Basic Pandora Questions, Software

[batfastad]

Hi everyone
I've been tracking the progress of Pandora for a while now, and it seems like things are getting really close!

I've had a game gear (which was way ahead of its time IMO), game boy, GBA SP, and now a PSP.
The GBA SP is a fantastic bit of kit, the battery life is superb.
I love my PSP as well (unlocked with custom firmware running) but the battery life is slightly less than I would like. Also the speed that I can get SNES games to run is slightly too slow.

The reasons I'm interested in the Pandora is:
40% for playing SNES/GBA games, possibly Playstation 1 and N64 games depending on performance.
30% watching video, TV/films
30% UMPC stuff... web browsing/email/IM/remote server admin through SSH/text file editing/FTP/RSS feeds.
The 10hr battery life is a big plus too!
The clamshell design with a proper keyboard is also brilliant.
Kind of like a smaller UMPC, but brilliant for games

I've got a bit of Linux experience, configuring/admin servers, apache/mysql, SSH etc, but I've not done too much compiling from source and other Linux "hacking" to get things working.
I notice from the FAQ that there will be some sort of package manager, which will make things a bit easier. Hopefully all user installed software can be kept separate from the OS/firmware.

However I've got a couple of questions, which I've been unable to find out so far through the Pandorawiki FAQs. I hope someone can help me out, or point me in the right direction.

1) The Pandora will run the Angstrom linux distro which looks wicked in that video!
But is there a list anywhere of software that will be compiled to run on the Pandora? I see it runs Firefox, Pidgin and The GIMP from the video. What about xyz, will they be compiled.
Not just games/emulators, but general software stuff.

2) Whats the reason for going with SD over Compact Flash?
I guess CF has a bigger form factor, but CFs generally faster cheaper and available in larger sizes sooner than other formats.

3) Is there a max supported capacity of the SD card slots? Or will Pandora basically do any reasonable sizes?

4) The first batch is pre-orders is sold out.
Is there any news on when a 2nd batch will be available for pre-order and shipping?

Cheers, B

 

[gruso]

Hi and welcome.

1) There isn't really a list of software yet. Many wishlists, but no actual list of planned releases. Check out the Angstrom repositories (no link on hand, you'll have to Google), there is a lot of software that will (in theory) run on Pandora already. As for stuff being developed by the Pandora community, that info is spread out through the forums. Check the dev subforum for some of the active projects. Also check the Information Index sticky.

2/3) I guess SD is a no-brainer for most, it's certainly becoming the defacto standard in flash storage. It also brings SDIO to the table. And prices have been plummeting for some time. I believe Pandora can handle 64GB SDHC cards at least (maybe more in future with firmware upgrades).

4) The last I heard on the second batch was "maybe March", but that could be pushed back. However, there may be a few hundred extras being offered from the first batch. Head to www.openpandora.org and sign up to the newsletter. I'm guessing they'll do a mailout to take the last orders in Jan/Feb.

 

[JakeK]

God damn all this up in the air stuff!

(I understand why, don't worry)

Howdy Gruso.

 

[mali]

This should run(maybe resolution and control scheme need adjustment, though)
http://www.angstrom-distribution.org/repo/...amp;arch=armv7a

The included apps aren't decided, yet. ED will do that in the next weeks.

 

[skeezix]

We're still working out the firmware and workflow and stuff, but its coming together pretty nicely. (frontend guis and how to install and unisntall apps and all that.)

It is likely there wil be the angstrom packages for doing firmware updates and such.. ncie and easy and more 'black box' to most people. Existing ansgtrom packages shoudl work out of the box in theory (we're working on it now) but a 'pandora port' is much more ideal. (ie: standard unix packages will want to put data in places which we'd prefer not to put it, since we want user data on SD and not all in home directories, etc.)

We're working on another package system for public packahes (homebrew and whatnot) that makes absolutely easy install/uninstall. Drag and drop onto SD and done, but we're working on it right now.

So should be easy as pie for people, and very flexible for power users who want to get in and do nasty tricks.

The stuff included in the distro is being sorted out still, of course.

jeff

 

[nickik]

ohhh, a package system for public packehes (homebrew and stuff) --> sounds really nice

 

[skeezix]

Ask me in a week or two (damn Christmas --

Essentially we're aiming for somethign where you download a single file package, and you can unpack it, or even just run it right from the package without unpacking. ie: Install == download; Uninstall == delete. Theres more to it of course, but thats the main goal we're aiming for

jeff

 

[atomicthumbs]

2. Because CF is now pretty much only used in some older DSLRs. Pretty much everything is using SD nowadays. The only device that I have that uses CF exclusively is my Jornada 720 handheld PC from 1999.

