[geeks] WebPals for $9.99 + S/H (link to reseller)

[Mike Hebel]

On Monday, October 13, 2003, at 08:00 PM, Thomas Gallaway wrote:

> On Monday, October 13, 2003, at 08:46  PM, Mike Hebel wrote:
>>
>> Looking at these again I _do_ see a use for them - in car MP3 
>> players.  The CF cards and maybe an IDE drive would make them ideal 
>> for this.
>
> After what I did gather on information the WebPals have a weird audio 
> chip and the processor is not fast enough to decode
> mp3.

I'm not so sure about that - I would have sworn my old Blackbird 
Powerbook 540c (68lc040 - 33mhz) was not fast enough to play MP3s but 
there is a machine coded MP3 player for it that plays them in 22khz 
stereo without a problem.  Granted the system can do little else 
without interrupting the playback but it _does_ work.

And in a car, with road noise and such, 22khz will be fine for most 
people.  (0)

Mike Hebel

(0) Most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference under those 
conditions.  Yes, there _are_ plenty of people who _can_ tell but from 
my experience and the info I got from several musicians I know most 
people won't miss the extra clarity while driving.  Long disclaimer but 
I don't feel like being flamed by anybody tonight.