[bksvol-discuss] Re: OT: IPODs
- From: "Lora" <loravara@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2007 16:56:26 -0700
Hi, Monica,
It seems to me that your information is very accurate. I spent some time on
the Rockbox site yesterday, and confirmed much of what you said. Rockbox
works with older IPODs, but if I want one of the new ones that can play
video, that doesn't look feasible.
At that point, if I just want a portable MP3 player, I'm leaning toward the
Zen Stone. First of all, I love the name. Second of all, the 1 GB player
is only $39. Like you, I don't appreciate having to pay for things that
sighted people take for granted as coming free with their purchase. This
isn't to say that Brian shouldn't be compensated for his work; rather, I
just find it frustrating that manufacturers don't take our needs into
consideration. This isn't to say that every IPOD should talk straight out
of the box, but for those who need it to, it should be a configurable
option, downloadable feature, or whatever.
Thanks for helping me realize that the IPOD may not be the cool toy I'd want
it to be.
I've used my daughters' IPODs without speech, and there is some limited
functionality with it, but for the price, I'm leaning toward the Stone.
Although I have a Pacmate, I don't like it's audio quality. What I really
want to do is sit on the bus and read Braille books that I've almost
certainly downloaded from Bookshare, and listen to music, and hope someone
warns me that I'm near my stop. <Grin>
Again, thanks for the info. It was timely and helpful.
_____
From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Monica Willyard
Sent: Monday, November 12, 2007 4:46 PM
To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: OT: IPODs
Hi, Lora. Please don't take this as gospel, but I don't think the video
features on the new IPods are accessible to us via Rockbox. I attended a
demonstration recently and was disappointed at the limited functionality of
the IPod they used compared to what I can do with an Olympus or with my
older Samsung player. I do understand your wanting to watch TV shows. The
problem is that Rockbox only works with certain older models of the IPod.
You cannot buy these older models in most stores now and have to order them
through places like Amazon and Ebay. Also, I don't know if Brian Hartgen's
ITunes scripts work with the later versions of ITunes either, the version
that supports DRM-free tracks and TV shows. You have to buy Brian's scripts
to make ITunes work with Jaws, and they cost $60. They only work with a
specific version of ITunes that is about a year old or so. These are the
reasons I chose not to buy an IPod. Please check them out with the Rockbox
users and Brian Hartgen's website for complete details. If I am wrong, will
you please set me straight? Maybe they have made some major advances since
the demonstration I saw two months ago. You probably have more money to work
with too and might not mind paying $60 for the scripts. Brian deserves to be
paid for his work. I just don't like paying that much to access software
that sighted people can use for free. So I choose to use Rhapsody to get
legal music because I can use it without any special scripts. I guess either
path has some drawbacks. Please explore your options and don't take what I
say as absolute. It's just my opinion, and you may find newer information
that will help you make up your mind.
Monica Willyard
Lora wrote:
Thanks, Monica. I'd love to take a peek at the Olympus. It's one of many
reasons I brought this question to the list; I was hoping someone would have
insight into other options.
One of the nice things with the IPODs, though, is that they'll play video,
too. Now I don't need the video, but if I'm trying to watch a TV show, the
two sort of go together. <Smile>
I'll go take a peek at the Olympus, though.
Thanks.
_____
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