On Board Storage

[Javacat]

Just wondering whether I have missed some information anywhere on how much memory will be built into the Pandora.

Also, what will be the 'standard' way of managing files on the Pandora? Will it be like the GP2X where people normally store all of the applications and ROMS/user files, etc on their memory card? Alternatively will the 'standard' method be to store all of the programs and config files on the actual device and then just have user files on the SD cards?

 

[Squidge]

It's always best to keep stuff that your going to change yourself (eg. emulators, roms, etc) on a SD card. The reason for that is when these fail, they can be easily replaced. If you were to use the internal memory instead, theres not much you can when it fails other than to replace the chip which will be a costly exercise.

 

[MWeston]

Pandora has 2Gb....er I mean 256MB of FLASH memory on board

This would be for more static data and code but there can be a user space that you can store programs that are stable. Rather than having multi-gigs of FLASH, the second card slot was introduced. It offers a lot more flexibility, keeps the cost down and doesn't limit you to a certain capacity as card size continues to grow all the time.

 

[Tobriand]

On the other hand, internal would be very useful for a few office apps, the browser (if not the browser cache - not sure how that's going to be dealt with; we'll have to see), media players, etc.

And perhaps a few basic games where, if anything went wrong, you'd not lose saves and whatnot.

256mb should be plenty for that, although I must admit, if I end up using OpenOffice, I suspect that would take quite a chunk of that, given that the installer (for Windows) is ~70mb iirc.

 

[Clad]

Actually I agree with Squidge. Although flash memory can live for a long time, even when intensivly used, it's MTBF (mean time before failure) depends of how much it's used, and may be shorter than the rest of the hardware if used too much.

Putting everything on SD cards would be best for the device's life expectancy.

 

[Javacat]

Thanks for the info. I can certainly see why the machine has got two card slots now, considering how versatile it should be and the (somewhat) limited amount of space available on it. Guess I'm gonna need a 2GB card for all the software and then the largest I can afford for all of the games n stuff (SDHC FTW!!!).

 

[Karel Jansens]

256mb should be plenty for that, although I must admit, if I end up using OpenOffice, I suspect that would take quite a chunk of that, given that the installer (for Windows) is ~70mb iirc.

Go for something simple, like the Abiword/gnumeric combo, or SIAG Office. And maybe a standalone presentation app that plays nicely with TV output (I personally like KeyJnote). OpenOffice.org really is overkill for this device, not to mention that all those toolbars will make you think you're typing in a letterbox. A very tiny letterbox.

Edit: Mentioning KeyJnote made me think that adding a Python runtime to the base setup might not be a bad idea.

 

[Clad]

Edit: Mentioning KeyJnote made me think that adding a Python runtime to the base setup might not be a bad idea.

Why ? It'll come with a package system that will most probably manage dependencies. There is no point in having something installed that you won't use.

 

[Alex.]

If you install something from a package and it will need to install dependencies, will it need a constant internet connection throughout the installation? I imagine it would, because I doubt every package is bundled with (outdated and voluminous) libs and interpreters. That would suck for us folks without any wireless networks :-/

 

[Clad]

Maybe you shoumd consider buying a $10 wifi dongle then ?

Have you ever tried a package manager system a la aptitude ? It really change your life, if there is a similar system on the Pandora, and from what I understood they will, it really worth the cost of a noname wifi dongle.

 

[yannv]

If you install something from a package and it will need to install dependencies, will it need a constant internet connection throughout the installation?
I'll go out on a limb here and say no. APT supports CD-ROMs as package sources, and apt-zip adds more options using rewritable media (such as SD cards). So you could have a set of packages on a CD-ROM with upgrades and more on the 'net.

And if this guess is currently wrong, this is something that should be fixed in the package handling system. It's not a terribly complex task.

 

[atomicthumbs]

If you install something from a package and it will need to install dependencies, will it need a constant internet connection throughout the installation? I imagine it would, because I doubt every package is bundled with (outdated and voluminous) libs and interpreters. That would suck for us folks without any wireless networks :-/

1. You select the package "foo", which requires "foolib0" and "barlib0".

2. Package manager downloads foo, foolib, and barlib.

3. You can go offline while it unpacks and installs things.