Arialia said:
But maybe somebody could make a writing version please ?
Here's a pretty complete summary:
IV = Interviewer
ED = EvilDragon
IV: So what you're working on is a "much better" laptop?
ED: It's not a laptop. It's hard to say. It's some kind of gaming device with internet functions, running linux. It has two SD card slots, a full touchscreen at 800x480. Yeah, it has a pretty good processor, the latest OMAP from Texas Instruments, which is a really, really good CPU.
IV: The Cortex revolution?
ED: Yeah. The Cortex revolution. It's really a revolution, it's a pretty fast CPU. I've never seen such a fast CPU. You can easily browse using Firefox. You can even run Quake 3 on it with no slowdown.
IV: You're saying you've got Firefox on it working?
ED: Yes. We have Firefox running on a dev board.
IV: But how good is the Firefox on an ARM compared to the x86 Firefox?
ED: [It's different] only if you have a lot of Flash content, maybe, but that's mainly a memory issue. If you're just using it for browsing or watching normal internet sites, then it's no problem at all, no difference.
IV: But the screen is is just 4.3"?
ED: Yes. The whole unit is small. It's about the size of a DS Lite, only half a centimeter bigger.
IV: So it's kind of like a Nintendo DS, but with the functionality of a laptop?
ED: Yes, but it's not only a laptop, because it has complete gaming controls. You can use it for games, the internet, to write some text, you can do anything with it.
IV: How is the keyboard?
ED: We're still working on the keyboard, but the final case is finished. The gaming controls are working fine though.
IV: So, what new emulators will the Cortex and DSP bring that other machines don't have.
ED: Well, we've just had an unoptimized build of a Playstation emulator, and it ran fullspeed without even using the 3D hardware. So if you imagine using the 3D hardware, then you can really have a fullspeed, fullscreen, Playstation emulator. Nintendo 64 should be possible. Some even believe Dreamcast is possible, though I don't think so.
IV: Why don't you think that Dreamcast emulation is possible?
ED: Because the Dreamcast is a very powerful system. But some developers say that if they do really good dynarec coding then it should work.
IV: dyna-what?
ED: Dynarec coding. That's dynamic recompiling. That means while the system is being emulated, it recompiles parts of the code so that it runs faster.
IV: So, right now you're not using the DSP or 3D engine?
ED: Not yet, and everything is running fullspeed right now.
IV: So when you figure out how to use the DSP and 3D accelerator everything is going to be crazy?
ED: Yeah, well we've figured it out. But a Quake 3 port will be possible at fullspeed.
IV: So, it doesn't have HDMI out?
ED: It only has S-Video out.
IV: So even though it's possible to play HD video, you can't really see the result?
ED: No, you can't, but that's not what we intended with the system. You get a high resolution screen, full PAL or NTSC video. So you have full DVD quality on the screen.
IV: On the 800x480 touchscreen?
ED: Yes, and because it has the touchscreen, keyboard, and analog pads, you can even use it as a portable Amiga.
IV: A portable Amiga?
ED: Yes, it runs the Amiga fullspeed.
IV: But the Amiga is from the 80s.
ED: Yes, but it's still a very hard system to emulate. It was a very (weirdly?) designed system with a lot of custom chips. The PSP version of the Amiga emulator is pretty slow.
IV: Can the DSP be used to accelerate videos in some way?
ED: Yes, it can.
IV: If the whole project is open source, people in the community will figure it out, or is it Texas Instruments who codes for it?
ED: Partly. Some drivers are built by the community, and there are some drivers that are built by TI. Not all drivers by TI are open source. There are some binary blobs that are included as drivers in the system. You don't have the source code for them, but you can use the drivers. If you ported, an OpenGL game, for instance. There are tons of good OpenGL games for Linux that can all be ported.
IV: What are some awesome OpenGL games?
ED: Torx is a very good game, it's a racing simulator. There's (??? :blink: ), it's not using OpenGL but it's a pretty good strategy game.
IV: How about Quake 3 and stuff?
ED: Yes, it's possible. It uses OpenGL.
IV: And drivers for loads of hardware right, like that 3G module? [Points to 3G modem on Acer]
ED: Sure, it has a USB host port, and this already has standard drivers, so you don't need anything.
IV: So you can have a 3G module and Firefox in the bucket?
ED: Yes, and messengers.
IV: Is it really going to cost $350, err $330?
ED: Well, I only know the price here in Germany which will be 250 Eur. I don't know the exact prices for other countries yet as I'm the main distributor here in Germany.
