My Pandora Questions Thread

[Eliminex]

Well,this is my thread for questions concerning hardware/software of the andora1: :
1) Where can I get the PoverVR SGX demo for the pandora?
2) Will the pandora's touchscreen have pressure sensitivity detection(for example controlling brush sensitivity in gimp)?
3) Will pandora's windowmanager have the possibility to do compositing(well I see for matchbox this doesn't make that much sense but Enlightenment for example) (ofcourse it doesn't have to be compiz )
4)Will there be a pandora emulator for the PC(shame on me :lol: ) or will I be able to run the pandora's OS on my PC?

 

[Mithrildor]

1) Dunno
2) Don't think so.
3) Its opensource , so feel free to code it.
4) Feel free to make one. And if you want something: Beagleboard is a lowcost device with hardware specs close to the pandora.

 

[WizardStan]

Someone with a dev board mentioned that they were able to get pressure data in about a range of about 16 values. I can't remember who or where that was, but it's hopeful. Not exceptionally accurate, with only 16 values, but better than nothing, one assumes.

 

[valhalla]

4) No, there probably won't ever be a pandora emulator for the PC; you may be able to run the OS on qemu arm (not guaranteed to work, and not every piece of hardware is emulated) and you should be able to build a version of pandora's OS that can run on an x86.

For game developement it may be enough to use a common x86 linux installation and code for portability; if you need to test what happens on the real hardware (e.g. for performances) an emulator wouldn't be enough anyway.

 

[Eliminex]

ok questions 1-4 are now solved,but I've also got some more:
5) Will there be a machbox hack that programs like the gimp can have the toolbox window opened the same time as the drawing window(gimp is almost useless if you have to have to switch between the two everytime you change a tool/color/setting :angry: )
6) If you insert a sd card with .pnd files,will you also be able to launch those apps from the commandline?
7) A lot of programs(gimp,abiword,gnumeric..) depend on many gtk/gnome libs. Will they be preinstalled or will they be packed into every .pnd file(useless space comsumption)

 

[lulzfish]

5) I think Matchbox does that anyway. ED showed several windows open at a time, they don't have to be maximized if you don't want them to be.
6) Probably. It would be very strange to go to all the trouble of making a package format and then only be able to use the GUI to launch it.
7) I'm pretty sure the popular toolkits like Qt, GTK, and the associated Glib are in the OS image by default. If not, there should be a way to upgrade it without too much trouble.

 

[Eliminex]

Forgot:
8) What are the pandora's screen dimensions(width and height)?

 

[lulzfish]

Well, the screen is 4.3 inches diagonally, and an 800 by 480 screen with square pixels has a 5 by 3 aspect ratio.

If we apply some trigonometry..

3.687 inches wide by 2.212 inches high.
Of course, it should be in centimeters, but my country is being stupid about this..
roughly 9.366 centimeters wide by 5.619 centimeters high. I say roughly because I used 2.54 cm / inch to convert, but you get the idea.

 

[Eliminex]

I cut this shape out of paper: it looks so small :unsure:
but in the demos the screen is that big ..

well,let's see :rolleyes:

 

[lulzfish]

Yeah, the Pandora seems to be a lot bigger in videos. I have a paper model here and it [the Pandora as a whole] basically looks like a Nintendo DS, but the screen is a bit taller and much wider than the NDS` screen, which is only 4:3 aspect.

Edit: It probably looks big because the Pandora itself is so small, and because the screen really takes up most of the upper half of the case. The speakers are a lot further apart and smaller than on the NDS.

 

[valhalla]

5) I think Matchbox does that anyway. ED showed several windows open at a time, they don't have to be maximized if you don't want them to be.

The videos with multiple open windows used enlightment, not matchbox; in matchbox windows do have to be maximized.

I can't see gimp to be usable on an 800x480 screen anyway, I just hope that there will be some other program for graphics.

 

[gruso]

ok questions 1-4 are now solved
I hope that when you say "solved" you're not referring to Mithrildor's answers. Because they were really crap answers.

 

[fischju2000]

2: Actually, I'm pretty sure it can

 

[lulzfish]

2. Yeah, I thought this was mentioned already.
The Pandora's touchscreen is pressure sensitive to about 16 different levels.
So it's not super-accurate, but it's there, and GIMP might support it eventually.

I'm not really familiar with how Linux will interface with the touchscreen, but I think they'll try to make the pressure sensitivity work.

 

[Mithrildor]

ok questions 1-4 are now solved,but I've also got some more:
5) Will there be a machbox hack that programs like the gimp can have the toolbox window opened the same time as the drawing window(gimp is almost useless if you have to have to switch between the two everytime you change a tool/color/setting :angry: )
6) If you insert a sd card with .pnd files,will you also be able to launch those apps from the commandline?
7) A lot of programs(gimp,abiword,gnumeric..) depend on many gtk/gnome libs. Will they be preinstalled or will they be packed into every .pnd file(useless space comsumption)

5) Make a request or code it yourself. But I think it will be made
6) Ofcourse the command line is just linux without seeing the GUI
7) Most are pre-installed, if not they will be installed with a patch later.