Pandora Status Update

[TheCraiggers]

is it really so hard to have a weekly update on the when of pandora?

I'm starting to wonder the same thing. And, no offense to Chip, but the sporadic updates we DO get shouldn't come from some "guy who had a chat with Craig," but one of the devs. That said, I'll take this opportunity to sincerely thank Chip for his work in keeping us informed.

I know they are busy doing all kinds of stuff and the status of various components is probably in serious flux, but some sort of weekly update at least would go a long way to calming people I think. I know it would certainly calm me.

 

[Tor]

I'm probably just stoking the fires and adding to the noise, but I simply don't understand why you guys are _not_ calm. I feel the info has been plentiful, there's nothing that indicates that anything isn't going to work out just fine. Things look cool IMO. I'm totally calm.

 

[God Ginrai]

I'm probably just stoking the fires and adding to the noise, but I simply don't understand why you guys are _not_ calm. I feel the info has been plentiful, there's nothing that indicates that anything isn't going to work out just fine. Things look cool IMO. I'm totally calm.

I couldn't agree more. The only thing I'm concerned about is my place in line. ;P And that's because I know that the farther up in line I am, the more likely I am to actually get my Pandora before Christmas.

EDIT: And even then, I'm not bitching about Craigix and Co. creating some way to tell us our spot in line.

-God Ginrai

 

[andys]

The question I have (that I haven't yet seen an answer to) is - how delayed is it all going to be?

So the original estimate was end of November, they would start sending out Pandoras. With delays, obviously this is no longer really plausible. Indeed, we will probably end up with orders being satisfied over a much longer period.

But what sort of period is that?

Are we likely to see Pandoras out before the end of this year? I accept they don't know precise numbers, but is there any idea when they will start being shipped?

The latest blog post seems to imply that nothing will be shipped before the new year, which is a real shame.

 

[Chip]

Are we likely to see Pandoras out before the end of this year? I accept they don't know precise numbers, but is there any idea when they will start being shipped?
As of right now, yes. I know it seems optimistic, but as of a few days ago Craig still expects to start shipping in December.

As to when shipments will conclude, nobody can say. The whole process should have taken about a month, but now we're waiting on LCD panels that are only slowly arriving from the manufacturer. We have no reliable estimate as to when the last pre-order Pandora will ship.

 

[hch]

As of right now, yes. I know it seems optimistic, but as of a few days ago Craig still expects to start shipping in December.

his call for prerelease developers seems to indicate that shipment to 'regular' customers will not begin until after christmas. i think this is what andys was referring to.

btw, thanks a lot for all your updates, Chip. just to let you know that there is one person more who really appreciates this!

 

[mali]

his call for prerelease developers seems to indicate that shipment to 'regular' customers will not begin until after christmas. i think this is what andys was referring to.

I don't think so. The prerelease for devs has other reasons and isn't related to regular delivery IMO
Nobody knows, if there are devs in the queue of the first happy customers and they need experts now, I suppose.

 

[maddis]

waiting all this time is a bit tendious but it adds to the excitement. The waiting reminds me of waiting to see if father christmas had infact received my letter asking for a megadrive and sonic. Of course it did come and my mum had to put me on an afternoon of ritellin. (just for the record i did have Adhd)

 

[TaG]

is it really so hard to have a weekly update on the when of pandora?
I'm starting to wonder the same thing. And, no offense to Chip, but the sporadic updates we DO get shouldn't come from some "guy who had a chat with Craig," but one of the devs. That said, I'll take this opportunity to sincerely thank Chip for his work in keeping us informed.

I know they are busy doing all kinds of stuff and the status of various components is probably in serious flux, but some sort of weekly update at least would go a long way to calming people I think. I know it would certainly calm me.
This is aimed at all these type of posts - not just the example I have quoted.

As the problem is with Craig's shop/bank, the 'dev' would have to be Craig as no one else could really tell you what is happening with his business.

They are working on getting parts in and assembled; getting the bank sorted; getting software developers on board; getting the OS, GUI ready etc, etc. People are suggesting time should be diverted to tell us more. That raises two points: 1/ What area would you like Craig to neglect to keep us more up to date? 2/ Chip keeps asking "What do you want to know?" and people don't seem to give him real questions that need answering. Another point that has already been made is that they can't tell us the exact nature of the bank / refund situation right now.

