It appears that Sony has been putting nasty payloads onto its copy-protected CDs in the form of a rootkit. "Not only had Sony put software on my system that uses techniques commonly used by malware to mask its presence, the software is poorly written and provides no means for uninstall. Worse, most users that stumble across the cloaked files with a RKR scan will cripple their computer if they attempt the obvious step of deleting the cloaked files. This is a clear case of Sony taking DRM too far."
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Member since:My iRiver H320 doesn't seem to do these things. Transfers music over windows, mac and linux easy peasy, radio works here in the uk and I've been using it as a storage device for ages. I regularly move files from computer to computer and os to os using it no problem. Maybe you've got a bum model!
Member since:Did you check the link I provided? Do you know what MTP and UMS mean**?
iRiver's newer players can't be used as an external thumbdrive/hard drive, and can't be used with Linux or Macintosh. Your older hard drive player can be, great. Older flash players can be too, great. Newer ones cannot. http://www.misticriver.net/showthread.php?t=28641 (US, EU versions of the t30 flash player)
http://www.misticriver.net/showthread.php?t=9884 (US version of the h10 HD player)
Some of the players encumbered by being MTP only can be flashed with firmware from different regions to use UMS (h10 for one, though it creates issues), some cannot (t30).
If one wants a new hard drive player and is happy to flash it with an unsupported firmware, fire away and get an iRiver I guess.
I know they used to be perfectly usable as an external drive, that's why I got one. Yours works because you bought it before they switched. The whole point of my post is that they have switched and your experiences with your unit are no longer valid when considering buying a new one. I would advise against buying any more of them, unless you order it from Australia or Korea (though I don't really feel like supporting them at all if they treat US/EU customers like crap).
**
MTP: Media Transfer Protocol (must use Windows Media Player 10). US and EU versions of new iRiver flash players use this.
UMS: Universal Mass Storage (thumbdrive like stuff, usable on any USB-capable OS).
Member since:
"i was just about to buy a sony mp3 player - but now i'll go for an iRiver which plays open standards (ogg) - doesn't need special software to use it as a storage device - and doesn't break my computer."
Don't.. new iRivers require the use of windows media player to transfer music (using MTP), and they can't be used as a regular storage device. They also have a tendency to disable features in non-asian versions (like radio). http://www.misticriver.net/forumdisplay.php?f=131 (check for threads complaining about MTP only instead of UMS) I unknowingly bought one, and brought it straight back and exchanged for a second Samsung.
You'd be much better served by a Samsung: also ogg capable, and usable as a storage device, making it easy to load music with any USB capable OS.