Sunday, November 25, 2007

Re: [BLUG] Android - competition for iPhone?

Definitely video (*gasp* yes, even on the 1st gen Nano), maybe just
MPEG(???, don't quote me). Here's an excerpt re:iPods from
<http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/WhyRockbox>:

"Rockbox for the iPod models supports a large number of plugins,
including games, applications, and "demos" - have some fun when you've
got some free time to kill, open files with the text viewer, make use
of the stopwatch, view some JPEG photos, perhaps watch a video or two,
or turn your iPod into a desktop clock. Also enjoy On-The-Go playlist
creation and adjustment, full file bookmarking support and much more."

I just played with it a little and figured out there is a way to speed
up playback, but it involves adjusting the pitch which makes Chess
Griffin sound like Alvin Chipmunk, if that's what you're into...

I think there's a way in Audacity to speed things up while
"correcting" for Pitch (basically, chopping out bits of audio, rather
than squeezing it all together) that might be a good way to
pre-process podcasts and audio books before putting them on your
player if what you're aiming for is faster consumption speed without
the extra calories.

To tell the truth, though, if my Nano dies I'll be researching all the
players that are available that support Rockbox at the time, and I
won't necessarily go for an iPod (though they are good hardware, when
reflashed). Right now there are quite a few SanDisk Sansas that would
be high on my list of prospectives.

Simón

P.S. Speaking of dying Nanos. My fiancée's died a while back, which
was a sad day. The other day I found it lying forgotten in my closet
'o junk, so I decided I'd pry it apart to peek inside, maybe see if I
can snag the battery for when mine's battery dies.

Amazingly enough, after prying it open, the sucker turned on good as
new. Craziness. I can't explain how, but I brought it back from the
dead.

Of course, she demanded her case and cable back for it, so I was
penalized for my heroism (I'd gotten used to having the extra cable,
and her case is nicer than mine...).

On Nov 26, 2007 12:25 AM, Gillis, Chad <rcgillis@indiana.edu> wrote:
>
> Hey Simón
> (and everyone else)
>
> Having Rockbox on something like an old ipod sounds way nicer than my
> flash drive that plays music. Maybe your experience with the nano
> doesn't apply here, but do you know offhand if Rockbox supports
> variable audio playback speed, or video? If not then don't worry about
> it.
>
> Chad

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Re: [BLUG] Android - competition for iPhone?

Hey Simón
(and everyone else)

Having Rockbox on something like an old ipod sounds way nicer than my
flash drive that plays music. Maybe your experience with the nano
doesn't apply here, but do you know offhand if Rockbox supports
variable audio playback speed, or video? If not then don't worry about
it.

Chad

Quoting Simón Ruiz <simon.a.ruiz@gmail.com>:

> Correct. I can just cp/mv my oggs and mp3s (not every podcast provides
> an ogg, yet ;-) ) over to the iPod which mount just like any USB
> drive.
>
> I use bashpodder for my podcatcher, which saves podcasts in neat
> little folders by date.
>
> I just mv all the folders onto my iPod, open up the first folder and
> hit play on the first podcast. Rockbox will just read through all the
> audio files in alphabetical order, and then move on the next
> (alphabetically) folder, so I listen to all my podcasts in rough
> chronological order (+ or - 24 hours).
>
> When I turn off the iPod, it saves a bookmark of where I was, and then
> when I turn it on I just hit the "Play" button and it resumes.
>
> Awesome for podcasts and for audiobooks. I don't listen to much music,
> so I haven't played too much with using the database stuff or
> randomizing anything, but my guess is it's all there somewhere.
>
> And, I can play Frozen Bubble on the iPod while listening to my
> podcasts if I get bored! ;-) Or chess, or Doom, or do Sudoku
> puzzles... Though playing games really kills the battery, I'm guessing
> mostly because of the backlight being on; I don't usually play games,
> anyhow, as I generally only use the iPod while driving or walking the
> dog.
>
> ...The only odd thing is that it takes a little while to play oggs (my
> guess is that has something to do with the iPod having a hardware
> based mp3 decoder, whereas the ogg decoding needs to be done with
> software...).
>
> Simón
>


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