No prototypes for GamesCom, but a Wifi Chip and a Pyra in the dark!

[Kev2442]

I agree with you, Grench. I'd happily pay more for the Pyra to be futureproof.

But the one thing most of us are missing is that it's not about the final price.

It is about wether ED can pay upfront for the added 14k€.

We should wait for the amount of preorders to decide. Then we'd have an idea of the demand and how much ED'll have in advance for the production.

 

[levi]

Put in the fastest >=16GB NAND chip that the project can acquire.

For what purpose?  Are you planning to put user files on there, alongside the OS?  I'm not sure if it can be partitioned like SD cards, so a secondary OS would have to be chrooted or otherwise hacked into the base filesystem.  Even on x86 my OS currently takes up less than 5GB for a fully-featured desktop install.

 

[A2000]

Hi together,

I had a visit to the Gamescom yesterday (only purpose to see the Dragonbox booth). I was really impressed by the speed of the Pyra. ED showed me some image operation with Gimp. The Pyra (devboard) was connected to a big screen and one could definitely work with it like with a desktop computer. Before that I had the chance to lay hands on the 3D print of the case (photo has been shown by ED here on the boards). I pressed the buttons (not so stiff as the Pandora's keys) and could compare the case's dimension to a Pandora (Slightly bigger as everyone knows, but it easier to get a feeling for it if you can touch it).

I also was told that the PCBs did arrive and will get populated in the next weeks. So here we go...

Just forgot: 5 GHz for me.

 

[levi]

Does the demo case have a PCB installed (I mean peripheral/main board for the buttons to press against)?

 

[Wrath Of Khan]

Yup. Prototype in august. Looking forward to that.

 

[rygD]

Yup. Prototype in august. Looking forward to that.

Preorders in September, Pyra in my hands in two months?

 

[EvilDragon]

Nope, not two months It's two months alone to produce the moulds and we don't have the leadtime of all parts yet. I won't give any fixed date, but at least it shouldn't be too far then.

 

[Christian Berger]

I'd prefer 5 GHz, the difference is irrelevant for home users where both works just fine, but then again at home I can use a desktop computer or laptop.

The value of the Pyra lies in mobile computing and there you often face highly congested 2,4 GHz networks. 5 GHz usually works much better in such situations because of it's increased capacity.

That said, there are cheap and tiny 5GHz USB WLAN adapters out there so it's probably not a big issue.

 

[danielo515]

That said, there are cheap and tiny 5GHz USB WLAN adapters out there so it's probably not a big issue.

Oh, no, really, that again?

Ed, please do not include anything with the pyra, just make it a cool board like Raspberry Pi is, but don't forget to add a bunch of usb ports. At the end there is a good small usb version of everything.

 

[Alperoot]

Nope, not two months It's two months alone to produce the moulds and we don't have the leadtime of all parts yet. I won't give any fixed date, but at least it shouldn't be too far then.

More than two months? (Ok, It's less than the Pandora but)...

 

[ekianjo]

That said, there are cheap and tiny 5GHz USB WLAN adapters out there so it's probably not a big issue.

Oh, no, really, that again?
Ed, please do not include anything with the pyra, just make it a cool board like Raspberry Pi is, but don't forget to add a bunch of usb ports. At the end there is a good small usb version of everything.

Why don't you make your own machine instead of whining constantly about things you want ?

 

[danielo515]

That said, there are cheap and tiny 5GHz USB WLAN adapters out there so it's probably not a big issue.

Oh, no, really, that again?
Ed, please do not include anything with the pyra, just make it a cool board like Raspberry Pi is, but don't forget to add a bunch of usb ports. At the end there is a good small usb version of everything.

Why don't you make your own machine instead of whining constantly about things you want ?

Who is whining or asking for anything? I'm just tired of the same "go for an usb" stuff.

 

[WizardStan]

Who is whining or asking for anything? I'm just tired of the same "go for an usb" stuff.

You are whining. You are the very definition of whining. Whine: complain in a feeble or petulant way.The Pyra cannot include everything people want. Cannot. Impossible. Never going to happen. It does have a lot of features though, so many features, a very very unique feature set, things that make it very different from anything else currently on the market. One of those features is two full sized USB meant for expansion of features that people wanted but EvilDragon could not justify or find a way to include. Saying "you can always use USB" is not settling or whatever, it's a recognition that you can't always get what you want, while also touting one of its major features: expandability. Try finding a phone you can plug a TV receiver into. You can't. But with the Pyra "you can always use USB" makes it possible!

