[GRLUG] Digital Audio Player

[Ron Lauzon]

Roberto Villarreal wrote:
>> Avoid: iRiver (they have gone over to the dark side and no longer
>> support UMS - only Microsoft's brain-damaged MTP - connections).
>>     
>
> This is only partially true.  I believe the US and one other (Australia?) 
> region get the MTP and the rest of the world gets UMS.  The good news is that 
> they provide firmware updates that will convert it UMS (I have personally 
> done it with my T-30 I bought).  If memory serves me correctly, the only 
> catch is that you need Windows to get the new firmware transferred over in 
> the first place.  But it works like a beauty now!  As usual, do your 
> research... I don't know if all models are flashable like that.
>   

That's not true for the newer, and larger capacity iRivers.  Yes, I've 
already been through this.  There's no UMS firmware for the H10 20GB 
that I purchased (there is for the 5/8GB models).  I can get it to do 
UMS, but you have to press the magic combination of buttons every time 
you want to hook it up (very** inconvenient**).

ex: "*There's no UMS firmware released for H10 20GB models."*
http://www.misticriver.net/wiki/index.php/H10_Firmware_Conversion:_MTP/UMS

As a result, I now avoid iRiver products.

Archos, on the other hand, has always done well with UMS.  I've had 3 
MP3 players from them and I have one video player.  All of which are 
durable, well supported by 3rd parties, and have connected with every 
Linux distro I've ever used.

-- 
Ron Lauzon - rlauzon at acm dot org
   Homepage: http://7lauzon.home.comcast.net/
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Microsoft Free since July 06, 2001
Running Mandriva Linux 2006