
> >
> >>>>> You don't have to change tapes and cue back and forth, to find the
> >>>>> song
> >
> >>>>> you want to hear. Instead, you navigate through your collection using
> >>>>> a
> >
> >>>>> small display screen on the walkman, to find and play it.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> And here is our problem. If you can't read the display on the unit,
> >>>>> you
> >
> >>>>> won't be able to access most of its functions and settings. These
> >>>>> devices become more and more menu based, with logical categories in
> >>>>> which you can find the option you want to tweak. Absolutely fabulous
> >>>>> for sighted people, but by far not for us. You know how computers are
> >>>>> made accessible though. The screen is read to us by an electronic
> >>>>> voice, and because of that, we can navigate our files, do text
> >>>>> processing and many other computer tasks, even including installing
> >>>>> windows XP without sighted assistance. If you are determined, that is.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Generally, most manufacturers of modern digital equipment don't really
> >>>>> adapt their stuff such, that people with disabilities can make good
> >>>>> use
> >
> >>>>> of them. We can get along some by memorizing key stroke sequences, but
> >>>>> modern devices have become way too complex. This meant, that the
> >>>>> pleasure of digital walkmans was only available for us if we didn't
> >>>>> demand too much. You could buy yourself one, but only 20% or so of its
> >>>>> functions that you payed for, will be usable for you.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Well: no more. Thanks to the time and effort spent by the rockbox
> >>>>> team,
> >
> >>>>> we now have the possibility to use these modern walkmans, and not just
> >>>>> that. We can also make a well informed choice among the different
> >>>>> models on which it runs. Rockbox won't work on all modern walkmans,
> >>>>> but
> >
> >>>>> more are added over time and what these people have achieved so far,
> >>>>> is
> >
> >>>>> impressive. Just take a look on the rockbox site, and see which mp3
> >>>>> walkmans are already currently supported. Go to your local dealer and
> >>>>> get yourself one from that list.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> What is mp3 really?
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Next, we need to understand what mp3 really is. Mp3 is not a walkman,
> >>>>> a
> >
> >>>>> player, nor a dvd feature. Mp3 is a file format. Let's see what this
> >>>>> means.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> A file on your computer is something you will be familiar with. A file
> >>>>> can contain a letter or other text, it could contain a picture, and
> >>>>> likewise a file on your computer can also contain audio. If you play
> >>>>> an
> >
> >>>>> audio file on your computer, you will hear the sound from the file out
> >>>>> of your pc speakers. There are a number of different audio file types
> >>>>> that are currently used throughout the world. Simply put, there are
> >>>>> only two basic types of audio files: compressed, and uncompressed.
> >>>>> Let's talk about what this means.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> On a regular audio cd, audio is stored plainly. The original sound has
> >>>>> been encoded into small groups of digits: ones and zeroes, and these
> >>>>> are stored on the compact disk. It is possible to have your computer's
> >>>>> cd or dvd drive read that digital audio information off the cd, and
> >>>>> storing it in regular computer files on your hard drive. This process
> >>>>> is called "ripping a cd", i.e. copying the audio data over from the cd
> >>>>> on to your computer's hard disk.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> However, a simple cd contains an enormous amount of data. If we speak
> >>>>> in megabytes, a cd contains roughly 800 megabytes worth of audio data.
> >>>>> Once you have the contents of your cd inside your computer, you can
> >>>>> hook up your digital walkman to it, and then transfer those files.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> You should be aware however, that the storage capacity of your digital
> >>>>> walkman is usually quite limited, if you compare it to the capacity of
> >>>>> your computer's hard disk. Audio, in its plain form, is quite big.
> >>>>> When
> >
> >>>>> digital walkmans first came to market, we had devices that could
> >>>>> contain 32 megabytes max. Now if you realise that in plain storage
> >>>>> format, an audio file eats up 10 megabytes for every minute of music,
> >>>>> you will understand that in these players, there was only room for a
> >>>>> song of about 3 minutes in length, and obviously, you want more music
> >>>>> in your walkman than just one little song.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Two things have been done to overcome this problem. First, a group of
> >>>>> clever people invented a method of reducing the size of regular audio
> >>>>> files down to a tenth of what they used to be. This is what is now
> >>>>> called: audio compression. It essentially just means, bringing down
> >>>>> the
> >
> >>>>> size of the audio file whilst retaining the maximum possible sound
> >>>>> quality. The human ear is not very accurate, compared to a computer.
