A Few Ideas For Pandora 2.

[Jourdy288]

Perhaps a stylus upgrade?

Like that. The stylus for my Palm Tungsten T5 feels like a fountain pen. That would be a pretty neat addon.

Also, regarding the webcam, why not have two webcams at 45 degree angles so that we could take 3D pictures. Better yet, integrate that into homebrew games to make avatars with faces that look... real!

 

[lulzfish]

Perhaps a stylus upgrade?

Like that. The stylus for my Palm Tungsten T5 feels like a fountain pen. That would be a pretty neat addon.

Also, regarding the webcam, why not have two webcams at 45 degree angles so that we could take 3D pictures. Better yet, integrate that into homebrew games to make avatars with faces that look... real!

I don't understand some of this.
You want the stylus to be made of multiple parts, and "feel" like a fountain pen? Like as in how it's balanced?

And 3d cameras are not worth it at all. The software just isn't there, partially because there's no demand for it.

 

[-Tj-]

Also, regarding the webcam, why not have two webcams at 45 degree angles so that we could take 3D pictures. Better yet, integrate that into homebrew games to make avatars with faces that look... real!

No. :lol:

It wouldn't be a bad idea if there was more widespread use for it. Also, if the cameras were at a 45° angle of each other, that would mean there's a certain distance that the object needs to be at in order to work well.

There is a camera on the market that was released recently, has two sets of sensors and lenses, but I don't know if they're at any angle other than parallel. However, the camera's gotten some pretty harsh reviews, mainly with its picture quality and lack of software (apparently the 3D photos were in some obscure format not used by many image viewers).

I wouldn't mind a stylus upgrade for a future Pandora if it extends. All the PDA phones I've owned (and even the stylus that came with the Wiz accessory set) extends to a longer length. If Pandora 2 could keep the current stylus size AND include extension functionality, I think that'd make a great addition to the unit.

 

[Grench]

I have a stereo lens for my Pentax SLR. Shooting in 'panoramic' mode (yes, loosing the top/bottom bits of the frame) with the stereo lens on it I have been able to make some real cool photos. The catch? To view them you need to stand a piece of cardboard on on end in the center of the photo, then put your nose to the cardboard and let your eyes uncross. Then they're just like being there.

I still don't want a camera on any future Pandora.

 

[Phawx]

I still don't want a camera on any future Pandora.

I just want a webcam. I don't want something like the DSi which would have people believe it could replace a stand alone camera, but a webcam which could work for Skype and stuff I'd be in favor of. Little cmos cam can't cost much.

 

[Jourdy288]

I don't want the stylus to be in multiple parts, I want it to be more... metallic, lol. Like this:

And that was just speculation on my part for the avatars, but wouldn't it be really cool if we could do something like that? Put your face on an ingame avatar? I'm just saying...

 

[SNESFAN]

I don't want the stylus to be in multiple parts, I want it to be more... metallic, lol. Like this:

I can't find the post in the sea of threads about it, but the one that's comming with your panda was susposed to be really nice and chrome/metalic... I think? was so long ago, can't really remember. But there was a public poll and everything, Lot of thought went into it, and the outcome was very nice from the look and reviews of it.

EDIT: now looking at their homepage... this doesn't seem to be the case at all... I wonder what happened to that whole thing.... HHMMMmmmm...

 

[WizardStan]

EDIT: now looking at their homepage... this doesn't seem to be the case at all... I wonder what happened to that whole thing.... HHMMMmmmm...

What you're probably remembering was a poll that was done, followed by a lot of discussion about the merits of different stylus designs.
The problem is that the poll was not created by any dev member: it was a regular user trying to give entirely unsolicited advice. Who knows how many others it left with the impression that it was somehow official and will be disappointed upon unboxing.

 

[SNESFAN]

What you're probably remembering was a poll that was done, followed by a lot of discussion about the merits of different stylus designs.
The problem is that the poll was not created by any dev member: it was a regular user trying to give entirely unsolicited advice. Who knows how many others it left with the impression that it was somehow official and will be disappointed upon unboxing.

that wasn't official? That is really disappointing. Now I wish I could find that thread, could have swore ED & Craig and all them were talking in it and stuff. It was probally about a year ago though. Do you remember that manufacturer of that stylus by chance? It was REALLY nice the crome/black metal one? I quit looking into it as I thought that's what I was getting.

 

[lulzfish]

Nah, I think the stylus is being manufactured in ABS / PC plastic along with the rest of the case.
I've never had a problem with plastic ones, anyway...

"but wouldn't it be really cool if we could do something like that? Put your face on an ingame avatar?"

To be blunt, straightforward, frank, and honest, NO.
It would be stupid.

