I'm Real Interested In Pandora, But..

[okpoj]

I'm real interested in Pandora, but..

I know nothing about linux. I was reading up on the Pandora, and am real interested in all the capabilities of the machine, the homebrew, the emulators, ect. Do I need to have knowledge to use this product? Or will I be able to learn (easily) as I go.

 

[mali]

The latter:
QUOTE
Or will I be able to learn (easily) as I go.

Pandora's OS will be Newbie-proof

 

[Yigguth]

It can't be more difficult than homebrew on any other device. Basically you just drag and drop the apps you want into the correct directories on your SD card and everything should work.

 

[spaceballs3000]

The latter:
QUOTE
Or will I be able to learn (easily) as I go.

Pandora's OS will be Newbie-proof
Bold statement.
I think there will be enough newbie guides with step by steps instruction when the pandora is released. that newbies mess up their unit, it can be restored back to out-of-box condition. So I guess it will just depend on how patient you are.

 

[mali]

Having followed the OS discussion closely I feel entitled to make this bold statement

 

[spaceballs3000]

Having followed the OS discussion closely I feel entitled to make this bold statement

I haven't followed the OS discussion at all, so that is good to know then

 

[Racemaniac]

I'm real interested in Pandora, but..

I know nothing about linux. I was reading up on the Pandora, and am real interested in all the capabilities of the machine, the homebrew, the emulators, ect. Do I need to have knowledge to use this product? Or will I be able to learn (easily) as I go.

they are making an os that will be easy to use, and certainly for basic things like emulators and other basic functionalities, you can expect it to be pretty simple, and good readmes/guides explaining every step.
ofcourse, maybe once you got it, you'll want to get deeper into the little thing, and then you'de have to get acquainted with linux, but these forums will probably have a lot of info about it, and for other questions google will help you very well. it might take you quite a bit of effort if you're unfamiliar with linux, but if you're willing to do the effort (if you are simply interested in computers, and are willing to learn such things), i think it could be a lot of fun, and really worth it ^^

 

[Rockthesmurf]

I'm real interested in Pandora, but..

I know nothing about linux. I was reading up on the Pandora, and am real interested in all the capabilities of the machine, the homebrew, the emulators, ect. Do I need to have knowledge to use this product? Or will I be able to learn (easily) as I go.

If you want something that works like the PSP, the best thing to get is a PSP. If you are willing to paddle a tiny bit deeper then the Pandora would be an excellent choice for you. A large amount of things *should* 'just work' on the Pandora, making it easy for anyone and everyone to use - however there will be other bits and bobs that require a touch more technical skill to get up and running. All the information you will need to get just about anything up and running will be provided the loving community, either via notes with the release, or information on the forums.

So out of:

i) Do I need to have knowledge to use this product? Or:
ii) Will I be able to learn (easily) as I go.

The answer would be ii. So welcome aboard.

Steve

 

[giovanni]

As mentioned before the OS will have a "drag and drop" system and maybe the application that won't have an installation package can help you in your learning.

P.S: From the most newbie of the forum .

 

[Lorkile]

From what I've read, even if you have no known experience with Linux you should be able to use your Pandora to find the information you need to accomplish what you want and unlike the PSP it will not be a pain to get right into the scene as you don't need to figure out how to get custom firmware or any such thing.

 

[WizardStan]

I'm real interested in Pandora, but..

I know nothing about linux. I was reading up on the Pandora, and am real interested in all the capabilities of the machine, the homebrew, the emulators, ect. Do I need to have knowledge to use this product? Or will I be able to learn (easily) as I go.

You would be surprised at the number of things you're probably using in your daily life that runs linux without you even knowing it. Video recorders and digital cable boxes, routers and printers, media drives and MP3 players. Someone even built a processor with Linux into a toaster, but that was just for a lark.
Point is that there is nothing to fear from Linux: it's just another operating system, and a very capable and flexible one at that. No one worried about getting used to the Wii interface. No one worried about getting used to PS3 or XBox interface. But slap "Linux" in there somewhere, and suddenly people get worried. Just have some faith, the interface will be clean and just as easy to use as any of the other consoles. We've already seen some very promising demos to that effect.

 

[fettouhi]

I'm real interested in Pandora, but..

I know nothing about linux. I was reading up on the Pandora, and am real interested in all the capabilities of the machine, the homebrew, the emulators, ect. Do I need to have knowledge to use this product? Or will I be able to learn (easily) as I go.

You would be surprised at the number of things you're probably using in your daily life that runs linux without you even knowing it. Video recorders and digital cable boxes, routers and printers, media drives and MP3 players. Someone even built a processor with Linux into a toaster, but that was just for a lark.
Point is that there is nothing to fear from Linux: it's just another operating system, and a very capable and flexible one at that. No one worried about getting used to the Wii interface. No one worried about getting used to PS3 or XBox interface. But slap "Linux" in there somewhere, and suddenly people get worried. Just have some faith, the interface will be clean and just as easy to use as any of the other consoles. We've already seen some very promising demos to that effect.


Well put!

Regards

André

 

[PoisonedV]

Embedded linux vs desktop linux really are hardly comparable from the average users viewpoint

 

[WizardStan]

Which is why I was quite against having a full featured desktop like Ubuntu as the official build for the Pandora. Angstrom with Matchbox should be the right mix of power and intuitiveness that a game_console++ requires: make it as simple as the MP3 or media players that use embedded linux without restricting what it can ultimately do. I believe they've mostly been successful at that. We'll know for sure once the final version is built and running.

 

[mali]

Don't confuse the newbies. Ångström will be on the NAND and it will just work out of the box. Ubuntu and all the other alternatives are a different story.

 

[WizardStan]

Yes, but for a time there was talk about making Ubuntu the official OS to be distributed on the NAND at release, not Angstrom. That was the opposition I was talking about. Ubuntu would have, in my opinion, made it too computer like, and really would have scared the newbies away. This way we get the best of both worlds.

 

[Chip]

Yes, but for a time there was talk about making Ubuntu the official OS to be distributed on the NAND at release, not Angstrom.
While we are working with the Ubuntu people to get a port of their desktop OS on the Pandora, there was never any consideration for it to be the default OS. That was never considered as a serious option.

 

[WizardStan]

Yes, but for a time there was talk about making Ubuntu the official OS to be distributed on the NAND at release, not Angstrom.
While we are working with the Ubuntu people to get a port of their desktop OS on the Pandora, there was never any consideration for it to be the default OS. That was never considered as a serious option.

Not from you, from "the community." None of whom could give me an exceptable reason why Ubuntu would make a better default than Angstrom other than name recognition.