> >>>>> What audio compression does, is throw away those parts of the audio
> >>>>> that we are not likely to perceive. The more of the audio you throw
> >>>>> away, the smaller the resulting file can be.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> And now we have something to work with. On a windows machine, a file
> >>>>> containing plain audio is called a wave file, usually having a period
> >>>>> and the letters w a v at the end of its name. Wave files can be quite
> >>>>> big. Usually, they are uncompressed. Plain.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> On the other hand, the most common way of compressing audio these
> >>>>> days,
> >
> >>>>> is called mp3. So the word mp3 just refers to the way the audio itself
> >>>>> is compressed. Compressed audio files usually have a dot and the
> >>>>> letters m p 3 at the end of their name.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> To summarize: if, for example, you see a file called song.wav on your
> >>>>> computer, you know that it usually is an uncompressed audio file,
> >>>>> because of the dot wav at the end. If you encounter something like
> >>>>> song.mp3 or today.mp3, you know that it is compressed audio, because
> >>>>> of
> >
> >>>>> the dot m p 3 at the end of the file's name. This is only a rule of
> >>>>> thumb, because we did not take into account the fact that even wave
> >>>>> files can be compressed, and still be called .wav. But let's not get
> >>>>> lost in the details.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> We mentioned before, that mp3 reduces file sizes by throwing away
> >>>>> frequencies in the audio you are not likely to hear. The better
> >>>>> compression you want to achieve, the more audio you need to throw
> >>>>> away.
> >
> >>>>> If you keep going, you will get to a point where the audio damage
> >>>>> becomes perceptible. You will hear it. So there's always a tradeoff
> >>>>> between filesize and quality. In mp3 jargon, the compression factor
> >>>>> that determines both the final file size and also the resulting sound
> >>>>> quality, is called the mp3 bitrate. If you are going to create your
> >>>>> own
> >
> >>>>> mp3 files from cd's you have, then the bitrate is something you can
> >>>>> configure. Bitrate and compression factor refers to the same thing, as
> >>>>> far as mp3 is concerned.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> A song in wave format containing 3 minutes worth of cd quality audio,
> >>>>> would become 30 megabytes in size on disk. If you make an mp3 out of
> >>>>> this, then you will still have a file of reasonable quality if you
> >>>>> compress it down to a tenth of its original size. One song in mp3
> >>>>> format could then become 3 megabytes rather than 30, and still sound
> >>>>> quite okay. And if you only have 32 megabytes of storage available on
> >>>>> your player, that's quite an improvement. You can now store ten songs,
> >>>>> rather than just one in uncompressed format. In other words: audio
> >>>>> used
> >
> >>>>> to be way to large to handle. Mp3 has given us a solution, by
> >>>>> drastically cutting down the file size of our digital audio.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Old mp3 players were equipped with a memory chip and these devices are
> >>>>> still widely used, except that the memory capacity has grown
> >>>>> enormously, which is the second improvement over the first digital mp3
> >>>>> players with limited capacity. Mp3 walkmans in the form of a small
> >>>>> plastic stick can well contain 4000 megabytes, 4 gig, which is really
> >>>>> quite something. And that's not all.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Modern mp3 walkmans don't store their audio in a memory chip. Instead,
> >>>>> they have a tiny hard disk built in to them. This leads to walkmans
> >>>>> with great storage capabilities. 40 to 60 gigabytes (being 40000 to
> >>>>> 60000 megabytes) is no exception these days, giving you ample space
> >>>>> for
> >
> >>>>> thousands of songs.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> There are many brands to choose from, if you want such a walkman or
> >>>>> mp3
> >
> >>>>> player. Before purchasing one, you need to decide for yourself how
> >>>>> much
> >
> >>>>> you are going to store on it. If a couple of gigabytes is enough, a
> >>>>> player with a memory chip will suffice. But if you want 40, 60 or 80
> >>>>> gigabytes worth of music, then you should buy a player that has a hard
> >>>>> drive built in.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Description of the IAudio x5
> >>>>> ============================
> >>>>>
> >>>>> I chose the Cowon x5, which is an mp3 walkman manufactured by a
> >>>>> company
> >
> >>>>> called IAudio. This player comes in a few flavours. The things that
> >>>>> make the difference between the various models are the capacity of the
