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OpenSource Handheld News - Gp2X, Dingoo, Wiz, Pandora, GCW Zero and Caanoo is a News and downloads site for Open Source Handhelds, We have all the latest emulators, hack, homebrew, commercial games and all the downloads on this site, the latest homebrew and releases, Part of the
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February 13th, 2012, 00:14 Posted By: wraggster
As you probably seen on this thread, both Link and Linux-SWAT are currently in Ingolstadt, helping out with the Pandora assembly.
They already prepared over 300 keymats with DPads and put over 500 LCDs into the lids.
Next up will be soldering speakers to LCD Cables, putting these together with the WiFi antennas into the upper lid and finishing that one.
So things are progressing nicely here.
I need some more DPads but luckily Craig has additional ones left I can grab from him.
The bare PCBs are now finished and will be shipped to Germany today.
So early next week, everything should be ready for the mass production.
Link, Linux-SWAT and me will drive to Global Components and build as well as test as many units as possible.
Please give us some time here. I'm planning to start shipping the units out around February 22nd.
I hope I can keep up with building units once these two are gone again (Feb 21st), but in worst case, I can hire some staff to help out.
This will only be an issue with the first 1000. After that, GC will assemble the units, so all I need to do is ship them (which will still be a massive amount of work).
All the parts for the next 1000 units have also already been ordered, so once we start, there shouldn't be a stop.
I'm a bit nervous though about the next cases and LCD Cables. They have been ordered a while ago, but they are coming from China.
We won't run out of cases and cables before the first 1300 units are shipped, but that means that we need them here in 6 weeks.
I'll keep you informed.
I will also keep you informed about the TV Out Cables. I've now asked some German companies for quotations - so hopefully, we should have this last issue settled as well.
Link will also ship the Pandoras to US customers. This will save some shipping costs.
Thanks for his and Linux-SWATs help 
Next week, it's Pandora Rebirth time... interesting times, eh? 
http://boards.openpandora.org/index....do-2012-02-10/
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February 13th, 2012, 00:12 Posted By: wraggster
via http://boards.openpandora.org/index....go-2012-02-06/
It's been a while since the last newspost, so I guess it's time to give you some updates about what's happened
1. Cases, LCDs, Batteries
The parts from Craig have all safely arrived. Enough cases for 1300 Pandoras and enough batteries for 3500
Only about 500 LCDs were left, but Fatih already got 600 new ones for me, so we're safe with these as well.
Craig forgot to include the small parts (buttons, DPads, Light pipes, etc.) and sent them to me last Wednesday, so these should arrive here as werll soon.
Fatih also organized 1100 more AC Adaptors for me.
We hope the next 4000 cases will be finished mid March (just in time for the next 1000 Pandoras). We made some tweaks to prevent the most common cracks, and I should get a sample within the next week. Once I can confirm these changes (nothing major), production will start immediately.
2. Parts for the Pandora PCBs
We've got all the parts for the first 1000 PCBs and I already placed the order for the parts for the next 1000 (since there's a leadtime of 4 - 6 weeks for some parts).
So we're safe here as well.
We already got enough of other parts like WiFi antennas, volume wheels, EXT connectors, etc. for the next 4000 or more units.
3. Pandora production
As soon as I get the remaining small parts from Craig, we're starting to pre-assemble as many cases as possible, so we only need to put in the PCB.
The bare PCBs are expected to be finished about February 10th and production will happen shortly after.
So, yes, it's about 2-3 months weeks before the production starts!
Please don't expect that we'll ship units right away - while I'm getting some help here, these still need to be tested, assembled, etc.
I think we should see the units shipping from around February 22nd on.
I hope we can keep up with the production - GC should be able to produce 250 units per week, and as we're building these units ourselves at home (AND shipping them!) at the beginning, we might be flooded with work.
So don't be too angry if we're a bit slow at the beginning - in worst case I'll hire more people to help and after the first 1000 units have been finished, full assembly will also take place at GC.
4. Information for all new preorders
As production is nearing, I'll send out eMails to everyone who preordered a Pandora since September 2011. These eMails will include a confirmation for the payment as well as the adress and you will still have the chance to add any items you want from my shop (Retrodes, Everdrives, SD Cards, etc.)
Of course I'll also let you what payment remains.
5. Information for all old preorders
I'd really love to send out all the remaining preorders out first - but unfortunately, this is not possible.
