Windows Phone

Discussion in 'Off Topic Area' started by Mitlov, Mar 14, 2012.

  1. Princess Haru

    Princess Haru Valued Member

    I downloaded the Lumia Amber update for my phone earlier today and stumbled on one of the additional features in Settings: call+SMS filter. I've added a couple of numbers from my call history as Blocked Numbers and it really works :) I'm looking forward to the other feature I read about where you can turn the phone face down to mute the ringing. Yep in my topsy turvy world I really like the features where you can avoid talking/reading stuff that other people or organisations might send that you don't want to read at all, or not now! The Data Sense will be useful when I eventually get around to getting a data package on PAYG, I also tried out the camera burst option in Smart Shoot, not sure when this might be useful but was easy enough to use. Guess the limited optics mean I can't get better than ISO800 on my Lumia 620. Still on the balance of cost v features it's still a good phone (even if a lot of new apps seem to be built only for apple or android, maybe they need to relaunch as amber)
     
  2. shootodog

    shootodog restless native

    Nokia has always been my sentimental favorite phone. Their N series had a wonderful camera. The last Nokia I owned ran on Linux. I hope MS can do something with this. I hope that they keep Nokia's standards.

    I have an iPhone4S. Not a day goes by that I do not miss my N series phones.
     
  3. aikiwolfie

    aikiwolfie ... Supporter

    Personally I just turn my phone off or put it on silent. I also have ring tones for certain people. As for the relaunch. How many do you do before you admit it's not working? Microsoft are facing a number of issues when it comes to Windows Phone/Nokia. And they aren't going to solve those issues in the near future.
     
  4. holyheadjch

    holyheadjch Valued Member

    So your solution is for them to just stop trying? To shut up shop?
     
  5. aikiwolfie

    aikiwolfie ... Supporter

    Nope. My thinking is if what you're doing isn't working, try something else.
     
  6. Princess Haru

    Princess Haru Valued Member

    I only recently figured out that holding the on/off button powered it off and will probably do that on digital free days or whatever the in-word/phrase is.

    Just doing that though is not enough, I have people that once I know they are calling it is like the idea of their existence is in my head. I think this is why telemarketers really get some people into telephone rage, I like the idea of creating your own 0871 number to at least make some money off the back of unsolicited calls, but I also have former friends and people who think they are more than friends, lets call them stalkers because that is what they are doing, and just switching off or ignoring is not enough. I have a new SIM that some of these people don't know but at least this feature gives me more time on my existing number.

    I saw an add for a phone which had pre-order funding to be built using sustainable resources with a video presentation on Vimeo, but have already bought my 620. This would have been, by the sound of it, something I'd have paid a bit more to have and I think it was on android alas I can't remember the name of it
     
  7. holyheadjch

    holyheadjch Valued Member

    It takes years to develop a new mobile os from scratch, but only months to iterate an existing one. They can't afford to drop out of the mobile market for years.
     
  8. aikiwolfie

    aikiwolfie ... Supporter

    Well that's kinda the point though. By not being innovative and relying on old inertia. They kinda did drop out of the market. Then they came back with Kin. Which was outdated and supposedly built from scratch. The they released Windows Phone 7 which turned out to be a dead end and hit the market missing very basic features. And to cap it off bricked a number of devices during updates. There were just too many mistakes being made.

    As for how long it takes to develop a new OS. That depends on your approach. You can speed things up quite a bit by collaborating on the common components and then moulding that to your needs and desires. Or you can start from scratch, build it all yourself and never share anything.

    One method offers cost effective rapid development of a fast and stable OS. The other way, not so much.

    Pre-Elop Nokia phones either ran their own in-house OS or a custom version of Linux. Pre-Elop Nokia's phones were going to run a custom version of Linux. Lets see how Linux is developed.

    http://youtu.be/yVpbFMhOAwE
     
  9. aikiwolfie

    aikiwolfie ... Supporter

    Bleah. I hate buzz words. If your phone works for you that's what matters.
     
  10. holyheadjch

    holyheadjch Valued Member

    "Microsoft should build a Linux based operating system" is not a sensible suggestion. It would be damned near impossible to create a cross-platform ecosystem if they did that and that's where the big money is going to be in 5 years time.

