We have a new wiki main page :)


Could i propose a perversion of the main page, so scandalous that it can be interpreted in, multiple ways?

if-you-know-what-i-mean.png
 
A double-entendre you say? Knock one out.

Regarding ARM PC, I guess that's unambiguous, although if you do still internally substitute 'IBM PC compatible' for PC it's contradictory. I'd let that pass personally though.
 
I will take on your challenge and suggest im allowed to spill my beans on the open canvas that is the wiki mainpage:

Openpandora, the handheld PC.

Open to anything.
Limited only to total freedom.
Enjoy, make, modify, share.


German.

18 words, anything less makes it too undeveloped.

Edit: on saxxon 1.60RC the machine name in dmesg is: "Pandora Handheld Console"
 
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Why do we even need these few lines anyway?

To me the above (and anything like it) feels forced and out of place.

I'd much rather have a proper paragraph describing the device, and the purpose of the wiki.
 
That is very good to target an engineering type mind, to others it creates confusion, insecurity, doubt.

If you have something you can align with its easier to say "this is my device", rather than, "this is a device, which i may have some known predetermined use for which i can measure up specs for"

Instead this is very generic in its application, but the meaning isnt, there is no drivel.

Open isn't actual practical freedom, but its a nice place to arrive at, given the intentions of open, and what does that entail? Open, free, a community; a trifecta of things( in need of explaining.) not just a device.
 
In the interest of inclusion, not excluding those who don't fit into "most" strikes me as a good idea.

Edit: Share thoughts, pros and cons of this and the other one.
 
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Who said a chunk of introductory prose was unwelcoming to non-engineers?
 
Problem is that the less you say, the harder communication becomes.

None (or very few) of the groups of phrases posted in this thread are good English, easy to understand, or a good description of the device and its wiki. They feel unprofessional, and read as if they had been written by an autotranslator.

If people are reading the wiki, they want information about the device - not some kind of ultracondensed poetry.

I would suggest something like this instead:
 

Welcome to the OpenPandora wiki! This is an unofficial source of all information about the OpenPandora handheld computer. Put briefly, the aim of the Pandora is to provide the user with as much freedom as possible from a handheld device. The firmware is based on Angstrom Linux, with the full source code available here. A wide range of games and applications are available on the official repository, ranging from direct ports of GIMP and LibreOffice to fully-optimised Pandora exclusives.

The firmware is completely unlocked from first boot, so you have full control of the entire device. Moreover, the hardware is designed to be flexible from the ground up, featuring full gaming controls and keyboard, a touchscreen, full USB host and twin SDHC slots. The battery lasts twenty hours on a single charge and the audio hardware is the best in any mobile device.

The Pandora is a unique system. As an owner of one of the most exclusive products in its field, you can be part of a strong online community. You can talk to real developers, get help from real experts, and chat with the production team. We have an IRC channel on Freenode, a highly active forum, and, of course, this wiki.

We would also value your contributions. Could you write an article for the community-run PandoraLive blog? Volunteer to help with customer support? Develop and publish new software? You can distribute Pandora apps under any licence, in any way and charge as much or as little as you please. Most standard Linux libraries are available by default, allowing you to develop on the device, for the device.

If you want to disassemble your Pandora and make use of the spare GPIOs to create something new, we'd love to hear about it - though do bear in mind that this will void your warranty.

More information is available using the links below, or using the search function on the sidebar. We also have a guest area on the forums where you can introduce yourself or ask any beginner's questions without creating an account.

Have fun!
 
Problem is that the less you say, the harder communication becomes.
That's not necessarily true.    Sometimes it goes the other way, so you need to find the right balance.  On one hand you should always use however many words as are needed to clearly express the idea being communicated.  On the other hand one should also try to be as concise as is practicable.

That being said I otherwise agree with your assessment and I think your suggested version is a great improvement. :)

- Neelix
 
Problem is that the less you say, the harder communication becomes.

None (or very few) of the groups of phrases posted in this thread are good English, easy to understand, or a good description of the device and its wiki. They feel unprofessional, and read as if they had been written by an autotranslator.

If people are reading the wiki, they want information about the device - not some kind of ultracondensed poetry.

I would suggest something like this instead:

Welcome to the OpenPandora wiki! This is an unofficial source of all information about the OpenPandora handheld computer. Put briefly, the aim of the Pandora is to provide the user with as much freedom as possible from a handheld device. The firmware is based on Angstrom Linux, with the full source code available here. A wide range of games and applications are available on the official repository, ranging from direct ports of GIMP and LibreOffice to fully-optimised Pandora exclusives.