Cut Craig some slack - he talked to Chip, Chip wrote up the post. I can't see anything wrong there. Where everybody says Chip should act as 'Communication Manager', that is what he would have to do; speak to the devs and write it up.

I don't get the problem - it's a pain but thats about all it is. We pre-ordered a device that hadn't been completed when we handed over money - what did you really expect?

 

[jdh2550]

^^ +1 to what TaG says)

(I know you guys won't believe me but I was trying to find a way to get rid of some of these types of posts - it didn't really work too well did it - oh well!)

 

[andys]

Are we likely to see Pandoras out before the end of this year? I accept they don't know precise numbers, but is there any idea when they will start being shipped?
As of right now, yes. I know it seems optimistic, but as of a few days ago Craig still expects to start shipping in December.

As to when shipments will conclude, nobody can say. The whole process should have taken about a month, but now we're waiting on LCD panels that are only slowly arriving from the manufacturer. We have no reliable estimate as to when the last pre-order Pandora will ship.

Is that early December? I mean, obviously I am hoping to be able to play with my Pandora substantially before Christmas! As are we all. I'm sure I can wait, but this is currently the thing I am waiting for the most

 

[mali]

Are we likely to see Pandoras out before the end of this year? I accept they don't know precise numbers, but is there any idea when they will start being shipped?
As of right now, yes. I know it seems optimistic, but as of a few days ago Craig still expects to start shipping in December.

As to when shipments will conclude, nobody can say. The whole process should have taken about a month, but now we're waiting on LCD panels that are only slowly arriving from the manufacturer. We have no reliable estimate as to when the last pre-order Pandora will ship.

Is that early December? I mean, obviously I am hoping to be able to play with my Pandora substantially before Christmas! As are we all. I'm sure I can wait, but this is currently the thing I am waiting for the most

I've asked him yesterday about the delay mentioned in the re-fund mail and he said:

Naja, Ende November / Anfang Dezember.
Wenn die Geräte Ende November (z.B. 30.) hier eintreffen, kann es ein paar Tage dauern, bis ich alle ausgeliefert habe

R.T.
Well, end november / early december. When the devices arrive end of november(e.g. 30.), it may take some days, until I've delivered all of them.

 

[maciek_urbanski]

Chip, I have question regarding my pet Pandora project (reverse-engineering SGX).

I didn't found any indication of SGX graphics driver anywhere on the net. It is not in Angstrom sources, Pandora kernel repo and Beagle Board guys are claiming it's not 'available yet'.

I have gut feeling that even Imagination Technologies does not have it yet...

So:

1. Can you confirm/deny that Pandora will ship with functional OpenGL ES SGX driver ?
2. Can we get some sources open-source part of SGX driver (maybe early development version) ?

If for some reason this is 'political' subject - please respond via PM.

 

[TheCraiggers]

They are working on getting parts in and assembled; getting the bank sorted; getting software developers on board; getting the OS, GUI ready etc, etc. People are suggesting time should be diverted to tell us more. That raises two points: 1/ What area would you like Craig to neglect to keep us more up to date?

You raise some good points and I'm really not trying to sound like a troll. But really, how long could it possibly take to type out a couple sentences? "Bank move is almost complete. we have 800 LCD screens. Hope to have the first unit assembled later this week." Hell, maybe lock the thread these updates are posted in to keep the thread readable.

We pre-ordered a device that hadn't been completed when we handed over money - what did you really expect?

I'm just saying there is some room for improvement here. I didn't mean to sound like I was frothing at the mouth and getting my torches / pitchforks ready. For me, I'll be going on some trips this winter and I was hoping I'd have my Pandora before leaving; knowing if I'll have to arrange somebody to look for the box so it doesn't sit in the snow for weeks would be nice.

 

[Chip]

1. Can you confirm/deny that Pandora will ship with functional OpenGL ES SGX driver ?
2. Can we get some sources open-source part of SGX driver (maybe early development version) ?

