I also have a Nokia E61, too. Great hardware; the software and interfaces, well, not so much. The damned thing was put together by a graphics designer, not an interface designer, and is the opposite of intuitive.
To start out with, it is shameful that Nokia couldn't ship a product with POP/IMAP client that actually works. I mean, it isn't like there aren't many reference products out there, many with their code available for perusal. They had to have known that the mail app was broken, unless they did no beta/user testing (and I'm guessing that they didn't).
Some UI/interface things that are whacked about it - cut and paste works in some apps, not in others (all Nokia supplied). It can take three clicks/submenus to make a call in some contexts. You can have multiple phone listings per contact, but only access one of them via voice dial (the voice rec is pretty good - would it have been so hard to allow for "John Doe Home, John Doe Mobile, John Doe Work" instead of just "John Doe"?).
The keyboard-unlock keys are almost impossible to do one-handed. All networked apps are limited to port numbers of three digits or less because they only give you space to type three digits. Addresses are in the tiniest font possible, and it is not adjustable.
The File Manager is located in "Office". Everything else related to files and/or apps are located in "Tools". Some apps are in the root of the UI (clock), some are not. There almost no navigation for the photo viewing stuff - all your files in one big pile. I could go on; this thing never saw user testing. Why? It has to Nokia's corporate culture - no small(er) company would release something so poorly thought out. Hell, not even MS or GM would release something so poorly thought out.
I expect that Apple is going to give Nokia a very bad couple of years, and very well could do to them what MS did to Palm in the PDA space.
That's the point. Many good companies that could have been sold were left to die on the vine while they chased super-duper payouts like Netscape, Yahoo, etc. I had VCs tell me that if they couldn't see a way to 100x return, they didn't even bother - before or after investment.
Back in the Web "1.0" days, VCs would never have settled for a payout that small. In fact, they'd rather have the company die - they were in the business of hitting grand-slams, looking for the billion(s) dollar(s) payout.
This is "only" 10x. Does that mean that VCs have come to their senses? Anyone have any insight into this?
* BTB? For Big Titted Blonde? Because everyone loves a BTB!
* CFC? For Choco-Flavored Content? And it doesn't even cause cavities!
* WPGWTM? World Peace, Good Will Towards Man? Doesn't everyone want this? Wouldn't everyone give up one of three wishes for this? And let's face it, it makes it so easy to tie into the Xmas Buying Season!
Bob, one thing is true, even in your ivory tower: you can't polish a turd. How about just calling it "unprotected"? Seems to solve a lot more issues than this stupidity.
I used to work for Time Inc. New Media, back when it ran a little website called Pathfinder. It was, at one point, the biggest draw on the Net. There is still a a vestigial webpage.
The Time Inc. building is a bastion of "liberal media"; the company is beyond politically correct in all ways.
Interestingly, no one seemed to have an issue with the fact that some employees created a Doom level of the editorial room, and that the map was made freely available to anyone. There was even an open game server for anyone to frag some Time Inc. "employees". And yes, we used to really enjoy "killing" someone in their own office (which had accurate furniture layout, even some wallhangings, if memory serves).
This all passed muster with the most liberal, politically correct tightasses on the planet. That says something about how silly this society is becoming in general.
Yeah, let's sell our stuff to 85 year olds, who are statistically already dead, as opposed to the youngin's who have, um, 40-60 buying years ahead of them. Now that's some good CEO-ing there.
Ballmer, check out how well the "sell to the dead" strategy worked for Cadillac, and who they've been targeting for the last 10 years.
Want to bet which brand is more recognizable to consumers after one year - iPhone or Windows Mobile 5/6/7? The figures will be even more skewed on the desirability factor. Let's see - do I want something cool, or do I want something that reminds me of the operating system that I _have to use_ at work/home? I mean, the name is just stupid marketing - Windows (a brand that's as old as dirt, with more than a few dings), 5/6/7 (reinforces the whole "oldness").
Balmer shouldn't be afraid of the first iPhone. He should be afraid of the first "iPhone NanoMini". He'll be singing a new tune after that.
