You can share your 3G on most Symbian and most recent Android phones without a hack.
As for WebOS, there are few phones and form factors available, and what's going to happen with them or the platform still kind of seems up in the air. Sorry, but I don't want an HP-only phone.
Most programmers don't seem to know anything about patents or copyrights, so Sun could bamboozle them.
What has happened was one of two predictable outcomes: either Sun got bought by IBM or Google and was forced to open up, or Sun got bought by Microsoft, Oracle, or another evil company and used for evil purposes.
It is ironic that.NET is more open, but that's competition for you: since Sun was so proprietary, Microsoft needed to open up their alternative to get some traction.
With a cleanroom implementation, you'd usually not expect private variables to have the same name.
However, some of these unusual identifiers also seem to occur in Windows and COM source code. So, it may be that the original names came from a a Microsoft other design, and both Sun and Harmony copied it from there.
You're right that iOS use the NeXTStep/UNIX native code programming model. But that's a sign of being behind, not ahead: by using an older programming model, it's easier to port existing code to it.
By relying more on a virtual machine, Android is actually technically ahead. That does make it harder to port old software, but it gives Android a big lead in areas like security. So, Android is ahead in this area, not behind; but by being ahead, it also means that it is less backwards compatible.
Nevertheless, Android does have support for native programming, and there's even an SDL implementation. So, if you're a game developer or need fast native code, you can program Android as easily as iOS.
You can already get DoubleTwist and Amazon MP3 for Android. You'll get Unbox pretty soon. Altogether, that makes Android a better and more convenient platform than iPod.
Android is already one of the top operating systems, and it has most mobiles OSes beat hands down in terms of functionality, usability, and connectivity. The only mobile OS that's even remotely a competitor still is iOS. There is some chance that Intel and Nokia do something good with MeeGo. But that's it.
Windows 7 is a big fat zombie at this point; it is common (and acceptable) on desktop machines, but on mobile the old Windows Mobile is dead, and the new Windows Mobile is a shot in the dark with a completely new and untested system.
Despite all the improvements, Android still lags behind Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iOS, according to Molchanov. "There's still nothing fundamentally groundbreaking in this release," he said. "With the new UI, video chat and hardware acceleration, Google is still playing catch-up with iOS," he added.
Really? In what area is iOS ahead? I can't think of any.
The problem with security is ultimately not that people can't write secure code, it's that they don't even understand what to allow and forbid.
In different words, people are going to get the permissions and policies wrong; they are first going to make them too restrictive, and then when the system doesn't work, they are going to make them too permissive. Just like, you know, on operating systems, where every object already has policies and permissions associated with it.
I tried it out, it's not all that different; basically, many of the same limitations. It also was a little sluggish and text input is still tedious.
Don't get me wrong, phones like the N8 have some things going for them: better battery life and better cameras, for example. But on balance, I think most people are better off with Android. People buy Symbian phones for the hardware, despite the software.
Well, I have had problems with web browsing: some sites don't work, for others, it's hard to hit input fields and buttons. Opera Mini doesn't solve those problems. Phone lock is cumbersome and requires at least three clicks. And the phone gets confused and becomes hard to unlock when there are notifications and code locks. Etc.
It's not that Symbian phones are complete disasters, but they are cumbersome and limited compared to a modern Android phone and not much cheaper.
Yes, but we'd prefer if Jobs's marketing bullshit doesn't become widely believed. Because if Apple ever became a dominant player in the software and PC market, the industry would be in big trouble. That's why we respond.
Aside from the fact that Macs are up to 20% in the U.S.
That's a lie. One study claims that Apple has 20% of the retail market. That's not Macs and it's not units, it's all of Apple and it's money paid. Since people pay a lot more for their Macs than PCs, and since they buy lots of expensive accessories, that still translates into only a small market share in terms of units. Apple probably still only has 4-5% of the desktop, laptop, and netbook markets.
