"estimated" Release Date

[borgqueenx]

you gotta be kidding:S i want it because then il have loads of fun on the holidays.
i also like every console to be a kind of computer, that doesnt need a notebook or desktop pc to sync with.
But if we can get the pandora one week earlier, and have no wifi capability for one week...thats really fine by me!

True, i guess it would be nice but i have always hated syncing things.

i can understand why. But i really want my hands around a pandora.
I will love the HD screen and capabilities

i think the first game i will play is quake 2

 

[eomonkeyboi24]

i think the first game i will play is quake 2

Yup definitely gonna play that. I really hope someone can make an ARM version of Urban Terror, its a really sweet mod of quake 3.

 

[WizardStan]

I'd also point out that when the pre-orders first went live, it was with the knowledge that the software would NOT be complete anyway. At this point in time it's now 5 or 6 months more complete than it would have been if we had gotten them when we had first anticipated.
I paid expecting the software to be incomplete, I'm not going to change my mind and expect the software to be complete before receiving. Though it would be nice.

 

[gaterooze]

I would rather wait for the wifi to be fully working and make sure we can download applications and updates through wifi out of the box so we won't have to sync it with a computer. This would be a major thing for me because I like how the pandora in theory won't need to be hooked up to another computer and be a self controlled product.

If you have an SD card reader ($1.99), you could just copy the update file onto an SD card and run it on the Pandora. No syncing required.

 

[Trevsweb]

just read on the unofficial blog.. yea i dont mind installing firmware updates, infact i was hoping to get more firmware updates down the line just to nip and tweak the device.
tbh as long as its not a hardware issue im happy to get the device as it is asap as long as the software can be sorted at a later date.
hope all goes well

 

[EmuGuy]

As soon as the hardware is good to go, they should ship them out. The software will always be in a state of flux (improving) anyways, and I'm assuming it'll be fairly simple to install the working Wi-Fi driver once it is complete...even for non-Linux-types.

For that matter, do we know what state the video player functionality will be in once they start shipping? I last read the H264 acceleration will need some work to get it fully working with the GPU...or something like that.

Point is, there will be tons of improvements coming for Pandora, thanks to all the talented devs out there...ship the hardware, they'll look after the rest!

 

[Loonie]

Jeez, when don't you have to update the drivers for something with computers these days? If people are worried about it, they can wait. Perhaps I'll get mine that bit sooner.

 

[Monk]

I am pretty positive about the openpandora team and that they want to create a great product, but I'm sure it is tempting for them as well to take a risk if the community demands it.
My opinion is that they need to be 100% sure everything is working properly and only then, release the product.

Agreed. In fact I might go even further and suggest that they were 100% sure about various things in the past which have not come to pass. I myself PREFER to make promises only after the fact - it's easy not to break promises that are made after you ahve done the deed, and easy for the unexpected tot rip you up if you promise in advance

I'd also point out that when the pre-orders first went live, it was with the knowledge that the software would NOT be complete anyway. At this point in time it's now 5 or 6 months more complete than it would have been if we had gotten them when we had first anticipated.
I paid expecting the software to be incomplete, I'm not going to change my mind and expect the software to be complete before receiving. Though it would be nice.

While WiFi isn't the largest part of my interest in the device, I'm of the opionion that you only truly KNOW the absolute cause of a problem after you've fixed it. As a very general rule. I mean, I've just read horror stories on this thread about a mobile phone that's actually "fairly OK" as long as you don't use it as a phone, and that required soldering to because they tested the hardware *but not in the real world* and the real world meant hardware changes. I would personally feel... uncomfortable, about assuring others that the hardware is perfect when the total package does not work correctly. I can't see the Pandora coming out in anything like THAT sort of shape, but... the whole unit is 5 or 6 months more complete than it would have been if released on time? So that could mean that 5 or 6 months after release WiFi still might not be working? How many more months would it be OK for the drivers to be "not quite there yet"?

I'm curious if only because the latest Ubuntu - my current toe-dipping into Linux in preperation for Pandora - has major Bluetooth mouse issues that don't look like they're getting fixed any time soon AFAICS so I'm wondering about the speed of updates to features like Wifi and Bluetooh where compatability is variable. What's felt to be "acceptable"?

 

[hobbyman II]

umm! what bluetooth mouse issues?, what distro?, maybe we can help, as far as I know bluetooth is pretty solid, I can`t see any problem being unfixable unless you have some really weird mouse, in that case just get a more usable one, it might just be something in xorg.conf you need to tweak (although speaking of peripherals I must admit I dislike Logitech gear intensely, their keyboards and wireless mice are a mess, they don`t even work correctly under Windows with their own Logitech drivers)

edited for clarity

 

[gilesjuk]

100% perfect never happens. There's always bugs, there will always be peripherals that don't play ball.

