Not all tablets have resistive digitizers. My tablet PC used an active digitizer and had a capacitive touch screen (Dell Latitude XT). It wasn't as good as some high end digitizers out there, but it was good enough.
And how do you copy/paste images? What apps are you using?
I can get a stylus... but it's a big fat sausage stylus. It's like trying to write in a tiny notebook with one of those giant pieces of chalk. Have you ever used an actual digitizer? From my experience they feel like writing with an actual pen/pencil, and I can produce the same level of detail in my work with them. Not so much with the iPad (yes I have one), where I'm back in kindergarten writing 3 inch tall words.
So, are you saying that one could not write an iOS app that does all of that? If you are saying that, then you are wrong.
Correct, I am saying this, because it's not how iOS works. This is one of my biggest problems with iOS: to get the kind of functionality I require, I would need some giant monolitic app that does everything I need. The odds of someone out there writing an app that fits my workflow exactly is very low. For example, in this scenario I have different files open (PDF, excel, word, one note, email) all at once and I'm copying/pasting images, spreadsheets, text, between all of them. With a desktop OS I can create my own workflow because I have an app for each type of file, I can open what I need, and they all work together. In iOS, there is hardly any transport between different apps, so I would need an app that opens all these files, switches between them, saves them.... basically I'd need a miniature OS within iOS to do this!
So, I guess my iPad that allows me to easily cut and paste between applications is a special one-off version, right?
So I have my PDF textbook open. How do I take an image from my PDF and put it into my notes?
A digitizer typically works with a stylus. It is very high resolution and allows you to rest your palm on the screen. The iPad and pretty much every other tablet out there today does not have one. Writing notes on the iPad is like tying shoes with gloves on. You have this big fat sausagey stylus, you can't rest your hand on the iPad itself because it gets recognized as an input, so you have to kind of float your hand above the screen. It's awful.
Not gonna say it's perfect solution - then again, carrying my old Toshiba Libretto wasn't exactly a perfect solution either:-)
The only problem with the Tablet PC solution was size, price, and battery life, which is much more manageable than terrible input and awful apps. I can't wait for Windows 8 to solve exactly those problems... then it should be perfect.
Donaldson and Dunfee, Ethics in Business and Economics, is $680 on Amazon. (But it ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping!) Gotta love the combination of price and title.
Used for $60. There's not even a cover image or any reviews. Sounds like a book that is either extremely rare or not used much. Can you point to any university that uses this as a required text for an undergraduate class?
They bring out a new edition every couple of years, making just enough superficial changes to discourage people from using an old edition.
I don't mind this all that much because it creates a used marketplace for cheap last edition books that are as good as new.
For example, in a math textbook they'll rearrange all the homework problems so the numbers are different.
Do you have any evidence that this is actually deterring students from buying used? Any half-witted price-conscious student I've come across has bothered asking the professor "Is the last edition good enough." 99% of the time it is, and the professor is accommodating for previous editions. Most likely he has been teaching off the last edition anyway, and isn't even referencing the new edition.
You've never used a tablet PC, have you? Indeed I do have an iPad, but it does not have a digitizer; it has a capacitive touch screen. A capacitive stylus is far less accurate than a digitizer stylus.You may be able to copy text between most apps, but certainly not images.
You can use your finger or a stylus easily to draw over things.
This is not nearly the same as a good digitizer/stylus. With my tablet PC I had near pen/pencil level of precision and detail. I own an iPad and a stylus, and it is laughably inferior.
As for cut & paste, you can screen-shoot ANY application with a simple press of power + Home. and use that image in any application. In most apps you can also cut + paste text as well, iOS has much better universal support for that than other platforms.
On my tablet, I had my textbook open on the left, and One note open on the right. I would just lasso the image with the One Note screen grab and it was right in my notes. What you're suggesting is cumbersome and takes far too much time to do in the middle of lecture.
I think you just stopped reading my post before the end. I said, professors I know in that situation post both numbers in the assignment handouts. I've been a student and an instructor in this situation enough, and most people are aware of it, and we work around it. Yes it's a problem when these new editions come out. But the point is I've never seen a situation where the student was told "No, you MUST buy the new edition." I've even seen the situation where there's an entirely new chapter, and the professor made available scans of that chapter for download.