IV: So you're sure it's going to be 250 Eur? That seems cheap.
ED: Yeah, for such a system. Some say it's pretty expensive because it's a system without any commercial games, others say it's cheap when compared to other devices with similar functions.
IV: So do you think it's perfect, or are you going to come up with some model 2 with some dif... or do you not want to say?
ED: Well, there's no system that's ever perfect, because it depends on what someone wants to do with it. If someone wants HDMI output, for example, it doesn't have it.
IV: How about including HDMI and having a larger screen, like 5"?
ED: Uh, well, it's not possible to have a larger screen without making the whole device bigger.
IV: Is it possible to have a bigger keyboard?
ED: Well, if you want you can use a bluetooth or USB keyboard.
IV: Because it has bluetooth?
ED: Yes, it has bluetooth and wireless LAN, so surfing is possible.
IV: Now, the battery life, that's the most amazing.
ED: It's very amazing, we were suprised ourselves. We just did a full burn-in test running at 500Mhz, and it kept running for eight and a half hours. So basically, if you're using it for normal stuff it can easily get 12, 13 , or 14 hours.
IV: How much do you suppose it would get while browsing the internet?
ED: Well, that's hard to say. It depends on the strength of your wireless connection, because a weak connection requires more power, while a strong connection will last much longer.
IV: How about that 3G module?
ED: I'm not sure of it's power consumption, so I can't say.
IV: So, do you think there will be USB dongles to record TV and such?
ED: Well, there are such devices out there, as long as there are drivers for it that can be ported, it should run.
IV: So, when?
ED: The pre-orders will start on Sep 30, and they will ship mid-November.
IV: So the company doing all this is Open Pandora?
ED: At the moment it's Open Pandora ltd.
IV: Openpandora.org is the website?
ED: Yes, and for Germany it's .de.
IV: So you have engineers all over the world?
ED: Yeah. We have the main engineer sitting in Canada. Then we have one of the the most important persons, Craig from the boards, he's sitting in the UK. Then there's me in Germany here. Then there's one in Cherokee who did source a lot of the parts we needed.
IV: That's amazing, so you're just individuals spread out all over the world?
ED: Well, the three main persons, fatih, craig, and me, met in Korea while visiting Game Park Holdings. We somehow had the idea we could build our own system that has more than the GP2X.
IV: Seriously, that's how you built your own system?
ED: Yeah. It's not meant as a replacement system because it has a different user base. But it should be a system that can emulate computers, old computers like Amiga, and do some web stuff and stuff like that. Well, the idea was born. We followed the idea and figured stuff out.
IV: That's a pretty amazing open source project there. You must have some investors?
ED: We have some investors, a lot of them coming from the community, the open source community. That's where we also found our hardware developer. Michael did a really good job on the board and the complete design and I'm really impressed by his work. We found him on the board.
IV: You just found a guy on the board to do all the hardware work?
ED: Yeah. We had the idea and then somebody said he already tried building his own handheld. Then we thought, "hey, we've got to get this guy. If he's already built his own handheld then he can help us." Now he's really done most of the Pandora. Then for the case design, we also have from the community DaveC. He already did some good mods for the GP2X like the D-Pad mod and stuff like that. We took him for the case, and if he says it's perfect, I believe it is perfect.
IV: So you have perfect gaming controls, they're really good?
ED: Yeah, that's what DaveC designed. He's pretty good at that.
IV: You have two joysticks?
ED: Two analog controls, and one digital D-pad. That's enough for everyone. You can use the analog for homebrew games like Quake, or for Playstation emulation. You can use the D-pad for classic games that are better played with a normal D-Pad, or even connect use a USB joypad.
IV: One more thing. You've been talking back and fourth with Texas Instruments people a lot? How's the connection with them?
ED: It's really good. They're really productive. They help you, we help them a bit.
IV: They think you're cool?
ED: I hope so. I haven't met them, but I think so.
IV: I've heard that Texas Instruments is a big fan of this project, the employees there.
ED: They're really helpful, and I think they like the project, because it's a project nobody's seen before.
IV: And you can also work together with the Beagle Board people?
ED: Yeah, because it runs the same hardware. We exchange the Linux stuff, the source code, and it works fine.
IV: So, next year you're going to be a Keynote speaker at CES?
ED: Might be, yes.
IV: Right after Steve Jobs. Coming out with a new pocket laptop.
ED: Yeah, maybe.
IV: Thanks.
ED: No problem.
