Trying to find a fair solution

[ramboky]

It sounds like a fair few people are going to get left in the cold unfortunately, but I have massive respect for what ED has and continues to do here, so I'd like to make a donation to the pre-order fund. However, I have zero trust in Craig so if the money and/or order will be passing through his hands I'm not interested. Can you (ED) confirm how pre-orders funded from donations are handled?

 

[chetc]

Ed,

Thank you for following up on this.

I am a preorderer from Craig's queue, and have some follow up questions.

You mentioned a previous plan whereby people could outright upgrade to a Pandora for 270 EUR, followed by 200, then 150, etc.  Is this plan still moving forward?  I'm aware that, if we follow this plan, only some people will benefit from it, but a large number of people would be left out in the cold.

Or, is the new plan to have everyone pay 300 EUR or 100 EUR, as stated in this post?  Sorry, I'm confused.

Thank you.

-Chet C.

 

[ShleeDragon]

The plan is.. 300 for an awesome 1Ghz, 100 for a refurbed classic (first come first serve) and the door...

Looks like ED has a course of action. If you're unhappy with missing out on your Pandora.. Take it up with Craig - Repeat, do not project your issues at ED.

 

[Godmil]

Oh man, things took a down turn in the last few days. I misread the OP and thought it was +100 for a rebirth, which I would have to do, but a classic... Hmm that's a bitter pill after a few days ago thinking I would (eventually) be paying the same price for a 1gig. I guess there aren't any other options, and I really am grateful for ED sticking by us, I just wish I had enough money for the 1gig offer. I may have to just sit it out and see what happens

 

[Timstertoo]

The plan is.. 300 for an awesome 1Ghz, 100 for a refurbed classic (first come first serve) and the door...

Looks like ED has a course of action. If you're unhappy with missing out on your Pandora.. Take it up with Craig - Repeat, do not project your issues at ED.

I think you're mixing up what the plan is and what you'd like the plan to be.

ED never said it was $300,-, $100,- or the door. I suggest you read his original post again and not wind up the old pre orders that read this out of context.

 

[vcoleiro1]

I know this is from left field, but maybe since the Shield only sells in the US , ED could import some to sell in Europe via his store.  Profits could go into funding the remaining pre-orders, and the community could get the word out via social media about ED's store stocking Shields for Europeans.

 

[MrConfusion]

Although a nice discount on a new device, assuming it's a clamshell with a keyboard and the gaming controls, would be something I'd go for. A device produced by ED with no Craig involved that is. I don't think ED should carry over this mess to a new project. It should end here and the new project should start without any history looming over it.

Although a nice discount on a new device, assuming it's a clamshell with a keyboard and the gaming controls, would be something I'd go for. A device produced by ED with no Craig involved that is. I don't think ED should carry over this mess to a new project. It should end here and the new project should start without any history looming over it.

"In case a Pandora successor will ever be released (I hope so, but it's unknown right now) and you didn't get your Pandora until then, I'll give you a discounted price for it."

Already carried with this statement, question is simply how far ED wants the cancer to spread :unsure: .

 

[MrConfusion]

Oh man, things took a down turn in the last few days. I misread the OP and thought it was +100 for a rebirth, which I would have to do, but a classic... Hmm that's a bitter pill after a few days ago thinking I would (eventually) be paying the same price for a 1gig. I guess there aren't any other options, and I really am grateful for ED sticking by us, I just wish I had enough money for the 1gig offer. I may have to just sit it out and see what happens

Rebirth has 256 mb more memory.

CPU is the same. I'm assuming display, battery, case, warranty are the same (though ED hasn't confirmed this yet, I think I've seen it talked about in the forums before).

Nubs are apparently different (again, vague recollections from forums) that might affect some PC games I'm interested in, but C64 and Amiga never had analog sticks...

But most importantly, if there are problems I trust ED to take care of them ASAP.

No, at this point, I would not settle with a Classic from Craig anymore.

Just as soon as ED confirms the deal he outlines in the OP is officially on and gives instructions on how to proceed I'll hop on board (hear me ED? B) ).

