Our New Machine, Pandora

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Javacat said:
How about leaving it without a backlight for the keyboard, but make it so that it is easy enough to open up for users to hack around inside it and add their own? That way people can customize and tweak them to how they like.
Sorry but that's just idiotic. Oh sure, people can do that, people who've got the time, the knowledge, the tools, and the money to afford taking the risk of ruining a perfectly good console. Besides, how much could it possibly cost for the manufacturer to add a few LEDs and a tiny switch inside the damn thing?
 
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QUOTE
How the hell would VoIP be an "add-on" when it only takes a microphone? A MWeston said it'll have one, so wtf?


because wi-fi doesn't always have the greatest connection 1. and 2 it takes software...3 hell sometimes a built in mic isn't worth the time.

if you happen to know any VoIP thats open source and have any plans on porting then yea maybe you might have something.
 
garzyboi said:
QUOTE
How the hell would VoIP be an "add-on" when it only takes a microphone? A MWeston said it'll have one, so wtf?
because wi-fi doesn't always have the greatest connection 1. and 2 it takes software...3 hell sometimes a built in mic isn't worth the time.

1. Well WiFi is all you're gonna get, and I don't see how it's a problem
2. Oh it takes software? No fucking shit! What the hell do you think, that Skype is the only VoIP software around?

QUOTE

if you happen to know any VoIP thats open source and have any plans on porting then yea maybe you might have something.

ADUUUUUUUUH http://packages.debian.org/etch/arm/ekiga
 
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fishybawb said:
You may be right A_SN, but there's no need to be such a dick about it.

A_SN said:
ADUUUUUUUUH http://packages.debian.org/etch/arm/ekiga



Damn, that's a lot of dependencies...

I have to be a dick when someone displays so much ignorance with so much confidence. As for the dependencies, well, it just takes GNOME, but Ekiga was a random example, my point was just that they already are quite a few VoIP solutions already available in the Debian ARM repo, so there's no need to "port" (garzy you noob! ;))
 
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Uh huh whatever ASN too bad you gotta display how much of a jackass you can be sometimes...

oh yea when the craiginator comes out since you got so much talent and so much more skill then me then perhaps you'll be the very one to demonstrate how to get it runnin till then ASN STFU

Software duh....lol no I don't even use skype man damn what a douchebag...matter a fact I'll diffuse this before ASn has a mental lapse from being shown so much ignorance. I'll put stock in what you said and shutup

but meantime...I doubt I will even use VoIP not my thing either.
 
A_SN said:
Javacat said:
How about leaving it without a backlight for the keyboard, but make it so that it is easy enough to open up for users to hack around inside it and add their own? That way people can customize and tweak them to how they like.
Sorry but that's just idiotic. Oh sure, people can do that, people who've got the time, the knowledge, the tools, and the money to afford taking the risk of ruining a perfectly good console. Besides, how much could it possibly cost for the manufacturer to add a few LEDs and a tiny switch inside the damn thing?

How is it idiotic? All they need to do is not put the LED in, which is what they are obviously considering anyway after what MWeston has already said about it possibly pushing the cost up a bit and being a drain on the battery.
All they would need to do is make sure that somebody else can open up the case if they want and solder bits of crap to the circuits. To do that all they need to really do is use some sort of normal screws (not stars/squares/rectangles with points in the middle/etc) and to not have a million clips around the inside holding each side together.
 
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Sure I could throw down a number of 0805 pads for white LEDs and even route them to a PWM controlled current sink, that would be the easy part. I would think the LEDs might add a dollar or two to the cost which is next to nothing, the real problem is the keypad itself.

Unfortunately, this is the part that makes your suggestion unfeasible. The keypad buttons have to have the plastic optics to pass the light through to the top in the shape of the character that button represents. If we were to go ahead and make buttons that can do that, then it would be silly not to put the LEDs in since that part is cheap. If we were to go non-illuminated, the keys would be one solid material as it is cheaper to manufacturer. What about a glow in the dark material screened over the keys? Is that an option? :)

Now, with Nokia's unlimited budget you can make millions of them and attempt any number of prototypes until you get it right, but we can't. So any goof ups, second attempts and final layouts will all end up factored into the cost.
 
