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Microsoft's Looking To Reboot Mobile with New Software and Hardware: Sources (thurrott.com)

Posted by msmash on from the not-dead-yet dept.

Long time Microsoft watcher Brad Sams, reporting today: Two independent sources inside of Microsoft have told me that there is a new hardware device being tested internally and that there is also a separate branch of Windows Mobile for this device. I have been hearing about the software update for some time and the added hardware component makes sense as the company is pursuing "new experiences" with this device. Additionally, the UI is expected to be different than what we know today as Windows Mobile but the exact changes are still evolving as we are in the early days of development of this experience. There may also be another 'cut' in the support for older applications with the new mobile experience. I have heard, but am not able to fully confirm at this time, that Silverlight applications may not longer work with the updated OS.

114 comments

  1. Oh great by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 4, Funny

    Microsoft is copying Hollywood now.

    --
    #DeleteFacebook
    1. Re:Oh great by phantomfive · · Score: 3, Funny

      Nadella: "I want a new cell phone!"
      Underling: "We tried sir, three times. (under his breath: we should have kept Windows Mobile, at least people bought it)."
      Nadella: "Well make it different this time. Make it in the cloud!"
      Underling: "Uh....ok. (under his breath: does that even mean anything?)"
      Nadella: "And put some AI in it. Our Taybot was showing good results!"
      Underling: "Heil sir!"
      Nadella: "What?"
      Underling: "Nothing, sir. Should we make it IoT?"
      Nadella: "If it has that Intel Inside, nothing can fail"
      Underling: "ok........"

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    2. Re: Oh great by ArmoredDragon · · Score: 1

      Crazy that this is Microsoft's 4th iteration of a phone OS. Google and Apple are still on their first.

    3. Re: Oh great by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 2

      Google, is actually on its second, and a third is in production. It bought Android and had a version in development before it did. They have another one in development now.

      --
      Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
    4. Re: Oh great by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Apple is on its second or third "phone" OS too, since they started prototypes... in the 1980's.

    5. Re: Oh great by ArmoredDragon · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Google, is actually on its second, and a third is in production. It bought Android and had a version in development before it did. They have another one in development now.

      I figured somebody would say that, and that isn't accurate. An unreleased product isn't a product, it's a prototype. It's perfectly normal for prototypes to go under major revisions before they are released. As for Fuschia, nobody really knows whether that will see the light of day, and if it does, it's more than likely going to retain app compatibility.

      When I say iteration in this context, I mean they broke compatibility with existing implementations. And with that in mind, Microsoft is currently on iteration number 4 (windows mobile with PE binaries, windows phone 7 with an early pre-RT framework, windows phone 8 with an incompatible but newer RT framework, and windows phone 10 with the UWP framework) and it sounds like they're about to have iteration 5 soon.

      What makes this particularly embarrassing is that they've gone through 3 of these iterations within the last 5 years, whereas iOS is 10 years old and Android is 9 years old. That, and the fact that they knew the transition from 7 to 8 was going to break things long before they even released 7, which is a mean thing to do to your own fans.

    6. Re: Oh great by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      To clarify...its Their 4th released mobile os...
      The nr would prolly be higher if we took All Alpha end beta preleased stuff in to the count as well as if we counted multiple versions of the same os...

      Atleast 2 of the released ms os for mobile has been completely abandoned as will the rest of them once this current ms mobile os is released upon the world...

      NATURALLY none of Their mobile os solutions are compatible with each other or anything Else for that matter.....

      And MS wonders why users and devs avoid ms mobile phones like the plague.

    7. Re: Oh great by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 1

      Your best argument is the Android / iOS vs Microsoft Phone iterations during the last 10 years.

      I know a guy, swore by Windows Phone, up and until the day that he couldn't get a replacement. He went with iPhone after that, and still complains. Won't use Android, for whatever reason.

      My smart devices were, Palm III, Blackberry, Android. Back in the day of the Palm Pilot, I wished a phone had its capability for calendar / contacts / email ... I wish I could go back and invent the thing.

