I'm thinking about getting a HD-based portable music player and want one that is easy to transfer files to and from, using Mandrake 10.0 Official and KDE. (I want GUI tools to help me do the transfers.)

Anyone have recommendations? Should I prioritize Ogg over MP3? (Oggs DO sound better, but is portable player support there?...)

Thanks!

The trick is to get a player that does not require special software to copy files to the player. I have a HD player, "asono" (really a branded jaxx, or something), USB-Hotplug in Mandrake automatically mount this as an external HD then I can move files with konqueror just as usual.

Don't get a player with crappy copy protection *cough* creative*cough* and you'll most probably be fine.

i got the dell DJ 20 GB version, only $200, which is great compared to the ipod. it works very well with linux. just instal gnomad2 and libnjb (both avalible through source code or RPM)

so far, gnomad2 works very well with it, letting you transfer music to and from the Mp3 player and data files to and from the mp3 player. also, Lsongs (the linspire program) is an itunes clone. that also works with the dell dj. lsongs integrates with the DJ juat as good as itunes integrates with the ipod. so far, its still an alpha release, last i heard.

go with the dell dj if you want an ipod work-a-like. its perfect.

Thanks for the tips!

Today, I found reviews of the Rio Karma and it looks like a nice unit. Ehternet and Ogg support add to its attraction, so I'll add it to my shopping list along with your suggestions.

Does anyone use JuK with their portable? Have you been able to get its playlists onto your unit? I love JuK, but I found the playlist under ~/.kde/share/apps/juk and it doesn't look at all like a standard .m3u file. So, I wondered if I wouldn't be able to use its playlist in *any* portable...

Rio Karma looks great indeed! I've been wondering when they would build in Ethernet support. I want one!
I found a review that might interest you, it's from a Linux-user point of view, it seems that Rio uses a java-based sync software which will works in any java environment, also screen shots: http://phataudio.org/modules.php?nam...rticle&sid=195