Craigix Discloses Information On New Gp2x?

[craigix]

Eolair, there are patents on things like sliding screens/keyboards and the way they work, the mobile and laptop manufacturers file hundreds of patents every year. It costs around £3,000 for a search on a design, if it is OK you get a free to continue notice. It's tricky stuff like that which can hold up machines for months.

I have followed the development of the neo1973 (openmoko). These guys have gone through hell to get the phone launched. Releasing hardware seems to be a hard task. It's not only soldering the best components together and ready you are, there's a lot more going on. Logistics, procurement, patents, getting a site up and running, pr, programming, tough design decisions and there are things going to be f..ked up for sure along the way. So I understand you're a bit jumpy when it comes to patents, that could ruin a lot of hard work.


Hi, Thanks, I'm glad you know where we are coming from on this. It is difficult to explain to people why we can't 'just use' what looks like an amazing design.

I hope people will take note and understand what we have to deal with on the design side.

Fun times

 

[halo9]

Fair play I say, I'm just going to sit patiently and see what comes..

If the community picks it up then I'll be buying one no doubt. I've no regrets about being on the pre-order list for GP2x two years ago.

Good look guys!

 

[sam fisher]

I'm really excited about this

 

[fusion_power]

I hope people will take note and understand what we have to deal with on the design side.

Fun times

Will there be a poll where people can vote between some design options of the devs, which one will be the final one? So it wouldn't be the Devs fault if the final Design is wrong at the finished Device

 

[sam fisher]

That would be a great idea actually. I don't think the design will be done for some months though. I'm thinking october?

 

[b._.o._.b]

Will there be a poll where people can vote between some design options of the devs, which one will be the final one? So it wouldn't be the Devs fault if the final Design is wrong at the finished Device

Sorry but I think that's a bad idea. I think it would take a lot more time to design more scenario's, I really want this device asap and we should give the guys carte blanche
I'm also pretty sure Craig already knows the direction the design will go to, only small changes will follow along the way.

Anyway if he (and I think most of us) wants it to be "small and thus flat chested" there will not be many options to choose from I guess.

 

[n8archer_XI]

DaveC's design is it. That is what we need. As long as I still get a cradle device, or something allowing me to use a gamepad on it (since we're obviously not getting analog support)...

 

[saehn]

Will there be a poll where people can vote between some design options of the devs, which one will be the final one? So it wouldn't be the Devs fault if the final Design is wrong at the finished Device

Design by committee is usually an incredibly bad idea.

 

[Squidge]

Is there anywhere that you can get hold of those devboards easily? I had a quick search but i couldn't find anything- I think it'd be cool to have one around for projects and such

Sure, both Dignsys and MagicEyes will talk to you and sell you a unit, but I wouldn't insult them by offering anything less than a couple of thousand...

 

[Zeladin]

QUOTE
Apart from Magiceyes didn't do the Linux port for the MMSP2, and don't currently have a port for the MMSP2+.
I'm misinforming again. I thought they offered linux with the devkit for the mmsp2?

Maybe you mean http://www.dignsys.com/product_DEPSS-MMSP2...del=DEPSS-MMSP2 ? Yeah that's exactly what I was thinking of - d'oh! That's not exactly Magiceyes alright. Still it can't have been like building linux from the ground up for the MMSP2+... Or is that still not confirmed yet? Is there a chance that Sam might still get that imx31?

Man I had never imagined all this difficulty with patents - I mean a dpad is just four buttons in a cross :blink: I don't think a poll would be a bad idea - but it sounds to me this device is already well thought out in terms of functionality.

 

[goobers]

Is there anywhere that you can get hold of those devboards easily? I had a quick search but i couldn't find anything- I think it'd be cool to have one around for projects and such

Sure, both Dignsys and MagicEyes will talk to you and sell you a unit, but I wouldn't insult them by offering anything less than a couple of thousand...


Haha, maybe not then I'll stick with a nano ITX

 

[rokdcasbah]

Me no like. One of the important things with a digital pad is not only that it registers the correct direction quicly, but also that it stops the movement there. That's why it is so difficult to use an analog stick in quick movements, even if there is not dead zone - it is necessary with the tactile feedback.

right on. a d-pad is best for 2d gaming, especially for tactile feel, which i forgot to consider. my hope is that there's an analog stick, but that it's on the right, so that one can use both input methods at once.

it would simply enable a wider variety of applications.
like...assuming a touch screen, if the usb support is solid, then there's potential for a live music dream machine here. analog control is often needed to adjust parameters. think DJ, VJ, portable and live tracking, synth & sample modules for usb-midi instruments, super flexible looping, and on and on. picture lgpt or milkytracker but with touch screen faders that show up when you hit a shoulder button.

