Pandora For Not So Fun Uses

[dokcipher]

PDF should be no problem, there's no shortage of Linux programs that can display, create, and/or edit them. Impress, O's slide show program, can handle Powerpoint files to an extent. I know Google Docs can do .docx, if O can't work out for the Pandora.
Thing is, your old phone may have used some proprietary code to support all those formats. Was it running Windows Mobile?

yes, windows mobile 6.0

 

[lulzfish]

PDF should be no problem, there's no shortage of Linux programs that can display, create, and/or edit them. Impress, O's slide show program, can handle Powerpoint files to an extent. I know Google Docs can do .docx, if O can't work out for the Pandora.
Thing is, your old phone may have used some proprietary code to support all those formats. Was it running Windows Mobile?

yes, windows mobile 6.0

Well, that doesn't matter, we're not going to take apart dokcipher's phone just to get that particular software over. AbiWord will work fine, and OO has components for Powerpoint and such things, though it will probably be slow.

 

[machielo]

I was thinking of using it for exactly the same purpose for work and study. My idea is to download the pdf or the slides I'm working on (you could use the slides of the class for instance) and then using the touchscreen and the stylus make quick-and-dirty handwritten notes on them as I see fit, similar to printing them and do it with a pen, but without the printing .

For that I planned to use the Xournal application, you should give it a try to see if it suits you for the task.

Not a bad find!

Certainly is the best option I could find for taking quick notes over pre-existing material, as it's exactly like having it printed but without the hassle.

For taking notes I don't need any formatting, I can give formating after in a big-screen, fast computer. So to take notes over an existing document I can convert it first to PDF, with Abiword for example (much less heavy than OO) and then use Xournal.

For taking notes out of nothing, I would try the simple text editor that comes with Xfce, as pointed out by Wheels. If they keyboard works well for me, as Craigix points, then that would be nice, if not I will stick to using the stylus as a pen.

 

[Kramy]

powerpoint/pdf/doc/docx support would be ideal. my old htc phone can do microsoft office apps, the pandora should be able to support all that stuff, right????

As OO.O is partly Java, there shouldn't be any problem preparing it for the pandora. Docx is semi-supported but last I checked it isn't perfect.

If I remember right it uses Java for DB access, because DBs are pretty simple in Java.

But the rest of it is C and also a total scrawling mess. :lol:

 

[Wolfsclaw]

I was thinking of using it for exactly the same purpose for work and study. My idea is to download the pdf or the slides I'm working on (you could use the slides of the class for instance) and then using the touchscreen and the stylus make quick-and-dirty handwritten notes on them as I see fit, similar to printing them and do it with a pen, but without the printing .

For that I planned to use the Xournal application, you should give it a try to see if it suits you for the task.

Not a bad find!

Certainly is the best option I could find for taking quick notes over pre-existing material, as it's exactly like having it printed but without the hassle.

^ this.

Someone port it.. please?

 

[droneb]

definitely as a remote terminal unit

specially for networking purpose,
im also preparing a nice kit that migh be able to use as a wardriving unit. discovery and navigation

 

[Wheels]

yes, windows mobile 6.0

Ah, see, there's next to zero chance you're going to get that on the Pandora for reasons of cost and/or legality. Windows Mobile isn't free or open source, so even though Pandora should have plenty of muscle to run it, the OpenPandora team would have to go through some fiery hoops to distribute it with the hardware. That means no Office Mobile either.
Most of the formats you're worried about should work to some extent or other with native Linux programs on the Pandora, though. Somebody may have to see how much of a bother it is to run OpenOffice for certain bits, maybe Google Docs if you'll have web access during class. PDF and simple .doc should be no problem natively, .ppt and .docx may not work completely, on the other hand they may work fine for your needs.

 

[urjaman]

^ this.

Someone port it.. please?

http://www.angstrom-distribution.org/repo/?pkgname=xournal

But as a note to the people building the images, including this little beauty would be nice

 

[dokcipher]

yes, windows mobile 6.0

Ah, see, there's next to zero chance you're going to get that on the Pandora for reasons of cost and/or legality. Windows Mobile isn't free or open source, so even though Pandora should have plenty of muscle to run it, the OpenPandora team would have to go through some fiery hoops to distribute it with the hardware. That means no Office Mobile either.
Most of the formats you're worried about should work to some extent or other with native Linux programs on the Pandora, though. Somebody may have to see how much of a bother it is to run OpenOffice for certain bits, maybe Google Docs if you'll have web access during class. PDF and simple .doc should be no problem natively, .ppt and .docx may not work completely, on the other hand they may work fine for your needs.

i dont think there is anywhere on campus that you can't get signal. also my notes being on google docs means i wont bog down the pandora with the files. hmmmm, sounds good?

 

[Wheels]

No idea, I've never used Google Docs myself. :blink:

 

[skyeyemachine]

@ Craig: Looking forward to that video when it comes out. I've been wondering just how practical the Pandora is for all the 'boring office stuff' I've been planning to try it with.

As for note-taking and such, I'm expecting to need some kind of portable external keyboard, probably one of those flexible roll-up ones as I've mentioned somewhere else before, since they're inexpensive and should be pretty durable for most purposes. I don't think I can say much else that's different from what's already been said, though - basically, if the Pandora's integrated controls aren't sufficient, you can always try plugging in some other device (keyboard, microphone, etc) to expand its functionality out to what is required.

