Using Beagleboard As Stationary Pandora


infected

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How much trouble would it be to get the pandora image/firmware running on the beagleboard? Im thinking its just to remove the drivers for the stuff the beagleboard doesn't have (wifi, bluetooth and such). The newest beagleboard seems to have exactly the same specs as the pandora. I have a little project im working on (I have to do something while waiting for the pandora).
 
there was talk of a "pandora cube" a few months ago, not sure if they intend to put that into production or not but i assume if they did then the software would be 100% compatible.
 
this is exactly what I'd like to do, especially after seeing ED's video yesterday - I have mailed him about it but I think he's a bit busy with real life right now - I imagine there will be an image of the OS somewhere once mass production is going and people are getting devices in their hands.

I think it would be interesting to have pretty much the standard installed OS on a few devices to get it out to a bigger audience so that more people contribute back

I may be talking rubbish though, I went to bed too late

:)

Rick
 
I think the beagleboard development already has contributed a lot to the pandora development. I ordered my beagleboard yesterday so im gonna get it working pandora image or not. What im going to do is put the beagleboard inside a SNES console and using a snes pad to usb converter for the pads. Add a USB to ethernet adapter, add a SD card reader either in the front or some crazy modification to a cart. The largest problem i see is getting the controls to map correctly from the PND files we will be able to download. Im giving this rig to my sister as a birthday present and i don't think she'll manage to edit .conf files and such to remap the controls if a new emulator happens to be released, mapping it to the snes pads insted of the pandora controls. I also do not know where this info will be stored. In the PND files or in the image itself or maybe both.
 
infected said:
I think the beagleboard development already has contributed a lot to the pandora development. I ordered my beagleboard yesterday so im gonna get it working pandora image or not. What im going to do is put the beagleboard inside a SNES console and using a snes pad to usb converter for the pads. Add a USB to ethernet adapter, add a SD card reader either in the front or some crazy modification to a cart. The largest problem i see is getting the controls to map correctly from the PND files we will be able to download. Im giving this rig to my sister as a birthday present and i don't think she'll manage to edit .conf files and such to remap the controls if a new emulator happens to be released, mapping it to the snes pads insted of the pandora controls. I also do not know where this info will be stored. In the PND files or in the image itself or maybe both.


I do hope the SNES is broken...it would be sacraligious to destroy a perfectly functioning piece of kit!
 
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Miner49er said:
infected said:
I think the beagleboard development already has contributed a lot to the pandora development. I ordered my beagleboard yesterday so im gonna get it working pandora image or not. What im going to do is put the beagleboard inside a SNES console and using a snes pad to usb converter for the pads. Add a USB to ethernet adapter, add a SD card reader either in the front or some crazy modification to a cart. The largest problem i see is getting the controls to map correctly from the PND files we will be able to download. Im giving this rig to my sister as a birthday present and i don't think she'll manage to edit .conf files and such to remap the controls if a new emulator happens to be released, mapping it to the snes pads insted of the pandora controls. I also do not know where this info will be stored. In the PND files or in the image itself or maybe both.


I do hope the SNES is broken...it would be sacraligious to destroy a perfectly functioning piece of kit!

I am trying to find a broken SNES. I have a working one and if worst comes to worst... well... But first i want to get the beagleboard working before i destroy any SNES. And it has to be the PAL version since the US one is butt ugly.
 
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well I've already got a beagleboard but I'm using a basic Angstrom image on it (which we keep on breaking while sodding about) - It's pretty cool

- thinking of getting a IGEPv2 Platform, which is a beagle clone with more memory and an ethernet socket + bluetooth and wifi.

So it's not a million miles away from pandora hardware (obviously no gaming controls) which is why I'd like the pandora OS to muck about with. I'm not sure where we stand with the PND system - whether it is open too or not.


