The Pandora can not run Windows (or WINE)

[elwing]

. The software for it will be limited for sure when compared to linux offering, but for some this might be important. Cheers!
I don't see how any of this could be made available. If someone gets it running, they can't upload it anywhere as Microsoft will surely send take down orders, c&ds, etc almost instantly. Taking the OS from elsewhere and replacing/adding a few drivers will likely result in the same outcome.

and building a new windows mobile(ce) image would be much easier than adapting an image of an os tailored for an other platform... as for microsoft, as long as you'll pay the license (around 3$ for the basic, 15$ if you want some office viewer and thing like that...), I don't see where the problem might be. the problem will come from the people who builded that OS for this specific platform and embedded their own drivers...

 

[valhalla]

, I don't see where the problem might be.

Do they even sell licenses for windows MO directly to customers?

 

[elwing]

as for microsoft, as long as you'll pay the license (around 3$ for the basic, 15$ if you want some office viewer and thing like that..."], I don't see where the problem might be.

Do they even sell licenses for windows MO directly to customers?[/quote]no, it's microsoft partner who sell licences, but an image needs to be validated in order to define if you have to pay the 3$ or the 16$ one... thus licencing only 1image is not realistic... a standard pandora image resulting in a few hundred licence is totally possible for sure through...

 

[Whazor]

http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=2953

There are many sites suggesting that Windows 7 will ever come for ARM proccesors. The good news is that many netbooks are coming with ARM, and we could use their programs and operatingssystems. And maybe ever we can run Windows 7/8 on the Pandora.

 

[Squidge]

It doesn't matter how many web sites say it might happen. Until it does, theres little point talking about it here.

Even when it does, do you really think it's going to fit in the Pandora limited 512MB NAND? From previous experience of Windows OS's, no a chance. You'll need to therefore launch it from an sd card, and of course need someone to write appropriate drivers.

Think about it for the Pandora II, not for the current version.

 

[WizardStan]

As has been pointed out several times already, even if Windows 7 hits ARM, and someone manages to install it on the Pandora, it will not give people portable WoW, or Halo, or Half-Life, or whatever they're looking for. The apps are what most people who want to run Windows care about, and unless the Microsoft guys do something really clever, it's not likely that any modern game is going to run at an appreciable speed.

 

[#1 GameMaster]

As has been pointed out several times already, even if Windows 7 hits ARM, and someone manages to install it on the Pandora, it will not give people portable WoW, or Halo, or Half-Life, or whatever they're looking for. The apps are what most people who want to run Windows care about, and unless the Microsoft guys do something really clever, it's not likely that any modern game is going to run at an appreciable speed.

Well how about an older game like 1602 A.D. because that's about the only windows game that I actually thought about trying to use on it anyways.
Here are it's requirements.
- Pentium 166 MHz or higher
- 32 MB RAM

If it doesn't work I would still get a Pandora anyways because there are a lot of reasons I have for getting one I just think it would be pretty cool if it did run it though. B)

 

[ldesnogu]

Well how about an older game like 1602 A.D. because that's about the only windows game that I actually thought about trying to use on it anyways.
Here are it's requirements.
- Pentium 166 MHz or higher
- 32 MB RAM

If it doesn't work I would still get a Pandora anyways because there are a lot of reasons I have for getting one I just think it would be pretty cool if it did run it though. B)

This will never work through emulation, the CPU requirement is too high. Static recompilation probably is the only solution.

 

[WizardStan]

Well how about an older game like 1602 A.D. because that's about the only windows game that I actually thought about trying to use on it anyways.
Here are it's requirements.
- Pentium 166 MHz or higher
- 32 MB RAM

If it doesn't work I would still get a Pandora anyways because there are a lot of reasons I have for getting one I just think it would be pretty cool if it did run it though. B)

Too high. I will backpedal a little here from my all inclusive "can't run Windows" statement and say that, in theory, you can run Windows 3.1 and might be able to run, for example, the original Myst or 7th Guest. Possibly even games like KQ6. If it needs more than a 486/66 or higher than Windows 3.1, the answer will be No. If it runs in Windows 3.1 on a 486/66 or lower, then the answer is Maybe.
Of course, the average person asking if it can run Windows is asking because they want to run Half Life or WoW, and to those people I revert to my original "can't run Windows" stance.

 

[#1 GameMaster]

OK thanks for the information.

 

[michield]

Did anyone try Qemu + Wine on the beagleboard?

I am curious how much memory it uses. People have tried this combo on ARM (Zaurus)
and PPC (old macs) succesfully (google it!)