      --
      Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
    8. Re: Oh great by DuckDodgers · · Score: 1

      I think this is one of the things that's killing their adoption by the Microsoft fans. If they would just stick with one strategy and keep enhancing it, it would take even more money than they've already invested but they might make progress. But if they abandon Windows Phone 10 and users and app developers have to start again with Windows Mobile .next, their weak chances will become even weaker.

      ...I'm a free software nerd. So all this doesn't bother me. What bothers me is that proprietary firmware is making Android only marginally more free-as-in-freedom than iOS and Windows Phone.

    9. Re: Oh great by toddestan · · Score: 1

      I really have to wonder what Microsoft is thinking. Sure, it's not like the first or second time they tried to break into mobile really went anywhere, but if they wanted to get into that market they should have just kept with it, continued to support the products they had released, maintained compatibility, and eventually their platform might have taken off or at least carved out a respectable niche. It's not like they don't have the money to sink into something like that.

      At this point, whatever they release is not going to be taken seriously by anyone, as the assumption is Microsoft will abandon it within a year or two.

  2. Stephen Elop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    So, which Company is he going to destroy from the inside next?

    1. Re:Stephen Elop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Telstra. Might not be any great loss.

    2. Re: Stephen Elop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I camera to this conclusion... Ms might have had a plan to overtale nokia for pennies... Meanwhile nokia was failing fast... So in order to make SOME money of Their phone biz and still get out with Their name intact (ms would get the blame)...

      They let ms proceed with the elop plan and said nothing as he destroyed symbian, maemo etc

      In the end... Nokia did a number on ms IMHO

  3. Of course Microsoft is looking to reboot by enjar · · Score: 4, Funny

    Rebooting is the first step of troubleshooting any Microsoft problem.

    1. Re:Of course Microsoft is looking to reboot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I lol'd, rebooted, and then lol'd again.[and then had to reboot again]

    2. Re:Of course Microsoft is looking to reboot by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      Alright, you win the Internet for one hour. Don't drop it!

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    3. Re:Of course Microsoft is looking to reboot by Jason+Levine · · Score: 1

      Has it been demagnetized by Steven Hawking himself? Is the Hawk ok with this?

      --
      My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
    4. Re:Of course Microsoft is looking to reboot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You gave praise to a low-hanging-fruit troll. Have no doubt about it. You most certainly WILL burn in hell.

    5. Re:Of course Microsoft is looking to reboot by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      I gave him praise because he taught of that joke before me. :p

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    6. Re:Of course Microsoft is looking to reboot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If at first you don’t succeed, fail again.

  4. Lets fail again! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's another zunatic idea!

  5. There's no rebooting that business by JoeyRox · · Score: 2

    It's bricked worse than router that lost power during a firmware update.

    1. Re:There's no rebooting that business by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There's Android, and Google's bold steps to build it in its image (e-GODZ!, literally), and there's Iphone, and Apple's bold -- courageous -- steps to build it pretty much like the last one. The first SHOULD scare you, the second should bore you.

    2. Re:There's no rebooting that business by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Save the drama for your mama. The only thing Android and iOS does for me is let me make calls and run a few apps which is exactly what I want and both of them do it quite well already. Hence the failure of Microsoft et al to enter the space.

    3. Re:There's no rebooting that business by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Rebooting also implies that it was booted up just fine before. This is low still prototype board bringup territory for Microsoft - they are onto the 4th spin now, and still no luck.

  6. Separate branch by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 2

    >> separate branch of Windows Mobile for this device

    Because...why not, I guess. Isn't that how every other failed "apps on Windows" effort has always begun?

  7. Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ..til the inevitable cancellation of this groundbreaking project 1.5 years down the line..

    1. Re:Can't wait... by MightyMartian · · Score: 1

      Or worse, until they actually roll it out, a few million people buy, some dumbass developers actually develop time to it, only to have Microsoft abandon it again. In the meantime we'll have an endless stream of Redmond shills telling us why it's the bestest mobile OS ever, and why you're just a stupid doody-head if you want a mobile platform with apps, and how it's going to totally blow iOS and Android out of the water.

      At what point do the investors finally say "Pay us higher dividens, you fucking witless wankers, and quit blowing money on pointless quests for a place in the mobile market"?