"US consumer retail market" means people walking into a store and buying a piece of hardware, and it's expressed in terms of money, not units, and people spend a lot more for their Macs than for their PCs. It probably also includes iPhone, iPad, and iPod, and accessories sales, since it refers to Apple share, not Mac share. In terms of units, their share is still around 4-5% at most.
As a long-time (ex-)Symbian user, I have to say: it just doesn't cut it anymore. Too many things on Symbian just don't work right: OTA syncing, web browsing, Ovi, pen input, even locking the phone. Now that Android also has tethering, there is no reason to stay with Symbian.
Financially, I think it's obvious that the best strategy for Nokia would be to ship Android and go to town developing Nokia-specific add-ons for Android. A good Android implementation plus Nokia software would instantly give them back the smartphone market.
For the market as a whole, I'm glad they are taking the risk with MeeGo. I would like to see a native Linux smartphone platform: it's easier to port software to, and Nokia may have enough clout to make it stick. In some sense, MeeGo is much closer to iOS than Android: like iOS, MeeGo uses older programming technologies based on native code.
No, YOU completely missed the point. I'm not faulting Apple for copying other people's designs (everybody does that). I'm saying: I don't need to buy a new MacBook Air in order to know what its problems are going to be because I have used plenty of machines like that.
And of course you want more "oomph" than an Atom and accelerated graphics, Durendal_Mac_, because OS X and its apps don't run well on an Atom with low-end graphics. You pay for Apple's software bloat by paying twice as much for the machine and getting less than half the battery life of a netbook.
Maybe they should stop doing it when they don't have a camera, or at least let me disable it on the device. It's a bloody nuisance.
You can share your 3G on most Symbian and most recent Android phones without a hack.
As for WebOS, there are few phones and form factors available, and what's going to happen with them or the platform still kind of seems up in the air. Sorry, but I don't want an HP-only phone.
Most programmers don't seem to know anything about patents or copyrights, so Sun could bamboozle them.
What has happened was one of two predictable outcomes: either Sun got bought by IBM or Google and was forced to open up, or Sun got bought by Microsoft, Oracle, or another evil company and used for evil purposes.
It is ironic that .NET is more open, but that's competition for you: since Sun was so proprietary, Microsoft needed to open up their alternative to get some traction.
With a cleanroom implementation, you'd usually not expect private variables to have the same name.
However, some of these unusual identifiers also seem to occur in Windows and COM source code. So, it may be that the original names came from a a Microsoft other design, and both Sun and Harmony copied it from there.
Good API design is hard.
Yeah, and if you want to see how hard it is, just look at how awful the Java APIs are despite all the money Sun invested in it.
At that price, the book hardly can make a contribution to public debate.
You're right that iOS use the NeXTStep/UNIX native code programming model. But that's a sign of being behind, not ahead: by using an older programming model, it's easier to port existing code to it.
By relying more on a virtual machine, Android is actually technically ahead. That does make it harder to port old software, but it gives Android a big lead in areas like security. So, Android is ahead in this area, not behind; but by being ahead, it also means that it is less backwards compatible.
Nevertheless, Android does have support for native programming, and there's even an SDL implementation. So, if you're a game developer or need fast native code, you can program Android as easily as iOS.
You can already get DoubleTwist and Amazon MP3 for Android. You'll get Unbox pretty soon. Altogether, that makes Android a better and more convenient platform than iPod.
Only specific categories of content are deleted when you switch to a different computer.
No, sorry, that's just not true.
Android is already one of the top operating systems, and it has most mobiles OSes beat hands down in terms of functionality, usability, and connectivity. The only mobile OS that's even remotely a competitor still is iOS. There is some chance that Intel and Nokia do something good with MeeGo. But that's it.
Windows 7 is a big fat zombie at this point; it is common (and acceptable) on desktop machines, but on mobile the old Windows Mobile is dead, and the new Windows Mobile is a shot in the dark with a completely new and untested system.