Soo... is this doable with enough memory left on 256 MB without swapping all the time?

e.g:
http://lists.terrasoftsolutions.com/pipermail/yellowdog-general/2004-June/014468.html
(very old!)

Of course this is a large step away from the ultimate combo...
ARM compiled Wine (or ReactOS, they are making an ARM version http://www.reactos.org/en/newsletter_37.html )
with a native DX3D->GLES wrapper and a translator that takes QEMU translated x86 dll calls and puts it
in native ARM format...

 

[guizm]

Im curious, the game red alert 2 for win 98 runs on a P.75 with 8 MB of ram, could this game be emulated? If so, emulating an old OS will have touchscreen funcion like a mouse?

 

[WizardStan]

Im curious, the game red alert 2 for win 98 runs on a P.75 with 8 MB of ram, could this game be emulated? If so, emulating an old OS will have touchscreen funcion like a mouse?

x86 emulation is very weak. Even a P75 takes a lot of power to do. Assume for the foreseeable future the answer is no.
As far as your touchscreen-as-mouse question, take a look at the Warcraft 2 static recompile

 

[guizm]

Im curious, the game red alert 2 for win 98 runs on a P.75 with 8 MB of ram, could this game be emulated? If so, emulating an old OS will have touchscreen funcion like a mouse?

x86 emulation is very weak. Even a P75 takes a lot of power to do. Assume for the foreseeable future the answer is no.
As far as your touchscreen-as-mouse question, take a look at the Warcraft 2 static recompile

Wow, didn't expected an answer so fast, Thanks . But im asking cause in this thread you said that it could maybe emulate 466/66, and there were running at 100 Mhz no? Also, Laurent was working in some x86 emu, do you know how's it going?

 

[pelrun]

People have tried this combo on ARM (Zaurus) and PPC (old macs) succesfully (google it!)

Emulating WINE doesn't count. <_<

 

[ldesnogu]

x86 emulation is very weak. Even a P75 takes a lot of power to do. Assume for the foreseeable future the answer is no.

Currently QEMUonARM seems to exceed Pentium 75 speed for nbench in similar conditions (cf this). Note the results on that post are for a chip @400 MHz. No, I have no Pandora to test and can't seem to setup my Beagle
OTOH Wine would slow it down, and it's very probable that the game requirements are not the whole truth...

As far as your touchscreen-as-mouse question, take a look at the Warcraft 2 static recompile

Doing a static recompile is probably illegal in some countries, such as those forbidding reverse-engineering, unless perhaps if the process is fully automated (and I doubt it is). Oh well anyway emulation legality is questionable in many cases

 

[Shaun199three]

So since WINE only works when linux and windows are using the same architecture, do you think it would be possible for a WINE type program to be made for the Pandora to emulate the Iphone 3gs since they both use Cortex A8.

 

[valhalla]

So since WINE only works when linux and windows are using the same architecture, do you think it would be possible for a WINE type program to be made for the Pandora to emulate the Iphone 3gs since they both use Cortex A8.

I don't see a reason why it could be theoretically impossible, but consider how long it took for wine to reach version 1.0, and the number of persons that have a need for wine as compared to those who would use an iphone "emulator" for the pandora, and I wouldn't keep my breath while waiting for it.

 

[laurencevde]

So since WINE only works when linux and windows are using the same architecture, do you think it would be possible for a WINE type program to be made for the Pandora to emulate the Iphone 3gs since they both use Cortex A8.

AFAIK, the iphone-os is pretty much osx-on-arm. IF it also uses cocoa for the GUI, it's actually a bit easier than it looks. Most of cocoa has already been implemented for X11 in GNUstep. But you still need to implement a loader for the binary-file-format (there are some dead projects) and the lower-level tools, libs, and functionality. Oh, and the audio-layer...

It will still be a monumental amount of work, apple won't like you, the result will probably not be as fast, finding enough people to do it will be difficult, and it'll take years, but it's not impossible, and I expect the work that still needs to be done to be less than wine needed to do(OSX seems to be cleaner than win32, better documented, more unix-like, and already partially implemented).

Just don't expect anything usable within openPandora's lifespan...

 

[Exophase]

So since WINE only works when linux and windows are using the same architecture, do you think it would be possible for a WINE type program to be made for the Pandora to emulate the Iphone 3gs since they both use Cortex A8.

They may have compatible CPUs but Pandora doesn't have a multi-touch screen, accelerometer, or magnetometer, and I'm sure lacks other vital hardware components as well. Good luck doing a lot on iPhone apps with single touch control being your only input.