Open Pandora for stories and other usages (Pocket netbook?)

[DrHax]

I have been following the pandora project for years.. always wanted to get one.. Never had the funds, or other means then. However, after dealing with other laptops,etc,etc. The theortical pluses are brilliant for a device like this. 10+ hours, full linux desktop on a small form factor, dual sd cards, emulation, (i grew up on gameboy colour and advance games.. actually pokemon gold taught me how to read! So having access to those games and more is quite nifty to say the every least).

But when it comes down to it, I need to use it for typing up stories, and i need a powerful word editor, something with spell check and a wide array of dictionaries. I stumbled across a software suite Kingsoft office that fits my needs .. I know it has a linux version, but  will this run on the pandora? (http://wps-community.org/download.html link so those have an idea of what i'm getting at. PS. I don't want libreoffice anywhere near the system.. i've had horrible experiences of that turning 150 page stories into 0 bit null files, back when I ran ubuntu twice....in 2010, and 2012)

So with that out of the way here comes another question.. if infact the pandora is right up my alley.. which version do I buy? Which one will fit my needs? I've seen about 3 examples up for sale, The mighty 1ghz, the rebirth, and the classic. I know the 1ghz is the best regardless, but the price is what gets me there, the rebirth is a good middle ground, and the classic... seems basic, yet there's one on gbax with shipping that would set me back around 200 USD. (broken wi-fi yet comes with the wi-fi doogle, and since the wi-fi on the pandora seems limited even if its working this doesn't phase me too much, but would that system be worth diving in? Or would waiting till I can afford a 1ghz be the best  route?) I *know* about the pandora, but I don't know about the pandora. Its the  hands on experience of people who have been in the game far longer then I have been lurking who understand/ grasp the system from experience that can answer me honestly. 

 For TL;DR people out there, Heres a list of what i will be using it for,  Typing up stories (Powerful word editor required/ office suite), playing gameboy games, browsing the net. Which pandora is best? The one Gbax seems like a prime example due to its tempting cost, but will it fit my needs?

I also would like to thank the people who made such a little device possible, while i'm at it. Without you guys i wouldn't have the change to own such a device. :wub:

 

[levi]

You'll have difficulty running that office suite you linked to - because it's compiled for PCs (32-bit x86 to be precise) and doesn't provide source, so it can't be ported to the ARM processor the Pandora uses.  It won't be impossible to run it - we can emulate x86 processors perfectly well, but it won't exactly be speedy.  Alternatively you could run the Android version, but I don't know how well that works with the Pandora keyboard, and I don't know if it has all the features you need.

One other problem is the keyboard, while perfectly servicable for knocking out short notes, driving old computer emulators and even kicking out a reasonably lengthy forum posts, it's quite tiring for anything much longer.  That said, the Pandora has a couple of USB ports for a reason, so if you pack a usable portable keyboard and USB hub you should have no trouble.

As for which Pandora, the extra GHz really only comes into play when it comes to web browsing and emulating powerful systems - with a classic (CC) Pandora you'll be able to emulate all the Pokemon games up to the GBA versions, but the DS ones might be a little stuttery.  The reduced RAM on the CC unit might be an issue for word processing - it really depends what sort of stories you want to write.  If you're writing a novel, the extra RAM in a rebirth or 1GHz Pandora might come in handy.

The other thing against getting a classic from GBAX is that it's run by a certain Craig Rothwell who doesn't have the greatest reputation round here.  I'll just say I've paid for several hundreds of pounds of goods from him which he's so far failed to deliver and it would appear never intends to put right.  Although that was for stuff preordered - if you're ordering stuff he claims to have in stock you can always get your money back through your credit card sharpish if he decides to screw you too.

Oh, and if you're into writing, you might like to know that I think the word you were looking for was 'faze', not 'phase' in the phrase 'doesn't faze me'.  Common mistake, but if you look up the meaning of 'faze' versus 'phase' it's pretty obvious which one's the right one

 

[ekianjo]

Typing on pandora for a long time is not really that bad. I have written fairly long articles with it without problem.

