iPhone? A polished convergence of the touchscreen PDAs and cell phones, without a stylus.
iPod? The first model lacked features (and had less space) compared to its competitors.
On the iPhone: The first model lacked features compared to its competitors -- including the average feature phones of the time. (It still lacks features that competing phones have been commonly offering for years.) I don't know if I'd call that "polished" so much as "astonishingly incomplete"
The iPad would have been interesting, but we'd already seen several similar tablets in various stages of development the previous year.
I can't deny that they significantly expanded the smart phone and tablet markets. However, I can't honestly say that they've done anything that could be considered innovation or produced products that are as complete or even as usable as competing offerings.
Ah, so it's as I thought -- and exactly what I've been telling you -- your personal belief.
You're also being rather irrational. While you believe that it would take RIM more than a few months to develop a native email client, you think they were able to push out Bridge, a far more advanced and sophisticated system, overnight?
Bridge, which requires a suite of apps on the PlayBook and a client tested and optimized for BB OS5, 6, and 7 and multiple form factors is *very clearly* more complicated than an email client.
Your contention is that they whipped out a massive software suite almost instantly because they couldn't write a simple email client?
Besides, those "facts I refuse to acknowledge" don't show that RIM's intentions were always to have those native features.
I don't really care what reviewers thought. They're not RIM. Look at RIM's announcements and promotional literature. Bridge wasn't a stop gap, it was a key feature. Remember the tagline? "You're BlackBerry, Amplified"
Again, they never promised a native client until *after* the reviewers called it a missing feature!
Look, If you want to pretend that RIM was secretly upset about the lack of those native features and that Bridge (a far more complicated system than an email client) was some kind of "quick fix" or "stop-gap" that's up to you.
What I don't understand is why it is so important for you that I, specifically, agree with your delusion?
And you thing their success is due to extremely limiting user choice? Do you think this approach is good for computing as a whole?
What about people or companies who write their own software? Is this approach good for them or is it unnecessarily limiting?
Is there a danger that this restricted freedom will harm the industry in the long run as developers are forced to play by the increasingly strict rules of a few major vendors?
Let it go man, this is really really pathetic. You've clearly been fuming about this for weeks (months?).
I know that it's really important to you that I'm wrong. I'm sorry that I can't accommodate you. I truly wish the facts were different. I feel so bad for you.
Please, move on with your life. This is, quite possibly, the least important thing that you should be worried about. Seek help, if necessary.
after Apple is swimming in cash in their walled garden, what did you expect?
I expect bad behavior from Apple. I had hoped that, like other platforms, Microsoft would allow alternative app stores. They've been so well behaved lately, after all.
What's it like to live in your world when you can ignore multiple pieces of evidence?
I was thinking the same thing about you! The facts aren't exactly on your side:)
I have no idea what your list is about. It's complete irrelevant to the issue you're still inexplicably upset about.
Really, you need to let this go. It's really sad that this still bothers you after, how long? A month or more? I'm not exactly sure, but it's been a while.
It was more of a "you're intentionally ignoring factors" argument. But, again, you knew that. You need to seriously revise your little "mathematical proof" -- as it stands now, it's nonsense. (As I've explained, and as you likely already knew.)
The Samsung Galaxy Note's Wacom digitizer is nice. Though I'd be more than satisfied with with a resistive touch screen. (RIM, oddly enough, has a patent on a hybrid resistive-capacitive touchscreen, I just wish they'd use it!)
It's hard to beat a pen and paper, but a good old stylus comes pretty close. A zillion years ago I opted for an old Casio PV-S400Plus over whatever Palms latest offering was at the time just because it had a dedicated quick memo function "button" that launched instantly (well, and a nice spreadsheet app). I swear that 90% of my use was taking short hand-written notes (you could cycle through them very quickly).
