Ask the Dragon - Date has been set!

[EvilDragon]

Some quick news up front:
The testing of the antennas have already been done and finished and everything is as good as it can be with our current setup.
What does that mean?
Well, you can't expect Laptop quality (they have a LOT more space for good antennas), but it's as good as possible for such a small device (so compare it to your favourite smartphone).

On the other hand, as expected, I haven't heard anything from FormAction, so I guess they haven't been able to produce all cases until now. Which means that the transparent cases might also be done by UniquePlast as well - but we'll discuss about that.

Oh, and some other good news:
The mass production keymats have been ordered now as well, another step done

Now onto the live show... Ask the Dragon!

So, the date and time has been set. The live show will happen this Friday, August 3rd, 6pm (CEST)
That's 4pm (UTC) or 9am (PDT).

You can find the stream here:

The length should be a maximum of about 2 hours which should be plenty for all questions.
We're having over 30°C in the office at the moment... that will be fun

So, why did I choose this date even though the poll showed other dates would be better?

Well, Saturday has always been planned to be an optional date.
That means: If there would've been an overwhelmingly number of users (70% or higher) who'd have chosen a Saturday, I would've made the show on Saturday.
However, usually, our film crew is out of the office during weekdays, so I'd either have to book them for that day or do it alone... and I'd like to do the show with multiple cameras, so I can show some stuff.

So Friday is better for us here.

I would've done it last Friday (that day received more votes), but I had to send back the Pyra PCBs to GC for a small fix with the battery connector and so I wouldn't have had the latest PCB with me.

Well, let's hope everything will work out fine (I've never done a Youtube live stream before) and I can answer most of your questions

If you like, you can already post some of the questions at this thread here, so we can start right away - or you can ask questions while we're live (via Youtube comments or the thread here as well).

While the show will probably be a lot about the Pyra, it doesn't have solely to be.
You can ask about my favourite food, TV show, hobbies, opinion about device or handheld XYZ or even things you always wondered about during development of the Pyra ("Why haven't you done it like this...?") or whatever.

Anything interesting is welcome

That's it for now. See you in two days

Oh, and in case you're wondering why the server is sometimes exceptionally slow right now:
I'm moving to a newer, faster server (with NVMes instead of HDDs, this should make things A LOT faster), and therefore, I've got a lot of I/O while moving the data to the new one.

Once the move has been done, it should be a lot faster than before.
But that will still take a few days

 

[juliano]

Great! Unfortunately I will be delivering training so I won't be able to participate in this live stream. Best of luck!

 

[rSl]

time is OK for me!
so see you soon, drinking favourite ice-coffee, for a chilled 2h ask the dragon show.

 

[Silent-Hunter]

Awesome!

 

[levi]

I posted some questions in the last news thread, but I'll post them again to make them easier to find (and allow me to update them based on info here):

What colours are you favouring at the moment for the final units?

Have you sent out any new prototypes recently, or is Form Action blocking things?

How many of the prototypes out there at the moment boot reliably?

 

[AVahne]

Hm, I'll be at work at that time, so I won't get to watch until I get home, but I'll be sure to post some questions.

 

[ClockworkCoder]

Unfortunately I will also be working at that time, but I hope it goes smoothly. Couple of questions, if I may:

Have you made any decisions yet regarding the final packaging (box art, and content)?

In hindsight, what might you have done differently, if anything, regarding development of the hardware (ignoring case issues)?

Are you still excited about the Pyra, or are you just longing for it to be finished now?

What Pyra merchandise do you have planned? (i.e. PCB key fobs, stickers, mugs, etc)

Do you have a holiday booked this year, in anticipation of some well deserved rest following dispatch of the production units? If it was me, I imagine I might have ended up simply craving to become a lumberjack instead ...

Anyway, with so much blood, sweat and tears put into the project, I can't thank you enough for your tireless efforts. In my opinion, you've done an amazing job.

 

[gunrock]

Great news on latest developments and well done to you and the team!

Questions:
I have moved countries since I placed my pre-order. How can I update my address?

Will the Pyra be more durable than the pandora? I dropped my Pandora from the bed to the carpet and knackered one of my shoulder buttons.

 

[Caine]

Thanks for the quick news update ED. The case delay was expected, but great news about the keymats.
It's going to be 34° here on Friday, I reckon Germany will be similar. Good luck and keep it cool.

Do you have some numbers and/or details on that antenna performance?

