Slashdot Mirror
Maintaining Huge DVD-RW Media Libraries Using Linux?
jdclucidly asks: "I am faced with the problem of storing a huge high quality audio library in a portable format (i.e. I need to be able to be at a party to DJ within an hour's notice). Being the minimalist that I am, I'd also like this solution to also empower me to listen in my own leisure time wherever I go (i.e. car/home). So, it needs to be lower power, low cost, and able to interface with existing stereo equipment where ever I go. With over 6000 CD's in my possession, storing CD audio on 9.6 GB DVD-R in the open FLAC codec with fully searchable META data was the logical conclusion. Problem: The portable DVD-R/W drives exist, but the host hardware isn't portable enough. I have concluded that a laptop is too bulky for car use and too expensive to risk taking to parties. Instead, what I'd like to do is to port FLAC to the ARM architecture on Linux and use the 106 mHz processor on board the Zarus PDA to power my media library. However, there are two problems in this solution: 1) UDF packet writing/reading, which is required for DVD use, is still very much in it's infancy in Linux; 2) I don't know of any PDA that supports the USB 2.0 or Firewire that portable DVD-R/W requires. Does Slashdot have any ideas for accomplishing a portable media library for under USD$1000 or am I getting a little ahead of the technology here?"
It has integrated firewire, in addition to all the other goodies.
No, it has integrated iLink, not integrated FireWire. FireWire (the name, I mean) applies to the six-pin implementation of IEEE 1394; FireWire can carry power as well as data on the cable.
On the other hand, iLink applies only to the 4-pin implementation. Data only on that cable, no power. That's a big problem for laptops; why else have an IEEE 1394 connection at all if you can't send power over it? It's useless unless you're near a wall socket.
Kind of a shame, really. Other than this fact, it's a fairly decent looking laptop. Bluetooth has definitely got "ooh, neat!" going for it.