A_SN said:
Javacat said:
How about leaving it without a backlight for the keyboard, but make it so that it is easy enough to open up for users to hack around inside it and add their own? That way people can customize and tweak them to how they like.
Sorry but that's just idiotic. Oh sure, people can do that, people who've got the time, the knowledge, the tools, and the money to afford taking the risk of ruining a perfectly good console. Besides, how much could it possibly cost for the manufacturer to add a few LEDs and a tiny switch inside the damn thing?


I was only guessing, but I thought this was trying to be different to gp2x or whatever else in that you're not expected to be required, interested, or able to open it up and solder new bits in.

Or set loads of things up yourself to work at all. It wants to be clean and tidy with good specs, not paint a picture of geek tweak paradise

You can try all that on anything including this but they want to portray it as something that's finished.
The big difference from what's available at the moment
but maybe I got the wrong idea?

Either put one in or don't, it sounds like the 80's there, may as well build the whole thing. Maybe we can get the option to buy it in kit for 30-40 less? ;)


Also MWeston, if you could coat that glow stuff somehow, anyhow to prevent it coming off in a couple years or less- that would do me also. clear keys embossed from the bottom? whatever.. Dunno how much a problem that is anymore, wear, but it would look extra bad when glowing with bits from the letters missing.
 
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Stealth Bagel said:
Everyone will want this device for different reasons.... Me, I want something with the robust variety of emulators the gp2x boasted but with good controls, not the awful f100/f200 ones, better battery life and an overall more professional design... good solid PDA functionality so I can carry less devices around (no need to keep my PocketPC with me), MP3 playback (I don't really care about video on a small screen) so with a big enough SD card, I'd likely be able to leave my iPod in my car. If this is too heavy I might still need the iPod jogging though...

_Exactly_ the same reasons I want one. And the Craig would be perfect for air travel especially if the battery life is good and the packs can be swapped.

Stealth Bagel said:
Things I don't expect are for it to be amazing for internet use; handheld devices rarely are and if it can get online and be convenient to surf with, well that's a bonus.

Same here, not a primary use, just bonus utility.

Stealth Bagel said:
Example, VOIP-- why would you seriously need this functionality SO BADLY on the go? So you can sit at an internet cafe and bother people around you talking loudly to your family or friends far away? Or for talking to people nearby, why wouldn't you use a cell phone? At home, a landline or your home PC? It just doesn't make much sense at all...

Not a "must have," but allowing it would be, I suspect, very cheap. The Nokia N800 has a 3.5 mm headphone jack that is compatible with standard stereo headphones, but which also contains a fourth pin for the microphone input. That's what its Wiki page claims, anyway. That's what I'm taking about. Rather than talking into the unit's built-in mic with the resulting background noise issues, that mic input pin would be available for use with a headset with mic _IF_ desired. I'm assuming that the built-in mic is there primarily for voice recording purposes which entail holding the mic relatively close to the mouth.

Of course, this external headset with mic thing could be accomplished with a bluetooth dongle in the USB port. And, in the end, it really doesn't matter that much to me. I'm just pointing out what a semi-competitive device allows.
 
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garzyboi said:
oh yea when the craiginator comes out since you got so much talent and so much more skill then me then perhaps you'll be the very one to demonstrate how to get it runnin till then ASN STFU
"sudo aptitude install ekiga" omg I've got so much talent! (translation : I don't, you're a noob)
 
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QUOTE
"sudo aptitude install ekiga" omg I've got so much talent! (translation : I don't, you're a noob)


and your a douchebag...and we can keep doing this all day long man...
 
A_SN said:
garzyboi said:
oh yea when the craiginator comes out since you got so much talent and so much more skill then me then perhaps you'll be the very one to demonstrate how to get it runnin till then ASN STFU
"sudo aptitude install ekiga" omg I've got so much talent! (translation : I don't, you're a noob)

I cracked up, thanks for the laughs asn.
(and yes, I know that nowadays it usually is that easy when you are using linux)
 
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garzyboi said:
QUOTE
"sudo aptitude install ekiga" omg I've got so much talent! (translation : I don't, you're a noob)
and your a douchebag...and we can keep doing this all day long man...

yet again, using apt-get/aptitude is common knowledge...
 