In fact, I'm kind of glad there are these new editions, because then the after market for cheap last editions wouldn't be so ripe for me.
Granted iPads do other things as well, but they aren't anywhere near good enough with battery life to compete with a book.
I'd also argue they don't do nearly enough to compete with a book. When I used to use physical textbooks, I'd write all over them. Then I started using a tablet PC for all my note taking, and I would scan in my textbooks to use digitally. With the stylus I was still able to write in them, but I would also cut and paste images, charts, etc into my notes during class. One notable example I remember is when professor trying to draw a diagram from the book onto the chalkboard, I just copied the diagram over. Everyone else was going off his mangled reproduction while I had the real thing.
Now we have the iPad, which doesn't have a digitizer and doesn't allow you to cut and paste much between applications. Everyone is trying to shoehorn it fit into education, when much better (albeit poorly marketed) alternative have been there all along.
People love to quote this $400... I've never seen an undergraduate textbook that costs more than $200. Now, that's still a lot, but the same book can often be had for very cheap used from a previous student or off Amazon. The only textbooks I've seen that cost more than that are graduate level medical textbooks which are honestly worth keeping.
When is the last time you were in education? Since 2005 I've yet to meet a professor who absolutely required the newest edition. Most will say "Yeah, the last edition will do just fine." I've even met some who will post the problem numbers from last and current editions. Last edition textbooks can usually be bought for very cheap on amazon. The only real problem I've run into with the textbook industry is trying to sell back books because a newer edition came out.
You do realize that by spamming the same post multiple times in multiple articles you're just as bad, if not worse, than the offending parties. At least shills have something on topic and relevant to say. Please post under your account so we can mod you accordingly.
I can't work for 8 hours straight, so I will take breaks like going on slashdot when I'm alone. Lots of times there's no one around at my work so that's what I do. My lunch breaks are shorter as well, since I usually just eat at my desk for 20 mins and then continue working. But when people are around, I'll socialize with them and the little breaks I have during the day turn into 5-10 mins a pop. Going to lunch with people is even worse, as my 20 min lunch break turns into an hour, sometimes more! Sometimes I wish I were more introverted to get more work done, but then again I realize life isn't all about productivity and gross output.
We're talking about ARM based devices. Ostensibly, these will be mostly tablets. Otherwise you'd have an x86 processor in there for Laptops and Desktops, the Windows certification for which does not require Standard Mode.
The point here is that MS is strongarming hardware manufacturers to develop devices that only work with Windows.
I see, an optional certification program for manufacturers to develop devices that only work with Windows on ARM is strongarming them. Do you know that strong arming usually has some force component? Manufacturers can still develop for Windows on x86. They can still develop for Android. They can still develop for desktop Linux if you want. No one is being forced to develop ARM devices for Windows 8 and certainly no one is forcing them to get those devices certified
I say that with confidence because I don't see it happening very often with laptops or even desktops.
Because no one wants desktops or laptops with Linux outside of slashdot. There is no demand, therefore there is no supply. Where there is supply, as with Dell's Linux offerings, what little demand there is comes from Linux ethusiasts. Conversely there is huge demand for Android and iOS tablets. Why would manufacturers just stop making these?
What's more, if one is restricted to using Android only or Linux only devices if one wants to run something other than Windows, then one is going to have a substantially smaller number of devices from which to choose.
Substantially smaller? How many Android tablets are out there right now? Hundreds? You act as if tomorrow Windows 8 will be released and manufacturers will stop making Android devices. There is a huge demand for Android devices and the release of Windows 8 will not stall that momentum. I'll tell you what the tablet landscape will look like in 2 years. You'll have manufacturers like Samsung, LG, HTC, etc releasing the same exact hardware for both Windows 8 and Android. Then consumers will have a choice. Buy the Windows 8 version, or buy the Android version. The subset of conusmers who buy a Windows 8 tablet and want to put Android on it thereafter will be vanishingly small. So who does this really affect?