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    2. Re:Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Not to defend MS .... but how is that any different from Google? They are constantly canceling projects left and right, leaving developers (who made the stupid mistake of using their APIs) in the dust.

    3. Re: Can't wait... by ArmoredDragon · · Score: 2

      Google is trying to create whole new market segments, and if those market segments don't feel like big winners, then they ditch them. Essentially the same concept as the myriad of startups that fail. That, and Google wants to out-facebook Facebook, so they also routinely discard social media projects that are only moderately successful, even if they're quite profitable.

      Microsoft is trying to force its way into an already saturated market that is seeing limited growth by throwing shitloads of money at it, and they keep hoping that gimmicky features will somehow make them stand out, only to find out that those features don't work. For example, they forewent a notification shade saying that the tiles were better, and then realized that tiles sucked for that purpose so they added a notification shade years later.

    4. Re: Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But you know they will target enterprise mass purchases, with all those companies that believe there is only one way to provide a word processing solution to their staff. Then people will be forced to carry one around with them and be seen in public answering it when their boss calls (cos they won't give the number to anybody else) and then Microsoft will show the stats and call it a success.

    5. Re: Can't wait... by MightyMartian · · Score: 1

      But they're already rolling out Office to their competitors' phones. In other words, they're handing the biggest gimmicks they have already. I cannot see any reason to use an MS portable device, and I actually have one (an 8" Windows 10 tablet, which I use maybe once every couple of weeks when my G4 runs out of juice).

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    6. Re:Can't wait... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      And yet the open source community churns out hundreds of linux distributions to fling at the wall and hope one sticks, every other day yet-another-android-based somethingOS is announced.

      Why can't these fucking witless wankers actually work together, work to cure the deep-seeded infection of NIH syndrome that permeates the community and produce something genuinely innovative instead of piles of useless also-rans.

    7. Re: Can't wait... by exomondo · · Score: 1

      There's value in doing it for the wider community, I use iOS and its initial multi-tasking UI was absolute garbage. Windows Phone had a great UI for it and then Apple went and copied it for iOS which is great! I've also never had an Android phone as my primary device but they had the notification center, something iOS lacked that proved very useful for customers so when Apple copied that for iOS too it was of benefit to me and all other iOS users even if we didn't touch Android or Windows Phone.

      If they don't come out with some kind of disruptive innovation then it will fail just like pretty much every other smartphone platform that isn't iOS or Android but if they do it will be a net win for users: Whether we go from a duopoly to a 3-way competitive market or this disruptive innovation is just consumed by the incumbents.

    8. Re: Can't wait... by ArmoredDragon · · Score: 1

      One of the things they're doing that they tout as innovation, which just makes no sense to me at all, is continuum. Sure, it sounds nice to essentially have a desktop computer in a phone, but honestly, how often would you actually use that? In order to do so, you'd have to carry around a bunch of dock accessories in your pocket on the very, very off chance that you'll actually find a monitor to connect to that doesn't already have a bunch of stuff connected to it that you have to remove before you can use it.

      It just by far makes more sense to carry around a laptop, which has the added benefit of much more powerful hardware, and the ability to run pretty much any application you want instead of just crappy UWP apps.

      Besides, it's been done before by different Android OEMs, and it never proved to be popular.

    9. Re: Can't wait... by DuckDodgers · · Score: 1

      I think Continuum will make sense for casual computer users within a few years - definitely within ten years. My teenage son has a $500 gaming PC, no smart phone is going to match it for performance. But my wife uses her phone and tablet for everything, her desktop is usually idle or off. The next time we buy a monitor for her, if getting one with mobile docking is cheap we'll do it.

      And in fact, I think Continuum is exactly why Microsoft is desperate to get into mobile computing. They are going to lose hundreds of millions of non-power-users to Android and iOS in the next decade if they don't.

  8. If your device is fully programmable... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... I'll buy it.

    No need to employ programmers; I trust my fellow hackers to produce better work—just give use a programmable device. PLEASE.

    1. Re:If your device is fully programmable... by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      http://www.microchip.com/wwwpr...