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MWeston, what do you think about my "LED shining onto the keyboard" idea?

garzyboi said:
QUOTE
How the hell would VoIP be an "add-on" when it only takes a microphone? A MWeston said it'll have one, so wtf?
because wi-fi doesn't always have the greatest connection 1. and 2 it takes software...3 hell sometimes a built in mic isn't worth the time.

if you happen to know any VoIP thats open source and have any plans on porting then yea maybe you might have something.


1. What does have the greatest connection? Connecting your Craiginator to a 10-gigabit ethernet inside the local phone office?

2. *breathes in*

Linphone
CounterPath X-Lite
Gizmo
Globe7
GoSIP
Lynxphone
SJphone
Switchboard, The
YakaPhone
BitWise IM
Cornfed SIP User Agent
KCall
Minisip
Coccinella
Ekiga
Jabbin
KPhone
PhoneGaim
Twinkle
WengoPhone
PJSIP
SIP Communicator
OpenH323 and OPAL
Zoiper
Zfone
ReSIProcate

Happy?

garzyboi said:
matter a fact I'll diffuse this before ASn has a mental lapse from being shown so much ignorance
You certainly are "diffusing" this.
 
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MWeston said:
What about a glow in the dark material screened over the keys? Is that an option? :)
Frankly, I could care less about glowing keys. It'd look "real snazzy" but I usually have some light source whether it be the sun or a 20 watt bulb.

Just doesn't make sense to me, is all. Realistically, what's the chance of playing the Craiginator in a location where you can't see where your walking? :D

Edit: That's not to say I don't want you to add them. If you think it'll do some good, and you have a plan, then I'm for it.

Yuglooc said:
Is anyone of those especially good? Tried ekiga out with my gf and it sounded like hell.
Gizmo is FTW. Use it all the time. :)



A_SN said:
ADUUUUUUUUH http://packages.debian.org/etch/arm/ekiga

garzyboi said:
Uh huh whatever ASN too bad you gotta display how much of a jackass you can be sometimes...
See my sig for some very important rules this board just so happens to have, of which you guys aren't following. I'm surprised a moderator hasn't warned you two (and perhaps others) already.
 
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atomicthumbs said:
MWeston, what do you think about my "LED shining onto the keyboard" idea?
That sounds like one of those old GBA lights you could buy for the non-lit variations back in the day. It is definitely an option. You could just plug it into the USB host port and snake it around to the keypad.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see what the plastic's manufacturers come back with for cost alternatives. Also, once donators receive their promotional packs in the mail, we can all talk more freely and specifically about this device since I don't imagine there will be any restrictions on what those people can post. :)
 
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MWeston said:
atomicthumbs said:
MWeston, what do you think about my "LED shining onto the keyboard" idea?
That sounds like one of those old GBA lights you could buy for the non-lit variations back in the day. It is definitely an option. You could just plug it into the USB host port and snake it around to the keypad.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see what the plastic's manufacturers come back with for cost alternatives. Also, once donators receive their promotional packs in the mail, we can all talk more freely and specifically about this device since I don't imagine there will be any restrictions on what those people can post. :)


i quite like the single led idea, and it should certainly reduce costs compared with a backlit kb. i was thinkin more along the lines of something internal tho, just a small hole in the case that you could poke an led through which would be either in the hinge (or just above it) or on the bottom of the unit for a slider. it shouldnt add to the cost of building the case and would keep everything compact. also, with a convex enough lens on the end it could cover practically the entire keyboard with the one ~5mm led, and then it could have an independent switch so it could be used as a torch (as atomicthumbs said) without powering on the rest of the device. that said, powering it on would provide more light anyway, so.. perhaps thats unnecessary.
backlighting would be more swish but if it adds significantly to the cost, and a simpler solution works just as well, then i dont think theres much of a contest.
 
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garzyboi said:
and your a douchebag...and we can keep doing this all day long man...
and your banned!

(I so wish I could do that :D)

Also, in a week or so, I see most people not giving a stuff about keyboard lighting :)
 
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