Rick
 
spinghed said:
this is exactly what I'd like to do, especially after seeing ED's video yesterday - I have mailed him about it but I think he's a bit busy with real life right now - I imagine there will be an image of the OS somewhere once mass production is going and people are getting devices in their hands.
I think it would be interesting to have pretty much the standard installed OS on a few devices to get it out to a bigger audience so that more people contribute back
I may be talking rubbish though, I went to bed too late

Well, if you're going to git.openpandora.org, you can bake your image already.
The image should work on the Beagleboard without too many changes (if any).

Even if the WLAN or BlueTooth driver is there - it would simply load and unload since it can't find the device.
Shouldn't stop the system though.
 
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I bought a Linutop2 pc, specifically to test out the usefullness of a behind-the-tv computer, and I can confirm that it is a very comfortable and workeable concept. Linutops are Intel-compatible low-power devices that can be left on (a Linutop2 uses less than 10 watts of power running) all the time. I used to plug mine in the VGA outlet of a LCD tv, thread an ethernet cable to it and connect a wireless keyboard to it. A couple of USB sticks make for plenty local storage and presto! Your tv becomes a surfmachine.

However...

The Linutop is really underpowered for anything more than simple surfing, it runs unoptimized software (basically an unaltered Ubuntu edition) and it has no Bluetooth or WiFi on board. All this is already reason enough to dream about a PandaBox as a replacement. Add to that the emergence of a dedicated software platform and we're cooking with plasma.

Note about the keyboard: A stationary PandaBox should ideally come without built-in keyboard. I found a nice gadget from the good -- if often slightly deranged -- people at Brando. It's here: Brando keyboard

I'm sure there are betters, but this one scores high on the cuteness scale. A BT version would even be better, but I can't seem to find a decent and affordable BT keyboard with built-in trackball or -pad. In any case, I can see a real possibility in getting this keyboard bundled with a PandaBox.

Of course, Craig was absolutely right when he said that a hypothetical PandaBox would require a hefty additional investment in testing and bug-hunting, which is why he proposed a simplified version: a "normal" Pandora, minus the top half (the part with the screen). Less innovative and more expensive to buy, but easy to produce quickly.

Personally, I believe this crowd is by now so used to waiting that they wouldn't mind sucking it up until a proper PandaBox could be offered. Still, I believe this might be a huge untapped market (behind-the-tv pcs that are always on and use insignificant amounts of electricity) with much pore potential than the "straight Pandora" market segment.
 
I think a tiny, low power,no heat behind the tv pc is a cool device (one that we've been looking at since we got a demo of the OMAP processors and beagleboard at ARM's HQ)

I think the main issue is the OS has to be nice an simple (ie not blatently Linux) so maybe the netbook launcher or even something as simple as PMenu would be useful. Plus (certainly the beagle's) HD playback is not ideal - yet.

Getting the PAndora OS image could be a step in the right direction...

Rick
 
It would be great, I want to make a tiny web/mail/sql server on a beagleboard or another arm based device.
I would like make it easily manageable even for computer illiterate.
And green, with solar powered batteries.
 
EvilDragon said:
spinghed said:
this is exactly what I'd like to do, especially after seeing ED's video yesterday - I have mailed him about it but I think he's a bit busy with real life right now - I imagine there will be an image of the OS somewhere once mass production is going and people are getting devices in their hands.
I think it would be interesting to have pretty much the standard installed OS on a few devices to get it out to a bigger audience so that more people contribute back
I may be talking rubbish though, I went to bed too late

Well, if you're going to git.openpandora.org, you can bake your image already.
The image should work on the Beagleboard without too many changes (if any).

Even if the WLAN or BlueTooth driver is there - it would simply load and unload since it can't find the device.
Shouldn't stop the system though.


thanks for writing E-D - I wasn't pushing you for a reply - I know you've got a pile of things the require your time now

Unfortunately I have to rely on a colleague of mine to bake an image - I'm really more of a soldering type person as opposed to a coding type person - I was more concerned with whether you would be happy with people taking a Pandora OS image and using it to do whatever with... plus I wasn't sure of your position on the open-ness of the PND portion of the OS.

I kind of think it would be cool to have lots of different devices running the same OS

thanks again


Rick
 
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