Losing My Love for My Pandora?

[Hồng Thất Công]

Extracted SD, inserted in PC, downloaded latest VICE in PC, inserted the SD back in the Pandora. My "Emulators" menu is now bloated with lots of emulators for Commodore machines nobody uses. 90% people use VICE for C64. I figured out I could edit the PND for keeping C64 only. Downloaded PNDTools. Tried to open VICE.PND in PNDTools. Doesn't work. Doesn't show any error. Followed instructions in the readme.txt for figuring out the error. Repeat trying opening VICE.PND in PNDTools. Shows some kind of error that it can't find don't-remember-what signature or code in the file. Switched off Pandora. Going to sleep.

I am sorry to hear you are having trouble with PNDTools, a program I am developing.

I tried to open the vice.pnd you mentioned and PNDTools indeed fails to open it, but it does print out an error in the log at the bottom of the main window (it might be a good idea to show a message box, which is more prominent, and in fact I have added that to the todo list).

It does not work, because the vice.png is using a filesystem currently not supported by PNDTools. There is currently no way around it, sorry (but this is also an item on my todo list, which is not of much help now obviously).

In general, if you are having a problem with a certain application, it is crucial you contact the author of said application and report it. This is what the Pandora and the community spirit around it is about. By doing that you are really helping out and applications will be improved over time.

I know this seems much to ask, applications should function without bugs or errors, but developers are doing this in their spare time, they can only anticipate so many use-cases and some bugs will always go by unnoticed.

Some software is labelled "beta" for a reason (PNDTools is for example) and to me the Pandora is more about the community than the device itself - developing, helping others out and using/playing go hand in hand really.

To the OP: Yes, I have felt this way. I was really happy with the device after I got it, but after a while I was more disappointed by the poor wifi speed (which makes browsing or downloading new pnds a pain for me) and poor build quality (my case came with a few major cracks already).

The Pandora certainly is far from perfect and things require some patience and tinkering. I think if you are in for only one of emulators/gaming/music/browsing/etc you will be disappointed.

The Pandora is about tinkering, it's a mini pc for on the go, it's about the community and I think in that case the advertising for it is misleading as it focusses on emulators too much. Sure, emulators are a big part, but if you only come for the emulators you might not stay for long.

Fair!  But I think the majority of the Pandora owners got it for emulation like myself.  So the "misleading" is not actually a bad thing as help the Pandora sale which help this community out.  So if you were to not "mislead,"  I can tell you the number of Pandora sold may be cut in half if not more.  If you were to advertise the Pandora as a mini pc for the go, then it will be worse as nowadays people can buy a small laptop or an Ipad for the same price.

 

[Binky]

I personally found dramatic improvements in wifi when I removed the metallic tape holding the wifi antenna (around two pips on the wifi applet).

Any damaged sustained by following my advice is entirely your responsibility; thank you.

 

[cuetzpalin]

Second, the constant battle between trying to find the right settings for each game is a pain as well, even that won't eliminate glitches.

I think we should create a database with the perfect settings. Or just ship a big config file with the pnd of psx rearmed, mupen64 and drastic.

Or adding such info to the Pandora Wiki

 

[ekianjo]

 If you were to advertise the Pandora as a mini pc for the go, then it will be worse as nowadays people can buy a small laptop or an Ipad for the same price.

A small laptop?? Are there small laptops the size of the Pandora? Where?

 

[Binky]

Nanonotes?

Hacked Asian pocket dictionaries?

 

[Cyberworm]

Ever since I got my Pandora I hardly use it. My latest endeavour with it was replacing the screws I kind of ruined myself after opening the case to remove some residue from one of the ABXY buttons. I'm still stuck with a bad wifi (compensated by an adaptor), a red stuck pixel on the screen that won't go away, a case that doesn't quite fit and an operating system on my SD-card that somehow takes ages (>1 min) to boot up. But that's everything I expected when I ordered the Pandora. It will always have a place in my life because it's what I used to write my bachelor thesis about. Once I reduced my PC games backlog somewhat I intend to use it to play all the NES and GBA games I got for buying the 3DS (that ambassador program). The device isn't perfect. As it was said earlier in this thread, it's a jack of all trades, master of none. Just like I am.

 

[andyB911]

I do know how you feel. Tablets (particularly Transformer Prime with keyboard), smart phones, the raspberry pi and other gadgets have temporaily caught my attention.


However,my recent upgrade to the 1 Ghz edition has re-peaked my enthusiasm. There is nothing else quite like it. Community or device.


There are faster phones and tablets,but as Pirelli said....


Power is nothing without control.


And with OP you have literall keyboard and gaming control plus control over what you do with it as open.