    As for Linux - great for servers, great for development machines, awful (absolutely goddamnned awful) as an all round normal person doing normal computing tasks.
     
  11. aikiwolfie

    aikiwolfie ... Supporter

    Well since they got their fingers in the SUSE Linux pie, not to mention Barns & Noble's Nook tablet, they are effectively already doing that by proxy. I am not however suggesting Microsoft build their own Linux platform.

    What I am suggesting is they could learn a thing or two from how Linux is developed.

    As for Linux being useless for "normal" people. Tell that to Dell, HP, Lenovo, Asus and anybody building or using an Android device. All of these companies build and sell Linux desktops and laptops in Asia to consumers and corporate entities. Android as we both know utilises the Linux kernel and is the dominant mobile OS.

    As for cross platform? That's such a 1984 concern. You need to bring your thinking into the here and now. Web technologies and standards enable cross platform applications. In 5 years time it will be totally normal to log-on and use an app hosted on a server in the same way we use native applications now. The users OS will largely be irrelevant.

    By the way. I do all of my computing with Linux and it's given me far fewer problems than I ever had with Windows.
     
  12. holyheadjch

    holyheadjch Valued Member

    Like what? Tell me what linux does that Microsoft doesn't that would improve Microsoft's software?
    Android isn't supposed to be used as a full OS. Linux sucks as a desktop OS for normal everyday computing use.
    Cross platform is absolutely a concern - it has been the main battleground in personal computing for the last 5 years. Apple, Microsoft and Google are all battling to produce user experiences that transfer between desktop, tablet and phone platforms.

    If you're an expert user and can work primarily with the shell then Linux is bulletproof, but I just spent three weeks sitting in front of Ubuntu 12.10 for 10 hours a day and it's the worst OS I have ever used. It's buggy, slow and crashes repeatedly. And Ubuntu is considered the most user friendly distro.
     
  13. aikiwolfie

    aikiwolfie ... Supporter

    They open up their code for inspection by anybody. They have built up a community that goes bug hunting and submits patches.

    You clearly don't understand open source. Anybody using free open source software is free to adapt it to their needs. Now I never suggested Android should be used as a desktop OS. But some manufacturers are doing just that. While several other's have turned it into a games console.

    Okay. And just how are they achieving this? That's right, "the cloud". Web technologies.

    Ubuntu hasn't crashed on me in a long time. Maybe you just can't use it. It's a poor tradesman who blames his tools. Here's Ubuntu 12.04 booting on a Zotac machine. It only has a piddly little Intel Atom CPU. I've seen slower Windows PC, Macs and Linux machines.

    http://youtu.be/VpFeUlf6LdU
     
  14. holyheadjch

    holyheadjch Valued Member

    It's not unthinkable that MSFT will open source the code base, but they wont start accepting contributions from the community because checking them and correcting them requires more effort than having their developers write them.

    Actually, you are the one who doesn't understand open source. Open source only means you can view the source. It doesn't give you the right to use, adapt, modify, fix or sell it.

    The web is often only used as a channel for information. Google store apps work on phones, tablets and chrome books. Metro apps work on phones, tables and PCs. The internet is the communication channel they use to pass data backwards and forwards.

    I'm not a linux tradesman, which was my point - thank you for reiterating it for me. Very kind of you.

    I'm more technologically literate than 95%+ of the population, yet Ubuntu frustrated the hell out of me. It's a poor OS that can't even get a file viewer to work properly.

    In terms of an OS for general computing tasks to be used by non-tech people, only a crazy person would choose Linux over Windows 7.
     
  15. aikiwolfie

    aikiwolfie ... Supporter

    Yeah. Seems to work for everybody else though.

    If you adopt a very limited interpretation. The GNU interpretation is very different. Linux kernel source code is available to anybody who wants it.

    It's not just the web it's self that's being used. It's the technologies that make the web work. Markup languages like XML, HTML5 and CSS. Javascript and Java.