 

[mechanizeddeath]

ohhh, a package system for public packehes (homebrew and stuff) --> sounds really nice

Did anyone else read that as "pancakes"? As in homebrew pancakes.

Now I'm hungry. :unsure:

 

[mali]

Thanks for the update Skeezix
It's always nice to hear the real stuff

 

[cools]

2. Because CF is now pretty much only used in some older DSLRs. Pretty much everything is using SD nowadays. The only device that I have that uses CF exclusively is my Jornada 720 handheld PC from 1999.

My main PC runs off a 4GB 300x CF card plugged directly into the IDE port with a £3 adapter Poor mans SSD.

 

[batfastad]

All this is really encouraging
I'm signed up to the mailing list so hopefully I'll get notified if there's an opportunity to get my name down on this 1st batch of pre-orders.

I also really like the idea of being able to hook up a folding/portable keyboard if I need to do more UMPC work.

I always thought CF was better because its a complete scaled down version of IDE, and was capable of higher speeds than anything else. All the top cameras still seem to use CF. Also comparing prices CF still seems cheaper.
Ah well, just looked at prices for cards to fill up the 2 slots... one 16GB Sandisk 15MB/s for £30, and an 8GB class 6 for £16. Not bad

Some more questions:

1) What about the USB socket(s)
How many are there, and what types are they?
I've discovered that to use game controllers/keyboards etc they'll need to be connected through a hub, that's fine.
But could I connect my digital camera to my Pandora using the USB cable, to view the pictures/videos on the larger screen of the Pandora?
That's something I always wanted with the PSP

2) Are there higher res pictures/renderings of all of the sides of the unit anywhere? Can't find anything linked off the OpenPandora.org site

3) Can it be charged using USB? That would be mega useful.
I also like the low price of replacement batteries. Getting hold of a new PSP one was a nightmare!

Cheers everyone, B

 

[Pleng]

1) What about the USB socket(s)
How many are there, and what types are they?
I've discovered that to use game controllers/keyboards etc they'll need to be connected through a hub, that's fine.

There's 2. One is a USB On The Go Type, and I'm not sure about the other. Information is on the Forum somewhere. But yes, essentially if you want to plug any standard-speed devices you'll need a hub

QUOTE

But could I connect my digital camera to my Pandora using the USB cable, to view the pictures/videos on the larger screen of the Pandora?
That's something I always wanted with the PSP



I'd imagine that most cameras want to give the fastest transfer rate to PCs as possible, so they should be compatible with the Pandora's USB port. If not a simple multi-card reader should do the trick!

QUOTE

3) Can it be charged using USB? That would be mega useful.


Yes. And it will be compatible with PSP chargers, too!

 

[Tor]

Regarding the SD question: It's the defacto standard now, and now also cheaper than CF. And smaller. Capacity: The largest out right now is 32GB, and that's also the current "limit" according to the SD consortium. This is an artificial limit though, as it's completely clear how that will be expanded. There's 64GB on the way and 128GB in the planning. The Pandora should be able to handle it all (up to the 2TB limit), no updates needed, because the Linux kernel is already prepared for those size upgrades.

 

[cbox]

For a hub I got this (not at radioshack mind you, got it for $4.99 elsewhere) and it looks like the perfect hub for the pandora. Self powered via 4 AAA rechargeables, and they charge when hooked up to a PC.

 

[Prometheus]

cbox, that is most excellent - I never even knew that you could get battery-powered hubs.

 

[jpenguin]

2. Because CF is now pretty much only used in some older DSLRs. Pretty much everything is using SD nowadays. The only device that I have that uses CF exclusively is my Jornada 720 handheld PC from 1999.

What about MMC, all of my electronic have combo SD/MMC slots, please say that the pandora will be able to use MMC

 

[cbox]

2. Because CF is now pretty much only used in some older DSLRs. Pretty much everything is using SD nowadays. The only device that I have that uses CF exclusively is my Jornada 720 handheld PC from 1999.

What about MMC, all of my electronic have combo SD/MMC slots, please say that the pandora will be able to use MMC


MMC is backwards compatible with SD

 

[valhalla]

2. Because CF is now pretty much only used in some older DSLRs. Pretty much everything is using SD nowadays. The only device that I have that uses CF exclusively is my Jornada 720 handheld PC from 1999.

CFs are also used as an HD replacement, since they are compatible with plain IDE (and cheaper than SSD)

Of course they are also bulkier, so they probably wouldn't have fitted in the pandora case

 

[DJWillis]

What about MMC, all of my electronic have combo SD/MMC slots, please say that the pandora will be able to use MMC

MMC works just fine (in fact I boot my test images of a 1GB MMC card as it was all I had laying about) .

SD's these days are about the same price as CF's on a like for like basis and it's a smaller more power friendly form factor. No overhead of ATAPI and the likes.