It is quite useless, and human faces look silly in computer-generated graphics.
And you'd have to get the software to either crop out the background magically or live with having a square blob of bedroom wall or whatever following your avatar around.

Your un-animated, off-model avatar from literally another universe. It would just look so out of place, and it would never move unless you went to the trouble of taking a lot of pictures.

NO.

There might be a valid reason for having a camera, but it's not for user avatars. We don't even know if any software developers out there WANT that feature.

 

[-Tj-]

And that was just speculation on my part for the avatars, but wouldn't it be really cool if we could do something like that? Put your face on an ingame avatar? I'm just saying...

It's possible to do 3D avatars with one camera, via black magic and a witch's brew.

Kidding. Seriously, it's possible to do with one camera. Camera takes a photo, maps it to a 3D model of a face, voila! 3D face pic. Unless you're thinking about the kind that you'd view with a 3D screen, or cross eyed techniques, where it looks 3D from any angle, but will give you a headache at anything angle but the correct one.

In-game avatars have been done before, as well, like with the Playstation EyeToy.

Personally, I prefer an avatar creation system to an actual photo or model of myself. Miis, XBL avatars, etc.

I see myself every day in the mirror... I'd rather see either a more fantastic, shag-tacular version of me, maybe even a wacky version of me, or in the case of third person-style games, I'd rather see an attractive woman walking around instead.

 

[Jourdy288]

IDK, I still like the idea of an avatar made from your picture(s), although I understand how it probably wouldn't work yet, you'd need it to fit in... but when graphics become advanced enough... it'll happen. It has to.

 

[kin]

lol instead of a stylus I want some kind of mini mouse ^^

 

[Monk]

Yes, it was hugely annoying that the stylus poll had no authority whatsoever, especially since the stylii it seemed to be promoting did indeed look rather tasty. It came across initially rather like one of Craig's hair-brained "Would you prefer one of these, or one of those?" posts but wasn't official.

IIRC the nicest stylus mentioned was made by a company owned by Mark Hamil AKA Luke Skywalker? But that has closed down, or at least stopped making them? (BEWARE - LACK OF REFERENCES, GREY MATTER USAGE ONLY, SUBJECT TO BEING A COMPLETE SCREWUP).

The metal ones caused a number of concerns - once the idea that they might scratch the screen was ruled out by news that they have rubber tips, it was pointed out that in this post 9/11 world having a convenient stabbing device on hand might limit aircraft carrying of the Pandora

On that basis alone, a plastic one might be a reasonable idea... though I agree about the weigh balancing thing, the world is made of compromise

 

[Monk]

lol instead of a stylus I want some kind of mini mouse ^^

Mickey would object!

 

[BackAssward]

Nah, I think the stylus is being manufactured in ABS / PC plastic along with the rest of the case.
I've never had a problem with plastic ones, anyway...

You are correct unless anything has changed since this vid (and I've both heard nothing, nor expect it would once they included it in the case prototype).

EvilDragon assembling the prototype.

I am sure it was designed to be the same size/length as existing models, so you can replace it if you like. I am also sure it will be just as good as any other plastic stylus. More than likely the reasoning is: It simply is cheaper to include it in the case run, when compared to buying them from a retailer or wholesaler. Think about it, it probably didn't add any cost to the case run, compare it to the actual complex pieces of the case.

 

[bnolsen]

Just saw this new "netbook".

http://www.pocketables.net/2009/09/first-impressions-of-the-sharp-netwalker-pcz1.html

The one interesting thing is this deal called an "optical mouse".
How does this device compare with the analog sticks?

 

[-Tj-]

I imagine it's just like an optical mouse flipped over. It has the optics for tracking and some kind of illumination. It likely feels a lot like using a tiny, tiny track pad.

Would be nice to have, but if I had to choose between an analog stick or that, I'd choose the analog stick. Analog stick has feedback (springs, or some other form of resistance), this won't. I'm sure it's better for some things, but seeing as Pandora already has a touch screen, I'd rather use that for my point-and-click duties.

 

[bnolsen]

I imagine it's just like an optical mouse flipped over. It has the optics for tracking and some kind of illumination. It likely feels a lot like using a tiny, tiny track pad.

Would be nice to have, but if I had to choose between an analog stick or that, I'd choose the analog stick. Analog stick has feedback (springs, or some other form of resistance), this won't. I'm sure it's better for some things, but seeing as Pandora already has a touch screen, I'd rather use that for my point-and-click duties.

Would be nice to have both.
A device like this might be better for games like diablo1 where you point to stuff on screen.
I guess it could even be argued that this could allow for more precise aiming in an FPS.
I've never used one, so I can't say.