short fat guy online

    I do a lot of audio work. Many sections of this site offer audio files. So when I wanted to upgrade my sound card, to one that could handle digital audio, I assumed my best bet would be to go with Creative. Ever since I first started getting into computers (back in ’94, I think) I’ve always seen reference to “Sound Blaster compatible”. So if Sound Blaster is the standard, why not finally get one for my own? It seemed simple enough…but then again most mistakes are simple ones.
    I aimed high and chose the Sound Blaster Live Platinum 5.1. I learned too late that I was buying more than a sound card; it also contains an interface called Live Drive IR, which fits in a 5.25″ bay. Unfortunately, I didn’t have an open bay (having recently installed an internal CDR drive) — so I bought the card only to find out I could not use it. All the digital and MIDI inputs Creative advertises are available only on this interface; the card itself just has outputs for speakers.
    Eventually I talked myself into finally utilizing the sound card. I made room by removing my DVD-ROM drive temporarily. Installation was fairly easy, but the Sound Blaster comes with a lot of seemingly useless and bloated software. For my dual-boot system, I installed all of it under Windows 2000 but only necessary files under Windows 98 (this was not by design as much as for space reasons). The Sound Blaster’s performance under Windows 2000 was very poor. The first few times I booted up there was a noticeable whine or loud hiss until Windows loaded. I was also unable to fully use the sound card; the Live Drive IR appeared as if dead. I could not input any audio through it, digital or analog. I almost thought it was dead, except for the fact I could get the headphone output to work. I have since discovered that other Windows 2000 users are very upset with Creative for their shoddy support of the card. Of course it would’ve been nice to know this three weeks ago, but at least I can console myself that I do not suffer alone. Updated drivers for the sound card are available at Creative’s web site, but I can join my fellow users in saying these drivers do not help and in fact can aid in crashing the OS.
    Admittedly, Windows 2000 is not designed to be a multimedia operating system, so one might expect the Sound Blaster’s performance to improve under Windows 98. There was no difference. My Live Drive IR was just as dead as before. So, after two weeks’ usage, I uninstalled the sound card this morning. I’m not even crazy about Sound Blaster’s uninstall program, since it left a lot of junk behind (in Windows 98). So now I’m back to my original Turtle Beach Montego card. It doesn’t sound all that great either (especially under Windows 2000), but at least it doesn’t crash my system.

    It was planned that a guest columnist was going handle review duties for the Rio Volt hybrid CD/MP3 player, but in the meantime I bought one myself. The Volt is a clone of the iRiver iMP-100, but is more prevalent. For me, it is a definite step up from the Pine (previously discussed here and here). The construction is much more solid; the player can be handled on the edges without jarring the disc within, for instance. The Rio can also handle Microsoft’s WMA files, which the Pine doesn’t (but since I deal only with MP3s this falls beyond the scope of my review). Another benefit is that the Rio’s LCD window is backlit. However, having said that, I have to acknowledge that the Pine’s LCD window is still more readable. The font size on the Rio is too large, so that every track title has to scroll to be made out. There is also a lot of wasted real estate in the Rio’s LCD window: lines which could be used for additional MP3 tag information are used instead for silly decorative animations of dancing figures. This is probably the only aspect where the Pine might be better. In all other regards, the Rio beats it hands down.
    One great benefit to the Rio is that it is firmware upgradable. This should be a boon even as other second or third generation players are released. I believe the Pine, out of the box (or, literally, out of the blister-pack), comes with a firmware version of 1.08f. The Rio site (riohome.com) already offers version 1.13f. Upgrades are easily performed by using a CDR-W disc. A few of these features — like Resume, a function that remembers where on the disc you last stopped listening — are recommended and are only available through these do-it-yourself upgrades. The Rio also has a shuffle play mode for MP3s; something I (ahem) “pined” for below. Another great feature is the “NAVI” button which allows the listener to toggle between the full list of albums (or folders) on a disc or the list of tracks within an album (or folder). This is a wondrous improvement over using the Pine’s pause button to advance ten tracks at a time. Now, with the Volt, a few clicks can get me right to the first track of any of my albums.
    Another feature of the player is that it plays files from memory, loading a song and letting the disc wind down. This helps keep songs from skipping as well as conserving battery power. However, it can be an irritation since the player requires that much more time to spin back up to advance to another track. It would be nice if this could be deactivated (for when not using batteries) in a subsequent upgrade.
    In short, I am quite pleased with the Rio Volt MP3 CD player. It looks good, sounds good, performs well. The package comes with earbuds, a remote control (intended for people with smaller thumbs than mine), and a carry case. It also includes a CD of Real and Adaptec software and a blank CDR. Online prices range between $140 – 220. It is highly recommended.