GoGrid and RockBox and Video Podcasts

So GoGrid and RockBox are not related, not related at all for that matter. However, the two are joined together in this video PodCast episode of Gadget Guy on Linux Journal. I am writing about this for a variety of reasons:

1. RockBox looks like a great way to re-use old MP3 players
2. GoGrid is a great product (heck, I work for them)
3. It is our first venture in sponsoring PodCasts

1) RockBox

I had this old 3 Generation iPod just gathering dust at home. 30 Gigs is a lot to have just sitting around. The device barely holds a charge and has been replaced by an iPhone. So, I had been kicking around the idea of installing Linux on it or just making it a back-up drive. When I saw Gadget Guy’s video about it, I decided it would be the perfect device to play with now.

So, what is RockBox? This description is scraped from their site:

RockBox is an open source firmware for mp3 players, written from scratch. It runs on a wide range of players:

• Apple: 1st through 5.5th generation iPod, iPod Mini and 1st generation iPod Nano
  (not the Shuffle, 2nd/3rd gen Nano, Classic or Touch)
• Archos: Jukebox 5000, 6000, Studio, Recorder, FM Recorder, Recorder V2 and Ondio
• Cowon: iAudio X5, X5V, X5L, M5, M5L, M3 and M3L
• iriver: H100, H300 and H10 series
• Olympus: M:Robe 100
• SanDisk: Sansa c200, e200 and e200R series (not the v2 models)
• Toshiba: Gigabeat X and F series (not the S series)
• Current Status

Some of the features it adds to an MP3 player are:

• 15 Sound Codec support
• Gapless Playback
• 5-band equalizer
• High-resolution volume control
• Themes
• Games
• Plugins
• Details here

The RockBox site is incredibly well organized which would make sense since RockBox has been in development since 2001. There are easy ways to identify the code needed and documentation by MP3 player type.

The documentation is handled the same way.

More about the install process later once I have time to install and play with it.

2) GoGrid

I’m the Technology Evangelist for GoGrid. I write about it here. For the un-initiated, GoGrid offers true “control in the cloud.” It is the next generation of Cloud Computing and allows sys-admins, IT professionals, Web 2.0-ers, startups, small enterprises, you name it, to rapidly create, deploy and scale large IT infrastructures with free load balancing, free IP addresses, AND if you click here, $99 off your initial GoGrid account. <end of pitch>

The UI for GoGrid is incredibly straight forward and easy to use. This is the portal:

And creating a server is this easy (just choose IP, RAM, Operating System and OS Template):

3) Sponsoring a PodCast

This was our first endeavor at sponsoring a PodCast. If you haven’t watched the video by Gadget Guy, watch it below:

Pretty good first crack at sponsoring video podcast! There was a complaint actually from a user in the Linux community that thought that PodCasts should be “ad-free.” Unfortunately (or fortunately) sponsorships and advertising are pretty critical to both parties. For one, viewers might learn about products or services that might be of interest (provided they are topical). PodCasters get to make some money. And Sponsors/Advertisers get to showcase their product. Most of the video PodCasts that I know of are moving towards this business model. Soon, I would think users would be hard pressed in finding non-advertising laden PodCasts.

HTD says: Contact me if you are interested or have questions about GoGrid or hop over to the GoGrid blog for more!

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3. iPhone: A couple of bugs or changes with Firmware 1.1.1 Since I don’t have any 3rd party apps now...
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