About time, but nothing special
by
brejc8
·
· Score: 5, Interesting
This isn't that amasing. Firstly this is done using a CPU and a DSP. No ogg specific hardware is mentioned. Secondly the chip isnt even a chip but a FPGA implementation. They can show that it works but mapping it out is another chalange if you want to keep it very power. Basicly what they have done was to pick up a core and stick it on an FPGA then compiled ogg/vobis for that CPU's ISA. Place a bit of a bootloader and something to handle the I/O and its done. No magic.
One more point for the open source community
by
deman1985
·
· Score: 5, Interesting
Hopefully this will be just one more step towards commercially available, open source-based devices. I can't wait to get my hands on one of these devices, personally.
I wonder if any of the big vendors will pick them up?
I have read bits and pieces on/. and other site about Ogg, but I really don't see the appeal. For example, mp3's are so prevalent and portable recorders for them already exist, why would I change to a new format? Is Ogg clearer or cheaper or have smaller file sizes? Do p2p for Ogg exist? I'm interested to know what the appeal of this technology is.
If someone like myself was going to convert my mp3's (if that is even possible) not only would it take a good amount of time, I'd no longer be able to share files with my peers as not a soul I know owns a single Ogg file.
Enlighten this open mind!
--
-Valiss
Why would you want this?
by
Mike+McTernan
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
I don't see why you would want specific hardware for this. Adding another chip to a product will make it larger, use more power and cost more.
The article says that they have "Hardwared IP and Software IP which [is] needed to build a portable music player" but realistically most portable music players will surely contain a general purpose CPU or DSP, meaning that they need only a good reference implementation which can be ported to common platforms (e.g. ARM) with little optimisation.
-- --
Mike
Re:My first official KarmaWhoring action.
by
erikdotla
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
I agree.
That, and the fact that when laymen try to get involved in the community to get familiar with it, they run into fanatical Linux-types who refuse to answer any question directly without criticising the person's lack of intelligence and unwillingness to find the information themselves, as well as the hordes of fanboi's who respond to everything with "OGG RULES! MP3s SUCK!".
I use WinXP at home because my home box is purely a game machine, no room for Linux. I use Winamp, and fact is, Ogg's take an extra half-second or so to load up than MP3s do, which are nearly instantaneous. The zero-patience attitude of technology consumers does not allow for such sloppiness, which is a strong reason to not convert everything over to Ogg.
That's assuming they know how to convert, or are willing to learn, which most people don't and aren't. And even if they did, everyone has 7 million MP3s from the Napster days, and it takes a REALLY long time to convert just one song to Ogg. Why bother?
MP3 is here to stay for a long time. Unless serious IP issues crop up with it, it'll definitely stay.
Ogg sounds better, but to most people, it's "a little better" or "unoticably better but I trust that it is, since everyone says so."
-- # Erik
Tungsten T/C & Zire 71 can play Ogg for free
by
sjonke
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
Palm's OS 5 PDAs can play Ogg Vorbis with the addition of either Aeroplayer or the other one (Pocket Tunes). Aeroplayer is notable for, among other things, being free (as in beer) for use with Ogg Vorbis (registration is only required for MP3 playback.) These PDA's all have an SD/MMC slot and accept standard MMC and SD cards which is better than most standalone players out there which have proprietary memory modules or no expansion possible. Note, however, that the Tungsten C only has a monophonic headphone jack. The Tungsten T and Zire 71 do stereo out of the box. I can vouch for the TT, which has excellent sound quality with Aeroplayer.
Having said that, since I don't like listening on headphones (gives me a headache), I find that there is little value in a portable music player that does not have enough space to contain your entire music library. In that situation (use only hooked up to car and/or home stereos) the constant need to swap songs out renders even an overpriced 512 MB SD card pretty pointless - the same can be achieved more conveniently with a handful of (much flatter than a Tungsten|T) CD-RW Audio CDs or less than one MP3 CD-RW with an appropriate CD player (which are cheap as dirt these days). Moreover, the loss of a CD-RW disc is inconsequential while the lose of a Tungsten T or even just an SD card would be quite distressing.
Better still, and what I do, plug your PowerBook into your car stereo's AUX input and control iTunes or what have you with Salling Clicker and a T68i or equivalent bluetooth phone. Talk about geek cool.... Further I'm considering acquiring an old G3 or G4 tower to mount in the trunk of my car - I envision automatic music syncing via an 802.11b connection with my home iMac jukebox when I get in range. Surely someone has done this already?
-- ---
What?
