Archives for the Month of September 2007 on media addict
Rockbox Firmware for Sandisk Sansa
I recently tried out the open source Rockbox firmware for my Sandisk Sansa e280. I have to say I am very impressed. It removes most of the issues that exist with the default firmware and adds a lot of new capability to the player.
The main drawbacks (for me) of the default Sansa firmware are as follows: slow start-up, requires database refresh on every start-up, limited file compatibility, unable to read m3u playlists, difficult to encode video for player without proprietary software and the inability to load video onto player in MSC mode among others.
Rockbox addresses these issues in almost every respect. It can not only play MP3 and WMA files, but also OGG/Vorbis, FLAC, AAC and others. It starts up in under 5 seconds as opposed to over 10 for the default firmware. Once the database is created (a much faster process than on the default firmware), it does not need to be rebuilt at every restart. All playlists in Rockbox use the m3u standard and as such are very easy to create and edit for use by the player. Rockbox also allows the player to read MPEG video files which was impossible before.
The only drawback so far is that Rockbox does not support the usb connection from the player to your computer. What this means is that with Rockbox running, you cannot connect to your computer to transfer files (you can still charge your player in this manner). In order transfer files you must boot the player into the original firmware; but since it was not deleted from the player this is easily done by holding down a button when turning on the player. It should also be noted that since Rockbox is always evolving, this issue will most likely be resolved in the future (especially since it appears that Sandisk is supporting the Rockbox effort).
3:10 to Yuma
When I first heard about 3:10 to Yuma I was intrigued. The idea of a classic style western, remade by a good director (James Mangold) had a lot of potential. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I was underwhelmed. This movie falls into the good but not great category. It relies far too heavily on western cliches such as the steely-eyed gunfighter who carries two guns and takes no prisoners (Ben Foster's character).
My main criticism of this movie is the plot. Having never seen the original, I can make no comments about any changes that were made to the story, but in my opinion they should have changed something in this remake. The dynamic between Christian Bale's rancher and Russell Crowe's outlaw would have been interesting enough without the constant annoyance of Bale's asshole son constantly showing him up. I also didn't like that throughout the whole movie we are told Bale was a sharpshooter in the army, however, I don't think he ever actually fires his rifle. Why bring up what a good shot he was if we never see him shoot anyone. For the entire movie they emphasize how he has one leg and was a sharpshooter; then at the end of the movie all the action focuses on a one-legged rancher and an outlaw running around. What? Where is the scene where he takes out a couple of gang members from a distance? Very disappointing. 3/5