> >>>>> hard disk inside it, and the battery life. If you have an x5l, then
> >>>>> the
> >
> >>>>> l stands for long battery life. The player is thicker because of the
> >>>>> bigger battery. Mine has a normal battery life, it is not the thicker
> >>>>> one, and the hard disk can contain up to 60 gigabytes worth of data.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> The player is as small as a packet of cigarets. It is a metal casing
> >>>>> that feels very solid. It has only a few buttons, and a joy stick. You
> >>>>> can buy an optional leather protection for it, and even when the
> >>>>> player
> >
> >>>>> is inside the protection leather, you can operate it well. Let's
> >>>>> describe the unit, so you will know what is where.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Put the player on a flat surface in front of you. If you feel its roof
> >>>>> and all you encounter is four tiny dots, one on each corner, then you
> >>>>> now have the unit upside down. The side that is now facing the table,
> >>>>> should face the sky. If however, you now feel a very smooth rectangle
> >>>>> and a button inside a circle, then the unit is already half way in the
> >>>>> correct position.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Now, we must make sure that the player is in the same position as I
> >>>>> have it here, in order for the side descriptions to match. As you can
> >>>>> feel, the roof of the player consists of two distinct levels. A thick
> >>>>> and a thin part. Now, the thicker part that feels all smooth, is the
> >>>>> visual display screen. Rotate the unit, so the display is at the top
> >>>>> of
> >
> >>>>> the unit, furthest away from you. The bottom part of your x5 contains
> >>>>> this little knob inside a small circle. This is your joy stick, and we
> >>>>> will discuss what it does later on. Now, we can describe the four
> >>>>> sides
> >
> >>>>> of your x5 in succession.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> The left side contains your head phone connector, and a slit to make
> >>>>> the player act as a USB host. The top has a light, the right has
> >>>>> power/hold, record, play, microphone and reset hole, while the bottom
> >>>>> has the subpack connector. Okay, slowly this time.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> We'll start with the left side. Sliding your finger from top to
> >>>>> bottom,
> >
> >>>>> so from the top left towards the bottom left corner, the first thing
> >>>>> you encounter is a tiny round hole for your head phones.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> A little further down is a slit, which is probably a connector you
> >>>>> won't be using very often. Sighted people can use it to have the x5
> >>>>> act
> >
> >>>>> as a USB host, so they can connect their digital camera to the x5, and
> >>>>> transfer the pictures they have in the camera, over to the x5. This
> >>>>> way, the camera's internal memory card can be wiped out and the photo
> >>>>> shooting can continue again. Rockbox may utilize this connector for
> >>>>> other purposes, but to my current knowledge, it is of no use for us
> >>>>> right now. The rest of the left side does not contain any extra
> >>>>> connectors or controls.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> The top side, running your finger across, reveals no more than a
> >>>>> visual
> >
> >>>>> indicator, showing wether the x5 is currently charging. If you're
> >>>>> totally blind, this is of no use to you.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Then the right side of the player. Again, slide your finger from top
> >>>>> to
> >
> >>>>> bottom, from upper right to bottom right. First, you will find a
> >>>>> switch
> >
> >>>>> that you can slide up or down. Initially, it is always in its middle
> >>>>> position. This switch has many functions, but to begin with, remember
> >>>>> this as your power switch to turn the x5 on and off. Push upwards and
> >>>>> let go. Then listen closely if you hear the hard disk spin up. If not,
> >>>>> just try again until the device switches itself on. After a few
> >>>>> seconds, the hard disk will shut off again, but the device is still
> >>>>> awake. Making the hard drive spin, takes power from the battery, so as
> >>>>> soon as the x5 is done reading and writing to the disk, it stops to
> >>>>> save power. To turn the x5 off again, do the same thing. Push the
> >>>>> switch up and let go, until the device switches off.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> This power switch has yet another function. If you slide it down, it
> >>>>> won't flick back to its original position in the middle. After sliding
> >>>>> the switch down, it just stays there. In this position, the unit is on
> >>>>> hold. This means that none of the other buttons perform any function.
