[TAG] Rockbox

[John Karns]

On Thu, 29 Sep 2005, mso at oz.net wrote:

> [for News Bytes]
>
> http://lwn.net/Articles/152628/
> A review of Rockbox, an open-source firmware for Archos digital music
> players.  They are also porting it to some iRiver models, although this
> isn't finished.      The article also discusses GP2X, a handheld
> video-game console with open specifications.  It runs Linux, although it's
> unclear whether the distribution will be DRM protected.

I installed Rockbox on an Archos JBR-20 (jukebox / recorder) shortly after
acquiring it almost 2 years ago.  It has some very nice features which the
OEM OS lacks, such as dynamic manipulation of the playlist while
listening, graphics / text file viewer, and other niceties.  It's even
flash-able on some of the Archos boxes, which makes for a 10 second boot,
from power up to listening mode.

One advantage of the older series of the Archos boxes is that they use 
standard components like AA ni-cad cells and 2.5" hd's, so they're easily 
upgraded.  Although they tend to be bulkier in terms of both weight and 
size, than the non-hd devices and others like the Ipod, IMO the ability to 
upgrade makes up for it.  Imagine a pocket sized mp3 player with 80GB of 
capacity, which doubles as a USB mass storage device.  It's also a bit 
more rugged, with a metal case, and fairly solid construction.

AFAIK, Rockbox doesn't run on some of the newer Archos models.  I think
you were referring to GP2X wrt Linux, but to clarify, Rockbox is not.

-- 
John Karns