"Smach Z is Back!" ...?

[Christoph.Krn]

I know that journalism is a blurry term, but is someone that is writing (or only doing videos ?) for a tech news - site automatically a journalist?

I assume what you mean by this is whether you could call yourself a journalist without having completed some kind of specific education, to which the answer would be yes (at least in Germany, I assume there will be places where this is different). This is on purpose!
[doublepost=1471966995,1471966020][/doublepost]

Yeah, like, heaven forbid somebody has an opinion without realizing that the experts on this forum are the arbiters of what's cool and good.

That is not really what I was trying to say. I do think that at the current time, as an outside observer it's not really possible to see where the development of this device is headed. Personally, I find the article to be too shallow, uninformed and mostly superficial, and I would not personally consider it a good source of information. Edit: ...the same with that Pyra article from ubuntufun, by the way.

 

[Exophase]

I have to say, https://xkcd.com/1176/

No mention that the person whom is being talked about behind her back has studied computer science, gone through training as an editor at an academy (Axel Springer, oh my...), and develops games in her free time. If you really want to know why she does things the way she does, why not ask her? Or invite her to join this conversation here. Then you may get your answer.

Note that it's not my intention to imply judgement about this person. I just really dislike this gossiping, and I didn't want to remain silent about it (even though it would probably have been still screwed anyway https://xkcd.com/541/).

It's not gossiping to state an opinion about the quality of someone's work. Frankly I don't see why it matters where the author studied, trained, or what she does in her free time because I never made assumptions of or questioned any of that. I don't see what there is to ask or clarify, and I'm not going to contact a person (who might not even speak English) before I feel like I can criticize them in good faith.

Sorry, but agreeing to check out Pyra and GPD Win then only reporting on the Smach Z (either for the reasons ED gave or really any other reason) reeks of poor tech journalism and letting one's own preferences and expectations cloud their work in a way that it shouldn't. This is of course just my opinion, no one has to agree with it and everyone's welcome to debate it, but I don't think I owe anyone an apology for it either.

You yourself called her article low quality so I don't really get why the line is drawn at my criticism being rude, gossip, or talking behind someone's back while your criticism is not.

If this is about the comment I made asking if she was paid off, that was tongue in cheek. I didn't actually mean that and I really doubt something like that is happening.

 

[TheOldOne]

That is something I don't really understand (also in regards to the GPD Win) - both, the Smach guys and GPD have zero chance (and probably no interest in) to really optimize the drivers as they are just "plugging" components together. Or do Intel/AMD allow third parties access to their drivers code ?

I don't know the terms for doing so but I do know that many low end Intel laptops ship with modified video drivers that keep the integrated graphics in low power mode. That gives battery life but kills performance.

 

[Christoph.Krn]

If this is about the comment I made asking if she was paid off, that was tongue in cheek. I didn't actually mean that and I really doubt something like that is happening.

Well, at least I certainly thought you were for real.

 

[Exophase]

Well, at least I certainly thought you were for real.

It was a joke, I hope that's cleared up now. And it was more at Smach Z's expense than the author's.

If you thought I meant it does that mean you were suggesting I invite the author here so I can ask her if she accepted a bribe? Good plan

 

[EvilDragon]

Personally, I don't think she was bribed. She was nice when she visited.
However, I could clearly see that she is a huge fan of the steam controller - and does have some knowledge, but not that much knowledge about technical details.
She believed the Smach-Z team when they say the final unit will have a very fast AMD CPU and GPU, without any fan.

And then she saw the GPD Win. She doesn't like the sticks of the VITA (but loves the Steam controller...) and only saw the the GPD Win has a MUCH lower spech CPU than the Smach-Z.

Of course she wasn't impressed by that. I didn't show her the Pyra afterwards... that would've been even more horrible I guess.

I don't think she was bribed or anything, she just seemed very excited of the upcoming Smach-Z where she had no doubts they'll pull it off and therefore was not really interested in the lower-specced GPD Win.

 

[Klumpen]

If there's one thing to say about all the people that move(d) to Berlin, it's that most of them are very superficial and live in a "here today, gone tomorrow" bubble which emcompasses nearly every aspect of life.
No idea if it's the case with this one and doesn't really matter, just saying.