> >>>>> Very handy if you want to tuck away the x5 somewhere in a pocket, and
> >>>>> you want to be sure the battery won't go flat by accidentally starting
> >>>>> playback without head phones, which obviously wastes battery life.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Note: you can test wether the device is on or off, by making sure this
> >>>>> switch is in the middle so that the x5 accepts key strokes, and then
> >>>>> attempting to play, see below. If it playes, then the unit is still
> >>>>> on.
> >
> >>>>> This is no guarantee that the player is on or off indeed, but is is
> >>>>> something to begin with.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Further down the right side, just below the power/hold switch, you
> >>>>> will
> >
> >>>>> find two rectangular buttons. The top one is rec, the bottom one is
> >>>>> play. More on these later.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Further down, you may feel a couple of teeny weeny holes in the metal
> >>>>> strip. The top hole is the internal microphone, and the bottom hole is
> >>>>> reset. To reset the unit, you can stick a long, thin object into it,
> >>>>> which will touch the hidden reset button. Use it in case your firmware
> >>>>> crashes and you want to start over.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Finally, the bottom side. In the middle, this side contains a metal
> >>>>> slit that almost feels like a slot for an sd memory card, but that is
> >>>>> not what it's meant for. This is the connector for the subpack, being
> >>>>> a
> >
> >>>>> small plastic device that you got together with your x5. One side of
> >>>>> the subpack plugs into the x5, and on the other side of the subpack
> >>>>> which, when connected, is now the bottom side of the device, you will
> >>>>> find a number of connectors.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> From left to right, the connectors on the subpack are as follows: AC,
> >>>>> USB, line in and line out. The last two I am not sure about. They may
> >>>>> be line out and then line in.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Hearing the demos on the unit
> >>>>> =============================
> >>>>>
> >>>>> If you are like me, before doing anything else, you will want to hear
> >>>>> what your x5 really sounds like. If all goes well, you won't be
> >>>>> disappointed. Wear your ear phones and plug the cable into the socket
> >>>>> on the top left side of your x5, as described earlier. Then, turn the
> >>>>> unit on as described. When the hard disk spins up, wait for it to spin
> >>>>> down again and then press play. If you don't hear anything, try play
> >>>>> again. I heard music immediately and it sounded just awesome. Not that
> >>>>> I love the demo itself, but the quality is pristine.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Now, feel your joy stick. This joy stick can be moved in all four
> >>>>> directions: east, west, north and south, or three o'clock, nine
> >>>>> o'clock, twelve o'clock and six o'clock if you prefer. Place your
> >>>>> finger south of the joy stick, six o'clock, and push upward, away from
> >>>>> you. The volume will increase. Likewise, place your finger north of
> >>>>> the
> >
> >>>>> stick and gently pull the stick towards you, down. The volume will
> >>>>> decrease.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Pushing right will move to the next file on the player. Moving left
> >>>>> first goes to the start of the current song or, when done in the first
> >>>>> few seconds of the track, moves you to the start of the previous
> >>>>> track.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> You will notice that the demos more or less all sound the same.
> >>>>> There's
> >
> >>>>> video together with the audio, but just forget about that because it's
> >>>>> useless to us.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> What is firmware?