Re:Car audio player soon
by
pchan-
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
Yes, well WinModems were designed to be lower cost, yet it didn't end up that way for the consumer. Also HP 820Cse were suppose to be cheaper but it didn't end up that way. What makes you say it's going to be different for these players.
Slashdot Mirror
This isn't that amasing. Firstly this is done using a CPU and a DSP. No ogg specific hardware is mentioned.
Secondly the chip isnt even a chip but a FPGA implementation. They can show that it works but mapping it out is another chalange if you want to keep it very power.
Basicly what they have done was to pick up a core and stick it on an FPGA then compiled ogg/vobis for that CPU's ISA.
Place a bit of a bootloader and something to handle the I/O and its done. No magic.
Mouse powered Chips, Open source Processors and Lego
Hopefully this will be just one more step towards commercially available, open source-based devices. I can't wait to get my hands on one of these devices, personally.
I wonder if any of the big vendors will pick them up?
KappaStone
Runs at only 12MHz (!), so this is going to be great news for portable devices which need long play times to be worthwhile.
Now the question is will the Apple Music Store start offering OGG format files? Maybe an iPod update?
Want to improve your Karma? Instead of "Post Anonymously", try the "Post Humously" option.
I have read bits and pieces on /. and other site about Ogg, but I really don't see the appeal. For example, mp3's are so prevalent and portable recorders for them already exist, why would I change to a new format? Is Ogg clearer or cheaper or have smaller file sizes? Do p2p for Ogg exist? I'm interested to know what the appeal of this technology is.
If someone like myself was going to convert my mp3's (if that is even possible) not only would it take a good amount of time, I'd no longer be able to share files with my peers as not a soul I know owns a single Ogg file.
Enlighten this open mind!
-Valiss
I don't see why you would want specific hardware for this. Adding another chip to a product will make it larger, use more power and cost more.
The article says that they have "Hardwared IP and Software IP which [is] needed to build a portable music player" but realistically most portable music players will surely contain a general purpose CPU or DSP, meaning that they need only a good reference implementation which can be ported to common platforms (e.g. ARM) with little optimisation.
-- Mike
I agree.
That, and the fact that when laymen try to get involved in the community to get familiar with it, they run into fanatical Linux-types who refuse to answer any question directly without criticising the person's lack of intelligence and unwillingness to find the information themselves, as well as the hordes of fanboi's who respond to everything with "OGG RULES! MP3s SUCK!".
I use WinXP at home because my home box is purely a game machine, no room for Linux. I use Winamp, and fact is, Ogg's take an extra half-second or so to load up than MP3s do, which are nearly instantaneous. The zero-patience attitude of technology consumers does not allow for such sloppiness, which is a strong reason to not convert everything over to Ogg.
That's assuming they know how to convert, or are willing to learn, which most people don't and aren't. And even if they did, everyone has 7 million MP3s from the Napster days, and it takes a REALLY long time to convert just one song to Ogg. Why bother?
MP3 is here to stay for a long time. Unless serious IP issues crop up with it, it'll definitely stay.
Ogg sounds better, but to most people, it's "a little better" or "unoticably better but I trust that it is, since everyone says so."
# Erik
Having said that, since I don't like listening on headphones (gives me a headache), I find that there is little value in a portable music player that does not have enough space to contain your entire music library. In that situation (use only hooked up to car and/or home stereos) the constant need to swap songs out renders even an overpriced 512 MB SD card pretty pointless - the same can be achieved more conveniently with a handful of (much flatter than a Tungsten|T) CD-RW Audio CDs or less than one MP3 CD-RW with an appropriate CD player (which are cheap as dirt these days). Moreover, the loss of a CD-RW disc is inconsequential while the lose of a Tungsten T or even just an SD card would be quite distressing.
Better still, and what I do, plug your PowerBook into your car stereo's AUX input and control iTunes or what have you with Salling Clicker and a T68i or equivalent bluetooth phone. Talk about geek cool.... Further I'm considering acquiring an old G3 or G4 tower to mount in the trunk of my car - I envision automatic music syncing via an 802.11b connection with my home iMac jukebox when I get in range. Surely someone has done this already?
--- What?
sooner than you think.
the phatbox and kenwood music keg already support ogg.
volkswagen and audi sell these as dealer installed options. and they are compatible with a wide range of car stereos.
here's how to play ogg files on it!
Yes, well WinModems were designed to be lower cost, yet it didn't end up that way for the consumer. Also HP 820Cse were suppose to be cheaper but it didn't end up that way. What makes you say it's going to be different for these players.