Tony - didn't you say that you're going to add the instruction how to add a disk to the Mk1/Mk2 and how to replace a disk with an empty one?

Now - 3 days after I've received my 12GB Mk2 its full and I'm thinking about how to upgrade it... (I'm not really sure yet, cause of course I'd void warranty...)

TeeMcBee
Got my Mk2! # 080000143

Thanks for the reminder.

The weekend I said I was going to do it, I ended up having a prior commitment that prevented me from working on it. Dionysus and me went back and forth about who was going to do what parts, and in the end, Di decided he was going to hold off until he could get his Mark2 and actually try it himself so that the FAQ could be accurate for both models.

Also, Mike/Rob need to post the newest versions of the Mk1/Mk2 disk formatter utilities to the "downloads" section of the web site so that the FAQ can link them. It's possible to work on the disks without them, but it's so much easier when you can format them with the utilites and not worry about having to get the partition tables right and all that.

If you poke around on the BBS enough, you'll be able to get all the information you need, just not in a user-friendly FAQ format.

I'll talk to Di some more and see if we can come up with something really soon.

___________
Tony Fabris

3 days after I've received my 12GB Mk2 its full

Hey, Tee -- here's a radical idea. You've got 12 GB of music in your empeg, that's enough for more than a week of continuous 24-hour a day listening. Instead of worrying about how you're going to cram more music into it -- you could listen to the music you've got instead! (Juussst kidding...)

It's impressive that you could load that much music that quickly. Do you have your playlists set up the way you want them, and your ID3 tags and all that? I don't fully understand how they work, so am a bit concerned about that part of the job, although Tony assures me that once I actually get hands-on experience with the empeg and emplode it'll be pretty easy. I'll probably get to find out next week, maybe week after.

tanstaafl.

"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"

Like most of us he has probably had a few years to think about how he wanted his playlists and tweaked his tags. Moving the music to the player is the slow part, tweaking the playlists and order take only a minute of sync.

Alex Lear

My 12 gig Mark II was fully loaded the first day I had it. It came in over my lunch break and I started copying all of my playlists right before I headed back for work. My directory structure on my computer was already set up like I wanted my playlists. I then spent the next several days tweaking things like song title that were longer than the ID3 tag would allow, and fixing the songs that I had forgotten to tag.

If you've already got things laid out the way you want them on your computer, it doesn't take long at all to get things ready to go.

Anyhow, I made folders for each group, then made subfolders for each album and placed the songs in there.

That's a great way to do it. A single drag-and-drop will then create your entire playlist structure in emplode, and you'll have a nice neat set of artist/album playlists.


Speaking of which, empeg searches by artist and title currently, correct? It doesn't do anything with the others just yet, right?

Currently, you can search on Artist, Title, Album, Year, and Genre. Right from the remote control. It's neat when you see it in action- the fuzzy-search has a great UI.


I believe the last thing I read was that it broke the limitation of the album and artist name, but that was all. Still the case?

I think what you mean is: The ID3 tag specification limits the fields to 30 characters in your MP3 files on your PC. (The ID3v2 spec is different, but that's a different subject that I won't get into right now.)

The Empeg uses your ID3 tags as its starting point. But it doesn't store its data in the ID3 tags. It stores the data in its database, which has no such limitation. So after the songs are in your empeg, you can name the artists and titles as long as you want.

In fact, the 30-character limit for ID3 tags exists in four places: Artist, Title, Album, and Comment. The Empeg's database has no limits on the length of any of these fields.

Is that what you mean?

One thing you might want to consider: Even though you can name the songs any length in emplode, the empeg's VFD display is limited in the number of characters you can see at one time. So even though I have to abbreviate some of my song/artist/album titles for the PC, I leave them that way after I move them to the empeg since I usually wouldn't see the extra letters anyway.

Along the same lines, what types of playlists do people have?

Since the playlists are totally free-form, and very easy to create/change, everyone will have different ways of putting together their playlists.

I started with a buch of artist/album playlists. Then I added a few "mood" playlists such as "Low key" and "Tony's Favorites", then added a "Test audio" and a "Demo" playlist. I have two special-purpose playlists as well: "LAN Party", which is mostly industrial and techno to keep my fellow gamers happy, and "Filks" in which I store songs that I'm working on Filk parodies for.

Some people arrange their playlists by genre. Others have more esoteric playlists, such as Chip who has an "80's stuff" playlist that you can see in his empeg demonstration video. Hugo has a playlst called "Teen" which is populated with N'sync, Britney Spears, and all that other stuff that'll rot your brain.

