Quote:
Originally Posted by zhenya
I'm interested in why you want to stick with a file tree structure. I mean, if you've given a database system a serious try, but still want file tree, that's great. I know that I thought I wanted file tree organization when I got my first player, because it was what I was used to. But after using a database organizational system for a couple of weeks, I realized that there was NO WAY I would ever go back to a file tree structure. It is quite literally the equivalent of using the card catalog to find a book in a library instead of a computer.
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A good question. I'm not using the player in a "typical" way. I want to listen to music on the go (and have been using a Dell DJ to do so), but I'm connecting the DAP to a custom "carputer" system that I've incorporated into my car. The front end that I am using for playing music, movies, navigation etc needs to see a HDD to access files from, thus the requirement of a DAP that is assigned a drive letter. Further, I can keep Divx, XVid, and MPEG movies on the DAP for play in the car's displays. Navigating on a touchscreen through an "album art" interface is possible with a file tree structure, with a jpg of each album's artwork contained in the appropriate folder, thus the requirement of a DAP that keeps my music folder's directory structure of artist>album.
Why not just use a laptop or regular HDD connected to my carputer? I live in Canada and regular HDDs are only good to about 0 degrees celcius and don't handle shock well. Seeing as how it routinely gets -40c and roads are bumpy, this doesn't work. So a removable hard drive is the only option. I can use a USB hard drive to take media files in and out of the car with me, but I already carry a DAP anyway, so why not combine the 2?
For anyone interested, my OS is contained on a 1GB Extreme III compact flash card which is good to very low temperatures and able to withstand the vibrating environment of a vehicle. Obviously multiple writes are bad for CF media, so I've used Windows XP embedded components to disable writes to the drive. This setup is mad fast. Throw in mobile Internet and handsfree telephone with caller ID on the main screen (both via bluetooth) and I've got a nice mobile office and entertainment system. I've also integrated my steering wheel controls (volume, track, dial phone number, answer phone, etc) into the computer also.
I'm working on a new component at present that will allow me to SMS (text message) my vehicle to turn it on, arm/disarm the alarm, and unlock/lock the doors (if I were to lock my keys inside).
Sorry, long answer.