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	EXTREME BLENDERING			2002 02 01
		Ton Roosendaal		id245

For the Game Developers Conference last year, as a demonstration of the portability of Blender, we managed to get Blender running on a Compaq iPAQ PDA, running Windows CE. Blender uses OpenGL for all drawing, including interfaces and menus, so key success factor of this port was the development of a fixed-point math OpenGL library. This specific OpenGL version was not optimized for the iPAQ's ARM processor, but already gives an impressive speed for textured 3D environments. The demo files included in the distribution file will demonstrate this.

Since Blender Creator was not meant for usage at a PDA, the actual value of this port is limited to demonstration purposes and having quite some fun, especially for experienced Blender users it will be a challenging puzzle to get it working. NaN now offers everyone this port as a free download via the Blender web site. We strongly recommend users to keep in mind that ***************************** THIS IS A PROTOTYPE! ***************************** it won't be supported or maintained by us and (please!) do not send us bug reports. Also note that this prototype is based on the Blender 2.04 release. Files from newer Blender versions are not guaranteed to work properly. You will get a warning message when you try to do this. Blender Creator 2.04 for PCs and workstations is still available for download from our FTP server The iPAQ Blender distribution file (a .zip archive) can be downloaded from our download area . It contains a few 2.04 .blend demo files and instructions as well. Have fun! The NaN team.

Feedback

brint	2002 03 11
Hmm... Blender runs in an opengl environment.. not with any os-widgets of any kind.. that's what makes it so portable! And ofcause operating systems on pda's and desktops differs (and should!). However this is surely not the forum for such a discussion!
Phaser	2002 03 09
Innerguy, i suggest you try Blender for iPaq before ranting. I've always been against windows and recommended Linux, but Wince is a surprisingly good platform. All Linuxes for iPaq are still in some kind of a beta phase, wince has far better calendar and notepad systems (which are important, not blender). And, after all, Blender for iPaq runs great on my 3630!
innerguy	2002 03 03
It seems to me that running this on Windows CE is not a good choice, as I have always criticized Windows in it's inability to run on small platforms, such as PDAs in it's true form. By true form, I mean that every single feature CAN be implemented that one would expect on a desktop. It is impossible to do this, as almost ALL windows software is distributed in binaries, and will only run on the platform it is written for. Plus, Windows CE is such a scaled down version of Windows, I don't think that it can ever be considered Windows. Linux, on the other hand, CAN run on even an iPaq, with the ability to run almost any program that a desktop Linux box can run (if you recompile and tweak the source a bit). It is possible, with a large flash memory card, to install a homemade Linux distrubution onto a PocketPC, hey, there are even some premade distributions out there for download. After you do this, you can run almost any program that you can compile. Unfortunately, Blender is not distributed in souce, and therefore, must be run in binary form, which is not favorable, but there is a possibilty (I saw it done before) that it may run on the iPaq's StrongARM processor. In conclusion, I think that Microsoft's propietary platform isn't very portable, and it's portable versions are not even complete versions of the thing. It must run special applications, and it is so scaled down that I don't think it can even be considered a "Windows distibution" anymore.
aiziba	2002 02 28
you want to buy 2 PDA's?
ZaDoyMan	2002 02 20
great now i need to go out and buy a @#$^ing pda. he he.
ZaDoyMan	2002 02 20
great now i need to go out and buy a @#$^ing pda. he he.
brint	2002 02 16
How can one have a slogan on the entrypage, saying: "Blender, create-edit-publish 3D on any platform", Showing an ipaq with blender running, when one is clearly not supporting the pocketpc platform that is used as an example of "any platform"! I have an ipaq 3850, and it doesn't work! :( Shouldn't you make it work? It would be cool, and very useful!
pfr	2002 02 12
I know NaN does not support this prototype thing, but I think it would be GREAT and ESSENTIAL to have it ported well, as well as making it compatible with other pocketpc devices with arm processors ( there would only be some gapi modifications ). So NaN please KEEP up the good work and make it a very good port so ou product would be much more popular.
Carmad	2002 02 12
Didier, this is i know this is totally irrelevant, but is your surname Auriol, by any chanc? just askin(Didier Auriol is a famos rally driver)
Carmad	2002 02 12
didier: You may have a point there! it would be cool, making AND playing games on a console, too.
WingedOne	2002 02 11
I have a Compaq iPAQ and I just found about this! I can't wait to get home from work and try this out! Even though it's a prototype, I hope it's something you'll continue to work on in the future.
didier	2002 02 10
if it work on WinCE, peraps it could work on dreamcast? i think it can be interesting if one day Blender work on a videogame consol ;-)
GenericName	2002 02 04
I too want blender for my Zaurus. It would be a great addition. Especialy for 3d presentations. It runs linux, so I would imagine it would almost just be a recompile for the arm. Just about anyhow. If you want someone to test it, let me know, I have the developer version of the Zaurus on my desk right now.
Psion	2002 02 04
Ton, this looks great! Just don't make it too specific to any one PDA...I'm looking to get a Sharp Zaurus SL-5500 (the Linux PDA) as soon as it hits the shelves in a few weeks and hope to get a version of Blender going on it!
thorax	2002 02 02
This will never get ported to a palm, but maybe the original amiga version of Blender will, ha! I hope to get enough "flow" soon to buy a iPaq, they are very cool and they have loud speakers for annoying the heck out of the natives with your mp3 collection.
BigWhale	2002 02 02
"I love the little martian. " O is it a martian? We were wondering where it was from. ;-)
mcuffe	2002 02 02
To PlantPerson: www.compaq.com - handhelds; ipaq; business. To Ton et. al.: THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I've learned more details about the interface in just from one day than with a year on my pc! Now I may have time to produce something worth posting.
PlantPerson	2002 02 02
Maybe I'd better save me pennies and get a PDA!!! Wonder where you get an IPAQ? All I ever hear about is Palm, Visor, and Cassiopeia. I love the little martian. Is he the new "Blender mascot"?
k3po	2002 02 02
Dang it HAS to be on an iPAQ? my brother has a Casioipia em-500.
Torgo	2002 02 01
Glad to see the first real 3D app for the iPAQ. I currently have a VRML tool and a POV Ray clone, but this is really exciting. Lets hope it catches-on and is updated beyond prototype status. I now have become "blended."
Torgo	2002 02 01
Glad to see the first real 3D app for the iPAQ. I currently have a VRML tool and a POV Ray clone, but this is really exciting. Lets hope it catches-on and is updated beyond prototype status. I now have become "blended."
Zemdar	2002 02 01
Guess I'll go buy an i-paq. Tooooo cute.
Corrosion	2002 02 01
As with Blender it has a very intuitive control. I love how well it runs. Wish they'd actually pursue it more. I can't believe this is an unoptimized version. Andrew
ArmyDude	2002 02 01
Now I'm happy - I can blend any where - hehe
Phaser	2002 02 01
Tried it, it's GREAT! Thanks! Now off for a car trip, blending on the fly...
Garbager	2002 02 01
Incredible. As a blender user on PC and a Pocket PC user as well, I can say that I'll use it to extend my work. A beautiful piece of art, and a very impressive Real time mode too !!!
jscott	2002 02 01
Wow that's awesome. I'd love to see a few close up shots of it running on the iPAQ.
dre3d	2002 02 01
Looks good to me. Wish I had a PDA to, so I could show of to my friend even more.
Stonzy	2002 02 01
Supercool....to bad I don´t have this kind of widget *LOL*