I agree that a good thin tablet with a digitizer would be fantastic. I doubt we'll see anything like it from Apple, however, until the inevitable revival of pen computing forces their hand.:)
Well, it is nonsense! I suspected that you knew it was nonsense ahead of time, considering the number of factors related to reliability that you must have considered (and purposefully ignored) ahead of time.
the news was reporting the problem as ubiquitous and worldwide
Actually, it didn't at the time (Go, and see for your self) -- though there were a few articles after the fact that mentioned the outage, with various degrees of accuracy (one even claimed it lasted 5 days!)
As for your nonsense little "methematical" speculation -- well, it's pretty clear that it's total nonsense. It also doesn't appears that you know what a BES server is for.
Honestly, I don't know why we're even having this discussion. You can check everything I've said for yourself. Not that I believe for an instant that you will.
RIM will probably be gone in 18 months or less... if they aren't bought out by someone wanting their patents before that time.
LOL! Slashdotters have been saying that for a few years now. They're still pulling in billions in profits, their user base is growing by millions every year, and they have no debt. If only every company had such problems!
Why on earth would someone want to go with RIM when both Android and iPhone platforms are thriving and expanding daily?
Well, iOS is just short of completely useless. Just an example, recently on a trip a colleague of mine needed to send a file he had on his laptop via email. There was no wifi where we stopped and he had no way to transfer the file to his phone to send as an attachment. I copied the file to my BlackBerry and emailed the file to him so he could forward the attachment. (iOS really needs an accessible file system.)
Android, well, has it's own well-known share of problems. Maybe in a few years it'll be able to replace my BB, but I'm not holding my breath. RIM's new OS is light years ahead of both iOS and Android both technically and in terms of the UI. (Check it out, you'll be more than impressed.)
RIM makes the best product for my wants and needs. iOS is a joke as a replacement, and there isn't an Android phone that equals my BB as far as usability and productivity are concerned.
How fast a platform is growing is completely irrelevant to me -- I care about what a platform can do.
Well, if they want a better web browser, it's either iOS and BlackBerry have the best available (trading first and second place with each revision, it seems) With file attachments, you'll want either BlackBerry or Android (for reasons that should be obvious). Apps? They're not really a problem on any platform (App World isn't as empty as it used to be, and all the basics are covered) though I'll grant that iOS and Android have a large App advantage in niche apps and games.
Looking at the above, BlackBerry is strong in two of your three categories (the same as the other two). If you add in their other strengths (security, for example), the productivity-first UI, the best keyboard on the market (if you type a lot, you can't live without it and the optical trackpad) and you've got a great phone. The new line-up of QNX phones look to redefine the touch-only interface and the expectations of a mobile OS (users seem to want it, even though it's a productivity killer -- go figure.)
Their new products are fantastic -- they've just got to overcome their "outdated" reputation which was once, but is not longer, deserved. iOS certainly can't meet my needs (as a colleague of mine found out recently -- in fairness, an Android phone would have also saved the day, not just my BlackBerry.) I really don't care for Android (personal preference) and I've yet to find one with both a keyboard and optical trackpad (VERY handy for both web browsing and heavy text [e.g. editing documents, sending email, notes, etc.] use)
YMMV etc. I know what works for me, and what has totally failed for me (and work mates). It's not "cool", but I'm sticking with RIM as long as they make the best product for my wants and needs -- no one else comes close, IMO.
I was under the impression that it was every Blackberry in the world
That's incredibly wrong. I was completely unaffected. The US outage was less than a day in the few places affected.
Ergo, Blackberries are inherently less reliable than other phones.
Which would be true except that they've historically been far more reliable than other phones. Their services are also far more reliable than other services, as history shows.
Why is it so important to you that BlackBerry be unreliable? It's clearly not, and has a very long history of being reliable and secure. It wasn't until the recent outage (which was the longest in the companies history) that all this talk about their services being unreliable started.
It only annoys me because terribly unreliable mobile services (iCloud, for example) have been getting a pass. If you want reliability, RIM is obviously the way to go; yet less reliable services are often recommend in their place because of this nonsense meme.