      (I die a little inside when I see the Microchip logo when looking at an Atmel product page)

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
  9. let me guess by batukhan · · Score: 1

    "Surface Phone". Anodized aluminium. Runs something like Windows 10 S Mobile (pretty much like windows RT, runs on ARM). Has a dock for "full PC experience" (no x86). Costs more than iPhone

    1. Re:let me guess by nwf · · Score: 2

      And has a shag carpet back for the premium feel.

      --
      I don't know, but it works for me.
    2. Re:let me guess by ArhcAngel · · Score: 1

      The development of the "Surface Phone" was announced in 2012. Where have you been?

      --
      "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K
    3. Re:let me guess by tepples · · Score: 1

      Runs something like Windows 10 S Mobile

      In other words, it'll be so outdated you'll have to learn Proto-Indo-European.

    4. Re:let me guess by tsqr · · Score: 1

      Come on, that wouldn't be a reboot. What they really need to do is come out with a new improved Kin.

    5. Re:let me guess by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And it was as pointless then as it is now.

  10. Gotta respect that optimism by grasshoppa · · Score: 4, Funny

    This time, THIS TIME, it'll work.

    Optimism is often a stand in for insanity.

    --
    Mod me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!
    1. Re:Gotta respect that optimism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's that "definition of insanity" thing, isn't it?

      Craptcha code: creamed. Like they have been in the mobile space. Ha!

    2. Re:Gotta respect that optimism by nine-times · · Score: 1

      If I were a betting man, I would put money that this gimmick for this new device is that it's optimized for Continuum, Microsoft's version of the "dock your phone and get a desktop computer" idea. It's the only thing I can think of that would lead them to think, "This time, it'll work." Their big advantage is that Windows still has a big market share on the desktop, and they may be able to leverage that fact by marketing a phone that also operates as a full Windows machine. It also makes sense of some recent talk about Windows on ARM.

      The problem will be, they're probably going to try to have it only run apps from the Windows app store. That alone will cause a lot of people to dismiss it as a viable option.

    3. Re:Gotta respect that optimism by grasshoppa · · Score: 1

      Given MS's direction from the past...decade...their problem will be the interface. If they stay true to form, they'll introduce a phone with an interface optimized for a mouse and keyboard then act bewildered when no one wants it ( hello windows 8 ).

      --
      Mod me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!
    4. Re:Gotta respect that optimism by swb · · Score: 1

      I think they would gain a lot of traction with that kind of dock your phone-get a computer idea, the problem is their finance people hate it because a big chunk of people would decide they don't need a desktop or laptop anymore and all those windows (and some office) licenses would disappear.

      Microsoft is really in an existential trap where the actual innovation they could provide that would be valuable would apparently cost them money.

      Personally, I don't think that many people would abandon their desktops or laptops really, but I'm sure there are numbers out there that MS scared of doing it.

    5. Re:Gotta respect that optimism by nine-times · · Score: 1

      I don't think that's likely to be the problem. With Windows 10, they have an OS that's capable of automatically switching between a phone/tablet touch-optimized UI and a desktop mouse/keyboard UI. I don't love it, but it's passable.

      The real problem with MS is that they get greedy. It's not good enough to have the world's most successful OS. It also needs to spy on people, serve advertisements, force people to have an Outlook.com email address, force people to buy all their apps from the Windows App Store, force people to use Edge, ram live tiles down people's throats, push ads for OneDrive and Office 365, require Azure for authentication, and have a statement in the EULA that Steve Ballmer retains the right to sodomize you. (I know Ballmer doesn't even work there anymore. That's what makes it so weird!)

      I don't know exactly what's behind Microsoft's brain damage, but they just can't let their users get away without being abused. I think part of the reason Windows Phone never took off is that a lot of people (Microsoft partners, IT decision makers, and individual users) are tired of this crap. We're often forced to tolerate it in some capacity because of vendor lock-in, but we're not eager to lock ourselves in for more.

    6. Re:Gotta respect that optimism by c · · Score: 1

      If they stay true to form, they'll introduce a phone with an interface optimized for a mouse and keyboard then act bewildered when no one wants it

      No, no, they tried that many years ago with WinCE.

