Thread: mp3 car discussed in maximum linux

i have that issue but i never posted on it, that mp3 player is tight how it recognizes what songs you like best, but it sounds really difficult to do, i never read the article im too lazy

MaximumPC ran an article a year ago on the "Route66" player. It seemed to be a very bad design, relying on Linux (good), the Route66 software and an SQL server (!!!).

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Aaron Cake
London, Ontario, Canada

Player: Cyrix 200, 32MB RAM, 10.2Gig Quantum HD, Onboard EtherNet/Sound/Video, Custom Lexan Case, Arise DC-DC, Win95 Kernal w/Custom Player
Car: '86 Mazda RX-7 w/Basic Performance Upgrades

I actually got a copy of the Maximum Linux you mentioned... It was the same "Route66" project Aaron mentioned he saw a year ago. The design is cool, especially the part about them using MySQL

Aaron, what's wrong with using a SQL engine as part of an MP3 player? If I'm not mistaken you actually use MS Access for your system which isn't as good as a real SQL engine

I am working on a network player for home use right now that uses an SQL database. Relational databases are perfect for keeping track of all kinds of information, including song preferences such as volume level, popularity, etc. Playlists are nonexistant as they end up become simple SQL queries. Microsoft actually uses an MS Access database for their "Enhanced CD Player" to remember the CD's artist and track info downloaded from CDDB.

The cool part about the Maximum Linux article is that they give you step-by-step instructions on how to build and configure the player. It's got pictures and even software including Linux on the CD! Plus they have a detailed list of all suppliers for the hardware. True, it does seem to be geared toward the advanced user, but I believe it would be a great way for someone wanting to dive head first into working with Linux to do so.

Sorry for the long post!

It was also fricken expensive to build. They used a 1U rack mount case if I remember correctly.. which is nice because its so low but expensive.

The software idea was definetly the best aspect of the player.

[This message has been edited by Callahan (edited 01-31-2001).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by jjohnson:
Aaron, what's wrong with using a SQL engine as part of an MP3 player? If I'm not mistaken you actually use MS Access for your system which isn't as good as a real SQL engine
</font>

Nothings wrong with an SQL engine, but when you are loading the entire SQL server things get stupid. If I remember correctly, which I may not, the Route66 uses MySQL, which is actually a complete SQL server. The load time and drain on system resources would be pointless.

Yes, I do use Access, but you have to remember that VB shipps with the runtime version. This hardly impacts system resources at all, but still understands SQL. Not the same as running an SQL server...

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Aaron Cake
London, Ontario, Canada

Player: Cyrix 200, 32MB RAM, 10.2Gig Quantum HD, Onboard EtherNet/Sound/Video, Custom Lexan Case, Arise DC-DC, Win95 Kernal w/Custom Player
Car: '86 Mazda RX-7 w/Basic Performance Upgrades

Actually MySQL is *sort of* a SQL server. It is a file-based database engine, with a daemon that listens on a port for connections. It's actually very light on system resources, but has the advantage of being a multithreaded SQL engine.

On a contract project I was working on I tried to use MS Access in a multiuser environment, and it's horrible for those types of applications! I was getting table lock errors and other problems left and right. I agree for fast and easy SQL under Windows it can't be beat. I use Delphi personally and it comes with all kinds of built-in DB components. Lots of fun and easy to implement.