The reason is simple: I need about 250,000 EUR to produce 1000 Pandoras and that money needs to come from somewhere.
So I need to sell new units first (the new preorders) to get enough money to have the next 1000 units safe and then the remaining ones will all go out to the classic preorders.
I'm aware that that's pretty annoying for all of you who have been waiting so long - but I can't do much about it (unless someone donates me about 300,000 EUR  )
However, I know some of you would like to pay more money to get the unit earlier (basically the same as the Premium unit).
So I'd like to offer such possibility as well. As every upgrade gives the project some more money, I can actually deliver MORE units per batch to old customers as well, so it's a win-win situation.
I also know though that there are users in the community who safed their money for months to afford the preorder, while there are some who've got enough money to easily pay for the upgrade.
So my idea is this:
Anyone CAN upgrade to move up the queue, but I want to let the user decide how much this is worth for him.
I need to set a minimum amount (maybe 75 - 100 EUR?), but if someone really wants to support what we're doing and likes the Pandora, he can pay more and therefore help deliver the units faster to old preorders as well.
I don't want to make this decision right away, I always want to get your opinions first, so please let me know what you think about it and if you have any improvement ideas, let me know as well.
6. Upgrade your Pandora to the new PCB
As mentioned before, I want to offer the possibility for any owner of a classic Pandora to upgrade to the current PCB, which offers 512MB RAM.
For 150 EUR you can send in your Pandora and get the PCB replaced replaced with a new one.
The old PCBs will be fully tested, put into new cases and sold as refurbished versions for a lower price to new customers.
Therefore, if there's anyone who really needs more RAM (mostly for desktop usage) has the chance to upgrade it and any new users who want to get it mainly for gaming can get these units for a lower price.
The money made from these upgrades will also be used to ship out more of the old preorders.
I'll setup a website for that upgrade when the production has started and will let you know.
7. The kernel and the OS
Both notaz and DJWillis as well as more devs from the community are working on getting a new OS as well as kernel to work.
ArchLinux for the Pandora already uses the current version of the new kernel (3.2) where notaz fixed a lot of issues already, but there are still some issues left. For example, Bluetooth is not working yet, audio is causing issues and the NAND access is a lot slower. Stuff like SGX, WiFi, keyboard, both SD Card Slots, etc. are already working fine.
The new kernel will be mandatory for the new units - as the old one can't access to more than 256MB RAM
So when you get the new Pandora, the system will report 256MB RAM until the new kernel is ready.
DJWillis is still working on moving to the current openembedded version. There are some bootable images, so we're getting there, but there's still a huge amount of work left to do.
Anyone who would like to help out can contact DJWillis on #openpandora (FreeNode).
8. TV Out Cables
It's weird how something simple like cables with a few connectors can cause more issues to be produced than everything else.
Well, you might remember that the old company didn't want to do them anymore.
Then Fatih tried to find some more companies - but they all wanted a minimum order of at least 10,000 cables.
Then suddenly (just before CNY), the old company contacted us and told us they want to produce them again...
We haven't heard anything since then from them, so we're not sure what the actual status is.
Working with Chinese companies can be totally weird sometimes...
Anyways, I'll also ask some German companies now, they might be a lot faster and more reliable... and they will do lower quantities as well.
That's everything for now - quite a huge status update post. In case you have any further questions, let me know.
I'm open and will answer all questions faithfully (if I know the answers )
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February 6th, 2012, 12:10 Posted By: wraggster
Alternative Handheld Emulation our site devoted to Symbian, UIQ, Gizmodo, Ngage, JXD, Tapwave Zodiac and other open source handhelds has now been updated with a better look, improved SEO and cleaner feel overall
Check it out here --> http://ngage.dcemu.co.uk
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January 31st, 2012, 22:02 Posted By: wraggster
news from http://www.scummvm.org/news/20120127/
The ScummVM Team is pleased to announce ScummVM 1.4.1, a maintenance only release that fixes several bugs in 1.4.0.
The most notable changes in this release are:- Support for the Beneath a Steel Sky Enhanced Soundtrack by James Woodcock
- Slight graphical improvement for the PlayStation version of Broken Sword 2
- Several bugfixes for Lands of Lore
- More logical sound settings for SCI games
- A fixed crash in the VGA version of Quest for Glory 1
The full list of changes can be found in the release notes and the release binaries for many platforms are located on our downloads page.
