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Q: When will it be done?
A:
Well, it's still under development - and it may never be "finished" but it is ready enough to play MP3 and the software is in the download section...

Q: Where can I get Linux?
A:
You do not need to have a Linux distribution to run the player! If you want Linux anyway, check out: www.redhat.com www.debian.org www.linux.org etc...

Q: Why do you use Linux?  Why not Windows or DOS?
A:
First of all, Linux and other GNU software is free in the same spirit as this player design is supposed to be, and that penguin is just so cute!  :-)  Linux or some other free *NIX clone like FreeBSD is the perfect platform for this type of project. It's free with source so you can modify it to exactly fit your needs, it can be made very small if you take out the parts you don't need (floppy sized). With Windows you'd have to have about 100 megs of stuff you really don't need and it would probably take longer to boot that from a harddisk than it takes to boot Linux from a floppy. Also you have to buy Windows or break the law to use it. DOS on the other hand is very minimalistic (sp?) but hardly has any features at all. No multitasking - one program must do everything (you have to mess with the MP3 decoder engine or write your own from scratch). It's much easier when you can run background jobs for playing files etc. No long filenames - OK if you have id3 tags on all your files but a real pain otherwise ("Playing THEK~123.MP3"). No network support - not a big deal for some of you but if you have a LAN at home it's great. DOS is simply too boring and isn't free either...   

Q: Can I use it in my car/boat/plane/spaceship etc.
A:
Sure, if you can find a suitable power supply or a motherboard that works with only +12v (or +12/+5). Size might also be a problem in a car or other vehicle but you can put a cable between the LCD display/buttons/uC board and the rest of the player. Put the player in the trunk and the controls on the dashboard! Long cables might give you problems because of electrical noise etc, so you might have to buffer the signals with something... 

Q: How about putting in a Zip/Jaz/LS-120 drive
A:
I don't have any of these devices but any type of drive with Linux support should work with minor modification to the software - most SCSI and IDE drives should work. Huge harddrives and CD-changers are nice ways of storing MP3 files, but I prefer having those things in a server (network support!) and keeping the player itself small and portable (and quiet).

Q: How did you make those nice looking buttons on the picture
A:
The picture on the title page is not a photo, it's more of a fantasy picture (how I wanted it to look..).  My real buttons are round and mounted in drilled holes in the front panel. I've taken them from an old VCR, they are the kind of membrane buttons you can find in most VCR:s, CD-players etc.

Q: I don't understand anything when I read the instructions
A:
I'm not surprised :-).  I know they sorta suck, illustrations are on the way...