 

[chetc]

The plan is.. 300 for an awesome 1Ghz, 100 for a refurbed classic (first come first serve) and the door...

Looks like ED has a course of action. If you're unhappy with missing out on your Pandora.. Take it up with Craig - Repeat, do not project your issues at ED.

Trust me, I know what Ed is trying to do for the preorderers, and would never project my frustrations upon him.

I would, however, like an official answer as to what is truly being offerred/planned.

 

[PokeParadox]

The plan is you can stick to what you answered in the survey, but it's not, let's say, realisticly feasible with the number of people still in the queue. So ED is asking for those that can do so to do to pay a final, realistic upgrade fee which is a Pandora at production cost (i.e. very little if any extra cash stays in ED's pocket and that goes to pay for your Pandora) and only when the units are in stock again so not cause another preorder shitstorm. Trust in the Dragon he want to help!


Others have kindly written off their loss and let ED off the hook with thier order, essentially this is a donation of what they originally paid.


Others have donated to try and ease us forward, but there is still a long way to go.


So do what you can so - if you can do something that makes the queue advance then it's appreciated, but if not it may take a while to work through the remainder of the queue.

 

[SirAileron]

Well! I was prepared to buy a fresh 1GHz Pandora and pardon my original order, which makes the discounted rate an incredibly sweet deal. Count me in on the full upgrade. 

 

[dooble]

The plan is you can stick to what you answered in the survey, but it's not, let's say, realisticly feasible with the number of people still in the queue. So ED is asking for those that can do so to do to pay a final, realistic upgrade fee which is a Pandora at production cost (i.e. very little if any extra cash stays in ED's pocket and that goes to pay for your Pandora) and only when the units are in stock again so not cause another preorder shitstorm. Trust in the Dragon he want to help!

Others have kindly written off their loss and let ED off the hook with thier order, essentially this is a donation of what they originally paid.


Others have donated to try and ease us forward, but there is still a long way to go.


So do what you can so - if you can do something that makes the queue advance then it's appreciated, but if not it may take a while to work through the remainder of the queue.

I'm glad it is seen that way... in my mind as it should.  It would really be good if Craig acknowledged it as he is really benefiting.  

It is really sad that ED is the one cleaning this up without Craig.  While it might not have be accepted as easily, Craig could have offered such a solution that just barely covers cost at best.  Not sure it would have been accepted without the drawn out process.

Note I donated my pre-order (or forgave it).  Consider doing this just to clear the queue if you really don't want to pay the upgrade.

doob

 

[rohezal]

However, I have zero trust in Craig so if the money and/or order will be passing through his hands I'm not interested. Can you (ED) confirm how pre-orders funded from donations are handled?

you get a voucher for dragonbox.de, EDs store. no craig involved.

Rebirth has 256 mb more memory.

CPU is the same. I'm assuming display, battery, case, warranty are the same (though ED hasn't confirmed this yet, I think I've seen it talked about in the forums before).

Nubs are apparently different (again, vague recollections from forums) that might affect some PC games I'm interested in, but C64 and Amiga never had analog sticks...

cc has 256 mb ram, rebirth 512 mb ram. and the gpu of a rebirth is a newer revision which works better on android (but same speed). The case, screen etc are all the same. ED takes the 100 euro and uses it for the new nubs, screen, case, etc.

So you got a used mainboard but al other parts are total new.

 

[CocoCreekFisherman]

I think one more problem is the word 'fair'....it can be interpreted subjectively. What might seem fair to some will not be to others.

I do not think everyone will come out 100% satisfied no matter what the solution. But I suppose that is part of the perils of running a business.

 

[Godmil]

Gatta just add, seeing people like doodle writing off his preorder then checking out the donations list... This community is awesome!

 

[xcen]

wow, talk about bad news. Trying hard to repress evil thoughts towards craigx at this point. I do feel sorry for him in the sense that his are not shoes I'd want to wear but the way he handled everything is deplorable. They make movies about people like this.