As for your bit about the locked bootloader, it's completely different.
I explained it to you from a consumer perspective, because your whole argument is that it amounts to less choice for the consumer. From my perspective as a buyer, I don't care who or what is locking down the hardware. If I want an unlocked system I can buy it. If I want a locked system I can buy it. When windows 8 for ARM is released, I'll have that same exact choice, so what exactly is your problem? Don't buy it if you don't want it.
What I'm saying about the flop is that the government should step in to ensure that people can actually use the hardware that they're buying.
Why is that the government's job? Let the marketplace decide. The type of consumer who is informed enough to install a new OS on his system is the type of consumer who is informed enough to know which hardware is locked. If all hardware were locked down I'd agree with you. But you have enough choices today and for the foreseeable future that there's no reason to get the government involved... the free market seems to be working. What's your problem with this?
Whether one is or isn't technically forced to get full certification is really beside the point. Companies that don't go through the process aren't going to be able to charge as much for their hardware and in turn are going to be at a disadvantage.
Then they can just make Android devices and charge as much as they want. And they can do this because there is incredible demand for Android tablets. Your whole argument hinges on the fact that in the future there will be no tablets that ship with Android. Why do you believe this to be the case?
In short, shills like you are why we can't have nice things.
Grow up. I said something you don't agree with and therefore you slap a label on me? I have plenty of karma to burn anyw
This is a pretty blatant example of MS abusing its certification process to hurt the competition and to ultimately hurt consumers
Why? This says nothing about a manufacturer's ability to make and sell Android Tablets. A manufacturer could have a model with Windows 8 and Android and sell them side by side. You just can't buy the Windows 8 one and put Android on it. So what? Buy the Android one if that's what you want to do. That's what most consumers will do anyway.
The point of this move is to prevent people from buying a Windows tablet and opting to install something else on it at a later time.
What exactly is the percentage of consumers that do that? I think the Linux desktop markshare tells us it's around 1%. Sure it's outrageous here, but no one else cares, really.
It's very clearly harmful to both competition and the end user to have such heavy handed licensing terms preventing them from making a switch of OS.
Why? The manufacturer can just produce android tablets. The consumer isn't going to buy a windows tablet and install android on it anyway. Where exactly is the harm?
Thirdly, it is entirely different from buying an Android with a locked bootloader
No, it's exactly the same from the consumer's perspective. I go to the store and I have a choice of Android tablets. Some have locked bootloaders, some do not. I choose the one that suits me best. If I want to put a new OS on it one day, I choose the one without the locked bootloader. Fastforward when Windows 8 tablets are released. I go to the store and I have a choice of Android tablets and Windows 8 tablets. Some Android tablets have locked bootloaders, some do not. All Windows 8 tablets do. I choose the one that suits me best. If I want to put a new OS on it one day, I choose the one without the locked bootloader. Same choice, different day. How exactly does this decision affect my choice in the marketplace?
Lastly, the fact that this thing is likely to flop...
So what you're saying is that this will flop and therefore the government should step in? And do what exactly?
This isn't Apple where Apple is producing the iPad and the OS that goes onto it, this is MS trying to dictate the terms of the hardware in a way that's anti-competitive.
You're right, this is hardware vendors who want to sell Windows 8 complying with a certification. There's no obligation that a vendor must sell Windows 8 only. There's no requirement that in order to sell systems with Windows 8, one must be certified. What kind of pull exactly does Windows have for ARM systems that makes this anticompetitive. Seems to me that hardware manufacturers and consumers will just choose Android like they currently are with Windows Phone.
Note the key word "Google." When it's your name being used, you have to take the bad as well as the good. It's not "Everything good is done by Google, everything bad is done by lone employees who do not really represent Google."
If I could just use wifi everywhere I needed to go, why would I need a data plan at all? Let me guess, in addition to your unlimited data plan you also have available wifi coverage over 100% of the places you go.
