What do I do with my Archos 604?

October 18, 2009 4:07 PM

What do I do with my Archos 604?

I recently received an Archos 604 as a gift. My mom's boyfriend was using it for a while and didn't want it for whatever reason anymore, so he gave it to me (read: it is brand new for all intents and purposes, but I couldn't not accept it.)

I'm a pretty technical guy, but I'm not big on consumer electronics -- I've got no TV to hook it up into (which seems to be a big selling point of the device,) and I already have an iPod for music and video, and a eee and a DS for just about everything else. I tried to use it as a PDF reader, but it takes about thirty seconds to load a single page. I'm going to try with .lit or .rtf or something later. I have to buy codecs (rather: unlock

So does anyone know any fun hacks? Can I install Linux on it or something? I tried the archosfans.com forums, but while I'm wading through all the crap, I thought y'all might have some fun idea.

(NB: Due to my own sentiments, I can't just donate it or give it away or sell it.)

posted by griphus to Technology (5 answers total)

It looks like you can install linux on it, but i'm not sure why you'd want to! I could maybe see running linux on it and trying to install synergy and using it as a tiny second screen / email machine?

Otherwise, maybe just use it for external storage.
posted by CharlesV42 at 4:45 PM on October 18, 2009

With the audio/video in you could probably hook it up with an old or partly functional camcorder to end up with a digital camcorder that records direct to disk on the cheap. Depending on the CPU power, if the video in works under Linux, you could run cinelerra and have an all in one portable video capture / editing machine.
posted by idiopath at 4:54 PM on October 18, 2009

I have an ARCHOS 500 that I still use, better battery life than my iTouch. I also use it as a secondary external storage, nice thing is that it uses the same cable as my Blackberry for file transfer.
posted by arcticseal at 5:45 PM on October 18, 2009

If you can locate the digital minicam attachment for the 604, it's still a good way to dynamically record physical activities which use a helmet or other stable clip-point (velcro connectors can be bought cheap atonline stores). I used my Archos 604 with the minicam to record trips while riding my bike and scooter, and have seen it used for climbing and outdoor sports activities. Or submit your own first-person-view epic fail to YouTube. The digital minicam's tube camera on the end of a flexible cable works better for that type of activity recording than the built-in device cameras such as found on the latest iPod nano.

Unfortunately, time has passed the Archos 604 by, and most of its capabilities are obsolete in comparison to the latest gear, though mine still works sufficiently well for my ripped music that I haven't bothered to transfer them over to my iPod Touch.
posted by mdevore at 6:01 PM on October 18, 2009

I like CharlesV42's suggestion of using it as a small supplementary screen for your main computer with Synergy.

Maybe you could use it as a remote control while you watch things on your PC?
posted by JauntyFedora at 8:29 PM on October 18, 2009