Except the three day outage is the longest in RIM's history and the majority of their users were completely unaffected. Of those affected, most only experienced slow-downs. Of those who experienced actual service interruption, it lasted less than 24 hours.
Their "major outage" which left them with a completely undeserved reputation for reliability was hardly the complete blackout you assume it was.
And, yes, in total uptime vs. downtime, RIM is more reliable than most (all?) carriers.
Fun fact, there was one big company that had a continuous 18-day email outage -- Apple (the famous MobileMe outage of 2008)
That depends on how much they'd be obligated to pay vs how much their patents will bring in -- or their obligation vs the obligation of their competitors.
Apple doesn't have the patent portfolio of long-time players like Nokia, RIM, and Samsung.
Tiny SIM's do punish people who use multiple SIM's, common in the third-world. If you're going to trim down the SIM, you'd better use that space to add extra spots for SIM cards!
That's more of a problem with the touchscreen only interface than anything else. An optical trackpad takes all the pain of hitting small targets away -- no unnecessary zooming required.
They have better up-time than just about every carrier. They have better up time than the electricity in your house. Hell, Apples services have been out longer this year than RIM has in the last 10.
Yeah, if you're a member of a well-regulated militia, the feds can't pass a law preventing you from carrying guns.
Well, the Supreme Court has actually addressed that particular interpretation, which I never found terribly convincing. [ District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008) ]
"A well-regulated militia, being necessary for the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed"
It's talking about two separate groups: a well-regulated militia and the people.
Read this way, it's easier to see the meaning as the SC decided: "Because a well-regulated militia is necessary for the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed"
You can read the decision about a zillion places online.
Slashdot Mirror
iPhone? A polished convergence of the touchscreen PDAs and cell phones, without a stylus.
iPod? The first model lacked features (and had less space) compared to its competitors.
On the iPhone: The first model lacked features compared to its competitors -- including the average feature phones of the time. (It still lacks features that competing phones have been commonly offering for years.) I don't know if I'd call that "polished" so much as "astonishingly incomplete"
The iPad would have been interesting, but we'd already seen several similar tablets in various stages of development the previous year.
I can't deny that they significantly expanded the smart phone and tablet markets. However, I can't honestly say that they've done anything that could be considered innovation or produced products that are as complete or even as usable as competing offerings.
Offhand, I can think of Leap and Macarena.
A quick google search turns up this site which lists a number of viruses as well as other kinds of malware.
Virus shown are zuc, wdef, t4, sevendust, scores, nvir, mdef, mbdf, initM, init9403, init666, init29, init1984, init17, flag, code9811, Code32767, code252, code1, cdef, and anti
Ah, so it's as I thought -- and exactly what I've been telling you -- your personal belief.
You're also being rather irrational. While you believe that it would take RIM more than a few months to develop a native email client, you think they were able to push out Bridge, a far more advanced and sophisticated system, overnight?
Bridge, which requires a suite of apps on the PlayBook and a client tested and optimized for BB OS5, 6, and 7 and multiple form factors is *very clearly* more complicated than an email client.
Your contention is that they whipped out a massive software suite almost instantly because they couldn't write a simple email client?
Sorry, I'd have to be crazy to buy that!
You need help.
Let it go.
Besides, those "facts I refuse to acknowledge" don't show that RIM's intentions were always to have those native features.
I don't really care what reviewers thought. They're not RIM. Look at RIM's announcements and promotional literature. Bridge wasn't a stop gap, it was a key feature. Remember the tagline? "You're BlackBerry, Amplified"
Again, they never promised a native client until *after* the reviewers called it a missing feature!
Look, If you want to pretend that RIM was secretly upset about the lack of those native features and that Bridge (a far more complicated system than an email client) was some kind of "quick fix" or "stop-gap" that's up to you.