 

[DrHAX]

Sorry about spelling.. I've come down with a nasty cold and it feels like somebody has inflated my head with an air hose. When ever I feel this cruddy I usually end up spelling in odd manners. (Have a tendency of using words that sound similar because the old head is spinning) But anyways back to the subject at hand. Good to know about the Gbax situation.. I guess i'll save up the money eventually buy a new one from dragon... or ithic... don't which one is better for my situation.. Dragon has the ability to bundle stuff in at discounted cost.. were as ithic not so sure... Still, is there a decent office suite for the pandora? I distinctly remember abiword being rather weak when I was looking for alternatives towards libreoffice (once again.. have a terrible bias against office suites that can't save files reliably and convert 150 page stories to corrupted blank data! I know  picky aren't I? ) Sooo, if there's nothing  then, as pathetic as it is to say, the pandora isn't for me. Which I hope isn't the case.. I've always wanted one of these little devices. I've always had a soft spot for linux.

 

[DrHAX]

Typing on pandora for a long time is not really that bad. I have written fairly long articles with it without problem.

Which is what I've expected. Its just getting use to it... I typed up a 1/4 of my stories on a dell axim pda; done, of course, with a very minimalist windows ce word. So even with the one button at time I was able to use it. So the pandora's keyboard seems to be more like a phone keyboard kind've deal.  After seeing how my friends and my girlfriend can whip out things on those in femtoseconds I feel the pandora is just an account of getting use to layout, then again isn't that like any device? (Also quite pleased by how quick the responses are, I feel quite welcomed  ) Still about the office suite is the major issue.. its going to take quite a bit for me to save up a new one.. so getting all this weighed out before diving in would be nice. Preparation is key  :blink:  or rather not getting confused and blindsided is.  ^_^  Sorry if I seem like I ramble  :lol:  I'm not the most concise person.

 

[levi]

For prose, I'd have thought AbiWord perfectly capable, but then perhaps I'm not one to speak - most of my short writing is done in a text editor.  I've also never lost words to Libreoffice/Openoffice when I have used it (mainly for hacking together spreadsheets if I'm honest), but if you are worried about that I'd have thought the ideal solution would be a better backup strategy.

The issue I have with the Pandora keyboard isn't speed so much as how big it is.  It's bigger than most phone keyboards, but too small to touchtype on so requires quite a lot of thumb and wrist movement to type on.  I do suppose it's something you get used to however, and probably depends a lot on the shape of your hands to begin with.

 

[thatgui]

As far as I know there is only AbiWord and Libreoffice for the Pandora. There is also a Texlive package, but I do not know if something like aspell is available on the Pandora. Gedit has a spellchecking plugin, but it lacks any wordprocessing features, same story with geany.

I would give Libreoffice another try, just make regular backups (manually or via a script), or maybe even use owncloud to have a copy online (don't know if owncloud offers free accounts).

As for which model, there is also a comparison table on the product page in the dragonbox shop (nearly at the end of the page). A general advice is complicated, but if you don't need the extra power for n64 emulation,some demanding Android games or some of the latest additions, like Jedi Knight 2, the Rebirth model is usually a reasonable choice.

As to where to get one, if a used one is ok, you could try our marketplace or eBay. If you want a new device, where to buy it, depends on your location: If you live on the American continent ithic.com is the way to go, otherwise dragonbox.de

 

[DrHAX]

The issue with libreoffice was due to the way it saved on the computers.. if something interfered somehow, or something changed the state of the entire hard drive as it was saving.. POOF you get nothing. I remember actually accidentally unplugging my laptop and that state of going to the battery caused libre office to have a stroke. However, I remedied(barely) this by saving all of my word docs to a sd card.. but even it had a tendency of corrupting then... a massive tendency. when you have up to five copies and treat them as disposable there's an issue. Perhaps saving formats different for the pandora and arm, but I  still don't trust libreoffice.. especially since this issue was around back when I started writing 2010~ ish and then in 2012 with it not being fixed/ addressed at all. Soo, i'm quite skeptical and borderline paranoid of it. Also the for the shape of the hand, I got long bony slenderman fingers.. so if length's an issue I should be fine. Also for the trading scene very few pop up and it seems that most of them are in europe and stuff and only saving about 30-100 bucks for a used one... in another country... that's far away from me ... is a bit iffy on my end. I live in the states so my major issue has been finding one... I'll keep on looking at the trading section, but untill I get a set amount of cash set aside I won't bother placing a wanted ad. I don't want to waste people's time there.