(many small synths have more contextual controls and fewer dedicated ones, because there isn't enough space. but software like puredata, which was ported to gp2x, allow you to pretty much make whatever you can dream up, and design a custom interface with dedicated controls where necessary.)

so...usb host! with plenty of juice!

my other desire is relatively functional and easy to use gps navigation. (would require gpsdrive and some support for one of the cheaper usb(-to-serial) gps receivers). sprite_tm did great work in this area on the 2x. but in order for gps functionality to be a selling point, it shouldn't require a soldering iron and it could be a very big selling point, or at least garner some press.

this all rests on popular, standard tools and interfaces. shit like not hooking up usb host turns what could be an easy plug n' play into a weekend hack. is linux great for firmware because of the GPL? could be. but for sure, it's because it is well understood. it's a standard, eliminates detective work in a lot of places. maybe embedded 2.6 kernel could be used?

edit: grammerz

 

[goobers]

it would simply enable a wider variety of applications.
like...assuming a touch screen, if the usb support is solid, then there's potential for a live music dream machine here. analog control is often needed to adjust parameters. think DJ, VJ, portable and live tracking, synth & sample modules for usb-midi instruments, super flexible looping, and on and on. picture lgpt or milkytracker but with touch screen faders that show up when you hit a shoulder button.

That's what I've been thinking. I want to design a kind of modular midi control system (kinda how the lemur works, but without the multitouch of course) that would allow you to put the controls that you need on the screen and have them control anything you want over midi/OSC.

I do VJing on the side at uni and I'd love to see this sort of thing- I designed a piece of software that I controlled with an app on my mobile over bluetooth and it was great being able to walk around the club controlling the videos on the screen and I think that this device would be able to extend that further!

EDIT: readability

 

[DaveC]

QUOTE
But the whole point is that *every* other goddamn console and handheld is 3D nowdays. You want it so bad choose from one of those.


I think if you point out a relatively powerful (>300Mhz) 3D console thats open source, people will. However, no such console exists yet, but it will shortly, hopefully. We know you prefer vertical mame games to 3D games, but you are in the minority, get used to it.

Therefore I see no problem in having an analog joystick that can emulate a digital one for certain applications - best of both worlds, just like on the Zodiac.

And the analog on the zodiac was absolute shit, not just for vertical MAME games but for ALL emulated games that used a d-pad or digital stick. They were basically un-playable. That ruined the zodiac more than the GP2X stick ruined the GP2X. While you may see no problem with it (you admitted you don't play games, just code) I am sure most will. Emulating a digital stick with an analog just doesn't work. That is why the zodiac is where it is.

What are these great 3D games that you must have that is worth ruining everything else? Quake? an few FPS games?

Me no like. One of the important things with a digital pad is not only that it registers the correct direction quicly, but also that it stops the movement there. That's why it is so difficult to use an analog stick in quick movements, even if there is not dead zone - it is necessary with the tactile feedback.

That is what people seem to have a hard time with. Wou can't just make an analog behave like a digital and call it a day, it doesn't work well at all. They will see, and then all of the complaints will start comming in about how they suceeded in making a worse controler than the GP2X

What are these great 3D games that you must have that is worth ruining everything else? Quake? an few FPS games?

Nah, I think it's called 'homebrew'

Yeah you are right. I guess it will be worth it to make 1000's of games unplayable for a couple of crummy mostly unfinished 3D games. It is not like there are enough 3D games nowdays. What handhelds and consoles have those? Oh yeah all of them. Yeah make yet another for the pile. That makes sense

 

[Orkie]

What are these great 3D games that you must have that is worth ruining everything else? Quake? an few FPS games?

How would having an analogue input as well as a digital one ruin anything? It'd only ruin it's purity in your eyes.

 

[woogal]

But if everyone is writing exciting new games, how will davec get his precious emulators

 

[goobers]

But if everyone is writing exciting new games, how will davec get his precious emulators

Maybe DaveC could code something

 

[sam fisher]

In 2D of course ^^

 

[icurafu]

I've seen the comparison chart. PSP has a TV-Out? I think the answer is no... Only the new PSP v2 will have it. We will try to use the most common ports for headphone, AV-Out, USB Host/Slave etc.

Sorry, i was comparing to the new PSP. that's why the weight was really low.

 

[Orkie]

Maybe DaveC could code something

What if he didn't like the fact that the compiler wouldn't let him store floats in chars? The gcc people would all leave with all the moaning .