Saturday 18 December 2004

Rio500 under Windows 2000 HOWTO

Amazing. People still want this howto! If this is useful to you, please click on some of my nice Google Ads.

Version 1.6a (updated with fixed link to zip file) -- Richi Jennings richi (at) richi (dot) co (dot) uk—feel free to e-mail me with suggestions or corrections.

Based on the original posting on NT Compatible by myan1 (at) san (dot) rr (dot) com Perhaps this works on Windows XP as well? I dunno: I have an iPod now...

  1. Uninstall Audio Manager 2.1, if you have it installed. Make sure the Audio Manager directory is deleted (the songs database format is incompatible).
  2. Unpack the RAM2020.ZIP (1.74MB) file to where you want it -- it will create a new RioPort\ directory (normally this is \Program Files\RioPort\). That's right: there's no installer -- you may need to create your own icon under the Start menu.
  3. Open a CMD.EXE prompt, CD to the Audio Manager directory and run SWITCHTO500.BAT -- this will install all the MD*.DLL files in WINNT\SYSTEM32\. Check that MDMUSER.DLL is there -- if not, copy it from the RioPort\ directory.
  4. Run the Audio Manager program, 1SMUSIC.EXE, just to make sure it works. Once you're happy that it's working, just close it (it may warn you that it can't find a portable player, but don't worry about that).
  5. Unpack the USB1001.ZIP (8KB) file -- it should create a directory called USB 1.0.0.1\ with the Rio USB drivers in it.
  6. Plug in your Rio500. Win2k will detect it, and will ask you for drivers for it. Click the Browser button, and point it at the USB 1.0.0.1\ directory. It will now install the drivers.
  7. Now you can run the Audio Manager again, and it should all work... ;-)
If this has been helpful, please leave a comment below.

The master version of this HOWTO is kept at
http://richi.co.uk/.

Thursday 16 December 2004

Viral address harvesting

Ferris Research: Viral address harvesting
Previously, we talked about people who don't get spam because their email address isn't known by spammers. The bad news is, this is changing. If you're feeling smug because you're one of these fortunate people, get ready to join the rest of us. Spammers may not know your address yet, but... [more]

Monday 13 December 2004

What's wrong with online dating?

Ferris Research: What's wrong with online dating?

Just a quick thought—it seems to me that the economic incentive for a dating website to provide a good service is broken. Most businesses thrive on repeat business, or a regular cashflow from a subscription model. Customer retention being less expensive than customer acquisition, as any MBA could tell you.

Think about it; online dating isn't like that. If the service succeeds in bringing two customers together into a lasting relationship they're both going to be canceling their subscription, aren't they?

Inspired by this NYT article, E-Dating Bubble Springs a Leak.