all the 4gs will be flash. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jacob Schmude" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "General discussions on all topics relating to the use of Mac OS X by theblind" <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, October 13, 2008 9:40 AM Subject: Re: Accessible Devices I-Tell Talking iPod Controller
If they do they'll have to compensate for the issues of hard drive spin-up time unless they want it to be very unresponsive and drain the battery quickly. I can think of a couple ways to do that, the main one being to extend the hard drive's spindown time by about 5 seconds. For anyone who has an iPod classic or other hd-based iPods like I do, you probably know that the hard drive spins up for only about two seconds at a time, just long enough to load a bit of the item you've picked. As a result if you delayed too much between actions, speech would be very unresponsive and the hard drive would spin down then up again rapidly which, in addition to draining the battery, causes the hard drive's life to be shortened. The iPod's 1.8-inch drives aren't the best in the first place, so avoiding wear is a very good thing. Extending the spindown time for a bit longer would mostly, though not entirely, avoid these pitfalls. I have no idea what rockbox does in regards to the hard drive and speech files, if it takes any considerations at all. I don't have an iPod that it can run on and likely won't ever have one unless I buy a used 5th generation. The other methods of avoiding this would be to either integrate a dedicated tts into the iPod, which it does not have enough power or memory to do, or to load all the speech files into memory when it is first booted, which again there's not enough memory for that. Thinking about this has got me thinking about something else though: why can't previous generation iPods talk? They're not much different, in regards to internals, than the current ones and I'd think that a firmware update would allow this functionality. Apple could improve their pr image yet again by offering this functionality to iPods that aren't the absolute latest. I personally would love a talking iPod classic that worked like the Nanos do now, and there's no technical reason why the iPod I have couldn't be made to speak just as easily as a newer generation classic may eventually do. I do have my doubts that the classic will ever speak though, and I'm not even sure if Apple will keep it around in another generation or two given the trends in flash memory. Who knows. On Oct 13, 2008, at 05:03, David Poehlman wrote: > it won't be long before bigger IPods will come up to g4 and talk. > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Tim Grady" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "General discussions on all topics relating to the use of Mac OS > X by > theblind" <[email protected]> > Sent: Monday, October 13, 2008 12:24 AM > Subject: Re: Accessible Devices I-Tell Talking iPod Controller > > > Well, it is a British product I believe. It has a voice that most > Windows users would be used to. Sounds like Viavoice. I don't think > you can play protected content with Rockbox, and most of the content > on my ipod is protected and is much more than be held on a 8GB or 16GB > ipod. If I had a choice of making my old ipod which holds everything > I want talk or buying a much smaller in storage size ipod that could > talk I think I'd opt for the device. There's also the fact that you > can access other Ipods, which is important to me. > On Oct 12, 2008, at 9:26 PM, Scott Chesworth wrote: > >> hmm, they took way too long to make this really. If it was cheaper, >> smaller, the voice was better, so practically if it was a different >> product lol, I'd grab one if I had an older generation iPod and >> wasn't >> fond of rockbox, but I can't really see who else would go for it. >> >> On 10/13/08, Darcy Burnard <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >>> I actually feel kind of bad for whoever makes this thing. I can't >>> imagine many people will buy one. For the same price, you can get >>> an >>> 8 gig nano. >>> Darcy >>> >>> On 12-Oct-08, at 7:30 PM, Dave Wright wrote: >>> >>>> Accessible Devices I-Tell Talking iPod Controller >>>> This is all the information we have on this >>>> device. Some of you may find this interesting. >>>> NEW!I-Tell Talking iPod Controller >>>> "You Can Make Your iPod Talk!" >>>> Item#: 308355 >>>> Your Price: $149.95 >>>> . Simply plugs into your iPod >>>> . Allows your I-Pod to announce stored >>>> Artists, Album Titles, Song Titles and Audio >>>> Books >>>> . 5 main buttons plus 2 for volume >>>> . No batteries; powered by the iPod >>>> . Includes removable belt clip >>>> This unique product is ideal for the blind and >>>> those with low vision. It enables >>>> your existing iPod to announce your stored >>>> artists, album titles, song titles and >>>> audio books. The I-Tell simply plugs into your >>>> iPod and your earphones plug into >>>> the I-Tell; you then control your iPod through the controls on the >>>> I- >>>> Tell. >>>> You can also connect other devices such as a >>>> radio transmitter or charger to your >>>> iPod while using the I-Tell. It features 5 main >>>> control buttons which work in a similar >>>> way to an iPod, with 2 additional buttons to >>>> control the volume. The unit has an >>>> additional setup menu, which enables you to >>>> choose the voice style, voice speed and >>>> the gaps between words. And it's economical to >>>> operate: since it is powered by the >>>> iPod, the I-Tell requires no batteries. >>>> Compatible with most iPods which have a docking >>>> connector. Compatible with all generations >>>> of the Nano as well the the classic and the >>>> Video. Not compatible with the iPod shuffle, >>>> the iTouch or either generation of the iPhone. >>>> Note: Do not plug your iPod into a >>>> computer while the I-Tell is connected to it. >>>> Includes built-in metal clip to attach to your >>>> belt, clothing, purse or briefcase. >>>> Measures 4.5" Long x 1.5" Wide x 0.5" Thick. >>>> http://www.maxiaids.com/store/prodView.asp? >>>> idstore=0&idproduct=7655&idCategory=&category=&product=I- >>>> Tell_Talking_iPod_Controller >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Best Regards: >>>> David Wright >>>> >>>> Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >>>> Mobile: 832-518-0707 >>>> >>>> http://www.knfbreader.com >>> >>> >>> >> > > > > >