The firmware is completely unlocked from first boot, so you have full control of the entire device. Moreover, the hardware is designed to be flexible from the ground up, featuring full gaming controls and keyboard, a touchscreen, full USB host and twin SDHC slots. The battery lasts twenty hours on a single charge and the audio hardware is the best in any mobile device.

The Pandora is a unique system. As an owner of one of the most exclusive products in its field, you can be part of a strong online community. You can talk to real developers, get help from real experts, and chat with the production team. We have an IRC channel on Freenode, a highly active forum, and, of course, this wiki.

We would also value your contributions. Could you write an article for the community-run PandoraLive blog? Volunteer to help with customer support? Develop and publish new software? You can distribute Pandora apps under any licence, in any way and charge as much or as little as you please. Most standard Linux libraries are available by default, allowing you to develop on the device, for the device.

If you want to disassemble your Pandora and make use of the spare GPIOs to create something new, we'd love to hear about it - though do bear in mind that this will void your warranty.

More information is available using the links below, or using the search function on the sidebar. We also have a guest area on the forums where you can introduce yourself or ask any beginner's questions without creating an account.

Have fun!
The only additional info i took from that was "dual SDHC slots" and "talk to the people making it". Those are very valid points, so i updated with that info.

Otherwise it was too much text, it replicates itself, and what is found elsewhere, drowning the content. It doesnt make me interested. Make the design nice, not fill it with nice words. The reward for seeking that much attention, and in turn taking it away from everything else, could even be detrimental.
 
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I agree with Binky, and disagree with you. Your short sentences are only understandable if you already know what the Pandora is - It does not pull anybody new in. In addition, they are slightly weird, englishways, which makes them even more difficult to parse.
 
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Here is my comment on the new main page.

I also posted it as feedback on the wiki, but that form ate all my linebreaks which makes it kinda hard to read...

The following pages should not be listed here, since they only add noise to the already overwhelming amount of links on the page:
Gaming-->MogsVsDogs - a detailed and interesting page, yet the project is really old and long dead
Gaming-->Greyout - another page on a single game, very detailed, yet only interesting to a small subset of users, also very outdated (I should update it at some point...)
Gaming-->NetKeen - another link to a single game, does not warrant a mainPage placement in my eyes
I would rather have a "List of noteworthy games by genre" list or something like that, but obviously such a list is always very subjective.

Software-->PickleLauncher - only relevant to developers, nice to know it's there, but better found through search or "development hub" page
Software-->Pencil - page about a single app
Software-->NoteCase Pro - page about a single app
Same here, I would rather have a "list of noteworthy apps by use-case" list.

Hacking-->New PND format - also has a very limited audience, it's an old rant-like pile of ideas (also not likely to happen now that the Pandora has more or less taken off, might be interesting for development of the Pyra, but nothing else)

Missing:
Link to download latest firmware and installation guide
Generally some introductory text would be nice, if I am new to this project I have a task in mind but not necessarily know where to look for that or which of the thousand links to click.
So I propose to have a section like this:
"If you want to jump right into gaming go here: [link to repo or list of noteworthy games, see above]"
"If you want to relive memories of your past and emulate some games, check out this: [Link to emulator hub page with all compatibility lists, etc.]"
"If you are a developer and want to create your own stuff: [Link to "Development"]"
etc.

Overall I don't agree with the new layout, but I currently don't have a better idea or the time to create a mock-up of any sort.

Generally I think it needs more guidance text instead of just a pile of links (see idea above). It's looking way better than one of the earlier attemts, but still not "nice". I like how the most useful (and some not so useful) information is now only one click away , but this can be overwhelming (and needs careful selection, it still contains a lot of noise). It kinda seems like the idea was to keep people from using the search...
 
I agree foxblock. Excellent points. I fixed the Ângström page. (has seen quite extensive work)  Added (Official OS) to the entry.

Cant move those pages you mentioned because i dont know where, cant delete because they have useful info.

Could link to them from the respective repo pages, and just hide them from view, but that is avoiding the problem somewhat.
 
I would keep the pages, but simply remove the links from the MainPage

Keep them for the posterity, but they don't need to be easily available (they can still be found via the search or links on other pages).
 
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