Baslinux mailing list

[baslinux AT lists.ibiblio.org]

Sindi Keesan

wrote

> On 30 Oct 2009 at 12:38, baslinux AT lists.ibiblio.org (probably Sindi)
> wrote, AT LEAST IN PART:
>
> > It took about 2 min to rip a 6-min track to wav
>
> I guesstimate about the same on my 450MHz desktop with Feurio under
> Windows 98SE (sorry, have let most of my BL knowledge rust).

Limiting factor is probably the CD-ROM drive itself.

> > and then about 4 min to convert the wav to mp3, on a 1GHz desktop.
>
> It's quite slow encoding on this computer, using Lame (with RazorLame GUI)
> Seems to take about the same time to encode WAV to MP3 as the length of
> the music; eg, 60 minutes of audio takes about an hour.
>
> However, I finally got around to trying what I'd been thinking about:
> copy some WAV files to the new (reconditioned) Acer Aspire One mini laptop
> with 1.6GHz processor.  Encoding with the same default Lame settings took
> roughly 15 minutes for WAV files representing an hour of audio.

Conversion speed

1.00 min per MB at 450MHz
.67 or so min per MB at 1GHz
.25 min at 1.6GHzA

I have a 2.8GHz machine that I never bothered to set up.

> What make and model of player?
Trio 8830 (?)  red, comes in 512, 1 and 2GB models with voice recorder and 
flash drive capability.  We also have a 1GB Kanguru that looks identical 
but is silver and has the same features.
Reviews says the flash drive models don't need special software - just 
copy MP3 files to and from the computer.  iPods apparently don't let you 
copy from player to computer (so you cannot reuse your paid downloads).

 >
> My 2Gb Sansa (C250, I think) with 1 AAA battery can still hold files, but
> the LCD display became invisible, so it's kind of useless as a player.

 http://www.repair4player.org
Trio is not listed, or Sansa (Sandisk is).

Our Kanguru has a broken headphone jack.  We traded a repaired LCD monitor 
for this 512MB one.  The monitor had a bad capacitor in the invertor 
boardf.

> Now I have a 4Gb Sansa Clip. It has an essentially nonreplaceable battery,
> which is charged through a mini-USB port from a computer or a separate
> charger.

Ours is a plain AAA battery.  It will charge lithium-ion via USB but also 
use others which you can charge externally.  Even alkaline (20 min).

> It supposedly can play a few kinds of files; it seems to do MP3 and OGG
> fine, and I just tried a couple of chapters of audiobooks.
> Haven't tried text yet; thanks for that idea.

This one does MP3, WMA but not OGG.  Must be a very small computer.
Also displays a few words of text.

> Yes, it's easy to move files to and from the computer; will try under
> Linux.  Since MS-Windows recognizes it as a logical drive, I suppose it's
> in some MS-DOS or MS-Windows "disk" format?  FAT16 or FAT32?  What would
> happen if I connected it to a Macintosh laptop?

USB storage, FAT with long file names like a regular USB flash drive. 
mount -t vfat /dev/sda1 /mnt after inserting the right modules and using a 
2.4 USB-capable kernel (including David Moberg's 1-floppy USB linux). 
Works with our Mac desktop, auto detected, and if you click on it iTunes 
plays it.

> I think it records voice via a built-in mike (through a pin-sized hole!),
> and can record FM broadcasts.

8KHz default quality can be increased by changing settings but that 
records more noise, says one of the four reviews.  Is yours reviewd?

Does yours have a radio tuner?

You can download podcasts of an hour or two.  (Via broadband).

There are various programs to transfer files (photos, contacts) to and 
from linux computers via USB cable which we will try next if we can make a 
cable first. $3 at ebay.  Just for fun since we don't use our cell phones, 
people just keep giving them to us.

> Thanks again,
>
> Sheldon Isaac
> sheldonhisaac AT gmail.com