This thread made me think of something: why are no ISPs in the USA offering bonded DSL services? You know, for when one DSL line won't do, but going to T1 is too much? Anyone know of anyone offering this?
Because it needs to be x86, with in turn means that it needs to have a bigger battery, fancier engineering, special cooling. A hard drive because it needs to swap due to Windows memory needs and usage patterns.
Kill off Windows, and then you have a bunch of better processors - PPC, ARM, whatever. Smaller battery. No special cooling. No need for a hard drive. No Windows license. Room for other features - cell phone/modem? Bluetooth hub functionality?
From TFA: "Unfortunately, the "invisible hand" has been a little too invisble here, and no operator actually offers a wide-open network."
Hmm, let's see. With T-Mobile, I can:
- Buy any GSM phone that I pretty much want to, unlocked, - Put in my SIM card, - Use all of the T-Mobile services, - Enjoy wi-fi, - Enjoy unfettered Bluetooth, - Enjoy an all-you-can eat data plan (albeit, at EDGE speeds only).
So why doesn't everyone jump on T-Mobile? Well, on the other hand,
- I pay more for my service (no one is subsidizing my phone), - Can't use all of T-mobile's services or voice plans (no "five friends" for me), - Can't get any tech support (see, your phone is not supported, bye) - Get scary warnings on the "my T-Mobile site" since they cannot identify my phone.
I have no interest in Skype. But I do have interest in a BYO phone plan at lower cost, and the option to enjoy all of the plans that T-Mobile offers. Perhaps they have a point.
Actually, the deal was almost certainly illegal. It is just a matter of who is guilty, and what the actual transgression was. Take your pick:
* Dell is nailed for cooking the books - it appeared to everyone that they were doing great SELLING COMPUTERS. It isn't just about doing well.
* Intel and Dell are nailed on uncompetitive practices.
* Intel is nailed for monopolistic practices, with Dell as an accomplice. Might be the same thing as the previous bullet, IANAL.
No matter what, someone is going to hang. Publicly traded companies are about transparency, and this was about as opaque as it comes. The point is that they could not have accounted for this properly - and that's a red flag that something stinky was going on.
I'm sure that HP is just thrilled about this. I think that you'll see more AMD and less Itanium over there right quick.
It is the same thing as if Dell was selling cocaine, and claiming that the proceeds from that were due to their super-fine computer business. People would be investing in them because they had such great metrics in the sustainable, legal business of selling computers. This is apparently not the case.
It also means that they will likely perform poorly compared to previous quarters. Stock value is about looking forward, not back - the price rises on what people think will happen next. In other words, speculation. Lots of folks will lose money because of these secret, and likely, illegal dealings. Hence the lawsuit.
Moreover, this behavior may open Dell to substantial unrelated lawsuits - which means that the folks in charge of Dell were neglecting their fiduciary responsibility to shareholders. Again, a perfectly valid reason for shareholders to sue.
New hires at my old company were given a cheapo desks and chairs that required assembly. This applied to everyone from the receptionist to my most senior hires.
They were shown to their new spot, given the tools, and told that this was their first order of business. That was all.
Nearby employees were told to offer any and all assistance, but only if asked.
This worked on many levels. It was symbolic of the philosophy at the company. For some, it ended up being a "team-building" exercise, or a social ice-breaker. For others, it showed that they were clever and self reliant. Some folks couldn't get it done, and refused to ask for help. This almost always signified termination at their first opportunity. And the.com type investors loved it, too:)
Shortly before the iPhone's release, Dean Hall, a seven year software engineer for Motorola, explained in an email the limited usability of an unlocked phone:
"When a phone is unlocked it loses its privileges on a provider's data network. An unlocked phone can make GSM calls and send basic SMS. No MMS, no Internet, no iTS. Apple would either have to reverse engineer a method to gain access to the data network (unlikely as most data networks require SSL-level security to access) or it would have to offer something different."
Gee, Dean, then how the hell am I doing it with my unlocked, gray-market E61 on Tmobile? I have everything except iTS - EDGE internet, MMS, email, etc.