Despite all the improvements, Android still lags behind Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iOS, according to Molchanov. "There's still nothing fundamentally groundbreaking in this release," he said. "With the new UI, video chat and hardware acceleration, Google is still playing catch-up with iOS," he added.
Really? In what area is iOS ahead? I can't think of any.
The problem with security is ultimately not that people can't write secure code, it's that they don't even understand what to allow and forbid.
In different words, people are going to get the permissions and policies wrong; they are first going to make them too restrictive, and then when the system doesn't work, they are going to make them too permissive. Just like, you know, on operating systems, where every object already has policies and permissions associated with it.
That looks like it would pinch and hurt if a male tried to use it for ... oh never mind.
I tried it out, it's not all that different; basically, many of the same limitations. It also was a little sluggish and text input is still tedious.
Don't get me wrong, phones like the N8 have some things going for them: better battery life and better cameras, for example. But on balance, I think most people are better off with Android. People buy Symbian phones for the hardware, despite the software.
MeeGo may be a more serious competitor.
Isn't it odd how the kangaroos of Austria look just like bunny rabbits?
Most recently? E72 and 5800. They're "fine" in that basic stuff works OK; they're limited compared to modern Android phones.
Well, I have had problems with web browsing: some sites don't work, for others, it's hard to hit input fields and buttons. Opera Mini doesn't solve those problems. Phone lock is cumbersome and requires at least three clicks. And the phone gets confused and becomes hard to unlock when there are notifications and code locks. Etc.
It's not that Symbian phones are complete disasters, but they are cumbersome and limited compared to a modern Android phone and not much cheaper.
Yes, but we'd prefer if Jobs's marketing bullshit doesn't become widely believed. Because if Apple ever became a dominant player in the software and PC market, the industry would be in big trouble. That's why we respond.
Aside from the fact that Macs are up to 20% in the U.S.
That's a lie. One study claims that Apple has 20% of the retail market. That's not Macs and it's not units, it's all of Apple and it's money paid. Since people pay a lot more for their Macs than PCs, and since they buy lots of expensive accessories, that still translates into only a small market share in terms of units. Apple probably still only has 4-5% of the desktop, laptop, and netbook markets.
"US consumer retail market" means people walking into a store and buying a piece of hardware, and it's expressed in terms of money, not units, and people spend a lot more for their Macs than for their PCs. It probably also includes iPhone, iPad, and iPod, and accessories sales, since it refers to Apple share, not Mac share. In terms of units, their share is still around 4-5% at most.
As a long-time (ex-)Symbian user, I have to say: it just doesn't cut it anymore. Too many things on Symbian just don't work right: OTA syncing, web browsing, Ovi, pen input, even locking the phone. Now that Android also has tethering, there is no reason to stay with Symbian.
Financially, I think it's obvious that the best strategy for Nokia would be to ship Android and go to town developing Nokia-specific add-ons for Android. A good Android implementation plus Nokia software would instantly give them back the smartphone market.
For the market as a whole, I'm glad they are taking the risk with MeeGo. I would like to see a native Linux smartphone platform: it's easier to port software to, and Nokia may have enough clout to make it stick. In some sense, MeeGo is much closer to iOS than Android: like iOS, MeeGo uses older programming technologies based on native code.
Our "real money" is as virtual as the virtual currency.
Sorry, but that's not advanced mathematics; what he's talking about is what every CS undergrad should have learned.
No, YOU completely missed the point. I'm not faulting Apple for copying other people's designs (everybody does that). I'm saying: I don't need to buy a new MacBook Air in order to know what its problems are going to be because I have used plenty of machines like that.
And of course you want more "oomph" than an Atom and accelerated graphics, Durendal_Mac_, because OS X and its apps don't run well on an Atom with low-end graphics. You pay for Apple's software bloat by paying twice as much for the machine and getting less than half the battery life of a netbook.