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$300 portable MP3 CD player
An anonymous reader sent us a link to NAiAM's CD-MP-
a $300 player that will play CD-Rs full of MP3s, as well
as straight audio CDs. I thought I posted this, but it isn't
showing up in the archive, and several people recently
submitted it.
http://crashdot.org goes to Microsoft!
A CD player that can also play MP3s - that's the stuff!
On a different topic, how do you copy MP3s to a RIO? It doesn't have any media at all
Whistles aren't all that clean if you think about it.
They're not college students...they're DeVRY students with too much time and not enough work.
Whats with the glare background.
They must be used to a light overhead.
I sent an email their way about a month ago, inquiring about specs.. I have yet to hear from them.
-dilinger
Can we see what this thingy looks like?
This press release has been on their site since (at least) the fall of '98. The "Christmas" release date is referring to Christmas of '98, they havn't even bothered to change that.
I e-mailed their sales address, said I wanted to purchase a few over 6 months ago, no response at all. Their page hasn't changed one bit since then either.
This product is either dead or dying, but I hope they prove me wrong (please).
If it wasn't complete vaporware. However, for not much more than that you should be able to build a wearable computer with sound, capable of playing MP3's. Add in a portable CD ROM (Or even just a hard drive or flash card) and you've got yourself a killer product.
I think it would be exempt from the copy protection rules, being a computer.
I read somewhere (apologize for no reference..) that adaptec and (either Pioneer or Kenwood) was working on a similar project.
Adaptect was going to write the control chips for such a project. *shrug*
Thats all I read, anyone else heard anything on this rumor?
-pengo
I've been checking their site every month since last summer sometime and during that time they went from having lots of hype, a logo contest, a choose-the-name contest and regular updates to fewer and fewer updates and then NO updates since before the product was supposed to ship.
I signed up for their mailing list a couple of times but never got any mail from it. Just last week I sent an e-mail to all of their public addresses asking them (politely) what the hell happened.
Just last night I combed the list of CD-based portable players on mp3.com but none of them seem to be viable (even the KITS!)
[kicking and screaming]
This is really starting to piss me off. I want a goddamn CD-based portable MP3 player with good features for $300 or less NOW! NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW! This has gone on for long enough! Time to start giving people what they want -- enough of this wimpy tiny-amount-of-flash-RAM based crap! The whole point of MP3 is that you can fit so much more into such a smaller space! Why equip a portable player with such a small amount of RAM that you can't even play 74 minutes of music?! It's a joke! The RIO and it's ilk are toys for spoiled brats who don't know any better! Or....or...JOGGERS!
[/kicking and screaming]
Ahh, I feel much better now. Thanks, slashdot.
For cryin out loud, people.. What's the BFD with this one? There's nothing special about this, get a busted CD player & toss some PC guts in there.. You call yourselves geeks. Sheesh.
At least my homebuilt rips CD's too..and didn't cost any $300..
Now the Empeg at least brings something to the table with the compact packaging & sweet display..that's what pushed me over the edge to order one.
Why cant sony make one of these babies standard in
ALL CD players home and portable for $99 max!!!
Jeez, sometimes I wonder whyim not in charge of Sony or someone big.
Hell, what is wrong with ./ !!!
Every other posting is MP3 related. Nobody gives a shit about this - get over it. Why not have fricking articles about PCX,BMP or possibly TIFF?
Shit. This was supposed to be "stuff that matters"
I am mighty pissed.
IF the RIO was around $100 and IF it came standard with 100MB of flash I would at least have to take it seriously (although I still probably wouldn't buy it).
Unfortunatly it costs $200, comes with a mere 32MB and (here's the worst part) is only upgradable to 64!
THIS is what makes it a toy. The RIO is a product designed for people who don't have much of an MP3 collection. But if you only have a few MP3's why pay $200 for some rinky-dink portable player?
Just because you can't appriciate music doesn't mean that the rest of us don't. MP3 related info is one of the top reasons I visit slashdot. Looking at the number of responses this post has received should say something about the popularity of MP3. Apart from that, the cool-factor of a portable CD-ROM / MP3 player should be enough of a qualification for Slashdotdom.
I hate vaporware.
At least their page wasn't exciting. At least I didn't get excited about vaporware. I hate being excited about vaporware.
View -> Page Info
Last Modified: Thursday, 29-Oct-98 11:15:03 GMT
Hey mister, want to buy some cheap vaporware?
I must voice my extreme disgust over the IN TER NET about the Ramones. Listen to real stuff. Luke Vibert. Wagon Christ, yo.
Same experience here.
This product continues to be vapor-ware.
HSJ$$*&#^!#+++ATH0
NO CARRIER
You mean "...will be ready for shipment before Christmas"?
Their website has said that since october '98.
HSJ$$*&#^!#+++ATH0
NO CARRIER
Lord Kano:
.sig on slashdot has given Chris an excellent opportunity for historical revisionism, and to nullify your flame. ;)
The retroactive nature of changing one's
HSJ$$*&#^!#+++ATH0
NO CARRIER
- A.P.