 

[jeeks]

maybe formaction surprises us one last time and is busy producing some really good quality cases (that won't get damaged during shipping)
i hope you, the pyra, and the crew won't melt during the stream btw don't forget to bring a ton of bottled water so no one has to go on a beverage run during the stream :>

 

[Wally]

I'll be at sea so likely won't be able to join

 

[Hồng Thất Công]

I'll be in the air that time so likely won't be able join

 

[Null]

Some non Pyra related questions.

What is your take on Brexit?

Is there anything you wish you'd done differently during your life?

Bielefeld, do you believe in its existence?

 

[crazyhorse]

If you have all the parts and a few cases, when are the prototypes being sent?

Do you have to get them certified first?


Hows the 3d driver coming along?Thanks.

 

[Coupo]

Thank you for your hard work so far. I will also not be able to participate. So I will watch the video afterwards.

Maybe it is not great to mention right now, but there are raging fires in greece. Perhaps the time delay comes from there.
But, hey, no volcano this time ... jet.

 

[Grench]

On the other hand, as expected, I haven't heard anything from FormAction, so I guess they haven't been able to produce all cases until now. Which means that the transparent cases might also be done by UniquePlast as well - but we'll discuss about that.

If the case plastics productions are moving companies before the prototype cases get produced, can you inquire about doing a short run of glow in the dark cases?
We need a "beating a dead horse" smiley.

 

[levi]

Questions:
I have moved countries since I placed my pre-order. How can I update my address?

Will the Pyra be more durable than the pandora? I dropped my Pandora from the bed to the carpet and knackered one of my shoulder buttons.

While this is the Ask Ed question thread, I feel I know the answers to these already:

1. You have not placed a pre-order literally. You ordered a voucher which you can use against your final order, when you pay the remainder of the balance. You can supply an address there which is where the unit will be sent.

2. The Pyra is intended to be more durable, yes. It includes proper plastic stops to stop the shoulder buttons applying too much force to the internal momentary push buttons. And not being painted means scratches shouldn't show up nearly as badly as on the silver units, also the plastic will be polycarbonate which you know from CDs and DVDs and while it's easy to make micro-scratches on it that stop in playing in a player for those discs, you need to scratch it some to make a visible scratch, and you need to bend it at least 90 degrees to actually snap it at CD thicknesses.

 

[Grench]

While this is the Ask Ed question thread, I feel I know the answers to these already:

1. You have not placed a pre-order literally. You ordered a voucher which you can use against your final order, when you pay the remainder of the balance. You can supply an address there which is where the unit will be sent.

With exception of eight prototype pre-pre-orders that got paid in full (plus shipping) at the time of purchase.

 

[lordbobjones]

Looking forward to watching the video!!!

 

[matzesu]

- I remember, when playing on the side seat of our Unimog, the Pandora Lid was quite wonky,
-> will the Pyra Case lot more Unimog -Prof ??

- I wants to use my Pyra as my new Mainpc, I outsourced my Gaming to 3DS/Switch/Xbox One, so I want need a proper Gaming PC
- > are there some things that I can’t do whit the Pyra??

- I look on the current temperature, so I’m a bit worried:
-> can the Pyra survive these hot summer days in my Pockets, or outside whyle I play some PlayStation Games per Exempel??
-
-what is your Ordernumber ??
-> will you also buy one of the Mass Production Pyrae for your own use ??

- in which situations dit your Prototype allready saves your day ??

- are the Shoulderbuttons diverent to the ones on the Pandora??
-> when I got my CC Pandora from you, one of the Shoulderbuttons ditnt work, but I didn’t want it to send back, and as I feared to break something by fixing it myself I played some weeks whit only one Shoulderbutton, until I found a tiny screwdriver (sadly no “sonic screwdriver”) to open the case and rearranged the foam pad)
I had to do this fix another time, whit the same shoulderbutton..
so if the Pyra ones are a bit less in danger to stop working..

- wat is your expectation on the final selling numbers on the Pyra??
Do you expect the Unit to sell more or less than the Pandora??

- and what will happen to your poor old Pandora after you have your shiny new Pyra in your Pockets??

- will the Number 27 really be the 27ths Mass Production Pyra ??
- I wouldn’t mean if it isn’t, as that’s maybe too divicult whit 4 Diverent Pyrae ...

-and what is the correct therm for multiple Pyrae ??

- “der die das oder düt Pyra??“

- can I use the LED on the Lid Cover as a Flashlight??