2nd HD advice & MP3 vs MiniDisc

[ratsarrse]

Bit of a two-parter this. I’m considering getting a 2nd hard drive for my PC to use for music and photos. My existing 80Gb drive is starting to get rather full with today’s huge games and the amount of space that music can take up is considerable – especially when you are copying old vinyl and giving it a good clean. It’s easy enough to whack in another drive, but I’m looking to get optimal performance. With one hard drive, I’m sure that music recording is hampered by having the swap file on the same disk that I’m trying to write to. What’s an ideal distribution of files to get the best (and most error-free) throughput on both channels? OS, programs, and swap file on C: and all data on D:? I’m sure I’ve read somewhere that you can get better performance if your swap file is on a different channel to your OS & other programs.

The point of all this is that I’m considering getting rid of my little (but excellent) Sony MD Walkman and replacing it with an MP3 player. I’m currently copying vinyl to my PC to be cleaned up. I’m also copying some CD’s to PC. Then I’m either converting to Sony’s ATRAC format for the Minidiscs or burning to CD. All of which is a bit long-winded. It also means having the same stuff on CD, on the PC and on MD which seems a little wasteful. It also means carting MDs around. An MP3 player seems to be the ideal way to reduce the clutter. It looks like the hardware is getting pretty decent these days – the Ipod looks nice, but way too expensive. And seems to be nearly £100 more expensive in the UK than in the US for no discernable reason, but I digress. The upcoming Ipod Mini looks even nicer (different colours, yay!)So, anyone got any recommendations? I don't really want to spend more than £150 for what is after all a glorified hard drive...

[onehunga]

Can't help you with the first part and my answer to the 2nd part might be a little out of your price range but here goes. I brought a Creative Zen in Feb last year and love it. Although I had a few problems with the software this has now all been sorted with the new (free) organiser from Creative and it has made it a truly seamless experience syncing between the pc and the player. The CD ripper that comes with the software also seems to work well as does the tagger.

Like you I could not justify the price of the Ipod and the recent news about their battery life adds another nail to their coffin.

Have seen that prices for the new Zen NX 30gb version have dropped below what I paid for my old one at £250 (doh!), but that is technology for you.

You might find the following website useful for prices (check on hard disk players).

http://www.advancedmp3players.co.uk/shopping/system/index.html

[PPRuNe Towers]

If, like Reddo, you've been pretty happy up to now with the Sony MD system you might want to wait and do some research before leaping.

The huddled hordes staggering from the latest CES show in the States seemed very impressed with the next generation MD system. An absolutely mind boggling increase in capacity for the same or smaller form factor and new software.

Regarding the iPod mini it has been pitched straight at the person deciding between a top end solid state player and a hard disk based unit. For an extra 50 bucks I get how many songs???? The ultimate selling point though is not playback though. It's the whole experience of feeding the first CD into the iTunes software or using it to buy a song online. That's when it crushes the opposition.

This is a techie inhabited forum - by nature they won't agree - but a 30+% share of a very crowded and viciously competitive market is the proof. The Zen is great value for the folks at least one step up the rung of computer literacy. Most people aren't though - that's why 700,000 [full size] iPods were sold over the Christmas period. That's also why less than 11% of Windows users have ever installed a single OS upgrade or security patch.

Regards
Rob

[ratsarrse]

Well, I'm definitely not leaping yet! Not until I've survived the interminable cash black hole that is January, anyway.

ITunes does look pretty impressive - that may sway me when the time comes. Are you suggesting that the iPod range is pitched at the barely computer-literate? Is that a bad thing for the more technically-minded? I am a techie, but my area is mainframes and such, so when it comes to the latest consumer technology I'm as bewildered as the next person! What I'm looking for is some personal experiences and recommendations to get me started. I'll take a look at the Zen, but damn those iPods look good...

[Squawk7777]

I am also obsessed with the newest gadgets, but I don't like the quality of MP3s. It is convenient to store 500 or 1000 songs on your computer or MP3 player however, being also a musician the poor quality stymies my extended use of memory stick mid-fi.

[PPRuNe Towers]

Musos and golden ear types should audition before ever taking the plunge into this business.

I suggest insisting on comparing a max sampling rate MP3 track against the same music in Apple's AAC format - There is a perceptible increase in quality to many users but obviously not following a conversion by software utility. Quality of ear buds/cables Etc are also very variable. It appears you can flog anything if the word 'digital' is printed somewhere:confused: :confused:

As to the computer literacy the iPod interface is the key. Instructions amount to a photo on a a5/half letter sized card and roughly 25 words.

Remember CD burning (coaster production...) before nero came along? The allied iTunes software is an even greater quantum leap. The average person who is a regular on this forum will feel utterly cheated. Every hard won skill in file management, organisation, transfer, editing, duplicating and burning has gone out of the window. Dammit, the sodding thing automatically loads all the track information and titles for you. It really is quite sickening - your status goes to zero and nobody needs to call you anymore:uhoh:

Regards
rob