You have to determine the affected user base, is it 99% or 1%.

I don't see why the product should be delayed because someone is using cheap and nasty USB peripherals which won't work.

 

[fischju2000]

100% perfect may not ever happen at launch but unlike almost every consumer device that's even close to the Pandora, the users can create fixes and bug patches. When these 4000 units get out to people, I would expect just about every bug in Angstrom for Pandora would be fixed in short order.

 

[may88]

No +1. I'll live with it if WIFI is a little late. I'll need to wait for something after delivery

 

[(naw)mcx]

I don't mind installing a driver, as long as it's either easy to do, or a guide is provided.

 

[gp2.eXe]

I'll need to wait for something after delivery

When the Pandora finally ships, we will have become so used to waiting that we will feel like the entire purpose of our lives is gone.

 

[b._.o._.b]

Poll is wrong. It is not about the wifi driver only. Of course it is not a problem to install a wifi driver afterwards. I'm not afraid of compiling or editing some config file. That is not the problem.
The question is should Craig take a risk by shipping without proofing every component in the Pandora is working.
I would say no risk, be sure hardware is 100%. And the best way to assure this is by providing software to test it.

Craig has been pushed by the community to give a release date, that doesn't feel right. A solid product is more important than a month sooner delivery.

 

[gaterooze]

The question is should Craig take a risk by shipping without proofing every component in the Pandora is working. I would say no risk, be sure hardware is 100%. And the best way to assure this is by providing software to test it.

I think I saw ED say yesterday that they have a stripped-down setup to test that the WiFi hardware works, but getting the full Linux image to work with it is more difficult.

 

[Monk]

edited for clarity

Some bluetooth mice ar enot conencting, or not reconnecting after suspend/resume, using Ubuntu 9.04. I have reverted to Ubuntu 8.04 because of this, where the mouse seems to work pretty well. In 8.10 the mouse (same mouse, same Dell Mini 9 PC) is flakey and needs to be manually reconnected after a restart or resume. In 9.04 I can't get it to connect at all.

There seem to be a history of problems with Ubuntu and Bluetooth mice (try and google "ubuntu bluetooth mouse"), but this current one (which seems to affect some Microsoft and some Logitech mice, not sure about other brands) is most irksome to me! For an example:

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/bluez/+bug/343727

There are several pages around the ent where people try to resolve this and similar issues but none so far have quite managed to get 9.10 working with my mouse. The link I've given says "Bug, confirmed, Importance undecided". And has done for a while. Since Ubuntu is marketed as "Linux for human beings" or "Linus that just works" having the mouse simply fail is dissapointing

I am not fretting overly about it - I'm using 8.04 to continue playing around with Linux - but it's knocked a hole in my "I wonder if Linux is ready for human beings yet" thoughts

Having said which - I do NOT equate this community with the Linux community on a 1 to 1 basis - your response shows the kind of attitude that I'd hoped (expected?) to get from the Linux crowd in general - having seen Canonical are slow to "fix2 bluetooth as knocked my confidence a little

Ta

 

[craigix]

The hardware does all work, but the support for the wifi chip from the manufacturer has not been great, it works but it is hard to set up, there is no easy to use GUI yet.

However we do have some much better code from Nokia which should fix this, but if that interface is complete before we ship is the issue.

 

[wardred]

As long as you're sure, beyond a doubt, that it's a software update, then yes, please, send the Pandora with "not fully compatible" wifi. Wifi is a BIG portion of the Pandora, and having fully compatible wifi with no hardware updates is a must. (I'm thinking DS like networked games and web browsing here.) If there's a chance that it's hardware, I'd hold off shipping.

If we may ask, what're you having difficulties with, wifi driver wise?

EDIT:
Re-read your post right above mine and it sounds like you've answered my question. Just need to write an interface - either driver or gui, I'm not sure - for the newest wifi code from the vendor.

 

[eomonkeyboi24]

I would rather wait for the wifi to be fully working and make sure we can download applications and updates through wifi out of the box so we won't have to sync it with a computer. This would be a major thing for me because I like how the pandora in theory won't need to be hooked up to another computer and be a self controlled product.

If you have an SD card reader ($1.99"], you could just copy the update file onto an SD card and run it on the Pandora. No syncing required.[/quote]Really it's that simple? Gosh i thought i would be having to watch like a whole youtube vid on how to update. lol.