> >>>>>
> >>>>> You may wonder, how your mp3 player is capable of playing digital
> >>>>> music. Your pc has a micro processor to read from disk, process sound,
> >>>>> create video etc. But what about your mp3 player? Well, your x5 is a
> >>>>> computer on its own. It too has its own memory, its own hard disk and
> >>>>> a
> >
> >>>>> micro processor. The operating system is usually stored on the hard
> >>>>> disk. In a pc, that is usually windows (sorry linux lovers, just by
> >>>>> means of saying), and on mp3 players, the operating system is going to
> >>>>> be rockbox.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Now to understand what we are actually changing to make the player go
> >>>>> rockbox, we need to go over some concepts first. You know that your
> >>>>> computer has a processor and that it has memory too. If you turn the
> >>>>> pc
> >
> >>>>> on, it loads its operating system from hard disk, and then waits for
> >>>>> you to do something with it. But let me ask you. How does your pc know
> >>>>> that the operating system to load is stored on hard disk? You know
> >>>>> that
> >
> >>>>> the computer can only do something if it has software that tells it
> >>>>> what to do, and the operating system is exactly the piece of software
> >>>>> to do that. But, when you first turn on your computer, the operating
> >>>>> system still needs to be loaded from hard disk first. So, how can the
> >>>>> computer know
> >>>>> how to perform its very first steps, if the operating system has not
> >>>>> been loaded yet? The computer tests its memory for errors right after
> >>>>> you turn it on, but at that time, the hard disk has not even been
> >>>>> touched to start loading the operating system. What makes the computer
> >>>>> perform its startup tasks?
> >>>>>
> >>>>> The answer is: the bios. Bios, b i o s, stands for basic input output
> >>>>> system. It's a small piece of software, not stored on a hard disk, but
> >>>>> on a tiny chip somewhere on your motherboard, deep down inside your pc
> >>>>> case. When you turn on your pc, what happens is that the bios first
> >>>>> checks to see if all hardware is connected properly, and the bios then
> >>>>> takes care of loading the operating system, windows. The bios only
> >>>>> knows a few very basic functions to communicate with the hardware,
> >>>>> enough to get the computer started. The operating system does the
> >>>>> rest.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> The same goes for your mp3 player, your x5. When you turn it on, the
> >>>>> first thing that happens is that the microprocessor starts running the
> >>>>> program code, stored in the player's rom memory. After initializing
> >>>>> the
> >
> >>>>> hardware, this code is responsible for loading the rest of the
> >>>>> operating system from the hard disk.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Because software is something created by humans, it can always contain
> >>>>> errors, called bugs. Every now and then, computer manufacturers
> >>>>> release
> >
> >>>>> new versions of this code on the internet. But as I said, bios code in
> >>>>> a pc is stored on a chip inside the computer, not on the hard disk.
> >>>>> Well, it is easy to download a new version of a certain file, on to
> >>>>> your computer's hard drive. But how would you reprogram the contents
> >>>>> of
> >
> >>>>> a special bios chip, deep inside your computer? Luckily, you don't
> >>>>> need
> >
> >>>>> to worry about it, because the computer has a mechanism to do this for
> >>>>> you. If you want to update your computer's bios, for example when USB
> >>>>> functions strangely and you read on the manufacturer's site that the
> >>>>> latest bios version fixes this, then you can simply download a file
> >>>>> containing the new code. You then put this file in a special location,
> >>>>> turn your machine off and on, tell it to look for the new bios file,
> >>>>> and let it reprogram its own bios chip as you wait a few seconds.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Now. Your x5 also has sort of a bios, and an operating system. When
> >>>>> you
> >
> >>>>> first buy your x5, it's got startup code and an operating system
> >>>>> inside
> >
> >>>>> it, provided by Iaudio. The code programmed into the rom memory of the
> >>>>> player itself, is called the firmware. According to wikipedia,
> >>>>> firmware
> >
> >>>>> is embedded software, but this can be a confusing and difficult term.