Maybe Smach Z had a great PR campaign going which totally went past me, I can't understand why anyone could be hyped about it but then again I don't even use Steam.

 

[PowerGod]

I didn't show her the Pyra afterwards... that would've been even more horrible I guess.

LOL

 

[Exophase]

Man, I really shouldn't have made that comment. I thought it was so silly/ridiculous that no one would take it seriously. I hope we don't have a serious discussion about whether or not Smach Z is paying off Curved.

I don't think there's a problem with being more excited about Smach Z than GPD Win, but a tech writer should think about what's relevant to their audience and not just what excites them personally. And if anyone actually does think Smach Z in its current state (probably not even a legitimate prototype) is more relevant to readers than GPD Win then they're really out of touch.

I wonder what these promised Smach Z specs even are? They just say very vaguely that they'll use an SoC from one of multiple possible families, they don't even give clock speeds, core counts, GPU specs or anything like that. So how can anyone conclude that GPD Win has a much lower spec? That article said Smach Z is supposed to have quad core 2.1GHz CPUs and a GPU with 2GB of dedicated VRAM but I don't know where that comes from. Any possible "Falcon" candidate in the G-series or F-series with low enough TDP (not that I think any are really low enough) will have two Excavator cores.

The old KS did mention a "Steppe Eagle" Jaguar-based SoC instead, but no model or CPU clock speed. Maybe that's where 4x21.GHz came from. It's probably where the 2GB VRAM claim came from, but that's not possible to implement in any SoC I know of.

 

[fusion_power]

I'm still happy that a device like that exists, remember, competition is good for business! Not aure about an possible AMD (mobile?) Chip inside, AMD is not really meant for power savings at the moment. But ZEN is on the way, maybe it will get an propper mobile solution then.

 

[benoitb]

Lol.
If the GPD Win runs Fez at more than 5fps, then the GPD Win is the higher specced machine...

 

[Grench]

But these go up to eleven.

Sometimes the numbers matter more to the target audience than the real capabilities.

 

[FlapJack]

Personally, I don't think she was bribed. She was nice when she visited.
However, I could clearly see that she is a huge fan of the steam controller - and does have some knowledge, but not that much knowledge about technical details.
She believed the Smach-Z team when they say the final unit will have a very fast AMD CPU and GPU, without any fan.

And then she saw the GPD Win. She doesn't like the sticks of the VITA (but loves the Steam controller...) and only saw the the GPD Win has a MUCH lower spech CPU than the Smach-Z.

Of course she wasn't impressed by that. I didn't show her the Pyra afterwards... that would've been even more horrible I guess.

I don't think she was bribed or anything, she just seemed very excited of the upcoming Smach-Z where she had no doubts they'll pull it off and therefore was not really interested in the lower-specced GPD Win.

You're most likely correct in your assessment of the situation. She has her likes and motives that sway her interest(s). You read the situation well and tested the waters. Better to protect the brand from negative feedback at this time. I still remember that "Gamester81" jerk from Youtube. Maybe it's better to know not only your target audience, but also your target reviewers. We need some good PR here. You're a wise EvilDragon.
[doublepost=1472007261,1472001828][/doublepost]Also, I have a few takes on this Smach Zero itself. I remember hearing about it a year ago. Maybe they are going about it the right way this time, but I have my doubts, again. "They" apparently canceled their initial Kickstarter because they didn't have a working prototype. Now "they" have private investor(s). They showed a mock-up device at Gamescom 2016 without the promised hardware installed. I saw no video of games being played. I saw a Steam menu. Now they are going to launch a new Kickstarter campaign soon - even though they have "private investors". Also, they are "working on it together with our technology partner IMASD!" What is IMASD? It's an "Internet Marketing Association of Surplus Dealers". It's hardly a partner.

I'll leave it up to your own personal conjecture. Does this remind you of another recently promised device? If that doesn't convince you? Just check out their website and read their FIRST paragraph.---> http://www.smachz.com/newsletter/date.2016-07-17/

 

[pmprog]

Also, they are "working on it together with our technology partner IMASD!" What is IMASD? It's an "Internet Marketing Association of Surplus Dealers". It's hardly a partner.

