Will You Buy It Now?

[kanzlr]

On a philosophical level, I wonder what it is about attempted comedy that renders it objectively funny or lame respectively? Is such a judgement even possible? Hmm...

only in Germany.
and they are wrong most of the time

 

[HanDuo]

Come on guys, don't be so serious about lame or funny and so on...

People have a different humor, but I think in general all comedians use the fact that we all have certain concepts about certain things / institutions and so comedians make fun of this by using known concepts within a unexpected context/ in a unexpected manner.
But only that would't make things funny. It is also the way how they are expressed.

Of course, often we laugh at other people but just because we don't realize that it could be ourself we are laughing at. So I think humor is quite subtle, at least good humor. And I agree that there are just a few comedians who are good at that.

In case you did not get the joke at first hand don't worry. It also has to do with ones mood at the time you hear/read it. I also think thats why I often have problems to laugh when I see a show at TV. I aspect to hear something funny all the time and that's why it does not work so well.

Reading something here in the forum at first hand thinking someone is really serious about a boycott cause he tells me that he is dam frustrated an so, but then it appears to be great nonsense –that it real fun to me cause I did not expect that it would end like that.
Jokes are always a trap and I went into it, otherwise it would not have been funny. Just read this line again: "Then, and then only, I will pre-order/buy one". He really overplayed it - that in my eyes is real comedy.

And I am german - yes. By the way: often germans say that we (germans) are not funny cause we are much to serious.

 

[Karel Jansens]

often germans say that we (germans) are not funny cause we are much to serious.

That is either the funniest or the lamest thing I've read in a long time. I can't seem to decide.

 

[gibberish]

hi, ive been reading these forums since just before the official pandora sub forum was launched, and i just registered to say iam very excited about the machine and will definitely be pre-ordering one when they become available.

ive always toyed with the idea of buying a laptop for mobile internet and old games/emulation but couldnt justify the price tag or the physical size of the thing. pandora is exactly what i want and i CANT WAIT for it to come out!

 

[quartercast]

Well, I excuse myself of not getting that "joke" on the grounds that it was so lame... -SNIP-

Simply not getting a joke is insufficient grounds to claim that it is lame... -SNIP-


You appear to have twisted my words into reverse! Clearly, that is not what I intended to say – my judgment of "lameness" had nothing to do with whether I got the joke or not, I'm not that petty. Still I appreciate reading your and the subsequent posts on humour in general, what an interesting topic! Where is the line between not finding something funny, and not having a sense of humour? How do humans "grade" humour, and how do they form their preferences? Amazing stuff.

 

[aconsumer]

I'm really looking forward to the release of the Pandora. For a few reasons this system looks to be the best so far in Linux embedded systems. I have been watching the GP2X for a few years, and never really found it to be a suitable system, although I think it is the best alternative to the new Pandora. I'm definitely interested in getting one of these systems, but i have a few questions. I'm most interested in the Microphone Jack and ability to do field recording with this device, as well as classic gaming, for me especially Wolfenstein 3d, and any of the ID Software games. I know there is a GP2X port of Wolfenstein 3D, but how will that transfer? Movie Playback is also very important, and i have been reading the forums, and it seems like a version of Mplayer, or VLC media player will be able to take care of this. I'm hoping that the playback on a full screen TV will look good. That would be most excellent as well. I know a lot of people have been dissing the retro vintage style of this unit, but I really like it, and I think that is one of the deciding factors, as I don't really like the look of the GP2X, it looks rather boring and unoriginal. Pandora almost looks like a classic system, yet also rounded and modernized just slightly. I would be mostly interested the red, but the other colors are just as pleasing to the eye in my opinion. Will there be ports for the GP2X Chiptune / 8 bit music software? As well, It would be great to have a version of the Open Source program Audacity ported onto this system. I would really like any Propellerheads programs as well or an Ableton Live clone, but that is probably dreaming.

