How does Pyra's OS differ from that of a standard Linux PC?

[Spirit]

So, before I purchase my Pyra I would like to know if there is anything I can do on a standard PC that I can't do on a Pyra. Run games, certain apps, ect.

I am big on gaming and I am curious as to whether I can play Steam games such as Garry's Mod or some lower end games. Not on the topic of spec requirements but in terms of OS and driver compatibility. In the case of Minecraft, would the standard Linux version work or would I need a dedicated version? There was a thread about that but this wasn't mentioned, to my knowledge anyhow.

I also want to know, what programs would I need to begin coding some programs of my own and what language is recommended for making programs for the Pyra, or anything for that matter x3

I can't wait for the release!

 

[DaMummy]

It differs in the sense that pyra is ARM while most desktops are x86.

 

[Spirit]

It differs in the sense that pyra is ARM while most desktops are x86.

So what would be the difference in compatibility between ARM and x86? Pardon if I seem dumb as a rock.

 

[FelixNemis]

It differs in the sense that pyra is ARM while most desktops are x86.

This.
Which means that although the OS and programs are the same, they need to be compiled specifically for ARM.
So as to whether or not something will run on the Pyra it depends. Minecraft, for instance is a java program, so it runs in the java virtual machine, which is already working on ARM, so it by extension also works (the graphics acceleration stuff is more complicated, but if I remember correctly it works with glshim).
For things that would need to be recompiled (e. g. most steam games) they can be run with a significant performance hit by emulating an x86 processor (like QEMU or exagear)
Or, if the source is available, it can be recompiled for ARM, which is how most of the programs in the pandora repo were made

 

[Spirit]

It differs in the sense that pyra is ARM while most desktops are x86.

This.
Which means that although the OS and programs are the same, they need to be compiled specifically for ARM.
So as to whether or not something will run on the Pyra it depends. Minecraft, for instance is a java program, so it runs in the java virtual machine, which is already working on ARM, so it by extension also works (the graphics acceleration stuff is more complicated, but if I remember correctly it works with glshim).
For things that would need to be recompiled (e. g. most steam games) they can be run with a significant performance hit by emulating an x86 processor (like QEMU or exagear)
Or, if the source is available, it can be recompiled for ARM, which is how most of the programs in the pandora repo were made

So I can emulate an x86 CPU and I should be able to run them?

 

[Silent-Hunter]

Yes, but I doubt gmod will run.

 

[Spirit]

Yes, but I doubt gmod will run.

The specs seem much to low for it, yes. It will likely be limited to older games. Know of any? Not that SNES emulators aren't good enough!

 

[rygD]

Yes, but I doubt gmod will run.

The specs seem much to low for it, yes. It will likely be limited to older games. Know of any? Not that SNES emulators aren't good enough!

It depends on the game.  There are some recent games on the Pandora, so I am sure the same will be true with Pyra (looking forward to Eldritch, and I may buy ptitSeb a couple games if he thinks they can be ported).  Obviously you probably won't get any AAA new titles with their fancy graphics and such.

 

[TrashyMG]

Yes, but I doubt gmod will run.

yeah hard to say without full 3D acceleration working yet, but I doubt it x86 emulation while it's impressive with commercial solutions like Exagear Desktop, it's still a tad too slow for something with the Half-Life 2 engine. Unless of course Valve decides to port their Linux stuff to ARM, which I doubt.

Yes, but I doubt gmod will run.

The specs seem much to low for it, yes. It will likely be limited to older games. Know of any? Not that SNES emulators aren't good enough!

Honestly if the source code was open so that it theoretically could be ported to ARM, the hardware should be able to handle it, however I doubt Valve would do that anytime soon.  While 3D drivers are not working yet on the devboards, I have had some promising results with Exagear Desktop and windows games (via WINE) run from the early to the mid 2000's maybe newer depending on the complexity of the games. 


EDIT: Also getting to the original question about the OS, it's essentially Debian Jessie with an added repository to handle the hardware specific things relating to the device. However like stated it's ARM vs x86, but if you install x86 Debian Jessie on you PC it's very much the same experience for the end user... 

 

[Spirit]

Yes, but I doubt gmod will run.

yeah hard to say without full 3D acceleration working yet, but I doubt it x86 emulation while it's impressive with commercial solutions like Exagear Desktop, it's still a tad too slow for something with the Half-Life 2 engine. Unless of course Valve decides to port their Linux stuff to ARM, which I doubt.

Yes, but I doubt gmod will run.

The specs seem much to low for it, yes. It will likely be limited to older games. Know of any? Not that SNES emulators aren't good enough!

Honestly if the source code was open so that it theoretically could be ported to ARM, the hardware should be able to handle it, however I doubt Valve would do that anytime soon.  While 3D drivers are not working yet on the devboards, I have had some promising results with Exagear Desktop and windows games (via WINE) run from the early to the mid 2000's maybe newer depending on the complexity of the games. 
 

Perhaps with wine I can give FATE a shot. I'm not entirely sure how this all works though. I've done it all before with my desktop but I don't know how greatly ARM differs

 

[Hồng Thất Công]

Pyra SoC is changeable.  Maybe ED and his team will make an x86 version of the SoC board in couple years and all your problem will go away.  But you have to buy ARM Pyra first to support the project

 

[benoitb]

Due to it being ARM, some closed source program won't work. Examples that I do usually run on my linux laptop and won't run on the Pyra: Skype and Google Earth.
I wonder if an Android compatibility layer (like they have in Jolla and Blackberry) could be used for those so they run in Linux and not in a whole-Android OS.

 

[Spirit]

Due to it being ARM, some closed source program won't work. Examples that I do usually run on my linux laptop and won't run on the Pyra: Skype and Google Earth.
I wonder if an Android compatibility layer (like they have in Jolla and Blackberry) could be used for those so they run in Linux and not in a whole-Android OS.

That's a curious theory.

 

[edgex004]

Skype has been shown to work in exagear. The main concern to have about exagear is performance. I can't quite remember, but I think exagear had a calculation with regards to how an x86 application should perform in their emulation evironment in comparison to a native arm compile, and the performance was in the 70-80% range. I'm confident Skype will work out, but any program requiring more than a mid range computer from 2000 will have questionable performance. Will just need to test them to find out!

 

[TrashyMG]

And Google Earth only requirements for Linux are the LSB libraries, so it may be platform independent and can run...

 

[Binky]

Meanwhile, Marble works quite well, and can be compiled natively.

 

[Silent-Hunter]

There's a pidgin plugin for skype, but only for basic IM, no file transfer, picture share, voice, or video.

 

[Glyph Reader]

There's a pidgin plugin for skype, but only for basic IM, no file transfer, picture share, voice, or video.

That requires Skype to be running though...

 

[benoitb]

Meanwhile, Marble works quite well, and can be compiled natively.

It's been ages since I last tried it. I will download it today on my laptop.

 

[Silent-Hunter]

There's a pidgin plugin for skype, but only for basic IM, no file transfer, picture share, voice, or video.

That requires Skype to be running though...

Not any more. It uses Skype for Web now.