 

[Haraldur]

The "whining" is not entirely unjustified. As a pocket device, keeping all but the smallest USB-items semi-permanently inserted is intolerable, so for features that are envisioned to be in use quite often, or whose use would be significantly hindered by fiddling with USB connectors every time (e.g. taking snapshots with a camera, and most other things that may be done "on the move"), there is great value in having the feature in-built. Of course, some things cannot be included for reasons of cost, (small) niche use, space etc., and arguments about the tradeoffs fill threads of many pages. Within these threads, like Godwin's Law, it seems to be inevitable that someone will say something like "just attach [an X] with USB", which can be really annoying. Why? Firstly, it is patronising, as if the other was not aware of the USB-slots (or what they are). Secondly, it is dismissive (particularly the "just" part), as (usually) it ignores the (possibly implicit) argument that there is great value in not needing to attach further items to a pocket device -- it is a non-argument, a space-filler, frustrating those looking to be convinced by (or to refute) substantive arguments.

Essentially, repetitive and/or unsupported imperatives like "just use USB [X]" can be read as "I know best and your desires have no value".

Note that I would not trade away a USB port for any currently missing feature, as it would be too valuable to lose.

 

[danielo515]

The "whining" is not entirely unjustified. As a pocket device, keeping all but the smallest USB-items semi-permanently inserted is intolerable, so for features that are envisioned to be in use quite often, or whose use would be significantly hindered by fiddling with USB connectors every time (e.g. taking snapshots with a camera, and most other things that may be done "on the move"), there is great value in having the feature in-built. Of course, some things cannot be included for reasons of cost, (small) niche use, space etc., and arguments about the tradeoffs fill threads of many pages. Within these threads, like Godwin's Law, it seems to be inevitable that someone will say something like "just attach [an X] with USB", which can be really annoying. Why? Firstly, it is patronising, as if the other was not aware of the USB-slots (or what they are). Secondly, it is dismissive (particularly the "just" part), as (usually) it ignores the (possibly implicit) argument that there is great value in not needing to attach further items to a pocket device -- it is a non-argument, a space-filler, frustrating those looking to be convinced by (or to refute) substantive arguments.


Essentially, repetitive and/or unsupported imperatives like "just use USB [X]" can be read as "I know best and your desires have no value".


Note that I would not trade away a USB port for any currently missing feature, as it would be too valuable to lose.

Thanks for your understanding and for expressing what I would like to say. I will never express it as good as you did.

 

[fusion_power]

Nope, not two months It's two months alone to produce the moulds and we don't have the leadtime of all parts yet. I won't give any fixed date, but at least it shouldn't be too far then.

Then better start with these molds as soon as possible. Case & Keymat designs are finished, correct?

 

[WizardStan]

Essentially, repetitive and/or unsupported imperatives like "just use USB [X]" can be read as "I know best and your desires have no value"

Just because it can be doesn't mean it should be. In the absence of a feature the alternative is not having it: telling the person requesting the feature that it is easy to use a USB device is perfectly valid.What would you prefer? "Yup, that'd be a nice feature. Too bad there isn't any possible way of getting it. If only there were some kind of universal serial communication protocol that we could leverage to add functionality beyond what is currently possible. To the best of my knowledge such a thing does not exist. Too bad, you'll have to do without."

 

[F_Slim]

It kind of renders any argument for any possible feature irrelevant though. It's like saying there is no need to have it, which frustrates people who feel that there is a need for it. Having to use a USB-stick instead always has several downsides.

 

[Haraldur]

One of my points is that, given the audience of this forum, one should expect that almost all readers know the basic uses of a USB slot.  That is, on this forum, saying "the function can be achieved by using a USB device" is a truism, something so obvious that it is not worth mentioning -- unless the target of the remark is ignorant and/or stupid, so the communication of the remark can be insulting if the target is neither ignorant nor stupid.

A: "I want a house with a garden".

B: "Gardens are expensive, an inefficient use of space and a niche pursuit not worthy of consideration in our housing plan (and invite snooping by aerial drones); you can visit parks instead."

A: "But parks are not the same."[/contrived_analogy]

 

[iArnold]

We do not need to Pyra to be futureproof, we need a reason to buy its successor too! ;-)