Viridior and the Gentoo team now have their own news blog. Check it out.
We started our own news/blogs site to help us keep track of Gentoo Pandora development. We are charging forward at full speed to get a nice small and functional image well before the Pandora ships, if your interested check out http://gentoo.openpandora.org, it has a RSS feed.
In response to the current timeplans there have been a few comments from EvilDragon and Chip:
EvilDragon
CE shouldn”t take one month – I know the test itself can be done in a couple of days and we”re looking for a company that won”t give us a long wait before they start testing.Chip
The case manufacturer already has the CAD files, as they are the ones making the CNC prototype as well. That is why we went with CNC (as opposed to other, much faster rapid prototype technologies). Since it is the same factory, we know they have the exact dimensions down. Since it is the same machines in the same facility, there is little chance of (and no excuse for) variations between the prototype and final cases.These cases are being made in China. As I understand things, the cases will be shipped to TX where everything will be assembled and tested. The completed, tested Pandoras will be shipped to the UK and from there to everybody who ordered one.
EvilDragon
… and to Germany ;\)Chip
It would be cheaper in some ways (to ship the ones destined for the US to MWeston), much more expensive in others. MWeston has a day job which would preclude him from boxing and labeling hundreds of Pandoras in a reasonable timeframe. I have offered to do it, but Craig declined for what are actually quite good reasons that I”m not sure I can discuss. Rest assured that it is being planned in the most reasonable way possible.
Latest update from EvilDragon (translation).
Boxing may come, but not necessarily
I definitely want to make a manual – even if only as PDF version
The planned delivery date is 4-6 weeks after beginning of mass production, that will start after CE and FCC is made, which will be made after the CNC case is available
Right now we are trying to hurry on the Chinese producers of the CNC case, because some work has been slowed down by the Chinese New Year;)
We hope we will know more in the next week and maybe even get the case.
In mali’s words – So in short this means April/May.
Here are a few snippets for you. This one from Chip isn’t news, but some are unaware so here goes:
It’s [the logo key] tied directly to a GPIO line (all 3 keys in the middle are) instead of the keypad matrix so that it can be used at any time. It will bring up a system menu with things like a task switching menu, system options and shutdown / suspend commands. The “Pandora” key is off the table for repurposing or remapping.
From ED – translated:
If I offer mats ADDITIONALLY, the production won’t be delayed – they don’t have anything todo with Pandora’s production
The factory optimizes the PCB production at the moment, the parts are all there. Production will be ready to go, soon.
Production of the keymats has already begun, the tool is being made now.
Basically we are waiting for the final prototype-cases[expl. CNC] to do stability, CE and FCC tests.
Then we’ll just have to say “Off we go!” and production will begin
reference link:
German Source Translated Source
Well [the analogue nubs] are totally custom made and designed for the Pandora, they are unique thus if any flaw should be found after say a year we can work to address the fault and improve them.
All these news items were posted in this thread, Unofficial Openpandora Community blog.
Thanks to those posting there – please do the same if you come across anything interesting.
Having established that the one week deadline was ‘marketing’, Craig would very much like everybody that wants to order to do so quickly. Emails will be going out this week to 6000 people waiting patiently for the opportunity to pre-order. This is a necessity so that “we know we will get all the empty slots filled quickly and can move to mass production sharpish.”
In response to questions relating to production and specifically the ‘batches of 400′ previously mentioned, Chip replied with:
It’s more to keep a close eye on the manufacturing process and tweak it where necessary than anything else. We already have all the necessary parts, but we can’t afford to re-do huge numbers of boards if there is an issue. That’s why we’re doing them in smaller batches.
We already have a test program that will verify whether a board is “good” or not before it gets flashed and assembled so any boards that do have problems can be fixed. It just costs time and money to fix problem boards, and that is what we’re trying to keep to a minimum.
It is interesting that they have the parts and the previous idea of several smaller batchs is still valid.
Apparently a few of you have been anticipating this…
Galactic Artifact – Release B (SVN 234)
After 2 more weeks of development, the next alpha of my non-combat real time space exploration game “Galactic Artifact” has been released!
Trevor is asking for help with graphics design. Any takers?
This looks an interesting project.
Hi!
I haven’t had time to finish the photorealistic rendering yet (and won’t have to continue to work on it before Monday). However, I’ve rendered a sneak preview for you.
Lighting is not set up very well yet and the LEDs are still missing.
Expect more renderings next week, more close-ups, views from other sides, the stylus, etc.
Click on the picture for a larger view.
Also, I just heard that some of our core devs received the WiFi antenna, so they can finish the WiFi driver. As soon as this has happened, everything is set for the mass production of the board!
We’re getting closer, guys!
I can confirm that I have today recieved my re-order email. I originally ordered by credit card and got refunded.
These are the emails expressing the payment options, as outlined in craigix’s forum post. Everybody that got refunded and has not subsequently re-ordered ought to get one of these.
Email details after the break. Forum thread for discussion.
Phawx posted this:
Alright…I think I just got credited back my money from Amex. Do I just follow the instructions everyone else was talking about?
I have to give Amex a call and double-triple make sure the credit is in my account before I go ahead and do anything, but I think I may just be doing a transfer at my local bank.
How much would it be to send a cheque to OP?
Oh also, I got credited back the full amount I paid, So I am going to send the amount I got back to OP
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