Sane version numbering?

[Binky]

Why look up online when you could look it up with a local tool?

How is a website supposed to know what hardware you've got if you don't?

 

[x1212]

Because the serial is not printed on the case but saved in a secured way so it can only be send encrypted to that server after various handshakes ... (could be done: http://arm.com/products/processors/technologies/trustzone/tee-smc.php but to do so EvilDragon would have to be really evil, I guess)

 

[Binky]

^ So far, ED is doing a pathetic job of being evil. He really doesn't seem to get the idea at all.

 

[DrHAX]

Open up the back of any DMG gameboy. You'll see a revision based numbering system. Dmg-06 05 one is the main board one is the screen. So a pyra could easily gave a similar system Pyra-1 3G-1 or Pyra-2 4G-2, Or Pyra-1 NO-0 for no module or just have a space of the case cut out to show these on the modules themselves exactly like the DMG because cases can be swapped so having that made perfecting a pro sound modded gameboy much easier.

Sent from my Z665C using Tapatalk

 

[God Ginrai]

What about something like this?

[company abbreviation]-[device number (starts at 1)][soC number (starts at 0)][2 digits for encoding extra features]

So, for example, if we choose to retroactively give model numbers to the Pandora, then it would be:

OP-1000 <-- Classic Pandora

OP-1001 <-- Rebirth Pandora (01 for 512 MB RAM)

OP-1102 <-- 1GHz Pandora (02 for the speed increase in the RAM)

So, for the Pyra, you could have:

DB-1000 <-- OMAP5 Pyra, no 3G

DB-1001 <-- OMAP5 Pyra, 3G

DB-1002 <-- OMAP5 Pyra, 4G

DB-1100 <-- A80 Pyra, no 3G

DB-1101 <-- A80 Pyra, 3G

DB-1102 <-- A80 Pyra, 4G

DB-1200 <-- x86 Pyra, no 3G

DB-1201 <-- x86 Pyra, 3G

DB-1202 <-- x86 Pyra, 4G

And the Pyra successor would be the 2XXX series, starting with the base model: DB-2000

I got the idea for this system from the model numbering for devices for the Dreamcast. This isn't the same numbering convention, but it is formatted in a similar way.

-God Ginrai

 

[Rockthesmurf]

I would rather have a sticker with "made with love, ED" than a version number

 

[levi]

I just about understand why model numbers are important to Nintendo fans - the AGS-101 GBA SP with the better screen (and probably older examples I've missed), but the screen in the Pandora did change independently of the motherboard revision multiple times.


AGS-101 is a useful label because it describes a difference in the screen that would otherwise be ambiguous. Labels for different revisions of the Pyra with different GSM chips on is less useful, as it's not hard to say OMAP Pyra with 3G or whatever. Unless ED had a numbering system that incremented every time he got a new box of parts (which it might be reasonable to assume are all the same), but given the smaller production runs of this sort of thing, that might be an unreasonable overhead.

 

[God Ginrai]

Levi, that's basically what the last 2 digits in my suggestion are for. You would increase it for any auxillary features. (3G, 4G, changed screen) This gives you 99 variations (255 if we use hexadecimal numbering in my system) for any one SoC, which is probably more than enough to account for these differences.

-God Ginrai

 

[levi]

All I'm saying it ED doesn't always know when the screens have changed at time of manufacture. As far as I know all the screens were sold as the same item, with the same code, but experience has taught him that they're different in different circumstances. So he'd need to increment the number for every new box or reel of bits, and if that need a new board each time, or a new set of stickers printed, that seems wasteful to me.

 

[Exophase]

What about something like this?

I think that works but would have another number for product line. You want to have part numbers for other things made by the company too, like accessories and cable numbers.. outside of the product line number they can use their own numbering.

 

[WizardStan]

As far as I know all the screens were sold as the same item, with the same code, but experience has taught him that they're different in different circumstances

They may have been the same item and code but they came from different batches. While they should have been the same they weren't and if we want to indicate that in a serial number we just increment the number by batch.First run, get 1000 screens, version 001. Second run, new set of screens, version 002. So on and so forth.

Then if someone discovers batch 005 has a flaw and pixels start dying after only a few months everyone can just open their case and go "oh poo, I have a 005 LCD".

 

[God Ginrai]

What about something like this?

I think that works but would have another number for product line. You want to have part numbers for other things made by the company too, like accessories and cable numbers.. outside of the product line number they can use their own numbering.

hrmm, so something like this?