--
"One World, One Web, One Program" - Microsoft Promotional Ad
"Remember when the U.S. had a drug problem, and then we declared a War On Drugs, and now you can't buy drugs anymore?"
Posted by The ULTIMATE Crippler:
If more people would actually read the article before posting, there would be less of this BS in here. Clearly, there is an ETA on their web site.
Posted by The ULTIMATE Crippler:
:-)
First of all, it's spelled "MPEG" and second of all, it is not MPEG III but MPEG I, Layer 3.
If they don't know that, how good can this unit be?
I still want one, though.
Posted by The ULTIMATE Crippler:
Folks all over the net have been fantasizing about such a device, and the CD^3 is hardly a novel idea with that in mind. That said, who are they going to sell the idea to? The idea is already WELL KNOWN. It is just a matter of someone getting one of these things to market.
The device itself is not all that complicated. I dare say that the Clarion AutoPC, with nothing more than a software upgrade, would qualify as such a device for your car (with a CD-R changer in the trunk, no less, to store your full collection).
Posted by The ULTIMATE Crippler:
I don't know what you're talking about. It clearly says 1999.
Posted by JoeyRamone:
:)
:)
Oh I want such a player. Let's say (conservative estimate) 10 normal cd's can be placed on one cd-r, than we have 600 minutes of listening pleasure. Great stuff for my daily train-voyage
Gimme one
Posted by JoeyRamone:
:). By their records.....
Thank god the ramones are slobs themselfs
Posted by Lord Kano-The Gangster Of Love:
>>Copyright 1998 Chris Hedemark.
Hey Chris, it's not 1998, it's 1999.
If you don't know that how good can your claim of copyright be?
LK
Posted by PasswdIs ScoreOne:
It is my understanding that any digital consumer audio equipment (in the US) must follow the rules laid out if the Digital Copyright Act or whatever.
Devices must:
(1) only use special media that is heavily taxed. [see the so-called 'audio grade' blank CDRs)
(2) and implements serialized copy protection to disallow copies to be made from copies.
(3) "computer Peripherals" are exempt from this.
An example is Philips consumer audio CDR recorder. It will not record on 89 cent CDRs but instead requires 'audio grade' CDRs costing several dollars each and which support the serial copying system.
If this MP3 unit has to do this it will not be worth the added cost of operation.
Posted by Lord Kano-The Gangster Of Love:
.sig it takes effect retroactively. So two seconds after you change it when someone attempts to access it they see your revised version.
When you change your
At the time I posted my message it said 1998.
LK
Yeah, this sounds much better than fussing about with filetransfers for the RIO, etc. Just pop in the disc and go.
:)
Hm, wonder if I can get my fiance to get me one?
And yeah, man, the Ramones are the coolest.
Kyt (seen Rock'n'Roll High School over 200 times.)
"I'd like to make a promise and I'd like to make a vow, that when I've got something to say, sir, I'm gonna say it now
This unit is a player, not a recorder, so it should not be subject to (2). (1) might be another issue, not because of the cost of the CD-Rs, but that they might have to refuse to play anything not recorded on an "audio grade" CD-R, and thus have to modify the device to do so. (Grrr)
Ooh, a sarcasm detector. Oh, that's a real useful invention.
>The idea is already WELL KNOWN. It is just a matter of someone getting one of these things to market.
The basic idea is well-known, an optimal implementation less so. Most of the MP-3 players I know of are the size and cost of desktop computers, since in fact they are desktop computers. Getting the appropriate computing power into a small package -- preferably one not much larger than a typical audio CD player -- is not so well known, nor is the optimal minimal operating system.
That the Clarion system does not do this yet means either that the software upgrade isn't easy, it doesn't have the processing power, or Clarion for their own reasons has chosen not to do this. As a result, there's a market.
Ooh, a sarcasm detector. Oh, that's a real useful invention.
Combining the technologies seemed like such a conceptual no-brainer (though I have no idea how tricky the circuitry would be) that I've been surprised that I hadn't heard about such a think sooner. I want one. Now. Gimme.
Ok, I'm cynical: I don't think they can do it for the price. Also, the page hasn't changed for almost 6 months...
Hugo
Every page is marked copyright 1998 - could they have already missed their deadline?
Send your friends messages of love at fuck-you.org
"The CD-R version will be ready for shipment before Christmas. The hard drive based unit does not have a slated release date because we are still deciding on best storage size and are obtaining marketing research on prospective sales of the units."
In other words, this is vaporware - the product still has nine months in the coming, and damn near anybody could make this product in that amount of time. Sure, I'd like one, but I for one ain't holding my breath...
What people want is lower prices on music. With places like the Warehouse charging as much as $20 for a single CD, the price of music has increased faster than inflation. In particular, the 1985 cost of a record was roughly between 6 and 10 dollars. The 1999 cost of a CD is roughly between 12 and 20 dollars. While the price of an album has gone up 100%, the consumer price index has only gone up 56% in the same time period.
The other thing people want is longer playing times. With the exception of portable models, single disc players are a rare item. Multi-disc changers, supporting anywhere from five to 200 discs, is the norm.
- Sam
The secret to enjoying Slashdot is to realize that it should not be taken too seriously.
this has been reported on by mp3.com for some time now... it was due christmas 1998.... i doubt we will ever see it.