Moving on, I want a 1ghz now because I was just going to buy the new nexus 7 and, well, I can get a 1ghz pandora for the same price now so might as well do that... 

once again, thanks for ED for never giving up and always doing what's right regardless of how bad the situation is and how horribly craigx puts him in bad situations... I know I would've told everyone to "deal with craig, not me" years ago...

so, I guess let's bite the bullet and get a 1ghz and, in time, the good times had with the device will outweight this whole nightmare.

edit: funny  how most of those who replied aren't even concerned (not in craigx's queue) makes you wonder if they are the most vocal, too...

 

[timwylie]

edit: funny  how most of those who replied aren't even concerned (not in craigx's queue) makes you wonder if they are the most vocal, too...

No offense to the other commenters, but I occasionally feel that these discussions are hard to have when people who are not in Craig's queue are commenting.  If you haven't waited 5 years, then you probably shouldn't tell others how to feel about it.  I don't have the money, and I've personally just decided I don't care anymore.  I started developing games for the pandora back in 2008 after I preordered, but in 2009 I put those projects on hold, and I've just given up.  I wish the pandora was something I could have had, but I never will.  This solution is certainly fair to the community given it's not Ed's fault, but no solution is fair to the individuals in Craig's queue except Craig giving us our damn money back.  Of course, we'll never see it (unless someone has a lawyer).

 

[Trip]

In all honesty, If Ed wants to write off my Pandora order I will accept a GCW-Zero in its place and he can save the change and put it towards someone else's unit.

The GCW-Zero doesn't have the keyboard I wanted or the dual sticks for FPS's, but it runs most of the software that I originally wanted from the Pandora and it seems to run them well. It even uses Gmenu2X, which is my fave interface of all time.

I would pay out a little more for a new Pandora but I wont pay anything more for a reconditioned unit. Not after waiting for so long and putting up with all the crap.

The fact that people are trying to get Ed to dump all the original pre-orders, just so they can maybe buy a Pandora 2 sometime in the future, also shows how much this community has changed (and not for the better). This was supposed to be (first and foremost) a community project and these people wouldn't even have a Pandora if it weren't for the original pre-orders funding the project.

As for Craig..

Me and my brother were watching one of those shows the other week where people build up their own homes. We couldn't believe that these people would borrow millions of pounds without knowing how they would pay it back if the house were failed to be completed. We came to the conclusion that because they were brought up with money, and only had to stick their hands out to get it, they don't actually have any respect for it.

I've always seen Craig in much the same way. I don't know that much about him but I get the feeling that he's used to spending other peoples money and doesn't stop to think about where it comes from or what will happen if things go wrong.

 

[timwylie]

I'd be happy with almost any system replacement.  Better to get something than nothing!  That's something I mentioned when I took the survey that no one seemed to care about.  I'd gladly accept a $100 refund and call the other $300 a donation to the community. Give me a gp2x- at this point I just want SOMETHING to show for $400 invested and 5 years of waiting.

 

[ekianjo]

The fact that people are trying to get Ed to dump all the original pre-orders, just so they can maybe buy a Pandora 2 sometime in the future, also shows how much this community has changed (and not for the better). This was supposed to be (first and foremost) a community project and these people wouldn't even have a Pandora if it weren't for the original pre-orders funding the project.

You don't seem to understand. These are not ED's costumers in the first place. ED delivered all his pre-orders already. Now Craig is doing ZERO, i.e. NOTHING to take care of the pre-orders, and ED is going out of his way to support them because Craig does not care one bit about all the money he gets from people, be it Pandora original preorders, Pandora 1Ghz preorders or ICP2.

If ED had dropped Craig support, the Pandora could be sold cheaper by now, and we would be more surely on our way for a Pandora successor. Instead of that you get people who are angry that ED cannot deliver everything for free, and almost nobody complaining about Craig who is the key person to blame for not taking care of HIS customers in the first place. Some of the comments in this thread are just ridiculous towards ED and plain painful to read. 

And as a matter of fact, it's not thanks to the original pre-orders that we can have a Pandora nowadays, in case you did not notice. That money was lost long, long ago. It's because a number of investors came behind ED to restart the production in Germany that the project is still alive. This has nothing to do with original pre-orders anymore. Get your story right.