Eeeek!
So I received a private message earlier this morning, and replied
privately, only to receive the following:
This message was created automatically by mail delivery software.
A message that you sent could not be delivered to one or more of its
recipients. The following address(es) failed:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]:
SMTP error from remote mailer after MAIL FROM:<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> SIZE=6956:
host dfw.nationwide.net [198.175.15.10]:
550 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>... We don't accept junk mail from your domain
So, I'll send my "junk mail" here instead. So there! :)
Here is the message, editted slightly.
>>>>> "christ" == christ <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
christ> there are at least 8 pages on the web about folks whove
christ> built their own players. granted most are fullsize
christ> computers but at least 2 are in-car types and one is
christ> portable. of course i dont have any URL's handy but i
christ> found them all off a site linked from mp3.com's hardware
christ> section (one site said "ours is kinda beta, but check out
christ> all these others!" and had a list of links)
Ah, I'll give them a look. Thanks for the reference.
christ> you want "tftp"
Hmm, I thought that TFTP was used by diskless clients to FTP
data/executables for bootstrapping a full OS. Am I completely BSing? :)
christ> dont need to modify it, it already supports pre-buffering
christ> any # of kilobytes.
Is that the -b n option for the output buffer?
christ> easier? trivial =). if you already have full linux you
christ> can run some of the bazillion mpg123 front ends and LCD
christ> drivers and and and...basically running linux takes the
christ> need to develop out, and you just have to start whittling
christ> down some of the bigger pieces (mpg123 requires libc but
christ> certainly not all of it if thats the only app youre gonna
christ> run)
Hmm. Lawrence J. Huang also emailed me in response to this question,
and he wrote:
for embedded processors, it's unrealistic to run a "stripped down
version of linux", as most of these processors run their own specific OS
to meet the bare minimum needs of the device. there would be too much
wasted time executing instructions for a large generalized OS when the
processor requires real-time processing for time-critical applications.
I guess I'm being confused by these two schools of thought. On one
hand, folks seem to advocate embedding Linux/Java in hardware such as
set-top boxes, while others seem to imply that the processors run
their own OS. I can see why larger devices might need their own OS,
but since I'd like to support a simple FTP server and such, it seems
that embedding Linux would be more logical than developing an FTP
server atop some cryptic OS.
christ> i think theyre just lowerpower/heat versions of standard
christ> pentium types
Ah, so probably overkill? Are there smaller embedded processors which
I should be looking for instead?
christ> i think it would be mucho cheaper to just buy a
christ> prepackaged player. i keep hoping that the thing at
christ> http://www.pineusa.com/d'music/sm200c_spec.htm ceases to
christ> be vaporware. thats supposed to retail at $300. which is
christ> about how much youd pay for a processor + notebook HD
christ> without any of the other glue. of course its a little
christ> wide for pocketuse, but ill manage somehow =)
Hmm. The PJB100 stores 4.8 gigs of information. What I'm aiming for is
something which I can shovel all of my MP3's on and go on a trip
without needing to carry around bunches of CD's either with music or
MP3's. The PJB pages don't mention a price, but they compare the
player costs by stating that other players cost around $250/hour of
music, while theirs costs under $10/hour. Since they claim 80 hours,
I'm assuming that the price will be around $800.
Pricewatch prices 4.8 gig notebook drives at $150, which drops the
media price to under $2/hour. Furthermore, PJB uses USB, and I'm
willing to bet that the USB hardware costs more than a 10 MB ethernet
solution would. Of course, I haven't considered processors or other
components, but I can't imagine building something like this and even
approaching $800, though I may be naive. :) Anyhow, I think that it'd
be cool to build a player that I could just hook up to the spare
ethernet port in my room and begin transferring music, or hook it
directly to my box.
Anyhow, the issue which confuses me at the moment is cases. Say I
began developing my MP3 player frontend. I'd probably use C++/curses,
since I'm most familiar with them, and the output shouldn't be very
difficult to format so that it looks nice on an LCD display. But, how
would the buttons on the case be translated to application commands? I
could write the code to only respond to the arrow keys and enter, and
maybe a few other commands for changing the volume and such, but how
would I get a case, and how would the case's buttons be translated to
keys which the app could use?
christ> there is totally room to make a homebrew player for cheap,
christ> even a portable one. it would just take a lot of time and
christ> effort the way i see it...and my time is more valuable
christ> than a few dollars' savings, which is all it would amount
christ> to vs the mass-marketed gizmos that take advantage of
christ> volume to amortize development costs and bring down
christ> component pricing (to the assembler) below retail for you
christ> and me.
Yeah, I agree with you, though I can't ever imagine seeing a player
which would let me simply hook into an ethernet port and use my FTP client
or web browser instead of their own propriatory protocols and
software. Granted there would be some issues which would need to be
contended with to make the player "legal" for mass-market, such as
disabling the 'get' command on the FTP server to prevent someone from
carrying around an MP3 FTP site in their back pocket, but *shrug* I'll
stop ranting. :)
christ> sorry i rambled, waiting for laundry to finish so i can
christ> zonk.
N/P, I ramble too.
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