Either Dean was misquoted, taken out of context, or this is just a fabrication. Unlocked, "unauthorized" phones work just great unless the provider tries to prevent their use. Tmobile sure doesn't.
They will absolutely not miss the market of people who want to open a goddamn shell on their phone.
Hey, fanboy - I never said that it wouldn't sell, nor did I claim that my questions were important to the vast majority of potential buyers. They're not. I just pointed out that details that most Slashdot readers would be interested in are not available, that's all. Your response it totally irrelevant.
Oh, and if I can't put apps on it, I don't want it, no matter how elegant and well-designed it is.
Seems that Apple is keeping the secrecy going... questions that I have:
- What processor? - How much "system" RAM in the thing? - Can users install their own software? Rumor is that you cannot - you have to buy it from Apple or Cingular. - What bluetooth profiles are available? - Can I get shell?
I have a feeling that this is not going to be a geek's toy.
I with you, brother. I bought my E61 based on happy experiences with Psion's stuff years ago. But it has proven to be as unstable as WINCE in the current incarnation, along with the issues of code signing, little hidden "copy protection" apps, etc. Didn't sign up for this.
Let's hope that this release gets Nokia, Palm and MS on the stick to get things right with the current offerings. Wouldn't be the first time that Apple's innovation indirectly benefited a lot of non-Apple users.
It uses an Intel processor. No idea which one though.
Well, since Intel makes both ARM-based and x86 CPUs, that isn't much help. x86 might explain the lower than expected battery life, could be just from the screen.
Slashdot Mirror
Why is Starfish better than pNFS? How much does the software cost?
I also have a Nokia E61, too. Great hardware; the software and interfaces, well, not so much. The damned thing was put together by a graphics designer, not an interface designer, and is the opposite of intuitive.
To start out with, it is shameful that Nokia couldn't ship a product with POP/IMAP client that actually works. I mean, it isn't like there aren't many reference products out there, many with their code available for perusal. They had to have known that the mail app was broken, unless they did no beta/user testing (and I'm guessing that they didn't).
Some UI/interface things that are whacked about it - cut and paste works in some apps, not in others (all Nokia supplied). It can take three clicks/submenus to make a call in some contexts. You can have multiple phone listings per contact, but only access one of them via voice dial (the voice rec is pretty good - would it have been so hard to allow for "John Doe Home, John Doe Mobile, John Doe Work" instead of just "John Doe"?).
The keyboard-unlock keys are almost impossible to do one-handed. All networked apps are limited to port numbers of three digits or less because they only give you space to type three digits. Addresses are in the tiniest font possible, and it is not adjustable.
The File Manager is located in "Office". Everything else related to files and/or apps are located in "Tools". Some apps are in the root of the UI (clock), some are not. There almost no navigation for the photo viewing stuff - all your files in one big pile. I could go on; this thing never saw user testing. Why? It has to Nokia's corporate culture - no small(er) company would release something so poorly thought out. Hell, not even MS or GM would release something so poorly thought out.
I expect that Apple is going to give Nokia a very bad couple of years, and very well could do to them what MS did to Palm in the PDA space.
jh
That's the point. Many good companies that could have been sold were left to die on the vine while they chased super-duper payouts like Netscape, Yahoo, etc. I had VCs tell me that if they couldn't see a way to 100x return, they didn't even bother - before or after investment.
Back in the Web "1.0" days, VCs would never have settled for a payout that small. In fact, they'd rather have the company die - they were in the business of hitting grand-slams, looking for the billion(s) dollar(s) payout.
This is "only" 10x. Does that mean that VCs have come to their senses? Anyone have any insight into this?
They seem a bit slippery there. When will the Barcelona Opterons ship? Anyone know?
How about:
* BTB? For Big Titted Blonde? Because everyone loves a BTB!
* CFC? For Choco-Flavored Content? And it doesn't even cause cavities!
* WPGWTM? World Peace, Good Will Towards Man? Doesn't everyone want this? Wouldn't everyone give up one of three wishes for this? And let's face it, it makes it so easy to tie into the Xmas Buying Season!