I still think it'd be cool to create a "both extremes" playlist that combines opposite ends of the spectrum, like Nine Inch Nails and Yanni, or Megadeath and James Taylor. That'd be interesting to shuffle-play.

___________
Tony Fabris

I think what you mean is: The ID3 tag specification limits the fields to 30 characters in your MP3 files on your PC. (The ID3v2 spec is different, but that's a different subject that I won't get into right now.)

Exactly. I'm well aware of the added features of ID3v2... and most of their uselessness.

The Empeg uses your ID3 tags as its starting point.

Does it read the ID3v2 tag or the v1 tag or both, with v2 taking precedence? I've got both in all of my files. I started using v1 until I noticed the limitation and then added the v2 tags.

the empeg's VFD display is limited in the number of characters you can see at one time.

I take it there are still only one or two visuals that scroll the text IN the visual? Hopefully having the text scroll across the screen will be something added soon. That's my favorite feature of Winamp. (Simple things for simple people, I guess... )

and "Filks" in which I store songs that I'm working on Filk parodies for.

Okay, either this is a European thing or my music taste isn't quite as diverse as I thought it was. What exactly is Filk?

I still think it'd be cool to create a "both extremes" playlist

I do that with my 6 disc changer already. I try to get the best mix of music, so my mood will be satisfied. With the Empeg, I won't have to worry about not having one of my CD's with me, anymore or deciding which SIX CD's to take with me. You just got me to watch that movie again. I payed more attention to the quick piece showing the playlists. That gave me quite a bit of info on how they're organized. Is there a way I can make up my playlists ahead of time? I know it doesn't import Winamp playlists, but is there anything that it could import? I just want to get as much done ahead of time as possible.

Thanks for the response, Tony!


George

Does it read the ID3v2 tag or the v1 tag or both, with v2 taking precedence?

That is a fantastic question! Anyone have the answer?


I take it there are still only one or two visuals that scroll the text IN the visual?

Yes. The InfoText visuals scroll, and the text on the bottom of the screen for Info:Line scrolls.


Okay, either this is a European thing or my music taste isn't quite as diverse as I thought it was. What exactly is Filk?

Actually, I think it's almost exclusively North American. It's very geeky, so proceed only if you can tolerate that sort of thing... Here's my page on the subject.

___________
Tony Fabris

Does it read the ID3v2 tag or the v1 tag or both, with v2 taking precedence?

As far as I'm aware, the latter method is the case.

Hopefully having the text scroll across the screen will be something added soon

This has always been available as a display option - the artist and title scroll (unless they fit without scrolling) along the bottom of the screen, with the rest of the screen occupied by a visual of your choice.

I know it doesn't import Winamp playlists, but is there anything that it could import

Importing foreign playlists is something currently on the wishlist for a future version.

In the meantime, if you drag a folder into emplode it will convert your hierarchical directory structure into a corresponding set of playlists. You can't set up multiple instances in this way, but you can get all of your music into the player in a structured way with a single operation.

Rob

Actually, I think it's almost exclusively North American. It's very geeky, so proceed only if you can tolerate that sort of thing... Here's my page on the subject.

I just downloaded the Mr. Anderson song. HILARIOUS! That's not actually you doing the singing, is it? (Feel free to take the 5th, if you want. Hopefully you won't take this as an insult, but it really reminds me of Weird Al Yankovic and Dr. Demento... just with a techno(logical)-twist. I think both of those guys (Weird Al more-so) are geniuses with words and have tons of their CD's. Even songs I don't like, I can listen to variations of simply because of the words. Nice stuff, Tony. I'll check out some of the other links another time and download some more of that stuff. It's really good.

George

Oops... I just read the rest of that page and noticed that you referenced Weird Al. So, I guess you didn't take that as an insult!

George

if you drag a folder into emplode it will convert your hierarchical directory structure into a corresponding set of playlists.

Remember, when emplode perfroms this (powerful) trick it'll try to name the palylist structure after the ID tag; not the directory name
I believe it use the directory name if there are no tags. Can't tell; all my playlists have tags

Henno
mk2 6 nr 6

I started using v1 until I noticed the limitation and then added the v2 tags.

What program are you using for V2 tagging? I can't find any decent program to do it.

Thanks

Oops... I just read the rest of that page and noticed that you referenced Weird Al. So, I guess you didn't take that as an insult!

No, definitely not. Weird Al is the man. Thanks for the compliments.

Although he does song parodies, his stuff doesn't count as Filk. Filk is about fandom and related geeky topics, his stuff is broader, more about pop culture. And song parodies are only a sub-category of Filk- most filk is original material.