    My father and mother use Ubuntu for everyday general web browsing. The problem you have is it's not what you are accustomed to. You're set in your ways. Inflexible and unable to change. Ubuntu is no harder to use than Windows these days. And to be honest if you're having issues using the very simple GUI Ubuntu offers by default, then you might want to find a new career. Something that involves rubbing sticks together and smashing rocks.
     
  16. Princess Haru

    Princess Haru Valued Member

  17. holyheadjch

    holyheadjch Valued Member

    It works for products with small development teams and small budgets. Microsoft suffers from neither.
    No, no, I'm adopting the actual definition. Open Source only means the source is published, not that it is free to use, change or distribute. The GNU is a licence that requires products be open source among other requirements. Don't project your ignorance of licensing laws onto the GNU project.

    That isn't what you said originally.

    1) Web browsing is not the start and end of everyday computing.
    2) I'm not inflexible at all, I'm just intolerant of buggy software. And it's hilarious that you would accuse anyone else of inflexibility in viewpoint.
    3) Ubuntu is a lot harder to use than Windows for everyday tasks. To claim otherwise makes you sound clueless.
    4) My issues with the Ubuntu desktop environments (specifically Unity) are with its bugs, not with its elementary usage. Moving files between folders should not cause the OS to lock up, yet in Ubuntu 12.10, it does. I shouldn't have to manually refresh the file viewer for it to show up new files. An OS shouldn't switch me to a new virtual window without asking me first. Many of the built in apps are shockingly bad.
     
  18. aikiwolfie

    aikiwolfie ... Supporter

    Interesting concept. Price isn't too high. And I'm looking for a new phone! :D
     
  19. aikiwolfie

    aikiwolfie ... Supporter

    The Linux kernel hardly has a small development team. Patches filter in from a myriad of sources. They are checked over and over as they filter through each level of the development hierarchy.

    Now what sort of budgets do the worlds supercomputers receive? Or even smart phones for that matter? How about the large hadron colider at CERN?Free open source software is used on some very expensive hardware.

    GNU is a movement and a campaign group. Not a licence. The GPL is the licence.

    Well I am assuming you know how this stuff works and messes together. Maybe I was wrong to do that.

    Not for you it's not. The problem you have here is you're generalising your computing needs as those of everybody else. The most common personal computing device today is the smartphone.

    I love to entertain. Why are you so hell bent on Windows if you are "intolerant of buggy software"? Seriously dude you have some mixed up issues here. Windows has neither a reputation for stability or security. It's error screen has become infamous and a running joke across the web.

    This is just a vague unfounded statement. What exactly is it you are having a problem with? What "everyday" computing task with Ubuntu is it that is vexing you?

    I've never experienced these issues with Ubuntu. Although I will agree many people don't like Unity. Just as many people don't like Gnome Shell or even Explorer from Windows. Now Explorer has crashed on me on many occasions. Moving files, accessing the start menu. Running an app. What built in apps are "shockingly bad" specifically and compared to what?

    As for being switched to a new "virtual window". I'm assuming you are referring to a virtual desktop. Ubuntu only does this when the application you want is running on that desktop. It doesn't simply randomly throw you onto a new virtual desktop. Which seems to be what you are trying to imply.

    Calm down for a minute. Tell me exactly what is going wrong and I might even help you if I can.
     
  20. Mitlov

    Mitlov Shiny

    Why are we discussing Windows desktop OS versus Linux desktop OS in the "Windows Phone" thread? ;)

    In addition to hitting 11% in France, 9.2% in the UK, 8.8% in Germany, and 12.5% in Mexico, Windows Phone has now hit 15% in New Zealand. This is not the stuff of world domination, of course, but it IS consistent with continued relevance as a third OS in the smartphone landscape.

    New Zealand statistics: http://www.ubergizmo.com/2013/09/microsoft-claims-15-windows-phone-market-share-in-new-zealand/

    Other country stats here: http://www.wpcentral.com/kantar-windows-phone-hitting-8-percent-europe-progress-still-slow-us

    With Microsoft buying the devices and services division of Nokia, and making comments about shortening and streamlining the naming of models, the possibility of a Surface Phone (originally talked about last fall) has risen again. Here is one of the mock-ups of what a Surface Phone probably would look like:

    [​IMG]

    I'd take one. Yummy.
     

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