 

[_wb_]

LibreOffice has improved quite a bit in the past few years, so it could be better now.

But for writing books, I would recommend you learn LaTeX and use that. You can any plain text editor, or something like LyX. It's the professional way to typeset books. I wrote my PhD thesis in LaTeX, one file per chapter and one "master file" that includes all of those files. You can do spellchecking with ispell -t, you can even put it in a versioning system like CVS, SVN or GIT since you're working with plain text files, math and diagrams can be very professional (in fact nearly all scientific journals use LaTeX), you can define your own macros etc.

For large projects like books, LaTeX is what you need. And of course it works on the Pandora.

 

[Binky]

I absolutely agree with _wb_ here; we have better tools than word processors for writing extended bodies of prose.

You might also be interested in keepnote and notecase pro for planning characters/plot/whatever.

 

[EssoAir]

OpenOffice is good

 

[ekianjo]

OpenOffice is good

You like being off topic? Its not even available on Pandora.

 

[EssoAir]

OpenOffice is good

You like being off topic? Its not even available on Pandora.

Yes it is. Look in the repo

EDIT: http://repo.openpandora.org/?page=detail&app=libreoffice_writer_ptitseb thats what I was talking about. NM its just LibreOffice. I was thinking it was Open Office for some reason

 

[TrashyMG]

The Differences between OpenOffice and Libreoffice is negligible for the typical user.

 

[EssoAir]

The Differences between OpenOffice and Libreoffice is negligible for the typical user.

Open Office is slower, but it has the option to save in every format ever (except .pages)

 

[DrHAX]

LibreOffice has improved quite a bit in the past few years, so it could be better now.

But for writing books, I would recommend you learn LaTeX and use that. You can any plain text editor, or something like LyX. It's the professional way to typeset books. I wrote my PhD thesis in LaTeX, one file per chapter and one "master file" that includes all of those files. You can do spellchecking with ispell -t, you can even put it in a versioning system like CVS, SVN or GIT since you're working with plain text files, math and diagrams can be very professional (in fact nearly all scientific journals use LaTeX), you can define your own macros etc.

For large projects like books, LaTeX is what you need. And of course it works on the Pandora.

This... This I like. It gives me something to investigate. After quickly looking up LaTeX it appeals to me heavily... I see its functionality as wonderful, and the annoyances of dealing with a word processor's interface are thrown out the window. It gives more control. However ispell -t is something that the search engine couldn't shed much light on.  :wacko:  All of this is new to me.

 

[sebt3]

However ispell -t is something that the search engine couldn't shed much light on.  :wacko:  All of this is new to me.

ispell is a command-line spell checker. It support numbers of language. Most latex editor have ispell and/or aspell supports, providing you an interface to the spell-checker (so you dont have to bother with command-lines).

 

[DrHAX]

However ispell -t is something that the search engine couldn't shed much light on.  :wacko:  All of this is new to me.

ispell is a command-line spell checker. It support numbers of language. Most latex editor have ispell and/or aspell supports, providing you an interface to the spell-checker (so you dont have to bother with command-lines).

Ohhh okay!  :wacko:   B)  I get it now.. ahaha diving into a different world. So its great to get replies to stuff    Thank you so much all of you.

 

[DrHAX]

Now another question how does the pandora function in the desktop mode? What exactly is controlling the clicking and the mouse cursors.. I assume the nubs?

 

[ekianjo]

Yeah, the nubs or the stylus