 

[cobaltage]

I would say it depends on your needs. Netbooks aren't exactly ergonomic superstar devices to begin with. Given the choice between a netbook and pen and paper, I would personally go with pen and paper.

Anyway, the biggest hit with the Pandora will be screen real estate. Reading a PDF article originally formatted for a 8.5" x 11" page on a 4" screen will be challenging. But you're probably young, so your youthful visual acuity will help you.

But for simple text entry, the Pandora seems perfectly fine. Craig's comments about the keyboard are good to hear. One could argue that a full sized keyboard would help (especially if you're a touch typist), but one could make the same argument about a lot of netbooks.

By the way, when I read the title of this post, I thought you were possibly talking about administrating a death march or something along those lines.

 

[hobbyman II]

never put essential data on a server on the other side of the planet that's about to be flooded, ddos'ed, catch fire or have the janitor pull the wrong plug, in other words, NEVER put anything that matters any further away than your HD and your daily/weekly backup media, right?

any other option has disaster written into it in big fiery 600pt comic sans letters, remote location is ok for backups, not your primary data, you only have to read slashdot to see how often Cloud data gets lost/deleted/censored, keep your essential data local, you know it makes sense.

edit: how many notes are you planning on making anyway?, I cant see you needing even 1gig for text files, you would have to go a long way to get a SD card that small

 

[dokcipher]

I would say it depends on your needs. Netbooks aren't exactly ergonomic superstar devices to begin with. Given the choice between a netbook and pen and paper, I would personally go with pen and paper.

Anyway, the biggest hit with the Pandora will be screen real estate. Reading a PDF article originally formatted for a 8.5" x 11" page on a 4" screen will be challenging. But you're probably young, so your youthful visual acuity will help you.

But for simple text entry, the Pandora seems perfectly fine. Craig's comments about the keyboard are good to hear. One could argue that a full sized keyboard would help (especially if you're a touch typist), but one could make the same argument about a lot of netbooks.

By the way, when I read the title of this post, I thought you were possibly talking about administrating a death march or something along those lines.

lol?

 

[dokcipher]

never put essential data on a server on the other side of the planet that's about to be flooded, ddos'ed, catch fire or have the janitor pull the wrong plug, in other words, NEVER put anything that matters any further away than your HD and your daily/weekly backup media, right?

any other option has disaster written into it in big fiery 600pt comic sans letters, remote location is ok for backups, not your primary data, you only have to read slashdot to see how often Cloud data gets lost/deleted/censored, keep your essential data local, you know it makes sense.

edit: how many notes are you planning on making anyway?, I cant see you needing even 1gig for text files, you would have to go a long way to get a SD card that small

professors provide pre-made slides aka powerpoints and pdfs and expect you to take notes as they talk about the shit on the slides. other professors just straight up talk and expect you to take notes. but yeah, couldnt be more that 500mb per semester i think.

 

[atomicthumbs]

The nice thing about the Pandora is that you can thumb type on it in many places where typing on a laptop/netbook would be impossible, or at least very cramped/difficult.

Could you type inside a coffin or small shipping crate? I'm looking to safe on air fare

 

[Dead1nside]

From what I gather the keyboard is far superior to any phone's, although not ideally suited to heavy text input it is quite capable. I also intend to use it for taking notes in class and bought the Think Outside Stowaway Bluetooth Keyboard to this affect. The Pandora is such a powerful device, I'm going to hook it up to my 3G phone via BT, and the keyboard via BT, might get a pair of Bluetooth headphones/earphones as well soon. The battery life is great so this couples well with these tasks where a normal laptop would fall down during a busy schedule.

 

[Near_Kstor]

professors provide pre-made slides aka powerpoints and pdfs and expect you to take notes as they talk about the shit on the slides. other professors just straight up talk and expect you to take notes. but yeah, couldnt be more that 500mb per semester i think.

Well, in that case you are assuming the notes are being taken on the slides.

This semester, I tried for the first time to take all my notes in txts. The avarage size of the folders by the end of the semester per subject is around 5mb (subjects with a lot of really dense lessons have taken up to 15mb).

However, this Xournal seems to be really interesting... I'm not sure about how it work (can't test it because I'm not in my own PC here during the holidays). I assume you can type as well as you can handwrite/draw on the same space? If thats the case, Pandora coul be the ultimate note-taking device for me in college.


My original idea was to stick with gdocs for note-taking with the Pandora, since it is really really light (just the weight of your browser), and allow remote access from different PCs (and that is going to happen)

 

[Sphinxter]

I imagine it being like trying to type your notes on an iPhone

Really, you've actually seen both devices and think typing on both will be the same experience.

 

[WizardStan]

never put essential data on a server on the other side of the planet that's about to be flooded, ddos'ed, catch fire or have the janitor pull the wrong plug, in other words, NEVER put anything that matters any further away than your HD and your daily/weekly backup media, right?

any other option has disaster written into it in big fiery 600pt comic sans letters, remote location is ok for backups, not your primary data, you only have to read slashdot to see how often Cloud data gets lost/deleted/censored, keep your essential data local, you know it makes sense.

edit: how many notes are you planning on making anyway?, I cant see you needing even 1gig for text files, you would have to go a long way to get a SD card that small

Or, to say a different way, putting essential data on a server on the other side of the planet is fine, so long as it isn't the only place that data is going.