As a parodist, I definitely try to follow his model. For instance, he gets an extra level of humor out of his pieces when he can set it up so that certain lines get "left in" from the original song for strategic effect. For instance, I left in "that was just a dream" in Losing My Connection, or the line about "king of crap" in Buggy Software (where the original was "crap is king").

And yes, that's me singing in those MP3s. I'm a little nervous on those recordings and manage to screw up in a few places. There's also some embarassing high notes I don't quite hit. But it's a good learning exercise for any artist to mix down his own stuff. One learns a lot about one's own performances that way.

___________
Tony Fabris

What program are you using for V2 tagging? I can't find any decent program to do it.

I use MP3 Tag Studio to get the filenames right (I wrote to Magnus and the next version is going to support ID3v2. Not sure of a release date, though. He mentioned the possibility of August.), then I use MP Tagger to name the files based on the filenames. Kind of a long process this way, but it works. The downside to MP Tagger is that the "mass" setting of files doesn't work very well. Let me restate that differently, since it does work, but it has trouble handling A LOT of files/directories at once. What I normally do it select an artist's folder and have it change the subfolders and files in there. That seems to work without any problems. If I select too many, the program crashes. I haven't tried changing multiple artists to see just how many I can do at once, though. All I know is that changing 60 main directories containing over 200 subdirectories does NOT work. As I said, it's not the best program (well, come to think of it, yeah, it IS the best program... right now), but it gets the job done for ID3v2 tags.

For setting the catagories and years and all, I use MP3-Info Extension, since it does nice work for setting everything inside a subdirectory with one particular catagory or year. It takes a bit of experimenting to figure out how the thing works, but it does wonders once you get the hang of it. Don't do a mass change until you know what you're doing!!! Use a backup file the first few times, too. It's great for changing AC-DC or ACDC to AC/DC for the album name of every track you have, since Windows won't allow you to put that slash in the filename. It worked well for the 'o' and 'u' in "Mötley Crüe" correct. (Is Empeg going to display those two character correctly?) As an aside, I had thought of putting the album cover into the picture, but there's no use for it and would've just made all my files an extra 500k or so. ALTHOUGH... if Empeg could display that picture... HMMM... nah, let's get VR working first.

Overall, the key in my mind is to get your filenames correct. Once you have that, you'll be able to mass set the ID3v2 tags using one of the above programs. I only set album and artist in the filenames, but you could easily adapt catagory, track #, etc. for similar results.

George

So, you actually wrote the words to those songs, Tony? Very nice work! Not a bad voice, either, to be honest. Although, from me, that doesn't mean too much, since my voice is more like Axl Rose on his worst day after injuring his voice. Hence, I don't sing in public... except at concerts where everyone else is doing the same.

That's "about" the definition I came up with after listening and reading. It's definitely some interesting stuff. Count me in as a new "fan" of it. Thanks for the introduction to it.

George

It worked well for the 'o' and 'u' in "Mötley Crüe" correct. (Is Empeg going to display those two character correctly?)

Good question.

Temporarily setting aside the fact that I completetly cringe every time I see an American heavy metal band with an umlat in their names (well, every one since Blue Öyster Cult), yes, the Empeg displays those names correctly in its menus and searches.

There is one exception: The bouncing-text visuals, the ones coded by Toby, use a different character set and a different translation table. So the Umlats come out as blank spaces.

___________
Tönÿ Fäbrïs

Thanks!

___________
Tony Fabris

Cute sig, Tony! *Very* funny! Though, I do agree with you and the strange punctuation bands use is very annoying. I always thought those were called dieresis, though. Where'd umlat come from?

I suppose I can live with the visual having a blank in it, as long as the scrolling text looks right, as you said it would.

Thanks for the info...

George

Ha, I wasn't sure anyone would catch the sig thing. You found it right away. Didn't even give Doug Burnside a chance at it.

As far as the name of the foreign characters, I forget where I got that name from, so I could very well have it wrong.

___________
Tony Fabris

Hey, my brain may be a little bit smashed from the Iron Maiden concert tonight, but I can still see straight... I think. Maybe my head's just tilted to the side and I don't realize it. I actually caught it just as the next page was loading for me to type in my response. Otherwise, I probably would've missed it.

Hehe... you may have it wrong? I may have it wrong! Who knows? Anyone want to ask their kids? LOL! For 1 million dollars... Is it an umlat or a dieresis? (Oh, and to get your check for 1 million dollars... see Ed McMahon. He said he's put in in the mail right away!)