Good for you. But that's not what you said. You said: "Phone storage doesn't matter." What you really meant was "For me, because I'm granfathered into an unlimited data plan or I'm lucky enough to be on a carrier with unlimited data, phone storage doesn't matter. Sucks for you losers." For the rest of us, yes, it does in fact matter.
high end mobile processors... improves the end user experience.
Which makes me wonder... why exactly do I need a high end mobile processor to have a good user experience. What does this say about android on low end mobile processors. The iPhone is widely regarded as having a better, smoother UI compared to even high end Android phones, and it only got a dual core processor with the last hardware update. Windows phone can wipe the floor with Android at simple tasks like scrolling and zooming pictures and webpages. To be clear the Android phone in that video has twice the cores and twice the RAM as the Windows phone, but it's clear that the user experience of the Atrix is poor despite the fact. It seems to me that the philosophy of WP and iOS is "more with less" while the philosophy of Android is "less with more."
The higher end phones have faster processors, bigger screens, better quality screens like OLED, better construction, better cameras, they're thinner etc. What I'm trying to say is that there is a certain baseline experience in Windows Phone and iOS. You don't buy a better iPhone or a better Windows Phone just to make sure that your apps run okay or that the OS isn't laggy or you're lacking a certain sensor or your touch screen is low quality. That's all assured with the base model. With Android, the cheap base models are garbage and your experience using them is similarly garbage.
Apple adds new features and doesn't necessarily port them to old iPhones.
Apple is pretty good about updating their product line to the current OS. True, you're not going to update your original iPhone to iOS5. But you're not going to buy a brand new last gen iPhone 4 or even iPhone 3GS with iOS 3. Same with Windows Phones, they all currently run the latest release of WP7, even if you buy a last gen samsung focus from. However, in the Android world you can buy a brand new Android phone with an OS 2 versions out of date, and that phone will never be upgraded. THAT is the problem. We're not talking about 4 year old phones not getting the latest release. We're talking about brand new phones that are out of date, out of the box. This isn't a fairy tale.
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Not all tablets have resistive digitizers. My tablet PC used an active digitizer and had a capacitive touch screen (Dell Latitude XT). It wasn't as good as some high end digitizers out there, but it was good enough.
And how do you copy/paste images? What apps are you using?
I can get a stylus... but it's a big fat sausage stylus. It's like trying to write in a tiny notebook with one of those giant pieces of chalk. Have you ever used an actual digitizer? From my experience they feel like writing with an actual pen/pencil, and I can produce the same level of detail in my work with them. Not so much with the iPad (yes I have one), where I'm back in kindergarten writing 3 inch tall words.
So, are you saying that one could not write an iOS app that does all of that? If you are saying that, then you are wrong.
Correct, I am saying this, because it's not how iOS works. This is one of my biggest problems with iOS: to get the kind of functionality I require, I would need some giant monolitic app that does everything I need. The odds of someone out there writing an app that fits my workflow exactly is very low. For example, in this scenario I have different files open (PDF, excel, word, one note, email) all at once and I'm copying/pasting images, spreadsheets, text, between all of them. With a desktop OS I can create my own workflow because I have an app for each type of file, I can open what I need, and they all work together. In iOS, there is hardly any transport between different apps, so I would need an app that opens all these files, switches between them, saves them.... basically I'd need a miniature OS within iOS to do this!
So, I guess my iPad that allows me to easily cut and paste between applications is a special one-off version, right?
So I have my PDF textbook open. How do I take an image from my PDF and put it into my notes?
A digitizer typically works with a stylus. It is very high resolution and allows you to rest your palm on the screen. The iPad and pretty much every other tablet out there today does not have one. Writing notes on the iPad is like tying shoes with gloves on. You have this big fat sausagey stylus, you can't rest your hand on the iPad itself because it gets recognized as an input, so you have to kind of float your hand above the screen. It's awful.
Not gonna say it's perfect solution - then again, carrying my old Toshiba Libretto wasn't exactly a perfect solution either :-)
The only problem with the Tablet PC solution was size, price, and battery life, which is much more manageable than terrible input and awful apps. I can't wait for Windows 8 to solve exactly those problems... then it should be perfect.