What I don't understand is why it is so important for you that I, specifically, agree with your delusion?
Well, at least we're in near-perfect agreement.
It still terrifies me, however.
And you thing their success is due to extremely limiting user choice? Do you think this approach is good for computing as a whole?
What about people or companies who write their own software? Is this approach good for them or is it unnecessarily limiting?
Is there a danger that this restricted freedom will harm the industry in the long run as developers are forced to play by the increasingly strict rules of a few major vendors?
When did vendor lock-in become a good thing?
Let it go man, this is really really pathetic. You've clearly been fuming about this for weeks (months?).
I know that it's really important to you that I'm wrong. I'm sorry that I can't accommodate you. I truly wish the facts were different. I feel so bad for you.
Please, move on with your life. This is, quite possibly, the least important thing that you should be worried about. Seek help, if necessary.
This has been known for close to a year now.
Okay.
after Apple is swimming in cash in their walled garden, what did you expect?
I expect bad behavior from Apple. I had hoped that, like other platforms, Microsoft would allow alternative app stores. They've been so well behaved lately, after all.
Regular Metro apps can only be distributed via Windows Store
That is horrifying.
Sounds good to me
What's it like to live in your world when you can ignore multiple pieces of evidence?
I was thinking the same thing about you! The facts aren't exactly on your side :)
I have no idea what your list is about. It's complete irrelevant to the issue you're still inexplicably upset about.
Really, you need to let this go. It's really sad that this still bothers you after, how long? A month or more? I'm not exactly sure, but it's been a while.
It was more of a "you're intentionally ignoring factors" argument. But, again, you knew that. You need to seriously revise your little "mathematical proof" -- as it stands now, it's nonsense. (As I've explained, and as you likely already knew.)
The Samsung Galaxy Note's Wacom digitizer is nice. Though I'd be more than satisfied with with a resistive touch screen. (RIM, oddly enough, has a patent on a hybrid resistive-capacitive touchscreen, I just wish they'd use it!)
It's hard to beat a pen and paper, but a good old stylus comes pretty close. A zillion years ago I opted for an old Casio PV-S400Plus over whatever Palms latest offering was at the time just because it had a dedicated quick memo function "button" that launched instantly (well, and a nice spreadsheet app). I swear that 90% of my use was taking short hand-written notes (you could cycle through them very quickly).
I agree that a good thin tablet with a digitizer would be fantastic. I doubt we'll see anything like it from Apple, however, until the inevitable revival of pen computing forces their hand. :)
Well, it is nonsense! I suspected that you knew it was nonsense ahead of time, considering the number of factors related to reliability that you must have considered (and purposefully ignored) ahead of time.
Maybe I gave you too much credit?
the news was reporting the problem as ubiquitous and worldwide
Actually, it didn't at the time (Go, and see for your self) -- though there were a few articles after the fact that mentioned the outage, with various degrees of accuracy (one even claimed it lasted 5 days!)
As for your nonsense little "methematical" speculation -- well, it's pretty clear that it's total nonsense. It also doesn't appears that you know what a BES server is for.
Honestly, I don't know why we're even having this discussion. You can check everything I've said for yourself. Not that I believe for an instant that you will.
RIM will probably be gone in 18 months or less... if they aren't bought out by someone wanting their patents before that time.
LOL! Slashdotters have been saying that for a few years now. They're still pulling in billions in profits, their user base is growing by millions every year, and they have no debt. If only every company had such problems!
Why on earth would someone want to go with RIM when both Android and iPhone platforms are thriving and expanding daily?
Well, iOS is just short of completely useless. Just an example, recently on a trip a colleague of mine needed to send a file he had on his laptop via email. There was no wifi where we stopped and he had no way to transfer the file to his phone to send as an attachment. I copied the file to my BlackBerry and emailed the file to him so he could forward the attachment. (iOS really needs an accessible file system.)