Assuming the first result was the one they were referring to. Second down (on startpage.com) for me was ImasD Tecnologia. I don't read Spanish, but looks like they own ClickArm, and from what I can gather from ClickArm, they manufacture devices.

I don't know who they are referring to, but just saying, you might not have identified the correct entity

 

[FlapJack]

Assuming the first result was the one they were referring to. Second down (on startpage.com) for me was ImasD Tecnologia. I don't read Spanish, but looks like they own ClickArm, and from what I can gather from ClickArm, they manufacture devices.

I don't know who they are referring to, but just saying, you might not have identified the correct entity

Could be. I checked out their website as well. Seems a strange partner for an AMD CPU-based gaming product. I checked into their products and I see ARM processors. It's still a ruse. Show me evidence to the contrary.

 

[pmprog]

Could be. I checked out their website as well. Seems a strange partner for an AMD CPU-based gaming product. I checked into their products and I see ARM processors. It's still a ruse. Show me evidence to the contrary.

I'm not saying it's not a ruse as they don't got into any detail, or provide links. All I was merely demonstrating there's more than one IMASD in existance, so it is impossible to verify.

 

[FlapJack]

I'm not saying it's not a ruse as they don't got into any detail, or provide links. All I was merely demonstrating there's more than one IMASD in existance, so it is impossible to verify.

Well. I've seen enough... ha ha

 

[MJPIA]

I'm not saying it's not a ruse as they don't got into any detail, or provide links. All I was merely demonstrating there's more than one IMASD in existance, so it is impossible to verify.

Been lurking this forum for a while and figured now is as good as any to register.
It is the technology company ImasD that is backing them and not the other one.
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/imasd-technologies-lawsuit-canceled-kickstarter,30821.html
This is back in December and Toms reported ImasD was looking at buying the company, whether it actually happened I don't know.
ImasD's CEO also spoke in an interview with escapistmagazine about Smach Z.
I mean after Gamescom and their terrible showing I really don't have any interest in it anymore but they at least do have proof an actual tech company is backing them unlike another recent kickstarter.

 

[FlapJack]

Well thanks for the clarification, MJPIA. Still seems (to me) to be a strange partnership if the "Smach Team" is going to stay with AMD architecture, but whatever. At least you alluded to ImasD having had interest in the Smach Z product before. Maybe it will eventually get built. Not sure if it fits my needs however. I balked at the Nvidia Shield because it was too bulky...just look at that Smach Z brick...yow. On the upside, it can probably double as a martial arts weapon.

Oh, and welcome to the Forums.

 

[Exophase]

Been lurking this forum for a while and figured now is as good as any to register.
It is the technology company ImasD that is backing them and not the other one.
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/imasd-technologies-lawsuit-canceled-kickstarter,30821.html
This is back in December and Toms reported ImasD was looking at buying the company, whether it actually happened I don't know.
ImasD's CEO also spoke in an interview with escapistmagazine about Smach Z.
I mean after Gamescom and their terrible showing I really don't have any interest in it anymore but they at least do have proof an actual tech company is backing them unlike another recent kickstarter.

Welcome MJPIA, I remember you from the PGS thread on NeoGAF

For some reason I (poorly) assumed the ClickARM design was shuttered because Smach Z hasn't been mentioning it. I had no idea there were talks of being bought out by ImasD..

Maybe the GamesCom prototype was using actual custom ClickARM boards. At least it's feasible they could be using an Atom (or some other Intel x86) module as a placeholder because they already did it for other devices, and that they'll be replacing it with an AMD "Falcon" module. They said at one point that it'd be using Prairie Falcon and Merlin Falcon, so their intention could be to make two different CPU modules for different product tiers.

I've had some skepticism that the highly modular approach could work well for a small handheld gaming system and that could possibly be a factor in why their prototype is so huge. Pyra does use a daughter board design to good effect, but ClickARM takes the idea a lot further with modularizing other parts, and it appears to be less of a single purpose, small form factor design.

Do you know if ImasD has ever shown pictures of actual PCBs themselves? All I can find on their web site is crude 3D models.