Messages

316

Gemini PDA - General Discussion / "customer service"

« on: March 13, 2018, 07:58:17 pm »

Planet Computers most definitely has responsibility for accountability to their customers.  Their customers did not purchase a device 'from the factory', but rather from Planet Computers.

Technically, we didn't purchase anything — we contributed money to a start-up.  The device is merely a perk that may be sent to contributors; it's not guaranteed.

(That's how Indiegogo and other crowdfunding campaigns work; some campaigns never get as far as a prototype, let alone a shipping product.  Of course, start-ups arguably have a moral responsibility to provide a working product or a refund; but that's not the legal position.)

Now, if Planet Computers were a big, established company, or if I thought they weren't doing their best, then I'd be right with you folks getting angry and considering your options.

But if I understand correctly, they have 4½ people — and I think it's quite amazing what 4½ people have done in less than a year!  And there has been a lot of communication about progress and they've taken on board a lot of feedback over the design.  As far as I can tell, they really are doing their best to deliver the units as quickly as they can, to as high a quality as they can.  From what most people have said so far, it seems that (except for a few known issues) the hardware quality is generally very good indeed.  The software isn't so good yet, but that can be updated after delivery, and there's every indication that Planet are working towards that, as well as helping others to do so.

So I'm willing to cut them a little slack.  Not permanently, of course.  But this must be a tumultuous time for them — especially as they now have all the feedback and complaints from the first batch of backers in addition to all the existing issues.  Right now, I'd rather they spent more of their limited time working on the product than on replying to concerns and complaints.

When my Gemini finally arrives, I'll want it to be absolutely perfect, and anything short of that will be a source of disappointment.  But I hope I'll be able to keep that in proportion.  And I expect that after a few months, when some of these teething problems have been ironed out and the software situation has improved, things will look rather better.

(I suspect that on the Gartner hype cycle, we're approaching the Trough Of Disillusionment.  Which means that the Slope Of Enlightenment is yet to come  )

317

Gemini PDA - Sailfish OS / Does Sailfish OS for Gemini currently exist?

« on: March 07, 2018, 05:05:59 pm »

Up to this point, I think Planet have been mostly concentrating on the hardware side.

And I think that's exactly the right thing for them to do.  Software can be added and updated after delivery; hardware can't.

So if you're expecting a 100% complete, polished, all-singing, all-dancing device from the moment you open the box, you should prepare yourself for slight disappointment.

I, on the other hand, am in it for the long term.  [fx: glances down at 19-year-old Psion 5mx open and running on desk.]  Given Planet's limited resources, I'm pleased to hear that the Gemini's hardware seems fully functional, elegant, and polished.  And I'm very pleased to hear that as well as customising Android, they're also providing tools and making the platform as open as they can, including supporting the free software community in porting and supporting several other OSs on it.  I suspect that will matter much more in the long term than a short delay in providing a Debian download.

In short: patience, my friend.  Patience

318

Gemini PDA - General Discussion / Review of my new Gemini

« on: March 06, 2018, 05:31:30 pm »

Thanks for the review — very interesting and encouraging!

BTW, Psion keyboards varied in stiffness a bit.  (I know coz I've acquired several as backups over the years…)  So comparisons with the Gemini's keyboard may depend upon the particular Psion(s) you're comparing it to.

The impression I get from most reviews is that the hardware's extremely good, but the software's very much ‘version 1’ with several rough edges and omissions.  (Of course, that's the right way around: software's much easier to update after delivery  )  Does that match your experience so far?

319

Gemini PDA - General Discussion / Windows 10 on the Gemini?

« on: February 27, 2018, 02:06:23 pm »

I'll add my “For goodness' sake, NO!!!”

Partly because I've never owned anything running a Microsoft OS.  Partly because it's likely to make the Gemini look far worse than it is.

And partly because it'll dilute the platform: the fewer people running each OS on it, the less pressure for compatibility, updates, &c; and the less we users will be able to help each other and share experiences and insights.  The platform is already split between Linux and Android; a necessary split at this point, but already it reduces the need for Gemini-related Linux updates, tweaks, and apps.  It's too easy for people to say “Oh, just boot into Android to do that.”  How much worse would it be with Windows too?

320

Gemini PDA - General Discussion / An insight on the Gemini manufacturing process

« on: February 05, 2018, 08:08:54 am »

Yes, it's just a guess.  But it seems plausible enough to me, so I'm happy to accept it provisionally, unless/until anyone has any better info.

(And, eager as we all are to get our units, wishful thinking doesn't count as ‘better’.   )

321

Gemini PDA - General Discussion / Gemini PDA Gen 2 Features Request

« on: January 19, 2018, 01:37:29 pm »

Some good ideas there.

However, in 20 years of using a Psion 5mx (including in bed most nights, with the lights off, and you can stop sniggering at the back), I've never felt any need for a keyboard backlight.  The keyboard has so few extra keys that there's little chance for confusion, and if you do much typing with it, you come to feel where all the keys are (whether in two-thumb or full touch-type mode).

Similarly, I never need to resort to a stylus; most of what I do is via the keyboard, and I find that a fingernail's plenty accurate enough for the screen.  (I just turn or bend my index finger slightly.)  A stylus would give slightly greater precision and visibility, of course, but Psion apps don't require infinite precision, and a fingernail's much more convenient.

So those are two things that might not be quite so important after all!

—

This has reminded me that at one point, Psion themselves asked for ideas for a successor to the 5mx.  I can't recall everything I suggested, but it certainly included a colour screen, headphone socket, stereo audio, more storage, and probably Bluetooth and/or USB, faster processor, thinner/lighter — all of which the Gemini has!  And much more besides.  So we are (about to be) living in good times.

322

Gemini PDA - General Discussion / ZX Vega Comparison

« on: January 19, 2018, 12:45:47 pm »

I came to some of the same conclusions as you folks.

I was pretty excited at the initial announcement.  (I've spent 20 years looking for a worthy successor to the Psion 5mx that I still use every day!)  But the uncertainty of crowdfunding, the amount of money, and concern over possible links to the Vega+ situation, made me hold off for several months.

But since then, everything I've seen has added to my confidence.  Planet have posted relatively frequent updates, demonstrating lots of progress, and seem to have been pretty honest about the spec and timescales.  The appearance of working prototypes and, most recently, actual production models, have made it seem more and more likely that they'll deliver.

(Also, although I'm not sure I follow much of the Spectrum Vega+ story properly, it seems like the real culprits had left before Janko became involved, and he's one of those left to carry the can.  I'm not sure that excuses everything that's happened since, but it does at least reduce some of the question marks over his name.)

So for me, the expected benefits exceeded the risks several months ago, and I took the plunge.

In the next few weeks I hope my confidence will be validated…  

323

Gemini PDA - General Discussion / Wikipedia

« on: January 19, 2018, 12:28:37 pm »

Yes, let's! 

I've never understood Wikipedia's criteria for notability, and can't see how they could reasonably deny an article on those grounds, given all the publicity it's been earning over recent weeks.

(By coincidence, I recently happened to edit the page for David E. Potter, adding his honorary chairmanship of Planet Computers, with dead links to both Planet Computers and Gemini PDA, in the hope that those pages might be added soon.)

324

Gemini PDA - General Discussion / Miscellaneous blogs mentioning the Gemini

« on: January 16, 2018, 04:20:06 pm »

Oooh…  Clove is a name I remember from the days when the Psion world was still active.  Seeing it again here is yet another link to those heady days — and gets me even more excited!