Will The Pandora Ever Arrive?

[matzesu]

@craigix:

meybe, you can make a video of the mp pandora (but please not on the roof)

that whil be the wait time for us isyea.. :rolleyes:

 

[Asmo]

Were the first 100 not being used for extensive testing, supplying Devs etc? Did all that go out the window?
WiFi and all that sorted, AC supplies and everything?

/Checks sky for earthbound debris

 

[guizm]

Then its possible that the first 100 that preorder first will have their pandoras within a month?

 

[TheRain]

Then its possible that the first 100 that preorder first will have their pandoras within a month?

I think it's more likely that the first 100 will ship in a month from now- not arriving for a little after that.

 

[Sphinxter]

Less than two months?? Dear lord think of what you're suggesting.

 

[matzesu]

1 month, and when i get my pandora, than have the homebrew defs finished the emus, and i can play zombys ate my neigboors on the picodrive!! :rolleyes:

 

[SNESFAN]

I think I might publish a list of the first 100 sometime soon.

craig, going off your silliness in your youtube videos and previous annoucements in this forum I'm starting to think you talk cryptically on purpose maybe even get a kick from the speculation and frustration that comes after you post news in the form you do.

Best troll ever... bravo sir... bravo :golfclap:

EDIT: ohh ohh I got a good one for your next update

seven days.

you know i'm just messin with ya

 

[Sphinxter]

Here here, bravo, recognize a master.

 

[EvilDragon]

Were the first 100 not being used for extensive testing, supplying Devs etc? Did all that go out the window?

Nope, they're still at the MP company who are doing extensive burn-in-tests.
But there's no reason to throw them away when they all pass, is there?

WiFi and all that sorted, AC supplies and everything?

AC: A PSP AC Plug works fine. The first 100 don't need to necessarily be delivered the same AC Adaptors as the
WiFi: No, not yet. DJWillis is also waiting for the final unit But the firmware can be updated.
Devs: There are probably a lot of devs who preordered the Pandora - why not send it to them?

 

[Sugar_Kane]

I'm probably about to start talking poo, but I have to admit that a few things have been niggling at my sense of excitement. First of all it seems to me that most of the pandora specific software I have seen so far appears to be at more of an early beta stage, where as I was hoping that the extended development time would have given rise to a lot more fully finalised applications (such as bug free psx/dosbox emu). The same goes for the wifi, which I understand is almost working, but the fact that it isn't yet just takes a bit of the shine off for me.

Don't get me wrong though, I understand fully why all these things are as they are, and that they can't be helped. I just hope to buggery that I won't hit any hurdles when I ceremoniously remove it from it's packing and begin using it.

 

[rabidpoobear]

Were the first 100 not being used for extensive testing, supplying Devs etc? Did all that go out the window?

Nope, they're still at the MP company who are doing extensive burn-in-tests.
But there's no reason to throw them away when they all pass, is there?

I don't get why people are bitching about burned-in boards. If anyone in the first 100 is afraid of this, let me take your place. I'd rather have a board that was extensively tested by the people who make the OMAP! Why does anyone see this as a bad thing?

 

[rabidpoobear]

All the parts have been delivered, the cases are in mass production, the first 100 boards are awaiting cases.

The final moulds have been created and approved?

What? the 30 days are finished? the moulds of the case are ready? thats awesome , we hafe also only 30 days to wait for our panodoras?
i can play super mario world in the middle of september? thats good news craig!! :lol:

THIS IS WHY WE CANT HAVE NICE THINGS YOU GUYS.
Seriously. Stop starting rumors. Until craigix says explicitly that the molds are done, mass-production of cases includes mold-making time.

No offense to you, matzesu, I'm just pointing out that this is what Gruso was talking about, with rumors and "official" information mysteriously materializing out of thin air.

 

[craigix]

The moulds are in production yes.

There isn't a wait time for the cases after that, they are instant. Actually we will get bits all though the next 30 days or so as some parts are going to be ready before others. (Such as the keypad which has been done for a while).

 

[WizardStan]

such as bug free psx/dosbox emu

What bugs? We've already seen both running perfectly.

I don't get why people are bitching about burned-in boards. If anyone in the first 100 is afraid of this, let me take your place. I'd rather have a board that was extensively tested by the people who make the OMAP! Why does anyone see this as a bad thing?

Because there IS a limit to the life of a processor. I think TI estimates it at about 25'000 hours of normal use, or something.
2 hours of hard core burn in testing might not seem like a lot, but it does still bring the Pandora that much closer to death. And this isn't normal use, this is high-throttle-hit-every-instruction-every-line-every-bit-with-as-many-hammers as you can find use.

 

[rabidpoobear]

I don't get why people are bitching about burned-in boards. If anyone in the first 100 is afraid of this, let me take your place. I'd rather have a board that was extensively tested by the people who make the OMAP! Why does anyone see this as a bad thing?