Bob, one thing is true, even in your ivory tower: you can't polish a turd. How about just calling it "unprotected"? Seems to solve a lot more issues than this stupidity.
I used to work for Time Inc. New Media, back when it ran a little website called Pathfinder. It was, at one point, the biggest draw on the Net. There is still a a vestigial webpage.
The Time Inc. building is a bastion of "liberal media"; the company is beyond politically correct in all ways.
Interestingly, no one seemed to have an issue with the fact that some employees created a Doom level of the editorial room, and that the map was made freely available to anyone. There was even an open game server for anyone to frag some Time Inc. "employees". And yes, we used to really enjoy "killing" someone in their own office (which had accurate furniture layout, even some wallhangings, if memory serves).
This all passed muster with the most liberal, politically correct tightasses on the planet. That says something about how silly this society is becoming in general.
Yeah, let's sell our stuff to 85 year olds, who are statistically already dead, as opposed to the youngin's who have, um, 40-60 buying years ahead of them. Now that's some good CEO-ing there.
Ballmer, check out how well the "sell to the dead" strategy worked for Cadillac, and who they've been targeting for the last 10 years.
Want to bet which brand is more recognizable to consumers after one year - iPhone or Windows Mobile 5/6/7? The figures will be even more skewed on the desirability factor. Let's see - do I want something cool, or do I want something that reminds me of the operating system that I _have to use_ at work/home? I mean, the name is just stupid marketing - Windows (a brand that's as old as dirt, with more than a few dings), 5/6/7 (reinforces the whole "oldness").
Balmer shouldn't be afraid of the first iPhone. He should be afraid of the first "iPhone NanoMini". He'll be singing a new tune after that.
it actually has many issues, and it is lagging behind the Windows version that Nuance produces. My company owns several licenses.
it is, however, the best OCR on Linux right now. I'm looking forward to having an alternative.
This thread made me think of something: why are no ISPs in the USA offering bonded DSL services? You know, for when one DSL line won't do, but going to T1 is too much? Anyone know of anyone offering this?
Colon cancer victims are going to give the command "jettison the warp core" a new meaning...
This thing costs $2k. Why?
Because it needs to be x86, with in turn means that it needs to have a bigger battery, fancier engineering, special cooling. A hard drive because it needs to swap due to Windows memory needs and usage patterns.
Kill off Windows, and then you have a bunch of better processors - PPC, ARM, whatever. Smaller battery. No special cooling. No need for a hard drive. No Windows license. Room for other features - cell phone/modem? Bluetooth hub functionality?
BTW, it has pretty much been done... Too bad it isn't Linux.
From TFA: "Unfortunately, the "invisible hand" has been a little too invisble here, and no operator actually offers a wide-open network."
Hmm, let's see. With T-Mobile, I can:
- Buy any GSM phone that I pretty much want to, unlocked,
- Put in my SIM card,
- Use all of the T-Mobile services,
- Enjoy wi-fi,
- Enjoy unfettered Bluetooth,
- Enjoy an all-you-can eat data plan (albeit, at EDGE speeds only).
So why doesn't everyone jump on T-Mobile? Well, on the other hand,
- I pay more for my service (no one is subsidizing my phone),
- Can't use all of T-mobile's services or voice plans (no "five friends" for me),
- Can't get any tech support (see, your phone is not supported, bye)
- Get scary warnings on the "my T-Mobile site" since they cannot identify my phone.
I have no interest in Skype. But I do have interest in a BYO phone plan at lower cost, and the option to enjoy all of the plans that T-Mobile offers. Perhaps they have a point.
jh
Not kidding when I say this...
1. Apple needs to identify all the shortcomings of UMPC or the PepperPad
2. Infuse Appley goodness into a perfected formfactor, and sell it,
3. And profit.
I'd buy one in a heartbeat.
Actually, the deal was almost certainly illegal. It is just a matter of who is guilty, and what the actual transgression was. Take your pick:
* Dell is nailed for cooking the books - it appeared to everyone that they were doing great SELLING COMPUTERS. It isn't just about doing well.
