To add to the comments about RockBox, It can use any SAPI voice you have installed on your computer to set up for the MP3 player. RockBox works on other players/recorders besides iPods. RockBox is a free replacement firmware for many players/recorders. Many consider RockBox to be a superior to the native firmware. You can dual-boot your native firmware and RockBox. RockBox is free. It can be downloaded and better understood at: http://www.rockbox.org/ With RockBox, you can copy & paste your audio and/or video via accessing the drive, like you would any other USB drive. With the native firmware on most devices, you need to use their software to access the drive, and you may not be able to put your own content on the device. None of the devices under RockBox will play DRM protected files, but you can dual-boot to the native firmware, and it may work. HTH. Glenn ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jason Miller" <hobbgoblin79@xxxxxxxxx> To: <r2gl at o2.co.uk>; "Speakup is a screen review system for Linux." <speakup at braille.uwo.ca> Sent: Monday, October 26, 2009 1:46 PM Subject: Re: Ipods and Itunes - What are they all about? Hello Here is what is with iPods and iTunes. iTunes is the music player that comes standard with the apple systems, and can be downloaded onto Windows. An iPod is like you said, the player. As far as differences with iPods and other players, there are quite a few. Some of the iPods now come accessible out of the box with Macintosh's screen reader built in (it's called Voice Over). That will read you the song files, playlists, and do a bunch more apparently. There is a solve all for older iPods too, up to generation 5.5. It's called rockbox, and although it's something like the main speakup voice, or the orca for ubuntu voice, it does the same thing, and it makes the older iPods accessible. You can go to www.rockbox.org to check out the system, it's an entire firmware replacement for the iPods, and not just a screen reader. As for other differences, you can get iPods up to like 180 GB now of storage, which you can't do with many (or most of) the other players. I don't know wat all the iPod supports, but that is where you need iTunes. You make you playlist, or sync your iPod on iTunes, and it transfers all of your music, no matter which *supported* extension, to the iPod in a certain (M4A I think) format. I hope that helps explain the differences a little. On 10/26/09, Georgina Joyce <r2gl at o2.co.uk> wrote: > Hi All > > > Could someone explain in simple terms what Itunes and Ipods are all > about? How different is it from using a standard mp3 player and putting > files into different directories? Yes you can buy electronic copies of > music from itunes but will they only play on an Ipod? Are there Ipods > that are accessible now? Do these linux Ipod tools make storing and > choosing music easy? I'm guessing Itunes and Ipods don't handle in any > shape or form with vorbis ogg files? > > In short, how accessible is an Ipod and Itunes from the linux platform > and what are the advantages over a standard mp3 player? > > Many thanks. > > -- > Gena > > > four kinds of freedom, for the users of the software: > > * The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0). > * The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your > needs (freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition for this. > * The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor > (freedom 2). > * The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements > to the public, so that the whole community benefits (freedom 3). Access > to the source code is a precondition for this. > > Richard Matthew Stallman > > _______________________________________________ > Speakup mailing list > Speakup at braille.uwo.ca > http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup > _______________________________________________ Speakup mailing list Speakup at braille.uwo.ca http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup E-mail message checked by Spyware Doctor (6.1.0.447) Database version: 6.13550 http://www.pctools.com/en/spyware-doctor-antivirus/ E-mail message checked by Spyware Doctor (6.1.0.447) Database version: 6.13550 http://www.pctools.com/en/spyware-doctor-antivirus/
