Wrapping everything up!


An extensive complaint thread? That sounds rather pointless and self-defeating. We -want- the project to succeed. We -want- like minded people to join us in this. There are always setbacks. The more complex and unique the project is, the greater the numbers of them. The Pyra is a very complex AND unique device - far more complex than any other, 'handheld game console', and far more unique than any other handheld computer. We wanted -everything- in it - in several cases we asked for TWO of things. Two USB type A ports, Two SDXC ports, Two primary OS storage targets (eMMC & microSDXC), Two video targets (screen & hdmi), Two analog nubs, Two shoulder buttons - on each shoulder, Two speakers, Two each of Shifts, Alts, Ctrls, Fns, Two Months...

If you were to go into your local pizza joint and ask for a large pizza with double everything toppings, the lady behind the counter is likely to inform you that it will be more expensive, take longer to construct and need a lot more time in the oven, and they aren't sure just how long - oh, and unless you want to pay 400% more, they'll need to do it in the off hours so that it won't interfere with the rest of the pizzas that need to be made for normal orders - it will get done when it gets done. So, OK, I've actually done this - I like a lot of toppings on my pizza. Generally I have been able to negotiate to getting charged roughly 2x the price of a 'normal' supreme pizza and that doubling the time in the pizza oven is about right - though sometimes the crust can get a bit charred - which is OK as the crust is simply a delivery platform for the toppings.

So, I think it's going along quite nicely. We all knew this could be a very long road.

Ok, let's wait for the year 2222 to release Pyra. I'm in no rush :D
 
It will be really nice if there is some sort of action plan or road map for 2019 in it.


Here's a summary of what's left to do:

  1. Finish the tests of the mainboards and order them (PCB production takes 4 weeks)
  2. Check if the CPU boards can be further improved and if not, order prototypes for them (PCB production takes 6 weeks).
  3. Check that the cases are fine and if they are, order them (production shouldn't take longer than 2 weeks)
  4. Use the current prototypes for CE / FCC testing (planned for January 2018)
  5. WHILE the bare PCBs are being produced: Check for a whirring noise fix that does not involve using conflict material
  6. WHILE the bare PCBs are being produced: Design the packaging and material
  7. Do a test run with the newly produced PCBs and the transparent cases to produce prototypes for the prototype preorders.
  8. Recheck that everything works fine - then setup the mass production (I'm planning at least 2 - 3 weeks to recheck all of that).
  9. While that final check happens (or directly after the production of the transparent cases), move the molds to the new company to produce the cases for the mass production.
 
Complaining and venting are two different things, maybe it's just my perspective from being an American, but I've always found that if I can find an appropriate avenue to vent/speak freely about what's concerning then it can be helpful.

I'm not sure I agree. It depends on your approach, but I find the satisfaction of expressing frustration is less than the satisfaction of doing something, even small, to help fix the situation. Furthermore, communities that make a habit of grumbling can become trapped in a loop of naysaying, where everything is awful, everything is impossible, and everyone agrees.

Edit the wiki! Buy ED a mug of coffee! Buy all your friends Pyra preorders for their birthdays!
 
Theres still lots happening on the kernel mailing list so i don’t think the cases are a bottleneck anyway.
 
Oh come on. We knew that the cases could be the problem. Now that ED is dealing with it himself it might get a little be faster. But it's time consuming and time is the shortest resource in the project. ED was right to rely on his contact as it seemed to give the project more of this valuable resource. Dealing with FA from Germany must be frustrating.
So I too think what is needed is more support from the community i.e. from us! I can remember there where more than a few situations this year where a helping hand from the community would have speeded things up but the only one to push forward the project was ED. All in all I can't see a reason neither to vent nor to complain.
I myself keep waiting happily for the first preorders to arrive early next year, hopefully.

A2000
 
santaswisdomoftheday: "don't lie, because it will create a huge, nasty clusterf**k."
 
FormAction has now started the production, as they have been in contact with me directly.

My friend at UniquePlast already said he'll help me and can organize a courier locally to pick them up and move them to him...

Oh boy...

So....same place and things.

I thought I remember a poll last year "If FA doesn't perform should i just scrap the 500 clear cases and move the molds anyway."

If you wait for FormAction we will still be here Christmas 2020 because there has literally been zero progress with the cases/molds
 
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This is really not a very nice behaviour from FA. But come on, our situation with our nearly finished Pyra is so much better than the situation at the time of Pandora. It's worth waiting some further weeks or months, until this wonderful device will be laying right in our hands. And we shouldn't forget, that the Pyra development is our community project and therefore we all have the duty to support ED as good as we can. ED has proven that he can solve problems and that's why he's going to bring us our Pyra.
 
So....same place and things.

I thought I remember a poll last year "If FA doesn't perform should i just scrap the 500 clear cases and move the molds anyway."

If you wait for FormAction we will still be here Christmas 2020 because there has literally been zero progress with the cases/molds
The difference is: My contact told me he is arranging the move of the moulds and they have already been picked up.
I trusted him, as we all trusted Craig as well a long time ago.
And I still think none of them meant any harm, I think this all just was too much for them to handle.
 