George

You're both right

Main Entry: di·aer·e·sis
Pronunciation: dI-'er-&-s&s, British also
-'ir-
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural di·aer·e·ses /-"sEz/
Etymology: Late Latin diaeresis, from Greek
diairesis, literally, division, from diairein to divide,
from dia- + hairein to take
Date: circa 1611
1 : a mark ¨ placed over a vowel to indicate that the
vowel is pronounced in a separate syllable (as in
naïve or Brontë) -- compare UMLAUT
2 : the break in a verse caused by the coincidence of
the end of a foot with the end of a word
- di·ae·ret·ic /"dI-&-'re-tik/ adjective

Main Entry: 1um·laut
Pronunciation: 'üm-"laut, 'um-
Function: noun
Etymology: German, from um- around, transformation
+ Laut sound
Date: 1852
1 a : the change of a vowel that is caused by partial
assimilation to a succeeding sound or that occurs as a
reflex of the former presence of a succeeding sound
which has been lost or altered (as to mark
pluralization in goose, geese or mouse, mice) b : a
vowel resulting from such partial assimilation
2 : a diacritical mark ¨ placed over a vowel to
indicate a more central or front articulation --
compare DIAERESIS

(From the Merriam-Webster online dictionary)

Geoff
---- -------
Got one of the first Mark 2 empegs...

The references to the Tag Programs might just end up on a FAQ page? (hint?)

maybe with a poll on each one in a number of catagories?



Murray 06000047
____________________

You're both right

No, I believe only Tony is right

As the Webster's says: an umlaut is used to indicate the change of a vowel . Diaeretic to indicate a separate syllable (as in naïve or Brontë) or the break in a verse.

Tony's was a safe bet though. If I read the Webster definition right, one can use 'umlaut' for either, but the diaeretic only for 'breaks'

Hey PaulH, we need grammar policy too

Henno
mk2 6 nr 6

I stand corrected

Geoff
---- -------
Got one of the first Mark 2 empegs...

Actually, for the example we're referring to, neither of us are right. Since both Motley and Crue are not broken apart syllable-wise where the umlaut and/or diaeresis is. There's also no change of the vowel sound in either case, so, as Tony first pointed out, there's no reason for the punctuation. So, in esssense, neither of us are correct. As for what the thing IS, I think the two are interchangeable. The break is to signify that there's a break in the sound from the rest of the word. In this sense, both are accurate, but one is more specific as to when it's used.

Hehe... we're both right AND we're both wrong. LOL! Now, class, in tomorrow's lesson, we'll learn ebonics!

George

Hehe... we're both right AND we're both wrong. LOL!


Now, class, in tomorrow's lesson, we'll learn ebonics!
What's ebonics?

Henno
mk2 6 nr 6

Boy am I glad someone else responded to that one. I *really* didn't want to give an explanation. It's bad enough the damned "language" exists, but to actually describe to someone what it is? UGH! To sum it up, though, think about taking "culture's" language (60's, 70's, or even the punk scene's word usage) and making it into an entire language meant to be taught in school because it's believed that the kids NEED to learn this to "survive" on the streets. Thankfully, this only happened in one or two school districts in California and was struck down... rightfully so!

Politician thinking to self: "Hey, these kids aren't capable of learning English, so to pick up the GPA of our school district to make us look better, why don't we let them speak however they want and teach that in school?" How's that for a bright idea?

George

What does speaking ebonics have to do with "representin da black community"? Are you black? Just asking since it appears that you are fairly fluent and educated in ebonics.

Using your "logic", the drawl of southern whites must be the preferred speech pattern of those representing the white community, no?


MkII #080000085

Politician thinking to self: "Hey, these kids aren't capable of learning English, so to pick up the GPA of our school district to make us look better, why don't we let them speak however they want and teach that in school?" How's that for a bright idea?

Still better then the decision in Kansas to stop teaching evolution. Dropping all religion arguments, all this does is not expose kids to all the possibilities of explaining one of the biggest questions out there. Or like teaching math with only +, - and * but no /. I just hope the public system improves quite a bit if I decide to have kids years down the road.

I hate to think this is going to turn into a racial thing, so I'm attempting to keep this on the up and up with a simple explanation of where the word ebonics stemmed from... the word EBONY, which is a hard black wood (Webster's) and can be used to describe someone of the black persuasion. Do white people know and speak ebonics? Absolutely! But, with the word ebonics deriving itself from the word ebony, it's fairly easy to see how it could be mistaken as referencing only someone who is black. I think that's where his explanation came from.

Conversely, I know plenty of blacks who speak with southern tongues... as well as Asians and Indians. What dialect you pick up all depends on where you grew up.

George

Well said! I couldn't agree more. Kids should be given the right to choose. This was America the last time I checked... land of the free. If a kid is exposed to all possibilities, he'll (she'll) be able to make the most informed choice he can make.

George