      This time, I predict they'll go with an interface optimized for gesture. You haven't read an ebook until you've read an ebook on a device with "shake to scroll"...

      --
      Log in or piss off.
    7. Re:Gotta respect that optimism by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      It was their best-selling windows phone so far.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
  11. I actually liked their last mobile OS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I have a Nokia Lumia 520 for testing websites and have always found it a pleasure to use. I really like the tiles functionality. The operating system is Windows Phone 8.1.

    I don't think their problem is OS related but rather the lack of apps. Also the fact that they added "Windows" to it. They should have called the OS something that doesn't tie it into an operating system people have love/hate relationships with.

    1. Re:I actually liked their last mobile OS by rogoshen1 · · Score: 2

      Yep. i liked my Lumia, good little phone (and cheap, $60 or so from target with no contract) only problem was the plastic contacts for the power and volume buttons got finky after a couple years of use.

    2. Re: I actually liked their last mobile OS by ArmoredDragon · · Score: 1

      Why on earth would you test websites on a lumia?

    3. Re: I actually liked their last mobile OS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I couldn't get IE on an android phone.

    4. Re:I actually liked their last mobile OS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The UI was the best part of the Windows Phones, but is sounds like that is the part they are planning on changing.

      I'd like a polished Windows 10 UI for my android, none of them on the play store get the feel quite right. I have a feeling this will probably be a Windows 10S build with an Arrow (their Launcher for android) type of interface...which means it won't be much different than what is out there already.

    5. Re:I actually liked their last mobile OS by jezwel · · Score: 1
      Windows 10 on ARM64, Mobile Edition. That gives native x86 emulation, so access to the majority of software written out there.
      Team it with their dock and replace a bunch of business class computers with it.

      A better name wouldn't hurt though...

    6. Re:I actually liked their last mobile OS by unixisc · · Score: 1

      Fully agree w/ both your points. Latter one first: they could have called it Metro or something, and left the desktop Windows 8 w/ the same old Windows 7 interface. And introduced Continuum in Windows 10 for touchscreen laptops.

      The lack of apps is painful, and not just that, apps that previously existed are slowly disappearing e.g. Fandango. Until recently, there were no VOIP apps, nor any video calling apps (until WhatsApp added that functionality). If one is a Uber or Lyft driver, this platform is of no use. At this point, I don't see the purpose of them introducing a new phone. The Lumias were fine - I have a Lumia 550, which is just great (aside from the apps that're not there) - Windows 10 Mobile is a significant improvement on Windows Phone 8. Microsoft needs to make the OS something that devs can fully program, and not have to go thru the Windows Store.

  12. so... wait... WHAT? by roc97007 · · Score: 1

    Wasn't Windows Phone supposed to have superseded Windows Mobile? What's next, the return of the resistive touch screen??

    Is anyone at the helm at Microsoft?

    --
    Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
    1. Re:so... wait... WHAT? by OffaMyLawn · · Score: 1

      They're at the helm, but still reading the release documents on how to steer while trying to avoid agreeing to an overbearing EULA.

    2. Re:so... wait... WHAT? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Windows Mobile (i.e. Windows CE) was the first iteration of mobile devices from Microsoft. It was superseded by Windows Phone (7/8). The Windows Phone OS and line of products was discontinued a while ago, and was replaced with Windows 10 Mobile -- i.e. "Windows 10, Mobile Edition" (not to be confused with Windows Mobile).

    3. Re:so... wait... WHAT? by roc97007 · · Score: 1

      Ok thanks. To reiterate, so I'm sure I understand this, Windows Phone has with version 10 become "Windows 10 Mobile", which is based on the Windows code base, to distinguish from "Windows Mobile" which is based on the Windows CE code base, the last version of which was purported to have been released in 2013.

      So, "Windows 10 Mobile", which runs on 32 bit ARM, is a different code base from "Windows Mobile", which also runs on 32 bit ARM.

      And after abandoning Windows Mobile (the WinCE-based product) in favor of Windows Phone (later Windows 10 Mobile), Microsoft is now considering reviving Windows 10... no wait, Windows Mobile. I think I have it now.