My advice is to stick with it and enjoy the tinkering. The journey is as important as the arrival.

 

[Trezker]

While I like running a little emulation. I'm not nostalgic enough to find pleasure in running C64 and SEGA all the time.

My greatest pleasure is original native games or ported games.

The most played game on my pandora so far is FreeHeroes 2. And second place goes to Brogue.

I would really like to see a port of GTA, the first one. I installed the original on my desktop yesterday and it was very fun to play.

Maybe it can run in wine, but I would much prefer a project like OpenTTD which opens up possibilities to expand and create variations increasing the replayability of the game.

There are many old DOS and early windows games I would really like to see follow the OpenTTD model.

And I would also like to see original projects that are specifically designed for the Pandoras controls.

 

[Klumpen]

And I would also like to see original projects that are specifically designed for the Pandoras controls.

PewPew2 and Super Geometry Wars seem to be made for these controls,

although the first one is a bit buggy and unstable, it does not crash anymore since i got my Ghz-OP though.

But yeay, GTA1/GTA2 would be great, but you would have to be able to save at any point.

 

[PowerGod]

But yeay, GTA1/GTA2 would be great, but you would have to be able to save at any point.

I was writing the same thing !! Those levels were soooo long to finish in one play session 

 

[b_o_b]

I don't love my Pandora, I just use it when I need or want to. I can happily not use it for a few weeks and then start using it again. I am currently starting using it more, because I want to stop using more than 3 gadgets/productivity tools (including my Android Phone). 

I tend to forget to charge devices and even lose track of them, so having less of them charged helps. 

The day a better gadget is created that runs Linux and has similar features and community (developer support) I will gladly say goodbye to my Pandora  I agree with owners who say it has some issues and there are devices that can do certain tasks better for less.

That said, even with its issues no other device is as versatile as this one in such a small package. It is the Swiss Army knife among the gadgets.  If you only need a scissor you shouldn't buy it though and if you already did you should sell it to someone who will appreciate it.    

 

[andmaz777]

Initially the Pandora was marketed as a £200 ultimate portable emulation device - yes it had a keyboard and Linux etc etc but emulation was the main selling point.


At that price any shortcoming in emulators could be overlooked - of course later the price had to increase significantly especially as Craig realised just how good it was at the things other than emulation.


At the current price point I can still over look short comings as to be fair the main emulators are pretty much amazing! However, the average Joe just wanting emulation has to pay a very high premium albeit you do get the best overall emulation experience.


Pandora is now very niche and it would take a return to at the very least the £200 original price to bring it out of that bracket so it may as well stay we're it is now as an amazing device thats a jack of all trades and master of some.

 

[cuetzpalin]

A small laptop?? Are there small laptops the size of the Pandora? Where?

In Asia, especially in Japan.

Not exactly the size of the Pandora, but thinner and slightly bigger:

• http://m.techradar.com/news/software/operating-systems/mobile-computing/laptops/computing-components/processors/fujitsu-580g-umpc-to-hit-japan-next-month-133949
  
• http://www.umpcportal.com/2009/12/long-awaited-umid-m2-umpc-appears-as-onkyo-bx-in-japan/
• https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ds1va2YeJpA?feature=oembed
• Want more?

Looks like Japan is a nice place to look for investors/manufacturers/customers.

 

[cuetzpalin]

LOL, Ekianjo, I've just noted that your profile says you live in Japan... I'm not saying I'd choose any of those UMPCs over my Pandora, though.

 

[ekianjo]

LOL, Ekianjo, I've just noted that your profile says you live in Japan... I'm not saying I'd choose any of those UMPCs over my Pandora, though.

I know sme of them and I have seen and tried them.Most of them are utter crap with no manufacturer support after 6 months. No way it can compare to the Pandora.

 

[cuetzpalin]

I know sme of them and I have seen and tried them.Most of them are utter crap with no manufacturer support after 6 months. No way it can compare to the Pandora.

Really? Well, they are Windowz... no wonder why they are crappy. I remember seeing a japanese tourist using a sony UMPC some years ago, running XP.

(Back to the original topic) I'd have to agree with everybody here, the pandora is not a device for the general public.

I think it all depends on what games you want to play the most (considering you say you bought it mainly for emulation), I use it mainly for gaming, but my main interests were graphic adventures, and the Pandora is the KING for ScummVM emulation. I'm also playing some of the older, classic games.

Even if there isn't (yet) a repository for the best configuration for every game, I'm pretty sure you can ask here for the best config/emu and get the required information to play it as smooth as possible.

I remember someone asking for a proper NES emulator, and Notaz ported one in matter of hours. This is a unique community, making the Pandora even more unique.