I trusted him, as we all trusted Craig as well a long time ago
And I still think none of them meant any harm, I think this all just was too much for them to handle

I just don't get that. There's naivety and there's just plain stupidity. What did they expect would happen? Were they trying to protect FA due to some kind of loyalty? If they indeed didn't mean harm, then I'm sure their arm was twisted in some way by someone/something.

Talking of cultural differences, I do really dislike the western 'blame' culture (in contrast to Asian self-deprecating 'shame' culture) where no one takes individual blame for anything, admits failure, or apologises.
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A little bit Off Topic:
I like direct communication, never understood these weird "lose your face cultures". You lose your face when lying for sure, why do these (asian) people don't understand this? I would never do business with liars, better communicate directly

Although I would put money on you having done business with companies that have outright lied or withheld information about security breaches. Saying "they will never know" is no excuse, but it's more common than most of us are aware.

/off-topic
 
I just don't get that. There's naivety and there's just plain stupidity. What did they expect would happen? Were they trying to protect FA due to some kind of loyalty? If they indeed didn't mean harm, then I'm sure their arm was twisted in some way by someone/something.

Have you ever met someone with burn-out and / or depression (burn-outs can also easily lead to depression)?
My wife had a depression years ago, and this is horrible. You are totally demotivated and often just tell something to others to just make them shut up for the moment.
Some even KNOW what they're doing won't help, but they still can't get back on their feet by themselves.

It's a bit like giving up with life and just ignoring everything, hide away and try to shield yourself from any issues.

You can't think reasonable when this happens, and it often also takes a while that you realize you ARE burnt-out.
Depression is very common these days in civilized countries, often due to stress.

No, if he REALLY has a depression, I won't blame him but rather wish him a speedy recovery. It's like blaming someone who broke his leg that he doesn't help you moving furnitures.

The only one I could blame was myself for not realizing earlier that this could be what's wrong. I thought the moulds had been picked up myself, but now I know better and will handle it myself.

I've already sent an email to FormAction yesterday and gave them clear deadlines and info for the production.
I've let them know about moving the moulds as well.
They are closed (as most companies are) from Dec. 24th to Jan 7th for christmas holidays, so I have to give them a bit more time, but if they don't finish everything until Jan 15th, it's over and we move.
 
Have you ever met someone with burn-out and / or depression (burn-outs can also easily lead to depression)?

Yes. I have close friends that are/have been clinically depressed, occasionally to the point of suicide. They also aren't liars.

Don't get me wrong, if they are depressed they need (professional) help and support and absolutely agree with your sentiment.

Someone can be depressed, stressed or burnt-out, but that doesn't make it okay to lie. Lying is a path to make things much, much worse (as I mentioned in a previous post). To knowingly deceive others can be a contributory factor to increasing depression.

I also suggested that his arm may have been twisted. If someone lies and it's not in their nature, then it may mean that they have been unfairly pressured by external factors. I'm pointing at FA here.
 
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@ED Maybe I missed it, but how do you know your contact is lying and not FormAction?

Well, I can't tell this for sure, but there are some indicators:

  • FormAction would be pretty stupid telling me they start the production now when they told us they shipped everything already
  • The new metal plates for the cooling (coated, so that I don't need to isolate them myself) are coming from a different company, and my contact told me multiple times he personally shipped these to me - and there's no tracking or metal plates here yet.
  • I explicitedly asked him to make sure that the cases have been produced and shipped by checking the packaging and getting a shipment number. He confirmed all that, but I've never seen anything yet.
  • He was the one organizing the transportation of the moulds, not FormAction. He organized the courier, etc. So if he tells me the moulds have been picked up... and now they haven't... well...
  • He started telling me the same things over and over again, week after week... I already became suspicious because of that and planned another trip to Greece in January to check on that myself. The email from FormAction just seems to have confirmed my suspicion.
  • I've sent him the mails (it was only two) from FormAction three days ago. The last thing I heard was that he wanted to check on the mails and call me back. I didn't hear anything from him yet. I've sent another email politely asking if he knows approximately when he would be ready to have a call and solve things. Without any blame or angryness, just find out what went wrong and solve it.
So yeah, I don't know for sure yet, but there were a lot of indicators within the last few weeks.

So right now, the only thing I can blame FormAction for is slowness and bad quality so far, but not lying.

The proper way in my opinion is to now move forward. I've let them exactly know my stance, gave them explicit deadlines and announced that I will move the moulds when these deadlines are not being kept.

Regardless if it was FA or my contact who were lying - what I do know 100% for sure is that I personally did tell them the deadlines and give them the information. So no one can lie to me now.
 
They are closed (as most companies are) from Dec. 24th to Jan 7th for christmas holidays, so I have to give them a bit more time, but if they don't finish everything until Jan 15th, it's over and we move.

Do you really though, at this point with all the lies and delays by them specifically?

Why is this time different than the other times they said they would do what they were paid to do (yet still haven't)?
 
Do you really though, at this point with all the lies and delays by them specifically?

Can you prove they lied and not my contact?
I can't. And I have no idea if my contact has told them all the deadlines I gave to him.

Why is this time different than the other times they said they would do what they were paid to do (yet still haven't)?

Because I made the deadlines and what will happen if they are not being kept pretty much clear, so I am 100% positive they now received them.
So there's no excuse for them, and even if they don't manage to produce them in time, I can pickup the moulds then as I now know they know about that.
 
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