      I have no idea what any of this means.

      --
      Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
    4. Re:so... wait... WHAT? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > Windows Mobile (i.e. Windows CE) was the first iteration of mobile devices from Microsoft. It was superseded by Windows Phone (7/8).

      Windows Phone 7 was Windows CE based.

    5. Re:so... wait... WHAT? by unixisc · · Score: 1

      Wasn't Windows Phone supposed to have superseded Windows Mobile? What's next, the return of the resistive touch screen??

      Is anyone at the helm at Microsoft?

      8.x was Windows Phone. 10 is Windows Mobile

    6. Re:so... wait... WHAT? by unixisc · · Score: 1

      Was Windows CE ever called Windows Mobile? I had no idea

      Windows Phone 6 & 7 were based on Windows CE. Windows Phone 8 was based on the same kernel as Windows 8 and RT i.e. an NT kernel. Windows 10 Mobile is based on the same kernel as Windows 10 - again an NT kernel.

      I don't think they're going back to a CE based OS.

    7. Re:so... wait... WHAT? by roc97007 · · Score: 1

      Wasn't Windows Phone supposed to have superseded Windows Mobile? What's next, the return of the resistive touch screen??

      Is anyone at the helm at Microsoft?

      8.x was Windows Phone. 10 is Windows Mobile

      But 10 is a different Windows Mobile than the WinCE Windows Mobile than they're talking about here. Different code base.

      --
      Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
  13. w10 by bobmajdakjr · · Score: 1

    so much for the windows 10 on all the things unified platform. of course it was never going to happen properly but i wanted it so much. 8.1 and 10 on the nokia 1520 was so nice until i dropped it and shattered it. they dont make nokia like they used to.

  14. Wrong prioritys by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Don't they have a couple of OSes to finish fixing first before they decide to do hardware.

  15. I need WiFi, a touchscreen, GPS, accelerometers... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... battery, headphone jack, USB connection, etc. I want a GODDAMN "mobile" computer .

  16. Sounds like a Kickstarter project by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Get that premium feel with our stick-on shag carpet, with exclusive 3M adhesive. It comes in all the colors of the rainbow, including the wildly popular Stanky Bean."

  17. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 0

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  18. Sot hey're adding mobile capabilities... by future+assassin · · Score: 1

    to dead horses now?

    --
    by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
  19. Defining cloud by tepples · · Score: 0

    Nadella: "Well make it different this time. Make it in the cloud!"
    Underling: "Uh....ok. (under his breath: does that even mean anything?)"

    Of course it does. It's described in detail in Mary Branscombe's article, but let me sum it up: A "cloud" is a large set of identical servers that can be leased programmatically for short durations, such as Azure or AWS.

    1. Re:Defining cloud by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      That's definitely one meaning of "the cloud" lol
      It can also mean things like "remote storage" which is what most people think of. "My music is in the cloud"

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    2. Re: Defining cloud by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Or lets just call it the Internet

    3. Re:Defining cloud by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 1

      The "Cloud" is someone else's computer over there ---->

      --
      Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
    4. Re: Defining cloud by tepples · · Score: 1

      The Internet is a network. The cloud is a server farm on the other side of the network.

  20. So hoping this time succeeds by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I am and have been long over the Apple and Google mobile duopoly. If anyone can succeed at this, it has to be Microsoft. No one else really has the money, the R&D arm, the industry partnerships, etc.

    I'm rooting for Microsoft here. I want something else...

  21. Oh good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If Microsoft is involved I'm sure there will be a lot of rebooting going on with this new software.

  22. It may be good... by iampiti · · Score: 1

    ..if it makes Microsoft concentrating their dumbing down on this new mobile platform and stop "mobilizing" Windows.

  23. Re:I need WiFi, a touchscreen, GPS, accelerometers by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

    A laptop is a "mobile computers" and yet most don't have a touchscreen, GPS, accelerometers...

    What you want is a freakin' smartphone. There's already plenty of choices.

    --
    #DeleteFacebook
  24. Do it right this time by mewsenews · · Score: 1

    The absence of Microsoft from mobile device platforms is really weird.

