Pandora Should Move To Android

[sebt3]

now that's something that defines Pandora for me: "a UMPC for retrogamers"

+1

 

[mindlord]

If by chance the OP team decided this would've been a good idea from the get go... the Immediate response of the community would be to create their own firmware - al la Dingux or Open2X. The official firmware would be fine for those who "Fear Linux" because the do no understand it's power. Even though Android is technically a Linux derivative. The Unofficial, community maintained firmware would attract the true hackers.

Still it's a bit late in the game to go changing the rules. Certainly a bad idea now, but if it had been his way from the beginning - I don't think people would've cared as much. Especially if the teams intention was to help the hackers whenever possible in making their unofficial firmware work properly.

 

[mali]

^ Tbh, Android was pretty crappy in 2008. It had no 3D acceleration and no direct hardware access for example.

 

[Prometheus]

It didn't support the EAP stuff for certain WiFi setups, either. I still haven't been able to find if it does now.

From a support standpoint, that is no small issue.

 

[viridior]

How's Gentoo doing, anyway? And I was kind of hoping this device would show that Linux can be fun to use. Naive me...

Little slow in my response since I've moved a couple thousand miles and still waiting for my computers... but Neuvoo is coming along quite well! javaJake just put rc7 out a day or two ago and it should be pretty close to our official 0.3.0 release. Should be bootable with LXDE and a handful of apps put in. I still need to get my hands wrapped around a couple of neuvoo kernels, but if you want to stick with the official Pandora kernel it should work fine.

http://neuvoo.org/neuvoo/images/0.3.0/test/
* note: this image is designed as a generic image to work with the beagleboard (and clones), we have a different profile structure for the pandora and touchbook which would add a couple of packages. It should still work, but its not the best solution we will have for the pandora.

 

[Loonie]

Please ignore the nattering neighbobs of negativity here. They're the only ones incentivized enough to post. When I originally heard the idea, I was pleased at the prospect, and didn't feel the need to take to the forums to heatedly attack the idea. Like with so many other things, you only hear from the extremes. Checking up on the discussion a week later, I was pretty upturned at how terribly it's gone.

Well, maybe you could have chimed in earlier and helped guide the discussion in a slightly more constructive direction, rather than playing the provocatively prefaced dithering damsel of dismissiveness.

 

[milkshake]

well can i just say that not all paying customers think android is a bad idea - as a replacement it has pros and cons but I think it would be best as an Alternative option for those who like simple to use finger friendly options.

 

[Prometheus]

well can i just say that not all paying customers think android is a bad idea - as a replacement it has pros and cons but I think it would be best as an Alternative option for those who like simple to use finger friendly options.

Do bear in mind that those of us that think it's a bad idea mostly only think so with regards to it being a replacement for something that can take advantage of many, many years of stuff already optimised for ARM-Linux. I quite agree, and I'm sure most others do too, that it would be an excellent idea for an alternative, non-default OS.

 

[wermy]

Do bear in mind that those of us that think it's a bad idea mostly only think so with regards to it being a replacement for something that can take advantage of many, many years of stuff already optimised for ARM-Linux. I quite agree, and I'm sure most others do too, that it would be an excellent idea for an alternative, non-default OS.

My thoughts exactly. I don't think the Pandora could live up to its potential (or at least not nearly as quickly) on Android, but I do think it could be great fun to have as an option.

 

[second exodous]

Why not just make a dual boot scenario? The touchbook boots a few OSs, why can't the Pandora(well, besides the space restraints)? If all you ppl that want Android would get to work on making an image then we could try it out by booting off of an SD card. I think even with a dual boot setup most people would use what the OP team has been working so hard on up till this point, Ångström, Android will take a while to catch up. I don't want the OS to switch until I get mine and use it before I make a decision, and I think that is what everyone wants. I feel think this should not be talked about until the first batch has shipped in full.

Anyway, part of the reason I ordered the Pandora is because of the Linux it ran. If it ran an OS that wasn't specified I might have bought it for the controls but if it was listed as running Android I would have sat back and watched the train wreck. Lets just use and continue to develop what we got and try other things through booting from the SD, if something better is found then lets switch but please lets not change things up before the 4,000th unit has shipped.