Im currently building a site that will have information on this system as well as GP2X, fused with Music Production, Linux, and Open Source software as well as hardware mods, and other random topics.

Here is the Site (stil in beta) =]

I'm interesting in hearing more about what this machine is capable of. Also I am interested, to know if I should wait till a later version of it is released? I noticed that it took the GP2X a few generations of fixes and changes till they got it sorta right. As well, I noticed that the processor being used is an ARM 8 and I went to the ARM site and i noticed that there is an ARM 9 out, and I was wondering if that is more powerful or if there will be a later version of the Pandora that is more powerful, that I should wait for? So far this system looks great and cant wait for the release. Until then I will post anything that I can find on the site.

 

[Clad]

First, the GP2X and the Pandora are produced by two different companies with absolutely nothing in common, except for the fact that the company making the Pandora used to be the officiel non-korean distributor of the GP32 and is the official non-korean distributor of the GP2X.

Although the company behind the Pandora haven't produced any console yet, it's perceived as being a far more reliable company than GPH, as it's been seen as "the only things that was okay around the GP2X", and it's backed up by all those that made the GP2X a great console and were considered inexistant by GPH, that lived in it's magical fairy world without any grip on it's consumer base's reality.

Even though GPH is a way more clumsier company that craig's company (still called "GP32 distribution ltd" as far as I know), I have one of the very first GP2X produced, and I feel no need whatsoever to get a newer one (well, it's on repair now but my fault : I fed it with 9V instead of 3). In the meantime, I also have one of the first NDS (bought on day 1 of the jap release), the L and R key are dead, and I envy the NDS lite with it's better screen and sexier form factor.

Speaking for myself, I feel totally confident buying a Pandora on day 1, which, I'm lucky, is about the same day my Pandora boycott ends.

 

[Kayday]

I plan on getting the Pandora just because it's a handheld. I don't have much time to play games in front of the TV/PC so I love the idea that I can play anywhere. Plus the idea of n64 emulation on the go. I already have a GP2X with the dpad mod and a F200 but this handheld is going to top them all. I might as well sell my 2 gp2x's knowing that I'll be playing with the Pandora the most.

 

[aconsumer]

First, the GP2X and the Pandora are produced by two different companies with absolutely nothing in common, except for the fact that the company making the Pandora used to be the officiel non-korean distributor of the GP32 and is the official non-korean distributor of the GP2X.

Although the company behind the Pandora haven't produced any console yet, it's perceived as being a far more reliable company than GPH, as it's been seen as "the only things that was okay around the GP2X", and it's backed up by all those that made the GP2X a great console and were considered inexistant by GPH, that lived in it's magical fairy world without any grip on it's consumer base's reality.

Even though GPH is a way more clumsier company that craig's company (still called "GP32 distribution ltd" as far as I know), I have one of the very first GP2X produced, and I feel no need whatsoever to get a newer one (well, it's on repair now but my fault : I fed it with 9V instead of 3). In the meantime, I also have one of the first NDS (bought on day 1 of the jap release), the L and R key are dead, and I envy the NDS lite with it's better screen and sexier form factor.

Speaking for myself, I feel totally confident buying a Pandora on day 1, which, I'm lucky, is about the same day my Pandora boycott ends.

Hey, Thanks for the background about the companies. I have been following them for a while, but you filled me in on some of the details that I was not sure on. This machine looks like a great machine to me as well. I really like the design. I'm really hoping that they release a red one as well though, I thought that it looked pretty sweet, with its old retro styling in red. The machine itself is great as well. Do you know anything about the ARM processors, I know that there is an ARM 9 out and Pandora uses ARM 8, not sure exactly what this means or how it affects Pandora game play yet, but I did check out the ARM site just briefly.

Yah, I heard about the boycott as well, and I hope to have enough money to buy one the day the boycott ends as well. Looking forward to a great machine, not only for gaming but for midi/ audio creation and Wifi access on the go. As well as getting back to some of my old PC games that no longer run as nicely as they used to. A port of Tekken 3 or later would be great as well..crossing fingers =]


Hoping to hear some more updates soon as well.