Donaldson and Dunfee, Ethics in Business and Economics, is $680 on Amazon. (But it ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping!) Gotta love the combination of price and title.
Used for $60. There's not even a cover image or any reviews. Sounds like a book that is either extremely rare or not used much. Can you point to any university that uses this as a required text for an undergraduate class?
They bring out a new edition every couple of years, making just enough superficial changes to discourage people from using an old edition.
I don't mind this all that much because it creates a used marketplace for cheap last edition books that are as good as new.
For example, in a math textbook they'll rearrange all the homework problems so the numbers are different.
Do you have any evidence that this is actually deterring students from buying used? Any half-witted price-conscious student I've come across has bothered asking the professor "Is the last edition good enough." 99% of the time it is, and the professor is accommodating for previous editions. Most likely he has been teaching off the last edition anyway, and isn't even referencing the new edition.
You've never used a tablet PC, have you? Indeed I do have an iPad, but it does not have a digitizer; it has a capacitive touch screen. A capacitive stylus is far less accurate than a digitizer stylus.You may be able to copy text between most apps, but certainly not images.
You can use your finger or a stylus easily to draw over things.
This is not nearly the same as a good digitizer/stylus. With my tablet PC I had near pen/pencil level of precision and detail. I own an iPad and a stylus, and it is laughably inferior.
As for cut & paste, you can screen-shoot ANY application with a simple press of power + Home. and use that image in any application. In most apps you can also cut + paste text as well, iOS has much better universal support for that than other platforms.
On my tablet, I had my textbook open on the left, and One note open on the right. I would just lasso the image with the One Note screen grab and it was right in my notes. What you're suggesting is cumbersome and takes far too much time to do in the middle of lecture.
It's typical Apple propaganda. In the beginning, there was nothing. Then Apple said... you know the rest.
I think you just stopped reading my post before the end. I said, professors I know in that situation post both numbers in the assignment handouts. I've been a student and an instructor in this situation enough, and most people are aware of it, and we work around it. Yes it's a problem when these new editions come out. But the point is I've never seen a situation where the student was told "No, you MUST buy the new edition." I've even seen the situation where there's an entirely new chapter, and the professor made available scans of that chapter for download.
In fact, I'm kind of glad there are these new editions, because then the after market for cheap last editions wouldn't be so ripe for me.
Granted iPads do other things as well, but they aren't anywhere near good enough with battery life to compete with a book.
I'd also argue they don't do nearly enough to compete with a book. When I used to use physical textbooks, I'd write all over them. Then I started using a tablet PC for all my note taking, and I would scan in my textbooks to use digitally. With the stylus I was still able to write in them, but I would also cut and paste images, charts, etc into my notes during class. One notable example I remember is when professor trying to draw a diagram from the book onto the chalkboard, I just copied the diagram over. Everyone else was going off his mangled reproduction while I had the real thing.
Now we have the iPad, which doesn't have a digitizer and doesn't allow you to cut and paste much between applications. Everyone is trying to shoehorn it fit into education, when much better (albeit poorly marketed) alternative have been there all along.
People love to quote this $400... I've never seen an undergraduate textbook that costs more than $200. Now, that's still a lot, but the same book can often be had for very cheap used from a previous student or off Amazon. The only textbooks I've seen that cost more than that are graduate level medical textbooks which are honestly worth keeping.
When is the last time you were in education? Since 2005 I've yet to meet a professor who absolutely required the newest edition. Most will say "Yeah, the last edition will do just fine." I've even met some who will post the problem numbers from last and current editions. Last edition textbooks can usually be bought for very cheap on amazon. The only real problem I've run into with the textbook industry is trying to sell back books because a newer edition came out.
You do realize that by spamming the same post multiple times in multiple articles you're just as bad, if not worse, than the offending parties. At least shills have something on topic and relevant to say. Please post under your account so we can mod you accordingly.
Does anyone knows what happens between research and productivization at MS?
Management.