    From what I understand their current CEO is much less of a clown than Monkey Boy Ballmer was. They should be able to break into this market.

    They need to stop their cycle of release > fail > abandon. Windows CE > Pocket PC > Windows Mobile > Windows Phone > Windows 10 Mobile

  25. Yet another version of Windows... by QuietLagoon · · Score: 1

    ... just what the world needs.

  26. Re:Fuck Windows on mobile... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No, fuck Android.

    Windows 10 Mobile is better than any Android device I've ever seen, by far. In essence, they've already done what you've asked, and you're still using the shitty old version.

    As for your feature list, it either sucks or is already done. The Lumia 950XL is good (though aging) hardware. Waterproof just makes things bulky, and I don't go anywhere that it's necessary. A stylus is a shitty input method. And all of the Windows phones up to now (flagships included) have had removable batteries. Office is free. OneNote is free. Updates are current and ongoing. OneDrive is meh. Office Online is unnecessary, since native Office is free. Screencasting is built into Windows 10, including the Mobile version.

    The Windows Store is anemic, though. I'll give you that. But I'll also give it time.

    Meanwhile, Google and Apple have pissed me off with their controlling and pushy bullshit, and I won't go back. I'll drop smartphones entirely before I bother with another shitty iOS or Android device. There's no such thing as a "good" Android device. They're all the shittiest shit that ever shat, and Google is shit for foisting that shit on the world. SHIT. (I needed to drop one more.)

  27. Will it "work" on British Airways? by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 1

    I'm wondering if it will work on British Airways, as well as their reservations and booking systems do.

    (end sarcasm)

    --
    -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
  28. No, I don't want a "device". by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I want a COMPUTER.

    Get it, yet?

    1. Re:No, I don't want a "device". by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That depends on your definition of COMPUTER.

  29. Why even bother? by jonwil · · Score: 1

    There is zero chance Microsoft can make a dent in the iOS/Android duopoly even in the markets where Windows Phone used to dominate back in the day (business etc) so why even bother trying?

    1. Re:Why even bother? by mikaere · · Score: 1

      Larry Ellison used to say the same thing about SQL Server, but now it's a viable enterprise database platform, and has been for the last decade.

      I prefer the Windows phone interface, so I want to see them keep trying until they get something that makes people really pay attention (like they did when Surface was released). If I have the spare cash, my next laptop will definitely be a Surface.

      --
      It's good luck to be superstitious
  30. Re:Fuck Windows on mobile... by praxis · · Score: 1

    Windows 10 Mobile is better than any Android device I've ever seen, by far.

    You are comparing an OS with a piece of hardware. That's a strange comparison.

    More to the point, the reason so few people have purchased Windows phones is the phones lack the software people want to run. Android, and iOS, do not.

  31. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  32. Re:Fuck Windows on mobile... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "But I'll also give it time."

    Why? It's dead.

  33. Re:Fuck Windows on mobile... by exomondo · · Score: 1

    More to the point, the reason so few people have purchased Windows phones is the phones lack the software people want to run. Android, and iOS, do not.

    That's the problem in any established market. Windows Phone was actually not a bad operating system but it wasn't disruptive or innovative either. If you want to be successful in an established market you need seamless compatibility (which seems unlikely) or disruptive innovation. No new OS (Windows Phone, Maemo, Meego, webOS, FirefoxOS, etc) has had either of those things in the current iOS/Android smartphone market.

  34. OCD by XSportSeeker · · Score: 1

    I dub it the Microsoft Surface Zune!

  35. Will never buy a Microsoft OS Phone again by Frankie70 · · Score: 1

    I own a Lumia 525 for the last 3 years. It came with Windows 8 & then it got a 8.1 upgrade. Over the last year, MS has dropped all support for it. Outlook is available on Android (even the older ones) but not available on Windows 8.1

    My workplace integrated some kind of external 2FA with Office365 & it works on Android, iOS & Windows 10 but doesn't work on my Lumia - because it requires Outlook. The default mail app which comes with Windows 8.1 doesn't support this.

    So though I love the phone & the OS, never again will I buy a MS OS Phone. My next phone is most likely a Nokia or a Moto.