 

[Squidge]

Just a quick note: There's ARM7, ARM9, ARM10, ARM11, etc. There's also ARMv4 (which is typically what ARM7 and ARM9 uses) ARMv5, etc. Don't get the two confused.

 

[aconsumer]

So, how did they decide on ARM 8, whats the background on that..if any..Do you know anything about the ARM processors?

 

[Chip]

So, how did they decide on ARM 8, whats the background on that..if any..Do you know anything about the ARM processors?

Pandora will be using an ARM Cortex-A8 processor. This is the newest/fastest/best processor in the ARM family. The ARM naming structure is a bit capricious, so you cannot just go by "higher is better".

 

[Clad]

So, how did they decide on ARM 8, whats the background on that..if any..Do you know anything about the ARM processors?

The ARM naming convention is a bit obscure, but you can be sure that the Cortex A8 is way way way more powerful that an ARM9.

Just so that you get an idea of what it's like, ARM9 is about the same processor power as the N64. (although the N64 CPU is of the Alpha family, but it's roughly comparable), and the Pandora have about the same processor power as the Gamecube. It's a huge, huge leap, think of the Pandora's CPU as about 10 time as powerful as an ARM9.

 

[Peter R]

So, how did they decide on ARM 8, whats the background on that..if any..Do you know anything about the ARM processors?

The ARM naming convention is a bit obscure, but you can be sure that the Cortex A8 is way way way more powerful that an ARM9.

Just so that you get an idea of what it's like, ARM9 is about the same processor power as the N64. (although the N64 CPU is of the Alpha family, but it's roughly comparable), and the Pandora have about the same processor power as the Gamecube. It's a huge, huge leap, think of the Pandora's CPU as about 10 time as powerful as an ARM9.

You are talking crap. "Power" isn't a CPU benchmarking measure, so I have no idea what you mean by it. Furthermore it depends entirely on the clock speed as well. Are you saying the Pandora clocked down to 200mhz, which is GP2x speed, will have 10 times the raw performance as the GP2x?

 

[Clad]

How is clock speed relevant ? When I say that the N64 CPU offer about ten time less performance than the Pandora, I speak of the N64 CPU as clocked in the retail N64 and the Pandora CPU as clocked on the pandora. Why in the world would I want to compare them frequency-wise ? Especially across totally different architectures.

 

[Peter R]

How do you know what the pandora is clocked too, hmmmmm?

 

[ldesnogu]

Just so that you get an idea of what it's like, ARM9 is about the same processor power as the N64. (although the N64 CPU is of the Alpha family, but it's roughly comparable), and the Pandora have about the same processor power as the Gamecube. It's a huge, huge leap, think of the Pandora's CPU as about 10 time as powerful as an ARM9.

The n64 processor is a 64 bit MIPS, nothing to do with Alpha. I would not dare to try to compare a MIPS 64 bit to an ARM 32 bit

And TI quoted frequency for OMAP3430 is ~625 MHz (can't find the ref anymore but sure it was about that). So even if Cortex-A8 could sustain a rate of 2 instructions per cycle, that would be roughly the equivalent of ~1300 MIPS compared to >200 MIPS for an ARM9. So the CPU is certainly not 10 times as powerful as one of the ARM9 in the gp2x

 

[Clad]

I, of course, meant MIPS. It was a lapsus.

Btw, I may have lacked explicitness, but by "ARM9" I was refering to the arm9 into the GP32, I didn't even know the GP2X had an ARM9.

 

[Peter R]

I, of course, meant MIPS. It was a lapsus.

Btw, I may have lacked explicitness, but by "ARM9" I was refering to the arm9 into the GP32, I didn't even know the GP2X had an ARM9.

It has two. An ARM920T and an ARM940T