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Windows 10 Mobile Needs To Be Put Out of Its Misery (betanews.com)
From a column on BetaNews: It's time for Microsoft to pull the plug. Windows 10 Mobile has been on life support for a long time, and the software giant is only making things worse by not giving it the mercy killing it deserves. It may sound harsh, but there's no future for Windows on smartphones in its current state. Microsoft wants to keep the door open to future developments but, let's face it, when it decided to sell Samsung's new Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ through its stores it basically sealed its own platform's fate. There is no turning back from this. We know it and its fans know it too. [...] Really, the only reason I can see Microsoft developing Windows 10 Mobile -- or Windows on smartphones -- further is to give its fans the illusion that something could happen. One day. Someday. Eventually. Maybe. Hopefully. If all the stars align. And Apple and Google and all the other successful vendors are wiped out from the face of the Earth. Hey, it could happen!
Blackberry FTW!
Microsoft are just holding on for a cycle or three until they get a functional surface-phone that can dock-&-desktop up and running. Then it will die off.
But I can't make a straight-faced recommendation that anyone else get one because of the lack of apps available. It's a great choice if you don't want to be spied on :-)
When this thing finally breaks, I can't see getting another one.
Besides, think of the backlash they would get from people who DID buy Win10 phones.
Everybody loves to hate Microsoft and in this case, they're hating Microsoft for supporting a platform beyond it's commercial lifespan, upto it's support lifespan.
Evil Microsoft!
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Such insight! Such a well thought out opinion piece. After reading it, I realized that Mr. Bamburic is right. How can I use a product knowing that so many other people don't? What will people think about my choice of phone? What an incredible loser I must be for using a relatively unpopular gadget. I'm running out today to replace my Windows 10 phone.
I don't respond to AC's.
MS provides support for its products even when they have signally failed in the marketplace, like Win 10 Mobile. Contrarily folks bitch when they DON'T provide patches for old out-of-support software -- there's a current furore over a security hole in Win2003R2 Server which MS isn't patching since they stopped support for that particular version over two years ago.
Regular Win 10 runs perfectly well on phone-sized systems such as tablets without the hardware limitations of phones two generations back (ARM CPUs with one or two cores, limited memory, limited storage etc.) so Win 10 Mobile isn't really needed but there are still customers out there who do use it. It will reach EOL and support will eventually be terminated but there's no rush.
Analysts and pundits have been telling Microsoft to do this for some time. Personally, I think they need to get out of the business of telling Microsoft how to run theirs. Microsoft has a vested interest staying in the mobile space, even if their phones don't sell shit. The personal computing market is so spread out across the spectrum of devices, people's primary way of digital interaction can change a easily as the wind. If Microsoft does not stay in this space, they will be ill-prepared for this.
... only because MS could never convince PHONE app developers that it was worth using. It always was a bit player, and has become irrelevant given the Google-Apple ownership of the market.
Full disclosure: I do have a Windows phone. For the most part, I like it.
What's special about Windows on a phone?
Primarily, the user interface. As much as the tile orientation stinks on a desktop or non-touch laptop, it makes great sense and works very well on a phone. Better, really, than the way stock or most phone makers' Android implementations do.
Also:
* Multitasking works well, though that's also true of the competition.
* If you join the Insider program, you can get system updates and even upgrades well beyond the year or 2 that most phone carriers will support anything - regularizing that (so you don't have to be an Insider to be independent of carrier lack of support) would make Windows more like Apple.
* Even in 10 (was better in 8.1), hardware requirements are somewhat less than for Android. Same Snapdragon etc. processors, but Windows runs acceptably in half the RAM of Android. Which is funny because in the non-Mobile world it's the other way around (Linux runs decently in half the RAM of Windows).
So what to do? Since MS seems to be moving all of its mobile stuff to Android, move the UI as well. After all, it's just a shell anyway. Then, if the corporation eventually gets back into the phone-mobile game on its own, think about some way to do an Apple but do it right (unlike previous attempts).
How many mobile operating systems has Microsoft released over the years, each one incompatible with the last? They've been doing it since the Palm III era at least.
Yes there is, They are maintaining extra code to do this. It costs developers, time, money, it complicates the app store, etc.
I have no problem with vanity projects. If MicroSoft wants to spend $100 million a year to keep windows mobile around, that is there business.
They are not doing it for their user base which is essentially a rounding error.
vi +
This is like someone saying, "there are more VW's than Mercedes on the road, Mercedes should just give up already", it's fucking retarded. You don't attempt to compete by giving up. If you don't like windows mobile don't buy a fucking phone with windows mobile on it, it's that simple. I know a lot of companies who prefer windows mobile because the ease of integration and security when paired with a windows based network, there IS a demand for it, albeit a bit low.
There are three kinds of falsehood: the first is a 'fib,' the second is a downright lie, and the third is statistics.
runs the same "windows apps (non win32 variety)"
You mean, is there any person outside Microsoft's own marketing team who opens the Windows Store on purpose?
The Store isn't even a solution, it's a problem looking for one. And cpl. Hicks has a good suggestion.
The creatures outside looked from Alt-Right to Antifa; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
"think of the backlash they would get from people who DID buy Win10 phones."
All 6 of them.
"This indicates that they don't really have a clue..." ["They" are Microsoft top managers.]
That's the underlying problem. Apparently Microsoft top managers are socially and mentally extremely limited.
If you were a top manager of a software development company, would you do things that caused stories like this article to be written? Network World, Aug. 4, 2015: Windows 10 is possibly the worst spyware ever made. Quote from that story: "Buried in the service agreement is permission to poke through everything on your PC."
The abusiveness of many of the features of Windows 10 are like a multi-billion-dollar advertising campaign that very effectively says, "Dislike Microsoft products".
The answer? Replace ALL the Microsoft top managers, in my opinion. Does anyone else have an idea that would fix the problems at Microsoft?
Another solution: All countries and the U.S. could support ReactOS so that the Windows OS can be eliminated. No company should be allowed to have a virtual monopoly!
Companies that are routinely abusive should be re-organized or eliminated.
Except it does not. Have a look at the app store - you can see tumble weeds blowing through. Even big name apps are just not there.
I think a big part of the problem is that Windows Phone app and Windows Tablet apps are different things, running on different CPUs, with different UI etc. Of course you can write a unified app, but the unified apps only work on Windows 10, which came out when the downturn was already in full swing.
It's quite nice too.
My girlfriend had one through work for a while, there were no apps, but it could browse the internet quite well, was an inexpensive phone, pretty darned thin, and had a real all day battery.
At a time when that was impressive, I'm surprised it didn't take off, there are plenty of people that just want internet, GPS, and a camera.
Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg
Despite all the marketing messages claiming otherwise, Windows Phone is quite different from Windows Tablet. I think Windows Phone has a decent and simple UI, while the tablet UI is just a bit confusing.
"Windows 10 needs to die" --
Actually, if you read the headline, it said 'Windows 10 Mobile needs to...
I disagree w/ it, but there is a great difference b/w that, and Windows 10, which is generally assumed to mean the desktop version of the OS.
So much for "journalism." Even Dice managed to run this site better than that
I agree w/ you on this. The number of tech related articles are really at a minimum: bulk of it is about the environment, politics and social networking.
I'll second this. Most of the times I've gone to the store to look for things, be it Meetup, Vonage, 8x8, Toy Blast, et al, I've been disappointed.