Newsletter Received.

[Tobriand]

Yep, got it here, too. Quite a while back, actually

 

[.Gogeta§§J4BR.]

just a quick question, what are the shipping options for me? I'm from Brazil, São Paulo SP (03337-060)
regular mail is just too slow, I might be getting DHL or Fedex, I don't know

and btw, how many emails have been sent?

 

[timofonic]

Craig, can you give more details about distribution in Spain? Do you mean Pandora will be distributed in Hardcore Gamer after selling the 3000? Will Hardcore Gamer be an official or exclusive Pandora distributor?

 

[craigix]

Yes, Hardcore gamer will be the Spanish distributor.

The first 3000 need to be ordered via us for us to pay for all the development costs.

After than Hardcore gamer will be the regular Spanish distributor and supporter of the Pandora, including the initial preorders (supported via us of course).

 

[Pinballwzd]

Got mine @ 5:46, Vancouver, B.C. Canada.

Just curious Craig, how many e-mails went out ??

D)

 

[Yamara]

It could be that there are so many of you on the mailing list that the email is being registered as junk mail worldwide

There are many many thousands of people on the list. I guess we should have made a email check system. I suppose we were not ready for the amount of people. I dunno. It's a funny situation. We are just regular guys working on this project which has become huge.

We just need to get the news out there some other way I guess
Nataku's email could be greylisted. It's not uncommon to require a greylisting delay of anywhere from 1 minute to 4 hours. I signed up twice (just in case of that same problem). Both servers have different rules for greylisting and spamassassin, and both received it. One server has stringent rules requiring proper host name lookup and matching HELO, and a few other things (basically requiring proper mail rules).

On one it received a spam score of 0.328, the other 2.9. 2.9 is starting to get a teensy bit high. Unfortunately that's the server that doesn't report *why* it's flagged that score. Still, all this suggests most people should get delivery, except with white listers or extremely draconian spam rules.

As far as quantity sent out causing the problem, that seems unlikely as it appears (from the mail I received) that each mail was sent individually to each person (otherwise you'd have a mile-long To header, or we'd have been bcc'd). As long as your server doesn't choke on large quantities messages sent out at once, it shouldn't matter. And really, that's what mail queues are for.

I'm not an expert on email though. Perhaps others have suggestions in this regard?

 

[FRZ]

We will be making new video posts before the 30th yes.

GUI is top of the list

Fantastic.

And yes, I got my email, NYC 8:52 PM Eastern Time.

This is all great news! I expect the first 3000 to sell a bit faster now that I know that the next batch won't come until 2009! Would it be possible to allow ordering from the next batch before 2009 if you know how many you'll make, and then just ship them when they're ready in 09? Either way is fine by me...Keep up the good work!

edit:whoa, how did I never notice that you could resize the quick reply box...

You do realize that 09 is only a month away from shipping date of the first batch right?

 

[AireTamStorm]

Very nice, well thought out letter. Can't wait to see the actual preorder mail ^_^.

 

[polkunus]

is this email supposed to be a secret of some sort? i didnt get it. and i was lurking since the beggining of 08 and signed up this summer.

 

[Nataku418]

If anyone would like to PM or post the letter, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.

 

[polkunus]

(deleted by me old info...)
thanx

 

[Rivroner]

Yes, Hardcore gamer will be the Spanish distributor.

The first 3000 need to be ordered via us for us to pay for all the development costs.

After than Hardcore gamer will be the regular Spanish distributor and supporter of the Pandora, including the initial preorders (supported via us of course).

Thank you very much for the explanation

 

[quartercast]

PM's sent

 

[mechanizeddeath]

Dang, I missed this momentous occasion as I was down at the pub!

Oh well, thank goodness for these forums! Got the email at 8:49PM here in Grand Rapids, MI!

 

[craigix]

For the number which went out, well, I hope we will be sending over 10,000 on the 30th, put it that way

Come on, sign up everyone, we are not going to sell your email address

 

[mechanizeddeath]

For the number which went out, well, I hope we will be sending over 10,000 on the 30th, put it that way

Come on, sign up everyone, we are not going to sell your email address

Wha... 10,000?

Oh my... Guess I'll be tethered to a computer on the 30th after all!

 

[Prometheus]

Got mine too. Thanks, el Craig. Very much looking forward to the 30th - good to see that it appears to be pretty much set-in-stone, now.