1. I can't confirm either way, but there is at least the chance that it may not. Just like we're telling you with the Pandora, they're telling us "It'll be ready when it's ready."
2. I'm not the best person to ask. I'm not a programmer, so I wouldn't know what part was what. You'd do better to ask EvilDragon or MWeston.

 

[javaJake]

The driver doesn't necessarily have to be ready on release, either, considering that so far everything shown to us (PSX, GUI, MAME) has run just fine without it.

 

[TaG]

They are working on getting parts in and assembled; getting the bank sorted; getting software developers on board; getting the OS, GUI ready etc, etc. People are suggesting time should be diverted to tell us more. That raises two points: 1/ What area would you like Craig to neglect to keep us more up to date?
You raise some good points and I'm really not trying to sound like a troll. But really, how long could it possibly take to type out a couple sentences? "Bank move is almost complete. we have 800 LCD screens. Hope to have the first unit assembled later this week." Hell, maybe lock the thread these updates are posted in to keep the thread readable.

We pre-ordered a device that hadn't been completed when we handed over money - what did you really expect?
I'm just saying there is some room for improvement here. I didn't mean to sound like I was frothing at the mouth and getting my torches / pitchforks ready. For me, I'll be going on some trips this winter and I was hoping I'd have my Pandora before leaving; knowing if I'll have to arrange somebody to look for the box so it doesn't sit in the snow for weeks would be nice.First, let me say I didn;'t think you were a troll or that your views were invalid, and my post was not aimed specifically at you.

It would be nice to receive the type of news you said. But everytime the devs release snippets like that the boards go crazy, over-analyze and moan that they need more detail and better answers. So it goes on...

There are many of us that wanted the Pandora before the holidays - Easter 2008, summer holidays etc.

 

[mali]

It would be nice to receive the type of news you said. But everytime the devs release snippets like that the boards go crazy, over-analyze and moan that they need more detail and better answers. So it goes on...

You've got the talent to sum it up perfectly
Just remembering the chaos after the RAM-upgrade announcement...

 

[TheCraiggers]

It would be nice to receive the type of news you said. But everytime the devs release snippets like that the boards go crazy, over-analyze and moan that they need more detail and better answers. So it goes on...

You've got the talent to sum it up perfectly
Just remembering the chaos after the RAM-upgrade announcement...

Actually, I'd say the boards went crazy over the RAM upgrade announcement exactly because there WASN'T an announcement to speak of. There were a few posts from devs scattered around in hard to find places- heck, all I ever saw were quotes of quotes cross posted between the two boards. I didn't actually know how old the quotes even were. There needs to be an easy go-to place for such news.

We already have a Pandora News forum and a website/blog that aren't being updated. Seems like one of these two things should be used for official statements. Frankly, I'm surprised Chip hasn't gotten permission to update the website yet; that is probably the best place for this.

If we wanted to slice and dice the RAM upgrade scenario further, the announcement should have probably been withheld until the devs knew what the bank change / upgrades all entailed instead of dropping amorphous hints piecemeal. Yes, I know this goes against what I was saying about constant small updates.

EDIT: After posting the above I noticed the blog has actually been updated. Maybe I'll just go back to lurking. =)

 

[TaG]

Actually, I'd say the boards went crazy over the RAM upgrade announcement exactly because there WASN'T an announcement to speak of. There were a few posts from devs scattered around in hard to find places- heck, all I ever saw were quotes of quotes cross posted between the two boards. I didn't actually know how old the quotes even were. There needs to be an easy go-to place for such news.
There is - follow the Dev Team Updates link in my sig.

We already have a Pandora News forum and a website/blog that aren't being updated. Seems like one of these two things should be used for official statements. Frankly, I'm surprised Chip hasn't gotten permission to update the website yet; that is probably the best place for this.
I sort of agree - but don't forget that the Devs have to find the time to choose the right word, and what is posted there is the equivalent of a press release and will be quoted around the internet on tech sites and blogs. As for Chip doing it, don't forget that he has to get the news from Craig or ED, which takes us back to your post saying: QUOTE
And, no offense to Chip, but the sporadic updates we DO get shouldn't come from some "guy who had a chat with Craig," but one of the devs.

Anyway, don't interpret this as arguing with you , and it is a little off topic so I'll leave it there.