I noticed that too... it has the 'taste' of a info-mercial.
... and missing.
And this new CD player comes in not just Black, but blue, green, pink, cyan, ANY color of the rainbow! Order yours now for just 19 easy payments of 19.95!
cool idea, sucky page.
---------------------------------------
The art of flying is throwing yourself at the ground...
Wow, I've been thinking about how to make such a creation, if only I had the time. This is a very cool toy :)
I remember reading earlier on Slashdot about the CD^3, a CD-based MP3 player developed mainly by a small group of college students. They were making the CD^3 as a college senior project. The description in the article sure does sound like the CD^3, especially with the touch-screen panel, and the table they provide comparing it to conventional CD's, MiniDiscs, and analog tapes, I mean, it looks exactly like the table that was on the CD^3 web page back when I was keeping up on it...
Anybody know if the CD^3 guys finally found someone to buy up their product? I'm guessing it could be these people.
Oh, something I didn't catch in the article, if it IS the CD^3, it's run on Linux!!!
Gotta go...
--Jason
... that this article is posted the day after the "MP3 - Dead already?" article.
(I've been waiting for such a beast
Long live MP3!!!
"Arrr! The laws of science be a harsh mistress." -- Bender
The Rio uses flash memory to hold MP3s ... and not many MP3s at that!
"Arrr! The laws of science be a harsh mistress." -- Bender
I e-mailed these people about 3 months ago inquiring as to how I can get my paws on one of these puppies, and have yet to hear anything back. Has anyone heard anything from them about when/where these will be available? If it's for real, where do I send my $300???
Never ask a geek why, just nod your head and slowly back away. -Rob Malda
This is so cool! i have been lokking for something like this since i started getting mp3's!
I hope they release this soon! Gotta have it.
But the whole thing smacks of being written by a clueless-twit marketing drone. Ugh.
This might put my empeg purchase plans on hold...
"Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty and the pig likes it."
The RIAA is a ball of yarn.
--
Beef
"Raging Moderate" of the
You must renounce coolness, and take up the righteous path of slobbiness.
--
Beef
"Raging Moderate" of the
Do you think they'll let me out of the institute today? I only bit Mr. Monroe once in the past week.
--
Beef
"Raging Moderate" of the
Hey, COOL! NT turns quote marks into question marks. Yip yip horrah for multiple-platform LANs! Maybe I can convince the office manager to get some Tandys also.
--
Beef
"Raging Moderate" of the
No. The only act in question is the DHRA, The Digital Home Recording Act, from which computer peripherals are COMPLETELY EXEMPT.
The beef with the rio, and others, is that *if* they fall under the act, they would have to follow the serial copy protection scheme (in CD audio, basically a 2 bit scheeme, one bit for 'original' and one bit for 'copyright'. If both bits are set, a copy can be made. if the copyright bit is set, but the original bit isn't, then the device is NOT supposed to copy. When a copy is made of an original, it must change the 'original' bit to 0. (this is my understanding)
note that mp3 has these flags in it's header information, though we don't use them.
The device mentioned here (that probably doesn't even exist), would certainly *NOT* fall under the DHRA, as it is absolutely *NOT* a recorder. There are no other rules about 'audio playback devices', only recording devices. The recording industry wants control of recording, not playback, as one implies the other. If they control recording, they control distribution.
Note: Computers & Peripherals were exempted from the DHRA specifically so that the music industry wouldn't inhibit innovation in the computer industry. This hasn't changed, I think the computers are just getting smaller.
I *like* the RIO. It's not what I think of when I think of a portable mp3 player... but it's neat. ... cheap.
However, I won't buy one unless it is about $100.
If it is THAT limited in storage capacity, it's all solid-state, there are no expensive parts.. and the casing sucks.. why is it $200? ($320 CDN in the stores here). I'd LIKE to be able to toss one album on the rio before I go out for a ride, it should be cheap, durable, and
Looks like it, I wonder if it'll happen?
:wq
kmj
kmj
The only reason I keep my ms-dos partition is so I can mount it like the b*tch it is.
a friend of mine talked to one of the Ramones' roadies. he said that joey ramone is so far gone that he needs help tying his shoelaces and stuff.
...
apparently backstage they were serving all sort of nice pastries and sandwiches, but joey kept demanding for "bubble gum and boiled octopus".
hehehehe
Well, looks like it's gone now. Bummer. I sort of wanted to check this one out, even if it is basically vapourware (from what I've read in the comments here).
Oh well, I guess I'll try tomorrow!
Since it's running Linux, they should just be able to add a CD player, then you could store MP3's, play normal CD's, and play CD's of MP3's. That's what I want! I'd be happy to pay more for the player as well.
I figured though they might not be able to get data CD players that could take enough abuse to be car players.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Other than a bit of a makeover the information on the site hasn't changed in 8 months or so (well, they did put in that bit about Faith Hill, I guess). They asked people to reserve one of the units by filling out a form, which I did and I still haven't heard from them.
it has a built in 16 MB Flash ROM.
I think it can stores about 8 to 9 songs with an average playtime of 4m 30s at 112K