Enjoy!
For a list of changes since the previous version, read the release notes.
1.4.0 is also apt-get'able from Debian unstable (sid).
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January 27th, 2012, 01:38 Posted By: wraggster
Blaze will release its new gaming handheld GameGadget in the UK on March 30th.
Positioned as an iPod-style device for gamers, it allows gamers to download games from a variety of publishers and developers, including a range of legally purchaseable retro games.
GameGadget also allows independent and homebrew developers to create games for its digital platform, along with established developers, thanks to its open source development system.
Meanwhile, publishers will be able to sell games singularly or in bundles, thanks to the iTunes-style interface.
The handheld will be priced at £99.99, and prices for downloadable games will vary.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/gameg...release/090325
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January 26th, 2012, 03:40 Posted By: wraggster
Remember the Pandora? Back when the likes of the PS Vita and the Nintendo 3DS remained conceptual sketches in top secret bunkers, this open-source handheld paired up a clamshell form factor with analogue game controls, a QWERTY keyboard and a dream. It's been a slow-burning dream; last time we heard from the OpenPandora project, it had managed a limited (premium-priced) run, with manufacturing hobbled by problems. But, like its namesake, there was always hope and fans of the platform ponied up around half a million euros to bring the four-year-old project back to life. It's now set to go into full production next month with a new manufacturer, but unfortunately the same specs. While the 4.3-inch 800 x 480 touchscreen sparkled a few years earlier, it's now being supplanted by what we're getting on our smartphones. However, those tempted by an open source OS, a battery life of over ten hours and a very faithful fanbase, can stake their claim to one at the source below. We've got our fingers crossed for you.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/25/p...onth-never-ga/
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January 17th, 2012, 01:42 Posted By: wraggster
I mentioned it a couple of times, but it's finally time to officially announce it:
The Pandora Rebirth Competition - Deadline: End of March 31st (UTC)
The prizes of the competition are the following:
1st prize:
One of the fully working Pandora PCBs from the German prototype production run in a special edition case!
You can either choose a golden or pearl white case (I will post pictures soon), signed by EvilDragon.
Both cases only exist one time worldwide!
Additionally, you'll get a fully licensed copy of GLBasic including a GLBasic Sketchbook (thanks to the author for this prize) as well.
And you can choose between a Hardigg Storm Case iM 2050 (trimmed to store a Pandora, extra battery, and earbuds), an an UnderWater Kinetics Retro-Lunch Box 309 Dry Box.or a handmade neoprene Pandora softcase (hand sewn with 16oz upholstery thread).. Thanks to ithic.com for these prizes!
2nd prize:
A fully working Pandora straight from the German production starting in February, signed by EvilDragon.
Additionally, you'll get a fully licensed copy of GLBasic (thanks to the author for this prize) as well the choice between the two remaining prizes fromithic.com.
3rd prize:
A classic 1st Edition Pandora (PCB from Texas).
Additionally, you'll get a fully licensed copy of GLBasic (thanks to the author for this prize) as well as a the last remaining prize from ithic.com.
4th and 5th prize:
A 32GB SDHC card, tested to work with the Pandora as well as a GLBasic Sketchbook.
6th and 7th prize:
A 16 GB SDHC card from Samsung, tested to work with the Pandora as well as a GLBasic Sketchbook
The rules:
If you don't follow the rules, your entry might be disqualified - so be sure to read these carefully.- The program you submit can be virtually anything: A game, an application, a tool, an alternative OS, an OS extend, etc.
- The entry can be a port of an existing program or a completely new development.
- The entry HAS to work on the Pandora. It does not have to be in PND format, but it should run and start on the Pandora.
- The Pandora version of the entry must NOT be released to the public before the competition is over. You can release as many versions for other platforms as you like. It is also okay if there's an early Pandora version predating January 9th - but no further public releases should happen if you plan on entering.
- The entry can of course be released to selected betatesters.
- The entry CAN be an engine or port for an existing commercial game (similar to ScummVM or the VVVVVV-port). Be sure you own all the needed licenses though!
- You are welcome to post pictures and videos or share your project ideas with the community (and get suggestions and/or help from them). The judgement will be done by the community, so this is a good way to find out what they'd love to get
- One person can submit an unlimited number of entries - however, each entrant can only win one prize.
