[gvalkov]

I recently built something[1] similar, though with far less effort and sophistication than the author. The goal was to have a plug-and-play audiobook player for an elderly family member with impaired vision. In retrospect, it would have been better to adapt an old phone or tablet with a macropad rather than build this on top of an espmuse speaker[2].

I keep thinking that a cassette player would be the ideal interface for something like this. The controls are as obvious and as tactile as it gets and the whole analog-mechanical experience is familiar to folks from that generation. If only tapes could hold more than two hours of audio ...

[1]: https://www.printables.com/model/1269288-audiobook-player

[2]: https://raspiaudio.com/product/esp-muse-luxe/

[sriacha]

Any tips for setting up a smartphone with a macropad as mentioned? I like this idea but worry it introduces a lot of complexity for the non-smartphone literate population.

Regarding the cassette player, in the US the 'National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled' has a player with an excellent simple interface, using cartridges for each book: https://blog.library.in.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/isl-t...

[Dyac]

Could something like [1] work? My understanding is it's a "fake tape" that has an SD slot and can be used in any player.

[1] https://www.amazon.com/Funnytoday365-Telecontrol-Cassette-Pl...

[abdullahkhalids]

A standard cassette has two hours in it. You can always make larger cassette's yourself.