  36. Re:windows needs new modern kernel by unixisc · · Score: 1

    The Windows 8 kernel was as close to microkernel as could be imagined. I hardly see a compelling reason why a kernel has to be a POSIX compliant kernel

  37. Re:Very good. by unixisc · · Score: 1

    iOS is clean - since Apple certifies any app that gets into the store

  38. Stop Wasting resources. by kamathln · · Score: 1

    Microsoft should stop trying to be on the mobile scene,
            just like
    Google should stop trying to be on the social network scene.

    1. Re:Stop Wasting resources. by schleimkeim · · Score: 1

      Google never really tried or wanted that. It's enough to have a Google+ +1 button on every fucking piece of content to track everybody.

    2. Re:Stop Wasting resources. by kamathln · · Score: 1

      Google never really tried or wanted that. It's enough to have a Google+ +1 button on every fucking piece of content to track everybody.

      then how do you explain Orkut and then Wave and then Google+ ? It took them 3 huge projects to come up with 1 little button?

    3. Re:Stop Wasting resources. by schleimkeim · · Score: 1

      Wave was before they saw how facebook did it with its 'like button'. And I never even heard of Orkut. Besides, google is a huge company, it would not surprise me if they actually needed 3 huge projects to actually gain something from that.

  39. Re:Fuck Windows on mobile... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Windows fan talks shit.
    Film at 11.

  40. Re:windows needs new modern kernel by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Bullsh*t.

    Microsoft went away from the NT kernel being a micro-kernel in NT4.

  41. Will it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Will it be as big a chunk of spyware as Windows10?

  42. *shrugs* YAWP (Yet Another Windows Phone) by Mysticalfruit · · Score: 1

    Microsoft still hasn't solved the really annoying nagging problem... apps. I have a really nice blackberry Z10. Well okay, relatively nice, who are we kidding it's a piece of shit. The hardware's okayish... but you know what makes the phone a real piece of shit? I can't fucking run [Insert App I might want]. Granted compared to my wife or daughters that list of apps is small... but I only have to look at the shitton of apps my daughters have on their phones to see why this phone will fail. Does it run the cartwheel app, which seems to be a favorite of theirs. How about the latest chat apps? Yeah, didn't think so. Does it run Candy [King / Crush / Castle / *]? Yeah, didn't think so.

    The problem is these companies i.e. app companies know most people have either an Apple or some flavor of Android. Microsoft is either going to make an SDK that mimics to the syscall everything one of those two platforms does or they're fucked.

    --
    Yes Francis, the world has gone crazy.
  43. NAS server farm by tepples · · Score: 1

    A "cloud" is a large set of identical servers that can be leased programmatically for short durations

    It can also mean things like "remote storage" which is what most people think of. "My music is in the cloud"

    That meets my definition as well, with the servers being network attached storage (NAS) servers.

  44. Re:windows needs new modern kernel by unixisc · · Score: 1

    Yeah, but in NT 6, which was Windows 8, they moved in the direction of making it as microkernel-ish as possible, like moving device drivers to user space. Windows 8 would have been terrific, had they retained the Windows 7 Aero interface, just changed the start button from a flag to a window, and simply replaced the underlying kernel

  45. The definition of insanity is ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... doing the same thing over and over again yet expecting different results.

  46. Re:Fuck Windows on mobile... by praxis · · Score: 1

    Why is that a problem? I don't want to have a different eco system appear every other year because it offers a small feature that the current one does not. Switching platforms is expensive. I want to do it when the benefit is great, not small. The problem is that the Microsoft and Apple ecosystems are tightly controlled, not that they are established markets. The platform should be an open one where anyone can interact.

  47. Re:Fuck Windows on mobile... by exomondo · · Score: 1

    Why is that a problem?

    Well I dont see how a company is going to break into an established market without overcoming it.

    I don't want to have a different eco system appear every other year because it offers a small feature that the current one does not.

    Right, that's what has been constantly happening and is why these new platforms fail, a small feature isn't going to entice anybody to change.

    The platform should be an open one where anyone can interact.

    We should also have world peace, among many other things.