- Team projects are possible, but the prize can only be won by one person in the team. I will throw in small prizes for the rest of the team (up to 5 members) though, like T-Shirts, signed cases, etc.
- You MUST have the full rights and licenses to use and release all graphics, sounds, music, code and or anything else you supply with your entry. No copyrighted material (unless you license it from the copyright holder - proof needed) is allowed.
- No illegal content or pornography is allowed.
- Voting will happen through polls on the official Pandora Boards (http://boards.openpandora.org/).
- We will release a splashscreen and small banners which needs to be included somewhere in your entry. You are NOT forced to show a splashscreen on startup for a few seconds. As long as a banner and or the splashscreen is included ANYWHERE in the program (credits screen, main menu, somewhere in the levels, etc.), it's fine
- The rules can be changed and / or optimized within the next couple of days (also based on community input) until January 15th.
You are free to share this competition on any websites, forums, IRC, social media, etc. you like.
To get help with coding, cross-compiling or setting up a dev environment, you can ask for help at the Development Section on the boards or by visiting #openpandora on Freenode.
Finally, I'm also asking for help from the community here:
Please read and review the rules and let me know any suggestions you have.
Also, I know we got some pretty talented graphic designers here: If anyone wants to create a splashscreen and / or banners in various sizes, I'd be very happy about it
http://boards.openpandora.org/index....on-2012-01-09/
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January 8th, 2012, 23:18 Posted By: wraggster
OpenBOR is a continuation of the Beats Of Rage 2D game engine, which was originally
created by the wonderful folks over at http://www.senileteam.com.
This release is for the Dreamcast, PSP, Wii, Wiz, GP2x and Dingoo:
Heres whats new;
r3663 | utunnels | 2012-01-07 05:27:25 -0500 (Sat, 07 Jan 2012) | 1 line
Changed paths:
M /engine/openbor.c
Forgot to reset ent_max and ent_count, now added.
http://lavalit.com:8080/OpenBOR/down...p?file=OpenBOR v3.0 Build 3663.7z
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January 8th, 2012, 23:08 Posted By: wraggster
via http://boards.openpandora.org/index....12-2012-07-01/
Most of you probably already heard about the FOSDEM (or have been there already).
For those who don't know:
FOSDEM is the biggest free and non-commercial event organized by and for the community. Its goal is to provide Free and Open Source developers a place to meet.
So, of course, it's the perfect place for the Pandora. And that's why I'll be there as well this year!
I'll have a presentation and talk about the Pandora on Sunday 5th of February, 12:40 - 13:25(time about 99% fixed).
It will be in the devroom centred on games in the open source world (AW1.120).
I don't know yet when I'll arrive at the FOSDEM (hopefully Saturday 4th already), but you're welcome to visit
The GTA04 team will also be there, in case you're interested in that project as well (it shares some similarities with the Pandora).
Hope to see you!
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December 28th, 2011, 01:02 Posted By: wraggster
http://notaz.gp2x.de/releases/pcsxr/...r12_caanoo.zip
http://notaz.gp2x.de/releases/pcsxr/...ed_r12_wiz.zip
Well, this is mostly a bugfix release, however it now has new frameskip code, which should be friendly with more games. It now also allows higher frameskip values, which should help games that run at high internal framerates. As an example, Tekken3 is much more playable with higher frameskip. Oh and there is now analog support, and an optimization for 4bpp sprites (Castlevania).
I haven't got a chance to try the Wiz version, so I don't know if it works (don't have it with me here).
Otherwise merry Christmas and enjoy the release!
http://www.gp32x.com/board/index.php...dpost&p=962551
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December 28th, 2011, 00:56 Posted By: wraggster
OpenBOR is a continuation of the Beats Of Rage 2D game [COLOR=blue !important][COLOR=blue !important]engine[/COLOR][/COLOR], which was originally
created by the wonderful folks over at http://www.senileteam.com.
This release is for the Dreamcast, PSP, Wii, Wiz, GP2x and Dingoo:
Heres whats new;
r3650 | utunnels | 2011-12-26 10:09:48 -0500 (Mon, 26 Dec 2011) | 2 lines
Changed paths:
M /engine/openbor.c
M /engine/openbor.h
Merge cancel and com code in a single function.