* Intel and Dell are nailed on uncompetitive practices.
* Intel is nailed for monopolistic practices, with Dell as an accomplice. Might be the same thing as the previous bullet, IANAL.
No matter what, someone is going to hang. Publicly traded companies are about transparency, and this was about as opaque as it comes. The point is that they could not have accounted for this properly - and that's a red flag that something stinky was going on.
I'm sure that HP is just thrilled about this. I think that you'll see more AMD and less Itanium over there right quick.
It is the same thing as if Dell was selling cocaine, and claiming that the proceeds from that were due to their super-fine computer business. People would be investing in them because they had such great metrics in the sustainable, legal business of selling computers. This is apparently not the case.
It also means that they will likely perform poorly compared to previous quarters. Stock value is about looking forward, not back - the price rises on what people think will happen next. In other words, speculation. Lots of folks will lose money because of these secret, and likely, illegal dealings. Hence the lawsuit.
Moreover, this behavior may open Dell to substantial unrelated lawsuits - which means that the folks in charge of Dell were neglecting their fiduciary responsibility to shareholders. Again, a perfectly valid reason for shareholders to sue.
I hope that Dell is gutted for this.
New hires at my old company were given a cheapo desks and chairs that required assembly. This applied to everyone from the receptionist to my most senior hires.
.com type investors loved it, too :)
They were shown to their new spot, given the tools, and told that this was their first order of business. That was all.
Nearby employees were told to offer any and all assistance, but only if asked.
This worked on many levels. It was symbolic of the philosophy at the company. For some, it ended up being a "team-building" exercise, or a social ice-breaker. For others, it showed that they were clever and self reliant. Some folks couldn't get it done, and refused to ask for help. This almost always signified termination at their first opportunity. And the
Just an awesome post. Love it.
It could be true, one day, that Joost really do(es) control the media.
(Bad joke from one of the Joost, BTW)
From the last article:
Shortly before the iPhone's release, Dean Hall, a seven year software engineer for Motorola, explained in an email the limited usability of an unlocked phone:
"When a phone is unlocked it loses its privileges on a provider's data network. An unlocked phone can make GSM calls and send basic SMS. No MMS, no Internet, no iTS. Apple would either have to reverse engineer a method to gain access to the data network (unlikely as most data networks require SSL-level security to access) or it would have to offer something different."
Gee, Dean, then how the hell am I doing it with my unlocked, gray-market E61 on Tmobile? I have everything except iTS - EDGE internet, MMS, email, etc.
Either Dean was misquoted, taken out of context, or this is just a fabrication. Unlocked, "unauthorized" phones work just great unless the provider tries to prevent their use. Tmobile sure doesn't.
They will absolutely not miss the market of people who want to open a goddamn shell on their phone.
Hey, fanboy - I never said that it wouldn't sell, nor did I claim that my questions were important to the vast majority of potential buyers. They're not. I just pointed out that details that most Slashdot readers would be interested in are not available, that's all. Your response it totally irrelevant.
Oh, and if I can't put apps on it, I don't want it, no matter how elegant and well-designed it is.
Seems that Apple is keeping the secrecy going... questions that I have:
- What processor?
- How much "system" RAM in the thing?
- Can users install their own software? Rumor is that you cannot - you have to buy it from Apple or Cingular.
- What bluetooth profiles are available?
- Can I get shell?
I have a feeling that this is not going to be a geek's toy.
jh
I with you, brother. I bought my E61 based on happy experiences with Psion's stuff years ago. But it has proven to be as unstable as WINCE in the current incarnation, along with the issues of code signing, little hidden "copy protection" apps, etc. Didn't sign up for this.
Let's hope that this release gets Nokia, Palm and MS on the stick to get things right with the current offerings. Wouldn't be the first time that Apple's innovation indirectly benefited a lot of non-Apple users.
It uses an Intel processor. No idea which one though.
Well, since Intel makes both ARM-based and x86 CPUs, that isn't much help. x86 might explain the lower than expected battery life, could be just from the screen.
Guess all will be revealed soon.