Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

5GB portable MP3 Player

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the now-we're-getting-somewhere dept.

DrunkGiz writes, "Remote Solution's PJB 100 stores over 80 playback hours (1200 songs), and incorporates an IBM 4.86 gigabyte, 2.5 inch hard drive selected for its rugged reliability. The PJB 100 equates to less than $10 per playback hour vs. $250 per playback hour for flash-media storage units. " Now we're getting somewhere: 5 gigs starts being reasonable, 15 would be better, but hey ;)

3 of 231 comments (clear)

  1. No Linux, write but no read, No way. by sethdelackner · · Score: 5

    From their FAQ,

    "Q: I want to copy the MP3s from my PJB-100 back to my PC. How do I do that?

    A: You cannot. To ensure that the PJB-100 complies with the Audio Home Recording Act (AHRA), It is not possible to retrieve the MP3 files from the PJB-100. You should physically posess each CD that you transfer to the PJB-100, or have rights to the material you download from the Internet"

    "Q: I want to write a Linux driver for the PJB. Can I get specifications for the programming interfaces for the PJB or the USB protocol?

    A: Not at this time. We do recognize that Linux and Macintosh users would like support for the PJB, but our initial product launch has focused on the Windows implementation. "

    Frankly, if they are going to treat their customers like children, they can take someone else's money. There is no way I am going to pay any amount of money for an audio device that is incapable of giving back the data that I put into it. This is the same despotic mentality that gave Intel the idea for encrypting the signal from your video card to your monitor. If I wanted that, I would pay for it. But I don't and no one else does either.

    There is just no reason for it other than removing the right to use something you own. Actually, that you license because of course, you can't really own anything anymore.

    1. Re:No Linux, write but no read, No way. by MitchL · · Score: 5

      I wrote that FAQ. I also wrote a bunch of the firmware in the PJB (here at Compaq Corporate Research). Not wanting to anger the recording industry is why you can't copy files back. Given a choice between that an SDMI, I pick this any day. Nobody's treating anyone like children... we'd just rather make money and let other people have MP3 players than give it to lawyers. As for Linux... let's see. I work in a research lab. Researchers like Linux. The only thing stopping an SDK from being released (under GPL) is legal stuff from the corporation. It takes more than just documenting protocols and stuff (reverse engineering wouldn't yield the best results) - real example programs derived from the real sources are the best way to get a Linux/PJB GPL effort started. Keep your fingers crossed, I'm hopeful we'll be able to get an SDK out soon. /Mitch.

  2. I own one of these by cullman · · Score: 5


    I have one of these for about, 3 months now. I love it. Here are some answers to the questions I've seen.

    Battery life: 10 Hours.

    Danger of using a hard drive: Small. Basically the PJB-100 reads the next ten minutes of music into ram, (this takes about 10 seconds). So the odds of dropping it in a 10 second period out of a 10 minute period are roughly 1 in 60 (or even exactly). Now the dangerous part in my opinion is when you are transferring mp3s. I've dropped mine twice when doing this, with no ill effects. This reading ahead scheme also helps battery life. The funny this is, regardless of how you're listening, random, sequential, repeat, etc... the pjb reads ahead. So if you are listening in shuffle mode and you switch to sequential, there is about a 1 second pause, and you hear the hard drive chirp for about 10 seconds, then it's done.

    Size : It is slightly bigger than one would want. It's about the volume of one the first sony sports walkmans. However, it's a little longer and wider, but less thick. It is by no means luggable. I have 3 pound sony laptop, I would never use it for mp3s now. For starters I can put the pjb-100 in my shirt pocket, basically keeping it out of the way while I'm working. Granted with it my pocket there is not much room for anything else. Also, it's very usable for skiing and snow boarding.

    Data transfer: It takes about 18 minutes to rip the average CD. One intersting thing I noticed, was that you can listen to other CDs on the player while you're rippng new ones. That's kinda cool. One other nice feature is you can create different play lists using the same song, with only one copy of the song one the player.

    Weaknesses: No graphic equalizer, you can only adjust the base from three settings. No backlighting on the LCD.

    Bottom line: Great product, probably the best first generation thing I've bought (I buy a lot of first generation things, please don't ask me about replay tv).