Because there IS a limit to the life of a processor. I think TI estimates it at about 25'000 hours of normal use, or something.
2 hours of hard core burn in testing might not seem like a lot, but it does still bring the Pandora that much closer to death. And this isn't normal use, this is high-throttle-hit-every-instruction-every-line-every-bit-with-as-many-hammers as you can find use.

I was pretty sure you just made up this 25,000 hours estimate (or thought you got it from a reliable source), because it's way too low, so I took the time to navigate the TI page (which is surprisingly hard) and came up with this:
omap 3530 reliability
The OMAP's expected mean time between failures is 92,480,000 hours. That's over 10,000 years at their estimated operating temperature of 55 celsius. That's 131 fahrenheit. I don't know about you, but my Pandora's probably going to be operating at about 75F (~24C) most of the time.

Honestly all this anti-burned-in boards is just needless scaremongering. They have already done environmental and physical stress tests on the OMAP hardware, they're just testing that all hardware parts aren't going to have a premature failure, that the board design is solid, and that they all are operating correctly (no intermittent connections, etc.) As I said before, if you're worried, give me your place in line.

 

[lulzfish]

I don't get why people are bitching about burned-in boards. If anyone in the first 100 is afraid of this, let me take your place. I'd rather have a board that was extensively tested by the people who make the OMAP! Why does anyone see this as a bad thing?

Because there IS a limit to the life of a processor. I think TI estimates it at about 25'000 hours of normal use, or something.
2 hours of hard core burn in testing might not seem like a lot, but it does still bring the Pandora that much closer to death. And this isn't normal use, this is high-throttle-hit-every-instruction-every-line-every-bit-with-as-many-hammers as you can find use.

Even if it's the equivalent of 1000 hours of normal use, that's a 4% decrease in lifetime. The variation in parts and accidental Pandora death is probably going to be bigger than that.

edit: I got ninja'ed, it's not even a percent of a percent, apparently.
Processor life.. >_> The Pandora will be obsolete in 20 years, a burn-in test isn't going to take that much off.

If they were burning-in something like the battery, I would object, but CPU failure from old age and from testing is really not a concern.

 

[rabidpoobear]

edit: I got ninja'ed, it's not even a percent of a percent, apparently.
Processor life.. >_> The Pandora will be obsolete in 20 years, a burn-in test isn't going to take that much off.

If they were burning-in something like the battery, I would object, but CPU failure from old age and from testing is really not a concern.

I live to ninja you, lulzfish.
I agree, deep cycling the battery would be no good, especially at high temps. I think (?) li-poly batteries are better about memory and cycles than plain lithium-ion, though. Man, it freaks me out that they're flexible. Does anyone know if it's dangerous to flex a li-poly battery?

 

[Pleng]

All the parts have been delivered, the cases are in mass production, the first 100 boards are awaiting cases.

The final moulds have been created and approved?

THIS IS WHY WE CANT HAVE NICE THINGS YOU GUYS.
Seriously. Stop starting rumors. Until craigix says explicitly that the molds are done, mass-production of cases includes mold-making time.

No offense to you, matzesu, I'm just pointing out that this is what Gruso was talking about, with rumors and "official" information mysteriously materializing out of thin air.

No. This is not why we can't have 'nice things' as you put it. Craig stated that the cases are in mass production. If he meant otherwise he should have said so. My post was deliberately provocative as I believed that this may have been inaccurate and, if so, I was giving Craig the opportunity to correct himself.

As it happens, I believe that on this occasion an apology is in order as Craig has since confirmed that the moulds are now in production. So I apologise Craig for doubting you and your rapid response is very much appreciated.

Looking forward to playing Pandy soon(ish)

 

[WizardStan]

I was pretty sure you just made up this 25,000 hours estimate (or thought you got it from a reliable source), because it's way too low, so I took the time to navigate the TI page (which is surprisingly hard) and came up with this:
omap 3530 reliability
The OMAP's expected mean time between failures is 92,480,000 hours. That's over 10,000 years at their estimated operating temperature of 55 celsius. That's 131 fahrenheit. I don't know about you, but my Pandora's probably going to be operating at about 75F (~24C) most of the time.

Honestly all this anti-burned-in boards is just needless scaremongering. They have already done environmental and physical stress tests on the OMAP hardware, they're just testing that all hardware parts aren't going to have a premature failure, that the board design is solid, and that they all are operating correctly (no intermittent connections, etc.) As I said before, if you're worried, give me your place in line.

We had some numbers way back when, which were used to calculate life expectancy of normal use vs overclocking. Normal use was about 250'000 (sorry, missed a 0) or 28 years of non-stop use, while overclocked was about 5 years of non-stop use. That's where I pulled the numbers from.
Anywho, regardless of where I got the numbers from, you asked for an explanation. Just because you don't agree with it doesn't make it any less of a valid concern for those it affects.

 

[rabidpoobear]

stupid accidental double post, removed.