Non-Apple HD MP3 Players
I know I'm probably asking a stupid question, but what's the deal with non-iPod hard-drive based MP3 players? The specs on those music players claim to require Windows Media Player and XP.
So, what's the story on these players? Are the claims true, or is there an unofficial way to use them with Mac and/or Linux, and the WMP requirement just a way to cut down on tech support calls?
So, what's the story on these players? Are the claims true, or is there an unofficial way to use them with Mac and/or Linux, and the WMP requirement just a way to cut down on tech support calls?
Comments
Originally posted by JavaCowboy
I know I'm probably asking a stupid question, but what's the deal with non-iPod hard-drive based MP3 players? The specs on those music players claim to require Windows Media Player and XP.
So, what's the story on these players? Are the claims true, or is there an unofficial way to use them with Mac and/or Linux, and the WMP requirement just a way to cut down on tech support calls?
There are a few MP3 players for the Mac out there that are not made by Apple. A company called Mac Vision makes a few models.
The catch is that to my knowledge none of the non-Apple units will work with iTunes. But if you don't mind that and are happy with MP3's you can find them.
Go to Amazon and search for "MP3 Mac" in the Electronics section.
Corey
Originally posted by JavaCowboy
I know I'm probably asking a stupid question, but what's the deal with non-iPod hard-drive based MP3 players? The specs on those music players claim to require Windows Media Player and XP.
So, what's the story on these players? Are the claims true, or is there an unofficial way to use them with Mac and/or Linux, and the WMP requirement just a way to cut down on tech support calls?
It depends. I wonder about that on a lot of products sometimes. I bought a PC IDE DVD writer once and it said the same thing but it works fine.
However, the WMP requirement might be in order to encode wma files, which the mp3 player will support. WMA encoding isn't well supported on Mac and Linux and is one huge reason why companies shouldn't support it.
Another thing you have to be careful of is that some players will let you just drop files onto the player and play the files. But some don't. The Sony Walkman (which is really quite crappy given the price - not even a colour display) requires the Sony Connect software that only works on a Windows PC.
I personally don't like any of the popular mp3 players. I prefer just cheapo stuff and you can get an mp3 player that supports flash cards for just £18:
http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/prod...ucts_id=100931
Buy as many SD cards as you want. You can get a 1GB card for £17. OK, maybe not as many features as the nano nor as pretty but it's about 1/3 of the price and expandable and still quite stylish IMO.