Remove button type check, no direction-action button combination limit anymore.http://lavalit.com:8080/OpenBOR/download.php
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December 26th, 2011, 22:55 Posted By: wraggster
I know I am two days too late - but I am pretty sure a lot of you actually followed the older thread as well, with all the thrill and suspense we had!
I am very happy to tell you that the Pandora prototype production run was a full success!
After the issues we had on the first day, we had a nearly-smooth test run on the second day.
The result: 13 out of 13 Pandoras we built are 100% working!
(our goal was to get at least one of them fully working... so I guess that's a good rate )
I've tested the PCBs for the last few days and they all work fine.
The WiFi and BT LEDs (we got more orange ones now, as the old ones looked red) are a bit too bright, but that's just some resistor that needs to be changed.
Mass production run is planned to happen early February, so we should see quite a lot of Pandoras being delivered in February!
The assembly machine Global Components uses can populate 15,000 parts per hour, and the Pandora PCB has about 500 parts.
Therefore, 30 Pandoras per hour can be produced.
Now, remember when I said I've got a little surprise for you?
Here you go: The Pandoras made here will have 512MB of RAM, twice as much as before.
I know that some of you (who already have one) might be disappointed and angry - but we couldn't do much. The old RAM is just not available anymore, so we had to upgrade.
If you're mostly playing games, then the additional RAM most probably won't affect you - it's mostly only helpful if you use the Pandora as Mini-Desktop PC.
However, I am also planning of an upgrade program: If you already own a Pandora, you can get a new PCB for an upgrade price (and either keep or swap your case as well).
The old boards will be sold as second hand units for a cheaper price. I've not worked out the details yet, but these are the basics of what I'm planning.
http://boards.openpandora.org/index....ss-2011-12-24/
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December 26th, 2011, 22:53 Posted By: wraggster
Of course, the question for today is: How did it work? Did you get working boards? Is everything okay?
Well, we got halfway through it, it's not looking bad
There was one problem with the stencil (the holes for the solder paste were too big for the BGAs), so usually, this would've meant: Okay, time to go home until a new stencil will be there.
Well, the new stencil will be there tomorrow morning, but we wanted to try to get a PCB working anyways, so we tried one PCB where the BGA pads had NO solder paste.
This COULD work out - or not.
It seems it worked half.
There are three BGAs on the board (BGAs are the chips with VERY small solder balls that are below it), the most complex one is the OMAP, the second complex one is one that does all the power management.
We populated a PCB and tried to boot it up - and, yay! It booted! U-Boot was clearly seen via serial out and I could access my testing card in Slot 1 via my netbook.
However - I didn't see any picture. Backlight came on, but no picture.
Damn.
So it was time to get in contact with MWeston, who quickly replied to me what I could measure where.
It seems the LCD doesn't get power.
Hmm.
Okay, time to do the remaining tests...
USB... working.
SD Slot 1... working.
SD Slot 2... working (after we found one pin was not soldered properly)
WiFi - no Power.
LCD - no Power.
Audio Amp - no power.
Battery charging - nope, didn't recognize that I connected an AC Adaptor.
Well - there were two solutions:
Either A LOT of stuff is broken on the PCB (but then again, it could only be a lot of missing parts...) OR something with the power management is not working, which would explain why so many parts didn't get powered up.
As mentioned: One BGA does the power management - and the way we tried to get it working was a "could work - or not"-thing.
So yeah, most probably that power chip. It handles every other current than the main 5V one. And exactly these parts are not properly working.
Tomorrow at 8:30am, we'll continue with out adventure. We'll have the proper stencil for that, so population should be fine this time.
In case something still doesn't work, we'll go to do some X-Ray tests tomorrow. This would reveal any missing traces or similar.
Even if the boards work fine, Global Components will do some X-Ray to see if the machines can be further optimized for some parts to minimize the failure rate.
I'm pretty happy that the machine booted up.
Firstly, it's the first time Global Components EVER did a PoP (and it worked on first try), and secondly, debugging would be hard if it didn't even boot.
The GTA04 team had similar issues: 3 out of 3 PCBs they got from their run didn't boot. They managed to get one half working after a day, so for a prototype run, issues like these are normal.
But things are looking good that we'll have fully working PCBs tomorrow, so stay tuned for more updates
This means that actual production run will start early February (unless something else goes really wrong), but I'm happy we got something to boot today
http://boards.openpandora.org/index....ne-2011-12-21/
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