Prometheus
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2008
- Messages
- 9,472
I realised today that it's been precisely one month since I received my Pandora, and I also recalled something that Craig said almost a month ago;
To that end, I figured I'd start off a thread for "One Month Later" re-reviews.
I'll begin by saying that I spent a good hour or so playing Rockman & Forte in Snes9x4D4P last night, and since I don't have my SNES permanently set up at the moment (my desk is covered with sewing projects ), my Pandora has represented the perfect chance to play through it again. I still think that the Pandora's controls are excellent - they helped me to effortlessly mow through four Robot Masters (Ground Man, Tengu Man, Magic Man, and Astro Man, if you're interested ) with no trouble at all. The same has been the case with any game I've thrown at them, as well as their use during non-gaming tasks. I'm constantly impressed at how seamlessly I can go between gaming and computing with the same controls - they've been a great help with my writing, as well.
The software side of things continues to impress me - I've already lost count of the number of new features and tweaks that have been added to the OS, both officially and unofficially, over the last month, as well as the amount of software released during that time. There's been something new to try every day, and there's still plenty that I haven't checked out just yet. My favourites so far, off of the top of my head, are Snes9x4D4P (obviously ), NesEmu, uae4all (although unfortunately it seems that Sleepwalker, which is one of my favourite Amiga games, can freeze up in this emulator at the moment), PicoDrive, and OpenBOR (I've been spending a bit of time playing this mod, which should come as no surprise to anyone).
Another important thing I feel I should make note of is the excellent customer service, as I think that this is also an important part of the experience. I was without a Pandora for about four or five days at one point (I hope my one-month-later re-review counts in spite of being without one for a few days!), due to my original one developing a fault on its left nub and needing to be replaced. It was set right promptly, and a replacement unit arrived with me the day after my original machine was received back at OpenPandora Ltd.'s Newcastle office. I'm also impressed by how hands-on the team - especially EvilDragon - are in the "I need help" section. The same kudos go to the forum members and software authors who spend their time assisting, as well - I've been helped out myself, and I hope to be able to assist others, too. I've learned plenty of things there, and have had fun trying to write things like my quick-and-simple DVD-ripping guide, as well.
My views on the hardware have not changed, and as I noted in my mini-review of my replacement Pandora when I received it, it's clear to me that quality-assurance has been constantly improving, as my replacement unit was built even better than my first one was. I still think it's a wonderfully solid little device, and it's quite the contrast to my ThinkPad (my main computer), where you can rest a hand on some parts of the casing and actually see them slightly flex! All of the buttons, keys, and other inputs on my unit are good, as you may already have inferred from my continued praise of the controls a couple of paragraphs above this one.
After a few days, I couldn't imagine life without my Pandora. After a month, I don't ever even want to entertain the notion of being without it! It's the first machine I've owned in many years that has genuinely made my life better for being there - I've been able to get back into writing again for the first time in almost a decade, it helps me with my toy-making hobby (which often involves making dolls of obscure video game characters, which has previously made fabric-shopping a bit difficult because I was unable to carry all of my reference materials with me), and it finally allows me to fit watching my DVD collection into my life in a way that doesn't disrupt my way of working - something that has simply not been possible before. In fact, I'm only writing this on my Macintosh right now because I'm ripping more of my DVDs to watch on my Pandora!
To sum it up in one sentence: It's science-fiction come to life, and the return of the microcomputer in every sense of the word.
It's really been amazing to see how things have changed over the course of one month. It's mindboggling to imagine how much they will improve in the future.
You'll have to pardon anything that may sound to you like hyperbole - this really is how I feel and how enthusiastic this little machine has made me. I don't see it changing.
craigix said:
To that end, I figured I'd start off a thread for "One Month Later" re-reviews.
I'll begin by saying that I spent a good hour or so playing Rockman & Forte in Snes9x4D4P last night, and since I don't have my SNES permanently set up at the moment (my desk is covered with sewing projects
), my Pandora has represented the perfect chance to play through it again. I still think that the Pandora's controls are excellent - they helped me to effortlessly mow through four Robot Masters (Ground Man, Tengu Man, Magic Man, and Astro Man, if you're interested ) with no trouble at all. The same has been the case with any game I've thrown at them, as well as their use during non-gaming tasks. I'm constantly impressed at how seamlessly I can go between gaming and computing with the same controls - they've been a great help with my writing, as well.The software side of things continues to impress me - I've already lost count of the number of new features and tweaks that have been added to the OS, both officially and unofficially, over the last month, as well as the amount of software released during that time. There's been something new to try every day, and there's still plenty that I haven't checked out just yet. My favourites so far, off of the top of my head, are Snes9x4D4P (obviously
), NesEmu, uae4all (although unfortunately it seems that Sleepwalker, which is one of my favourite Amiga games, can freeze up in this emulator at the moment), PicoDrive, and OpenBOR (I've been spending a bit of time playing this mod, which should come as no surprise to anyone).Another important thing I feel I should make note of is the excellent customer service, as I think that this is also an important part of the experience. I was without a Pandora for about four or five days at one point (I hope my one-month-later re-review counts in spite of being without one for a few days!), due to my original one developing a fault on its left nub and needing to be replaced. It was set right promptly, and a replacement unit arrived with me the day after my original machine was received back at OpenPandora Ltd.'s Newcastle office. I'm also impressed by how hands-on the team - especially EvilDragon - are in the "I need help" section. The same kudos go to the forum members and software authors who spend their time assisting, as well - I've been helped out myself, and I hope to be able to assist others, too. I've learned plenty of things there, and have had fun trying to write things like my quick-and-simple DVD-ripping guide, as well.
My views on the hardware have not changed, and as I noted in my mini-review of my replacement Pandora when I received it, it's clear to me that quality-assurance has been constantly improving, as my replacement unit was built even better than my first one was. I still think it's a wonderfully solid little device, and it's quite the contrast to my ThinkPad (my main computer), where you can rest a hand on some parts of the casing and actually see them slightly flex! All of the buttons, keys, and other inputs on my unit are good, as you may already have inferred from my continued praise of the controls a couple of paragraphs above this one.
After a few days, I couldn't imagine life without my Pandora. After a month, I don't ever even want to entertain the notion of being without it! It's the first machine I've owned in many years that has genuinely made my life better for being there - I've been able to get back into writing again for the first time in almost a decade, it helps me with my toy-making hobby (which often involves making dolls of obscure video game characters, which has previously made fabric-shopping a bit difficult because I was unable to carry all of my reference materials with me), and it finally allows me to fit watching my DVD collection into my life in a way that doesn't disrupt my way of working - something that has simply not been possible before. In fact, I'm only writing this on my Macintosh right now because I'm ripping more of my DVDs to watch on my Pandora!
To sum it up in one sentence: It's science-fiction come to life, and the return of the microcomputer in every sense of the word.
It's really been amazing to see how things have changed over the course of one month. It's mindboggling to imagine how much they will improve in the future.
You'll have to pardon anything that may sound to you like hyperbole - this really is how I feel and how enthusiastic this little machine has made me.
I don't see it changing.
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