 

[ekianjo]

I know sme of them and I have seen and tried them.Most of them are utter crap with no manufacturer support after 6 months. No way it can compare to the Pandora.

Really? Well, they are Windowz... no wonder why they are crappy. I remember seeing a japanese tourist using a sony UMPC some years ago, running XP.

Not only windows. There was a minipc, Pandora-sized, running Ubuntu, a couple of years ago. I almost bought it at the time, but the controls where crap and it was a little pricey. The mouse was just a small optic block with no precision whatsoever.

Yeah, Sony made a relatively nice portable computer to run XP, but it was a little too big, and the keyboard was awful to use. And XP ran very slowly on it.

Japanese manufacturers tend to put tons of crap on the market and expect it to sell somehow. They hire people with MBAs who know shit about design, marketing and consumer expectations. I am rather amazed Sony (and others) have not gone bankrupt by now, seeing the number of shitty products they marketed over the past 10 years.

 

[cuetzpalin]

I know sme of them and I have seen and tried them.Most of them are utter crap with no manufacturer support after 6 months. No way it can compare to the Pandora.

Really? Well, they are Windowz... no wonder why they are crappy. I remember seeing a japanese tourist using a sony UMPC some years ago, running XP.

Not only windows. There was a minipc, Pandora-sized, running Ubuntu, a couple of years ago. I almost bought it at the time, but the controls where crap and it was a little pricey. The mouse was just a small optic block with no precision whatsoever.

Yeah, Sony made a relatively nice portable computer to run XP, but it was a little too big, and the keyboard was awful to use. And XP ran very slowly on it.

Japanese manufacturers tend to put tons of crap on the market and expect it to sell somehow. They hire people with MBAs who know shit about design, marketing and consumer expectations. I am rather amazed Sony (and others) have not gone bankrupt by now, seeing the number of shitty products they marketed over the past 10 years.

It's gonna be very interesting to see how well does the Pandora in Japan.

 

[_wb_]

But that's everything I expected when I ordered the Pandora. It will always have a place in my life because it's what I used to write my bachelor thesis about. 

You wrote your bachelor thesis about the Pandora? Cool! Can we have a link?

@cuetzpalin: those other ultra-small laptops/netbooks are not in the same league as the Pandora afaik. Tablets certainly aren't. I own an iPad and a Sony Vaio P, but I rarely use them, because 1) they're not nearly as pocketable, even though they're both thinner than my Pandora, 2) the iPad doesn't have any physical controls, and the Vaio has a nice keyboard but a bit too small for real 10-fingered typing and too big / not designed for thumb typing. Neither can easily be used as a handheld (i.e. held and operated with two hands, without needing a table or a lap). Also the closedness of the iOS environment sucks (I suppose this is better with Android tablets, though both iOS and Android still feel way too much like a dumbed-down walled garden to me), and while the iPad battery life is OK, the Vaio P's battery life is pathetic (as one would expect from an x86 cpu). Finally, while tablets are cheap (they're a quite simple product after all, and they get mass-produced in huge quantities in huge factories with bad working conditions), the Vaio P, which I bought in Japan by the way (in the Electric Town area of Tokyo which ekianjo wrote about recently), cost me about twice as much as my Pandora.

 

[ekianjo]

cuetzpalin, on 30 Mar 2013 - 15:35, said:

ekianjo, on 30 Mar 2013 - 13:55, said:

cuetzpalin, on 30 Mar 2013 - 13:47, said:

ekianjo, on 30 Mar 2013 - 11:12, said:


I know sme of them and I have seen and tried them.Most of them are utter crap with no manufacturer support after 6 months. No way it can compare to the Pandora.

Really? Well, they are Windowz... no wonder why they are crappy. I remember seeing a japanese tourist using a sony UMPC some years ago, running XP.

Not only windows. There was a minipc, Pandora-sized, running Ubuntu, a couple of years ago. I almost bought it at the time, but the controls where crap and it was a little pricey. The mouse was just a small optic block with no precision whatsoever.


Yeah, Sony made a relatively nice portable computer to run XP, but it was a little too big, and the keyboard was awful to use. And XP ran very slowly on it.


Japanese manufacturers tend to put tons of crap on the market and expect it to sell somehow. They hire people with MBAs who know shit about design, marketing and consumer expectations. I am rather amazed Sony (and others) have not gone bankrupt by now, seeing the number of shitty products they marketed over the past 10 years.

It's gonna be very interesting to see how well does the Pandora in Japan.

Indeed. But don't get your hopes too high up. There are lots of products fighting for attention in Japan, and it's a Windows/iPad/iPhone world here. Linux is known, but not very well supported by local developers.