mp3 player?

[VipFREAK]

Hey, I was wondering if anyone has any solutions to my problem for playing my mp3s from an external USB hd? I've always liked to sleep with music on, currently I have my laptop with two external hds, the radio, my 64mb mp3 player (old too) that runs on batts and my PS2 for playing non-mp3 CDs or Rs. The thing is I'd like to play my mp3s but I don't want to leave my laptop on every night because it will cut short it's life. I don't want to keep wasting CD-Rs on my constantly changing music mood to put in my PS2 plus it will short the life of my PS2. The radio just sucks, and my mp3 player is not much better. Do you guys have any ways that I could play my mp3s without having to spend a lot of money or use my laptop? Is there a player or something else I can attach my external HD to play mp3s only? Ok, thanks for your help.

Nick

[muno]

Err, how does leaving the laptop on short it's life? I don't think I've shut down my laptop ever after I've had it. It's been on (standby of course sometimes) since the day it was manufactured.

And, how does using the ps2 shorten it's life?

I'm sorry, but you sound out a bit like a paranoid.

Of course using products 'shortens' their life time. But who wants a product he never uses?

You just can't listen to music if you don't want to 'shorten' their life.
Cheapest solution is to have a standalone dvd player that reads mp3 discs (run around 80€ here in finland), but then again, using that, will 'shorten' it's life time.
-M

[VipFREAK]

ok, yeah, I guess I should explain shortening the life of a product for me. I just want my laptop and PS2 to last because I don't want to go having to buy another one of each if I shouldn't have too. My laptop has become a true "desktop replacement" since I got rid of my desktop. I need it to last as long as possible even though my self too use it all the time and rarely do anything other than standby. Question? Is the laptop on if it's on standby? also, how long is the life of a laptop? Thanks for your help

Nick

[muno]

Well, it's on, but not on as if it was really on.
Heh Hard to explain.
If 0=off, 1=on, I guess standby would be 0,2.

I don't really know the mtbf for a laptop is, but we still have laptops from 1997 or something running here. And some of them have ran 24/7 (on, not standby, but really on 24/7) for years.

They're build to last, to last long enough for them to become obsolete. I wouldn't worry about their life span.
If it falls apart, it's probably a manufacturing defect, and a manufacturing defect is only critical when it happens on your harddrive (that's what backups are for).
I recall acceptable mtbf for a harddrive is something like 200k hours.

Of course, some parts will wear of by time, like the battery of the laptop, but there's nothing much you can do about it. It will wear out, whether you use it or not.
Any computer might fail faster if you intensively use it's processor for extended periods of time. Eg. if you run some dc program.
This I gather with logic
-M

[VipFREAK]

Sorry I'm not really that knowledgeable in computers and stuff, but what would constitute "intensive" processor use? I do a lot of stuff on 3d Rendering programs and then sometime while I'm doing that I'll have say mp3s going and be online. That kind of thing? Other times I'm online and listening to mp3s and have say illustrator open. Also, what about stuff like virus programs and firewalls that kind of crap? I think that's also running in the backround right?

Anyways so if I have my laptop on thru the night playing mp3s there's not much that's gonna be above "normal" usage that would make it's life shorter?

thanks for your help once again.

Nick

[muno]

3d rendering is cpu intensive. When I say stressing the computer will make it fail faster, I'm not saying it will fail soon.
Ask any dc (distributed computing) member here (including me), they run old computers, new computers, constantly at 100% cpu usage and the computers still don't break down.
Imagine you run your car at 7000rpm for days, it's bound to not like it.

mp3 playing isn't cpu intensive. The computer doesn't probably care whether you play mp3s or not, the cpu usage is still about the same. Firewalls and antiviruses can claim resources, but usually only momentarily.

I wouldn't worry though, quite everyone run those programs and even more, and still use their computers.
I would consider it as normal computer usage.
-M