I can't work for 8 hours straight, so I will take breaks like going on slashdot when I'm alone. Lots of times there's no one around at my work so that's what I do. My lunch breaks are shorter as well, since I usually just eat at my desk for 20 mins and then continue working. But when people are around, I'll socialize with them and the little breaks I have during the day turn into 5-10 mins a pop. Going to lunch with people is even worse, as my 20 min lunch break turns into an hour, sometimes more! Sometimes I wish I were more introverted to get more work done, but then again I realize life isn't all about productivity and gross output.
We are not talking about tablet
We're talking about ARM based devices. Ostensibly, these will be mostly tablets. Otherwise you'd have an x86 processor in there for Laptops and Desktops, the Windows certification for which does not require Standard Mode.
The point here is that MS is strongarming hardware manufacturers to develop devices that only work with Windows.
I see, an optional certification program for manufacturers to develop devices that only work with Windows on ARM is strongarming them. Do you know that strong arming usually has some force component? Manufacturers can still develop for Windows on x86. They can still develop for Android. They can still develop for desktop Linux if you want. No one is being forced to develop ARM devices for Windows 8 and certainly no one is forcing them to get those devices certified
I say that with confidence because I don't see it happening very often with laptops or even desktops.
Because no one wants desktops or laptops with Linux outside of slashdot. There is no demand, therefore there is no supply. Where there is supply, as with Dell's Linux offerings, what little demand there is comes from Linux ethusiasts. Conversely there is huge demand for Android and iOS tablets. Why would manufacturers just stop making these?
What's more, if one is restricted to using Android only or Linux only devices if one wants to run something other than Windows, then one is going to have a substantially smaller number of devices from which to choose.
Substantially smaller? How many Android tablets are out there right now? Hundreds? You act as if tomorrow Windows 8 will be released and manufacturers will stop making Android devices. There is a huge demand for Android devices and the release of Windows 8 will not stall that momentum. I'll tell you what the tablet landscape will look like in 2 years. You'll have manufacturers like Samsung, LG, HTC, etc releasing the same exact hardware for both Windows 8 and Android. Then consumers will have a choice. Buy the Windows 8 version, or buy the Android version. The subset of conusmers who buy a Windows 8 tablet and want to put Android on it thereafter will be vanishingly small. So who does this really affect?
As for your bit about the locked bootloader, it's completely different.
I explained it to you from a consumer perspective, because your whole argument is that it amounts to less choice for the consumer. From my perspective as a buyer, I don't care who or what is locking down the hardware. If I want an unlocked system I can buy it. If I want a locked system I can buy it. When windows 8 for ARM is released, I'll have that same exact choice, so what exactly is your problem? Don't buy it if you don't want it.
What I'm saying about the flop is that the government should step in to ensure that people can actually use the hardware that they're buying.
Why is that the government's job? Let the marketplace decide. The type of consumer who is informed enough to install a new OS on his system is the type of consumer who is informed enough to know which hardware is locked. If all hardware were locked down I'd agree with you. But you have enough choices today and for the foreseeable future that there's no reason to get the government involved... the free market seems to be working. What's your problem with this?
Whether one is or isn't technically forced to get full certification is really beside the point. Companies that don't go through the process aren't going to be able to charge as much for their hardware and in turn are going to be at a disadvantage.
Then they can just make Android devices and charge as much as they want. And they can do this because there is incredible demand for Android tablets. Your whole argument hinges on the fact that in the future there will be no tablets that ship with Android. Why do you believe this to be the case?
In short, shills like you are why we can't have nice things.
Grow up. I said something you don't agree with and therefore you slap a label on me? I have plenty of karma to burn anyw
This is a pretty blatant example of MS abusing its certification process to hurt the competition and to ultimately hurt consumers
Why? This says nothing about a manufacturer's ability to make and sell Android Tablets. A manufacturer could have a model with Windows 8 and Android and sell them side by side. You just can't buy the Windows 8 one and put Android on it. So what? Buy the Android one if that's what you want to do. That's what most consumers will do anyway.
The point of this move is to prevent people from buying a Windows tablet and opting to install something else on it at a later time.
