How Do We Decide?

[gruso]

There is already a fair bit of software running: http://pandorawiki.o...der_Development

In the Games, Emulators, and Other Programs tables, look at how many are at "working build" status. Most of these are running on Pandora hardware (and many of them we've seen on Youtube). Perhaps we won't be seeing all of these on day one, but Pandora certainly won't be a brick. There will be plenty of stuff for regular users to play with.

That's not to say that none of the units should go to devs; but regular pre-orderers should be in on the fun too. Besides, non devs will test things differently. The more variety of strange and brutal test procedures the better.

 

[Vorporeal]

The devs that would be picked to get Pandoras early would be people like Pickle and cpasjuste, who are already porting software, people like Zod and Franxis, who are the authors of software that we'd love to see on the Pandora (and who would be willing to port it), and people like PokeParadox, who is the head of the Pandora Panic! project, a game that is currently in development, and could use an actual device for control tweaking and some platform-specific bug-fixing.

seem quite logical, you are far from 100pandora through... I was meaning that the rest of the 100 should follow the lost order...

Oh of course. And anyone who relinquishes their spot in the first 100 (assuming this is how it is done) would then be pushed back to 101, 102, 103... etc. in the same order that they were in originally.

 

[belthos]

#1 devs who put out anything for the gp2x
#2 devs who have put out something on another platform we'd like to see on this platform.
#3 devs who are currently developing for the pandora and releasing beta's for others to test.

Seriously the vast majority of us want this as a "TOY" my definition. If you want to have more happy customers and good reviews then do what you can to develop the pandora environment as fast as possible. When the next 2000 come out anyone who gets one will be thrilled the moment the box arrives, HOWEVER, that thrill will wear out fast for 95% of them if they don't have ready made toys to download and play with.

As far as the "I can program gimme one posts..." Well that's great, I can program too, but I haven't released anything public since the 80's and have the feeling that devs should be chosen on a "What have you done for the community lately basis".

That's my 2 bits worth.

More devs with pandora = more fun things to play with.
That translates directly into customer satisfaction.
That in turn will drive great reviews and more production runs.


Belthos

You never get a second chance to make a first impression.

 

[Monk]

The first say 75 or 80 pre-orders should get theirs first and hammer the heck out of them as end users. Maybe - MAYBE - these people could pass up the right for theirs to other end users more willing to do fuller beta testing.

The remaining 20-25 should go to "proven" devs - people known to produce stuff for the GPs in general, or perhaps have already done stirling work for the Pandora by way of emaulators or ports and whose projects might benefit from work on an MP Pandora. And who have paid for their Pandora.

 

[Bosbeetle]

the first 100 sure know how to do a thorough f5-pressing test

 

[torpor]

My vote is this: first come, first served. Just take the first 100 from the pre-order list, send them out. Make sure to find out any developers in that group, and post the list. Then let the community encourage those developers to contribute ..

EDIT: Me, personally: I'm *only* getting a Pandora for BRAND NEW DEVELOPMENT efforts. I desperately want to use the Pandora as a platform for my own homebrew developments. I can't freakin' wait .. I've gotten an iPhone, an Android phone, a Wiz, a Smart Q7 and a Beagleboard while I've been waiting for the Pandora, but as soon as the Pandora arrives all of those gadgets will take the back-burner. Pandora is *THE* platform of hacking choice in my particular workshop ..

 

[ablufia]

i've waited too long now for it to be an issue - therefore, i don't really care.

as long as somebody/anybody, somewhere, gets something ! :rolleyes:

 

[shiffy]

Been a lurker here for a long time. I would consider myself to be one of these people who would want the Pandora as a "toy", as it was put earlier. I ordered on 2/10/08.

I believe most of the pre-orders are from people like myself who are only interested in the "end product" .. ie, just switch it on, load your app or emulator & then just expect it to work. (I do dabble a little in programming so I personally am no stranger to playing around to get thing to work). So, I believe that the first 100 machines really should go to the devs so that they can polish their apps/emus as much as possible so that when the rest of us do finally get our hands on one, we don't have the scenario where things only half work .... 1st impressions count. Don't forget, us early adopters are going to be showing the Pandora off to friends, taking to the workplace, using in on train. We're the ones who are going to be giving the initial advertising of the Pandora by "word of mouth". If apps / emus don't work properly, then it is going to leave a negative impression with A:the person who pre-ordered & B: The person who might have been put off from purchasing after seeing a slightly buggy app.

As I mentioned earlier, I am an early pre-orderer (doubt I'm in the first 100 though). We've already waited this long .... I really don't see how a delay of a few more weeks is going to make a difference to the more "casual" end-user like myself.

Give the first 100 to the devs, let them test the apps/emus on the real hardware & then polish it up so that when the rest us join the party everything can be as perfect as it can be. This approach has already been taken with the hardware, why not apply it to the software as well? After all, what's the point of having amazing hardware if the software doesn't work right??

Just my thoughts at them moment!!

 

[ish420]

Sounds like this thread is the real Pandora Panic. XD
Hope you all enjoy your Pandeezzies. I forfeited my Pando when I canceled my order LAST year.

PS. Forget sending the first 100 Pandos to the devs. First come first serve. It's the equivalent of having the die hard supporters camp outside all year only to let the last people in line go first. Bullchips. What are they? Some lowly subjects you can walk all over?

 

[Pleng]

Who get's the second 100?

