Quick-boot Mode

[Gilrad]

So an idea struck me--how much power would the Pandora need if it were in Suspend to RAM mode?

If it's not a whole lot (like, over 24 hours on a full charge), then maybe there could be a quick-boot mode. Something like this:

You enter quick-boot mode, and a number of user-defined applications are loaded onto the ram, and the handheld suspends. When you turn it back on, you could have it configured so that...

Holding the X button will load up an e-dictionary program,
holding Y would load up a PSX emulator
holding B would load up the web browser
holding A would load up an e-book reader, in ebook mode
turning on on while the clamshell is closed would load up the mp3 player in mp3 mode

So basically, it would take ~6 seconds to enter (no big deal because you have already closed the lid and put it in your pocket by then anyway), and when you quick-boot into something, it would almost instantaneously load up whatever you wanted it to. Defining the quick-boot would be as simple as assigning buttons to an application, with a bar telling you how much ram you have left whenever you enter the mode.

Thoughts?

 

[aliking]

I've no idea what I'm talking about, but this sounds very powerful.

Maybe this is not exactly the same thing, but could we not have multiple save states?
i.e. multiple 128M ram images that are stored on internal memory or SD and you choose which one gets loaded on resume?

Could this also be a really fast way to handle switching between a potentially memory resident UI and memory hungry game?

 

[sindbad]

Many desktop environments automatically save the session (state of all apps) when the user logs out and also offer the option to save the session on command.
Saving a session and having the pandora boot up with that as default would be much less complicated and it can be made so it suspends after it boots if the lid is closed.

However, software from the 256mb nand flash should start up very quickly so it wouldn't be that useful.

 

[Karel Jansens]

Has this been confirmed: suspend-to-RAM lasts only 24 hours??!

That would be a major bummer, as a comparatively primitive ancestor of the Pandora -- the Nokia N8X0 -- lasts for up to 10 days in suspend-to-RAM mode, with the same amount of RAM.

 

[Squidge]

Has this been confirmed: suspend-to-RAM lasts only 24 hours??!

It's been stated that the device would default to hibernating after being in standby for 24 hours (as an example only), if that's what you mean.

Of course, the battery will last much longer, and you can change that setting if you so wish.

 

[efegea]

Has this been confirmed: suspend-to-RAM lasts only 24 hours??!

That would be a major bummer, as a comparatively primitive ancestor of the Pandora -- the Nokia N8X0 -- lasts for up to 10 days in suspend-to-RAM mode, with the same amount of RAM.

No, it's not that lasts only 24 hours, it's that after 24 hours it will automatically hibernate

EDIT: squidge is faster than me

 

[Karel Jansens]

Thanks, fellows. That'll probably be among the first things I'll customize on my Pandora (knocks on wood). I've become accustomed to my pocketables to be really instant-on and not "on-after-several-seconds".

 

[.Gogeta§§J4BR.]

correct, loading times for portables are a MAJOR problem

 

[Karel Jansens]

correct, loading times for portables are a MAJOR problem

Really? Because I remember my Psions (all three of them) coming on instantly after hitting the power button. I also remember my Newtons (two) amazingly starting to work instantly when asked to. And I remember my Nokia Itablets (again, two) jumping into action upon fondling the power switch.

Oh, maybe you're referring to Windows portables? Apparently they really crave those reboots...

 

[Lineus]

Nice idea. Quick question: can the p&|a detect when the clamshell is closed via hardware?

 

[Chip]

Nice idea. Quick question: can the p&|a detect when the clamshell is closed via hardware?

Quick answer: Yes.

 

[magicman5421]

I've never really had a problem with handheld booting time (other than my gp2x), my ds is speedy and gameboys before that were equally fast. I'd hope that the pandora can boot in <10 secs but i guess i could deal with more if that's the price that I pay for perfection...

 

[Rayek]

Why not just have it suspend to disc? It could dump whatever's in RAM to an SD card and fully power down, and when the console's turned on again, it would just dredge up whatever's in that particular system folder? No battery drain that way at all, and perhaps ingame, or while any particular program's working.

All you'd need was to keep ~512MB on an SD clear to enable suspend-to-disc. Perhaps a menu option could create a .ram folder in the root folder of the primary SD card? I know this process is kind of tricky with certain bits of hardware, and doesn't always work. But if it did, it would fix... a lot of problems.

 

[sindbad]

Perhaps a menu option could create a .ram folder in the root folder of the primary SD card? I know this process is kind of tricky with certain bits of hardware, and doesn't always work. But if it did, it would fix... a lot of problems.
Linux can suspend to swap, which can be a partition or a file on a partition.

 

[Rayek]

Perhaps a menu option could create a .ram folder in the root folder of the primary SD card? I know this process is kind of tricky with certain bits of hardware, and doesn't always work. But if it did, it would fix... a lot of problems.
Linux can suspend to swap, which can be a partition or a file on a partition.

Right, which would eliminate the need to keep constant power, no matter how small an amount, to RAM to keep whatever's in there, in there. That, of course, could be triggered by a lid close, or a key combination.

 

[sindbad]

Or suspend to ram when lid is closed, suspend to sd after a certain amount of time of ram suspend. This would require ocasional wakeups and may slightly reduce total suspend time, but would save a lot more in the long run.

 

[Squidge]

It all depends how fast you want it to wake up afterwards. STR will of course be much quicker than STD.

 

[Rayek]

It all depends how fast you want it to wake up afterwards. STR will of course be much quicker than STD.

Suspend to disk can't take much longer than suspend to ram... I personally would, in the event that it would suspend to disc after a certain time, choose to have that time be at a minimum, like after 5 minutes.

After dealing with the GP2X and battery life I'm weary of implementing features that sap the battery, even if the battery performs much better in the Pandora.

 

[fusion_power]

All you'd need was to keep ~512MB on an SD clear to enable suspend-to-disc. Perhaps a menu option could create a .ram folder in the root folder of the primary SD card? I know this process is kind of tricky with certain bits of hardware, and doesn't always work. But if it did, it would fix... a lot of problems.


512MB? :blink:
Currently I have a 1GB and a 2GB SD Card and because the Pandora will cost a good bunch of Money I have to live with my 2 SD's for a while. 50MB maybe but I doubt that such type of "swap file" is good onto SD's. AFAIK SD's are sensitive for to much writing cycles and can reduce the life of the Cards.
A Area onto the NAND of the Pandora is a much better place for the STD option.

 

[Chip]

512MB? :blink:
Currently I have a 1GB and a 2GB SD Card and because the Pandora will cost a good bunch of Money I have to live with my 2 SD's for a while. 50MB maybe but I doubt that such type of "swap file" is good onto SD's. AFAIK SD's are sensitive for to much writing cycles and can reduce the life of the Cards.
A Area onto the NAND of the Pandora is a much better place for the STD option.

You would only need enough space on the card to make an image of the RAM. In this case, only 128MB.

The internal storage is a terrible place to suspend to. All flash storage is susceptible to failure after a certain number of writes. Which would you rather have go bad a few years down the line - a cheap and easily replaceable SD card or the non-replaceable internal flash storage?