Re: [tlug] [OT] MP3 Player usb support MACOS

[Niels Kobschätzki <n.kobschaetzki@example.com>]

On Jul 23, 2007, at 5:23 AM, Pietro Zuco wrote:

> Hi all.
>
> A friend of mine wants to buy an MP3 player. She uses a MAC and the  
> only options are: iPod, (and another maker I don't remember)
> Other players just say only Windows compatible.
> Many of other MP3 players have just a normal USB memory like a  
> normal usbdrive. That will work in any Mac, Linux or what ever.
> I asked in the shop (BicCamera) if I can bring the Mac to test it  
> before buy and the employee after see me with a panic face, said  
> that it is not possible...
>
> So before take an iPod I wonder if someone have experience with  
> some MP3 player that are _officially_ compatible only under Windows.
> I think that if it is compatible with Linux like a normal usbdrive  
> it will be compatible with MacOS too.

I never had the experience that those USB-MP3-players which just work  
as mountable mass storage devices made any problems.
The only thing which could become a problem are non-ASCII-file names  
because it seems that Windows (XP) doesn't encode them as UTF8 but as  
Jis, ISO-whatever and so on and Mac OS is using (just a guess) UTF8.  
I often have troubles if it comes to that when sharing files with  
friends in Korea and Japan.

But I suggest that he has a look in his import-settings in iTunes,  
per default they encode to aac and if the player can't handle that he  
should convert his stuff (I have regularly problems with my  
BlackBerry Pearl with those files) and iTMS will be a closed book  
(there are tools for conversion for the encrypted stuff and the iTunes 
+-stuff (no-DRM 256kBit-AAC-files) make always problems with my BB  
problems, therefore I have to convert them in iTunes before I copy  
them over)

Niels