 

[RajTakhar]

This thread will run on and on and on .... :unsure:

Does anyone know their real place on the errr 'LeaderBoard'

I dont think anyone really does

Back when this first started some of us got order numbers, some of us got date ordered numbers, and some of us were just plain crazy .. there were various attempts at identifying your place in the queue - i guess at the time it was all in the fun of waiting for everything - me I ordered on 02.10.08 and guess I'm somewhere in the top 3000 or so ... all i know is my order was accepted - but not my place in queue

Given the various waves of cancelled, re-ordered, no cancelled, re-order, here are some more orders - is there ever going to be a definative list of the top 100 or so

I'm with Gruso and the others - give the first 75 or so to those who have waited and the rest to Devs

There is never going to be a good or bad way to dish the first 100 - some will be happy some will be sad - its just like the infamous keyboard posts

 

[Zipperwitz]

Give them to the first 100 orders. It already does everything a linux netbook does, which is all it needs to do at launch.

Software comes over time, usually AFTER hardware is released to the public. Why rush to give a few extra weeks to devs? It will just mean another month of fustrating delays when there's all the time in the world for software.

 

[ep0ch]

Would I be the first to say I want to be in this 100? Joking aside I think the first 50 should to go proven devs and the rest on a first come first serve basis. Makes sense that devs get them early so they can quickly fine tune apps whilst mass production starts. The other 50 can do as they please, but hopefully they would feed things back to the community i.e. testing, raising defects, possibly documentation for first time setup and tweakage etc etc.

 

[peca]

My opinion: Ask preorderes by ordering order. If preorderer don't want get his or her Pandora from first 100 serie, then ask other preorderer in queue.

 

[hedwards]

Give them to the first 100 orders. It already does everything a linux netbook does, which is all it needs to do at launch.

Software comes over time, usually AFTER hardware is released to the public. Why rush to give a few extra weeks to devs? It will just mean another month of fustrating delays when there's all the time in the world for software.

Except that typically the platform is completed and thoroughly tested. Craig and the devs are testing them as much as possible, but I don't think it's realistic to assume that the software side of things is going to be in a desirable state just because the hardware is done. From what I gather it's going to be good, but I don't really see what good it is to hand out a hundred Pandoras to people that may or may not be able to help track down and fix any software bugs that were missed during testing.

Trust me, debugging through a third party really isn't the same thing as having ones hands on the device. Additionally, we've been told that the OS probably wasn't going to be release quality, and unless it is, I see no reason to prioritize those that were the most obsessive about hitting f5. Admittedly, that was before most of the delays, but I doubt it's far from truth now.

 

[Schprlock]

After reading a few more pages of this thread, I feel I really have to express my opinion better...
Devs are the most important thing there is when a new platform is launched. There is no point in having the best platform in the world if there is no software support for it.
Having said that, as I mentioned before, I think maybe 50% of us are devs, or at least potential devs. I am a dev, I wrote some software for windows, PocketPC and the GP2X. But I did not even mention that because I think that given the situation, it's not important. I don't think I deserve a Pandora because I am a dev (or potential dev, as I have no plans for writing anything for the Pandora, for now).
We trusted the Pandora team (and still do, don't take me wrong). I put my money on it as soon as I could. I paid instantly by bank transfer when my credit card payment was returned. Because I had been told that us, people who supported the project from day one, would get our Pandoras on a first come, first served basis.
There were lots of problems with the project, as we know, that caused delays. Those problems were just bad luck and out of the control of the Pandora team. But now, if the delivery is delayed because the rules have been changed, that would make it the Pandora team's fault. We trust you and I feel that trust should be honoured. Because even with all the devs in the world, if we wouldn't have trusted the project it would still have failed.

Please don't take me wrong, I know how important the devs are and I am infinitly grateful for the free software I got for my GP32, GP2X F100 and F200, the Dingoo, and my next console, the Pandora. I just don't think it is fair to change the rules.

I don't even think I am in the first 100. I would have better chances of getting my Pandora early if I acted as a dev... I have a blog about the Pandora (http://pandorapt.wordpress.com), I am mentioning the Pandora in my Masters thesis, and plan to use it on my PHD thesis (which was presented already), for which I will develop.

I just feel that the rules were expressed a long time ago and it is not fair to change them now.

If possible, the best alternative is to call or mail the first 100 and ask if they don't mind giving their Pandora to the devs. But to change people's place in line without their consent would be the first delay caused by the team, and I really think trust levels would drop.

I hope everybody understands my point of view, because to me it's very clear.
Even if the queue is reordered, I will still support the project in any way I can, but I must say I don't agree with that decision.

 

[Asmo]

The news of actual machines in the hands of 'ordinary' pre-orderers would provide a much needed pressure valve release. Unlike the Devs, these few would probably have the time and inclination to talk effusively about their new toy on the forum, and elsewhere.

 

[darkborn]

I think that some (up to 20?) devices should be distributed strategically all over the world through the continents, regions, countries.
Just look at The Pandora People Map!
There are many gaps to be holed, and I am here at Croatia, for example, alone at whole region.
In return, I will offer promotion at local IT magazines, TV shows etc.
Potential investors to Pandora should be informed about it, for a start.

 

[Kyo]

We were promised that the ones who ordered first would also get it first. I find it outrageous that craig is even considering something else. We spent money on this. We waited almost a year long. Do they think this is not enough? We have programs for the pandora, and they should just ship it to whoever ordered first.

 

[Pleng]

I find it outrageous that craig is even considering something else.

None of Craig's decisions surprise me.

I don't care for any 'this is a community project' arguments. OpenPandora is a business. They're in the game of turning a profit. And, whilst knowing he's on the brink of releasing something to the world which has the potential to change portable computing/gaming as we know it must be frustrating for him, as a business man (presumably a company director) he needs to act a hell of a lot more professionally.