Pretty much? I saw the email as a direct and final confirmation, which is good.

Well, so did I, to be honest. I only said "pretty much" for fear of somehow magically jinxing something, I guess. :lol:

We will be making new video posts before the 30th yes.

GUI is top of the list

Looking forward to this muchly, too. Thanks again for the update, Craig.

 

[Sturatt]

i just signed up for the newsletter.. would someone mind posting it or pming it to me?

thanks

 

[FRZ]

i just signed up for the newsletter.. would someone mind posting it or pming it to me?

thanks

Hello Everyone, Craig here,

Thank you all for signing up to the openPandora.org newsletter, this project has been going
on for an amazing and exhausting 2 years and is finally reaching the launch. It's been a very
long time - but with your help we have produced the most powerful, cutting edge handheld in
the world:

* ARM Cortex-A8 600Mhz+ CPU running Linux
* 430-MHz TMS320C64x+ DSP Core
* PowerVR SGX OpenGL 2.0 ES compliant 3D hardware
* 800x480 4.3inch 16.7 million colours touchscreen LCD
* Wifi 802.11b/g, Bluetooth & High Speed USB 2.0 Host
* Dual SDHC card slots & SVideo TV output
* Dual Analogue and Digital gaming controls
* 43 button QWERTY and numeric keypad
* Around 10+ Hours battery life
* GUI: gMenu, various X based desktops, Ubuntu etc. or make your own.

If you have not had the chance to see some of the videos we have posted, we have included
some of the highlights here, oh, and we will be posting more videos before the preorder date.

Pandora Prototype overview (Emus, Quake etc.): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0YGgQ3S_X8
Ubuntu on the OMAP3 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i9cWOK1spw
Amiga Emulator on a Pandora prototype: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwuI6_zCjxY
The custom made analogue controller: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEdJ2V7ltxg
Pandora devboard arcade compilation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbPQJUOsQBQ
OMAP3 Graphics demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evJ0Vr8LjYk

See more and get up to date via our blog at: http://openpandora.org/blog.php

The preorder date for the Pandora is the 30th of September, the Pandora will start shipping
at the end of November.

The first batch will be limited to 3000 units worldwide. The next batch will be made in
2009.

Orders will be on a first come first served basis. If demand is too high we will start to
limit the orders to one Pandora per person, although any multiple orders recieved before
that would still be honoured.

The price is $329.99 / £199.99 (Inc VAT) / E249.99 (Inc VAT).

Anyone from anywhere in the world can order a Pandora, and we have special distribution
arrangements for USA, Canada, Spain, UK, Ireland, Germany & Turkey.

You can pay via US$, £GPB or Euro.

Spanish orders must be ordered via the UK but the shipping charge will be normal internal
Spanish rates, after this Hardcore Gamer will be the Spanish distributor.

We will also be setting up an affiliate system, we are offering a version for news sites and
a version for you, the regular customer, if you want to promote the Pandora to your friends.

If you run a news site please get in touch so we can work with you in advance on promotion.

As many of you know we have made the Pandora and done all the work on a tiny budget, so we
need your help to spread news and sell the Pandora, this is a system made by the users, we hope
it can be sold by you guys too.

If you run a news site please post news about the Pandora and the history behind it, join
our affiliate system so we can work together to promote it. There are no middle men with
this system, you will be speaking directly to us, we hope this is a unique situation and
will work out well.

Developers, Linux guys, hackers - we will be putting up everything you need to know over the
next month - join the dev forum at www.gp32x.de

That goes for everyone else too - if you want to ask something or get involved join us at the
forum - www.gp32x.de/board - but remember to read the FAQ first!

There will be another newsletter on the 30th with ordering information, but first we would
like to say thinks to you all for all your input, dedication to the project, ideas, arguments,
bitching, emails of support, news posts, help and everything else.

You can be sure we will look after all you preorder people in the best possible way and all of
you will be able to email or phone us directly - see you on the 30th!

Thanks,

Craig & the http://www.OpenPandora.org team.

 

[Soulkiller]

SPOILER ALERT!

This is a copy of the e-mail for those of you guys who aren't receiving it. If you don't want to see it yet DON'T READ IT

EDIT: Aw damn, beat me too it