What exactly is the percentage of consumers that do that? I think the Linux desktop markshare tells us it's around 1%. Sure it's outrageous here, but no one else cares, really.
It's very clearly harmful to both competition and the end user to have such heavy handed licensing terms preventing them from making a switch of OS.
Why? The manufacturer can just produce android tablets. The consumer isn't going to buy a windows tablet and install android on it anyway. Where exactly is the harm?
Thirdly, it is entirely different from buying an Android with a locked bootloader
No, it's exactly the same from the consumer's perspective. I go to the store and I have a choice of Android tablets. Some have locked bootloaders, some do not. I choose the one that suits me best. If I want to put a new OS on it one day, I choose the one without the locked bootloader. Fastforward when Windows 8 tablets are released. I go to the store and I have a choice of Android tablets and Windows 8 tablets. Some Android tablets have locked bootloaders, some do not. All Windows 8 tablets do. I choose the one that suits me best. If I want to put a new OS on it one day, I choose the one without the locked bootloader. Same choice, different day. How exactly does this decision affect my choice in the marketplace?
Lastly, the fact that this thing is likely to flop...
So what you're saying is that this will flop and therefore the government should step in? And do what exactly?
This isn't Apple where Apple is producing the iPad and the OS that goes onto it, this is MS trying to dictate the terms of the hardware in a way that's anti-competitive.
You're right, this is hardware vendors who want to sell Windows 8 complying with a certification. There's no obligation that a vendor must sell Windows 8 only. There's no requirement that in order to sell systems with Windows 8, one must be certified. What kind of pull exactly does Windows have for ARM systems that makes this anticompetitive. Seems to me that hardware manufacturers and consumers will just choose Android like they currently are with Windows Phone.
Note the key word "Google." When it's your name being used, you have to take the bad as well as the good. It's not "Everything good is done by Google, everything bad is done by lone employees who do not really represent Google."
If I could just use wifi everywhere I needed to go, why would I need a data plan at all? Let me guess, in addition to your unlimited data plan you also have available wifi coverage over 100% of the places you go.
Good for you. But that's not what you said. You said: "Phone storage doesn't matter." What you really meant was "For me, because I'm granfathered into an unlimited data plan or I'm lucky enough to be on a carrier with unlimited data, phone storage doesn't matter. Sucks for you losers." For the rest of us, yes, it does in fact matter.
high end mobile processors ... improves the end user experience.
Which makes me wonder... why exactly do I need a high end mobile processor to have a good user experience. What does this say about android on low end mobile processors. The iPhone is widely regarded as having a better, smoother UI compared to even high end Android phones, and it only got a dual core processor with the last hardware update. Windows phone can wipe the floor with Android at simple tasks like scrolling and zooming pictures and webpages. To be clear the Android phone in that video has twice the cores and twice the RAM as the Windows phone, but it's clear that the user experience of the Atrix is poor despite the fact. It seems to me that the philosophy of WP and iOS is "more with less" while the philosophy of Android is "less with more."
It does when you have a 2 GB data cap.
The higher end phones have faster processors, bigger screens, better quality screens like OLED, better construction, better cameras, they're thinner etc. What I'm trying to say is that there is a certain baseline experience in Windows Phone and iOS. You don't buy a better iPhone or a better Windows Phone just to make sure that your apps run okay or that the OS isn't laggy or you're lacking a certain sensor or your touch screen is low quality. That's all assured with the base model. With Android, the cheap base models are garbage and your experience using them is similarly garbage.
Apple adds new features and doesn't necessarily port them to old iPhones.
Apple is pretty good about updating their product line to the current OS. True, you're not going to update your original iPhone to iOS5. But you're not going to buy a brand new last gen iPhone 4 or even iPhone 3GS with iOS 3. Same with Windows Phones, they all currently run the latest release of WP7, even if you buy a last gen samsung focus from. However, in the Android world you can buy a brand new Android phone with an OS 2 versions out of date, and that phone will never be upgraded. THAT is the problem. We're not talking about 4 year old phones not getting the latest release. We're talking about brand new phones that are out of date, out of the box. This isn't a fairy tale.