[company abbreviation]-[Product Line number (starts at 1)][product type number (0 for main device, >1 for accessories)][soC number (starts at 0)][2 digits for encoding extra features]

For the Pandora:

OP-10000 <-- Classic Pandora

OP-10001 <-- Rebirth Pandora (01 for 512 MB RAM)

OP-10102 <-- 1GHz Pandora (02 for the speed increase in the RAM)

OP-11000 <-- First Pandora Charger

OP-11001 <-- Second Pandora Charger

OP-12000 <-- First Pandora Case

OP-12001 <-- Second Pandora Case

For the Pyra:

DB-10000 <-- OMAP5 Pyra, no 3G

DB-10001 <-- OMAP5 Pyra, 3G

DB-10002 <-- OMAP5 Pyra, 4G

DB-10100 <-- A80 Pyra, no 3G

DB-10101 <-- A80 Pyra, 3G

DB-10102 <-- A80 Pyra, 4G

DB-10200 <-- x86 Pyra, no 3G

DB-10201 <-- x86 Pyra, 3G

DB-10202 <-- x86 Pyra, 4G

DB-11000 <-- First Pyra Charger

DB-11001 <-- Second Pyra Charger

DB-12000 <-- First Pyra Case

DB-12001 <-- Second Pyra Case

For the Pyra Successor:

DB-20000 <-- Base Unit

DB-21000 <-- Pyra Successor Charger

DB-22000 <-- First Pyra Successor Case

DB-22001 <-- Second Pyra Successor Case

-God Ginrai

 

[Binky]

How's about this:

Two-letter abbreviation of product line (e.g. PY=pyra, CA=case, CH=charger, etc)

Digit for major product revision

Digit for secondary revision (or SOC)

Digit for tertiary revision

Letter for parallel product variations

Where later characters can be omitted

So at launch, we might have:

PY-100A - first revision pyra, first soc, no tweaks, no 3G

PY-100B- first revision pyra, first soc, no tweaks,  3G

CA-10 - first revision case, no adjustments

CH-10 - first charger, no tweaks

The ED finds a better case from a different company:

CA-20

A minor bug is fixed on the PCB:

PY-101A

PY-101B

A new CPU board with an A80 is developed:

PY-111A

PY-111B

A version with 4G comes out

PY-111C

an all-new pyra is available:

PY-200

 

[God Ginrai]

I feel like it is better to use the first letters to define the company. This helps to tie products together. How would you do a Pyra Successor case? Wouldn't it get confusing about whether that could be used with the Pyra or not?

-God Ginrai

 

[levi]

First run, get 1000 screens, version 001. Second run, new set of screens, version 002. So on and so forth.


Then if someone discovers batch 005 has a flaw and pixels start dying after only a few months everyone can just open their case and go "oh poo, I have a 005 LCD".

Okay, I can go with that. I'm just a bit wary combining it all into one version number. With the Pandora we had case batches, two different CPUs, CPU batches, LCD batches, board batches, board revisions, LCD cable revisions. Add one for every time one of those changes and we'd be in the hundreds, I suspect, which is a lot of different labels printed. I suppose if he prints them himself that's no great loss though.


It's entirely up to ED though. He'd have to maintain a record of what system revision 98 versus revision 99 means in terms of order dates for all parts.

 

[God Ginrai]

Okay, I can go with that. I'm just a bit wary combining it all into one version number. With the Pandora we had case batches, two different CPUs, CPU batches, LCD batches, board batches, board revisions, LCD cable revisions. Add one for every time one of those changes and we'd be in the hundreds, I suspect, which is a lot of different labels printed. I suppose if he prints them himself that's no great loss though.

Honestly, I doubt that even got to 50 different things. But as I pointed out, my suggestion allows for up to 255 different possibilities for each SoC version.

-God Ginrai

 

[Hồng Thất Công]

Just use types of Dragons to name each version of Pyra like this.

Looks like there's no shortage of types of dragons for version numbering

 

[God Ginrai]

Yea, because that "Zaxxon", etc. system that Craig and ED tried with the Pandora firmware worked SOOOO well. Not to mention, a naming scheme that is not numerical gives no easy way to determine newer products from older ones.

-God Ginrai

 

[bzar]

Pyra Albino Alligator

Pyra Bountiful Bonobo

Pyra Crafty Cretin

Pyra Devious Dragon

...

 

[Binky]

Pyra playful potato