> >>>>> Firmware in your x5 is like the bios code in your pc. It runs when you
> >>>>> start the player, and makes the player react to your key presses and
> >>>>> joy stick movements.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> However, this initially provided operating system from IAudio is not
> >>>>> blind friendly at all. It does not speak, and you'll have a hard time
> >>>>> remembering how many times to push your joy stick left, down, right
> >>>>> etc, in order to get to a certain function.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> What rockbox is, is a complete replacement for the player's internal
> >>>>> operating system. From the ground up, it has built in support for
> >>>>> speech, so that we can use it as well. Part of rockbox must live
> >>>>> inside
> >
> >>>>> the player's rom memory, and part of rockbox resides on the hard
> >>>>> drive.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> So we need to get rid of the original IAudio operating system and
> >>>>> startup code in our x5, and replace it with startup code and the
> >>>>> operating system from rockbox. There are two separate processes to
> >>>>> carry out.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> First, we need to put the disk part of rockbox onto the hard drive of
> >>>>> our player. Next, we need to replace the boot code, so that the player
> >>>>> knows how to load rockbox when we turn it on. A property of this x5
> >>>>> player is, that the original firmware can not continue to exist in the
> >>>>> player after rockbox has been installed. On other players, at startup,
> >>>>> you can choose to either run the IAudio firmware or the rockbox
> >>>>> firmware. On our x5, this is not possible. Once you install rockbox,
> >>>>> you loose your original firmware. No problem, because rockbox is
> >>>>> better
> >
> >>>>> for us than Iaudio's firmware.
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Which files to get?
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Everything you need can be downloaded off the internet, from
> >>>>> www.rockbox.org. For blind people using screen reading programs to
> >>>>> access the information on the computer screen, this site is not easy
> >>>>> to
> >
> >>>>> work with. If you need to, ask some sighted assistance if you can find
> >>>>> someone willing to help you some. It's up to you to know what to get
> >>>>> and where to look for it. You don't want to frustrate your helper by
> >>>>> leaving it up to them to hunt for something they haven't read or
> >>>>> learnt
> >
> >>>>> about.
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> --
> >>>> No virus found in this incoming message.
> >>>> Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.467 / Virus Database:
> >>>> 269.7.1/807 - Release Date: 5/16/2007 6:05 PM
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> I'm protected by SpamBrave
> >>> http://www.spambrave.com/
> >>>
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> --
> >> No virus found in this incoming message.
> >> Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.467 / Virus Database:
> >> 269.7.1/807 - Release Date: 5/16/2007 6:05 PM
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Internal Virus Database is out-of-date.
> > Checked by AVG Free Edition.
> > Version: 7.1.394 / Virus Database: 268.10.1/390 - Release Date: 7/17/2006
> >
> >
> > --
> > Internal Virus Database is out-of-date.
> > Checked by AVG Free Edition.
> > Version: 7.1.394 / Virus Database: 268.10.1/390 - Release Date: 7/17/2006
> >
> >
> > --
> > I am using the free version of SPAMfighter for private users.
> > It has removed 18500 spam emails to date.
> > Paying users do not have this message in their emails.
> > Get the free SPAMfighter here: http://www.spamfighter.com/len
> >
> >
> > --
> > Internal Virus Database is out-of-date.
> > Checked by AVG Free Edition.
> > Version: 7.1.394 / Virus Database: 268.10.1/390 - Release Date: 7/17/2006
> >
> >
>
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>----
>
>
>No virus found in this incoming message.
>Checked by AVG Free Edition.
>Version: 7.5.467 / Virus Database: 269.7.1/807 - Release Date: 5/16/2007
>6:05 PM
>
>
>
>--
>Internal Virus Database is out-of-date.
>Checked by AVG Free Edition.
>Version: 7.1.394 / Virus Database: 268.10.1/390 - Release Date: 7/17/2006
>
>
>--
>Internal Virus Database is out-of-date.
>Checked by AVG Free Edition.
>Version: 7.1.394 / Virus Database: 268.10.1/390 - Release Date: 7/17/2006
>
>
>--
>I am using the free version of SPAMfighter for private users.
>It has removed 18500 spam emails to date.
>Paying users do not have this message in their emails.
>Get the free SPAMfighter here: http://www.spamfighter.com/len
>
>
>--
>Internal Virus Database is out-of-date.
>Checked by AVG Free Edition.
>Version: 7.1.394 / Virus Database: 268.10.1/390 - Release Date: 7/17/2006
>
>
Received on 2007-05-18