example22: (Default)
example22 ([personal profile] example22) wrote2008-01-10 12:58 pm

In which I am driven into the arms of Steve Jobs

About a week ago, I finally installed a firmware update for my Creative MP3 player. I say "finally", because it's been downloadable for several years, but I thought I'd wait until they'd ironed the bugs out. This was a mistake, and given Creative's reputation for shoddy software I should have known that.

It's now agonisingly slow to sync; loading 40GB of files took over six hours. Not only that, but it claims to be full when it's actually only three-quarters full. There's still 13GB-ish of space left. I suspect that the clowns at Creative have cobbled together their own half-assed filesystem with an unreasonably low limit on the number of files it can store.

I've prised out the hard drive to repartition and reformat it directly. No dice. I've reloaded the firmware. Nope. I've trawled the forums, which are semi-abandoned now that the product is discontinued. Zilch. And you can't downgrade, so there's no going back. Creative are a bunch of fuckwits, and I'm an idiot for trusting their software.

I may soon be in the market for an iPod Classic. Nnngh. Grr. Hate. Hate.
ext_8559: Cartoon me  (Default)

[identity profile] the-magician.livejournal.com 2008-01-10 02:02 pm (UTC)(link)
You have my sympathy ... and I assume there isn't a version of RockBox for your Creative (nope, doesn't look like it ... sorry)

http://build.rockbox.org/

though there are some comments about some of the Creative players here
http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/OtherTargets#Creative

[identity profile] tinyjo.livejournal.com 2008-01-10 04:32 pm (UTC)(link)
I wouldn't necessarily recommend an iPod - Alex's works OK but he finds it full of frustrations in the way it syncs with his computer(s) and organises (or doesn't) his files. I liked my iRiver very much and still use it as an in car mp3 player (and you can install rockbox on them).

[identity profile] t--m--i.livejournal.com 2008-01-10 07:33 pm (UTC)(link)
If is in any comfort it is possible to put Rockbox on iPods and thus use them as a "normal" mp3 player, i.e. a UMS device with an amusing interface (which is what I did because I a) had lots of ogg b) thought it was a cheek that I couldn't just transfer music files using UMS - offering iTunes is one thing, forcing it on people, another).

Did I say I am working on drivers now (yes, all your bluescreens are belong to ME) and I have been feeling quite warmly towards Mr. Jobs of late. Though I guess Mac developers have pain too.