Android, well, has it's own well-known share of problems. Maybe in a few years it'll be able to replace my BB, but I'm not holding my breath. RIM's new OS is light years ahead of both iOS and Android both technically and in terms of the UI. (Check it out, you'll be more than impressed.)
RIM makes the best product for my wants and needs. iOS is a joke as a replacement, and there isn't an Android phone that equals my BB as far as usability and productivity are concerned.
How fast a platform is growing is completely irrelevant to me -- I care about what a platform can do.
Well, if they want a better web browser, it's either iOS and BlackBerry have the best available (trading first and second place with each revision, it seems) With file attachments, you'll want either BlackBerry or Android (for reasons that should be obvious). Apps? They're not really a problem on any platform (App World isn't as empty as it used to be, and all the basics are covered) though I'll grant that iOS and Android have a large App advantage in niche apps and games.
Looking at the above, BlackBerry is strong in two of your three categories (the same as the other two). If you add in their other strengths (security, for example), the productivity-first UI, the best keyboard on the market (if you type a lot, you can't live without it and the optical trackpad) and you've got a great phone. The new line-up of QNX phones look to redefine the touch-only interface and the expectations of a mobile OS (users seem to want it, even though it's a productivity killer -- go figure.)
Their new products are fantastic -- they've just got to overcome their "outdated" reputation which was once, but is not longer, deserved. iOS certainly can't meet my needs (as a colleague of mine found out recently -- in fairness, an Android phone would have also saved the day, not just my BlackBerry.) I really don't care for Android (personal preference) and I've yet to find one with both a keyboard and optical trackpad (VERY handy for both web browsing and heavy text [e.g. editing documents, sending email, notes, etc.] use)
YMMV etc. I know what works for me, and what has totally failed for me (and work mates). It's not "cool", but I'm sticking with RIM as long as they make the best product for my wants and needs -- no one else comes close, IMO.
I was under the impression that it was every Blackberry in the world
That's incredibly wrong. I was completely unaffected. The US outage was less than a day in the few places affected.
Ergo, Blackberries are inherently less reliable than other phones.
Which would be true except that they've historically been far more reliable than other phones. Their services are also far more reliable than other services, as history shows.
Why is it so important to you that BlackBerry be unreliable? It's clearly not, and has a very long history of being reliable and secure. It wasn't until the recent outage (which was the longest in the companies history) that all this talk about their services being unreliable started.
It only annoys me because terribly unreliable mobile services (iCloud, for example) have been getting a pass. If you want reliability, RIM is obviously the way to go; yet less reliable services are often recommend in their place because of this nonsense meme.
Except the three day outage is the longest in RIM's history and the majority of their users were completely unaffected. Of those affected, most only experienced slow-downs. Of those who experienced actual service interruption, it lasted less than 24 hours.
Their "major outage" which left them with a completely undeserved reputation for reliability was hardly the complete blackout you assume it was.
And, yes, in total uptime vs. downtime, RIM is more reliable than most (all?) carriers.
Fun fact, there was one big company that had a continuous 18-day email outage -- Apple (the famous MobileMe outage of 2008)
That depends on how much they'd be obligated to pay vs how much their patents will bring in -- or their obligation vs the obligation of their competitors.
Apple doesn't have the patent portfolio of long-time players like Nokia, RIM, and Samsung.
The space trade-off isn't significant.
Tiny SIM's do punish people who use multiple SIM's, common in the third-world. If you're going to trim down the SIM, you'd better use that space to add extra spots for SIM cards!
That's more of a problem with the touchscreen only interface than anything else. An optical trackpad takes all the pain of hitting small targets away -- no unnecessary zooming required.
You'll be fine. Adobe is phasing out Flash -- but in favor of Adobe Air -- on desktops and mobile.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
So RIM's infrastructure is unreliable?
They have better up-time than just about every carrier. They have better up time than the electricity in your house. Hell, Apples services have been out longer this year than RIM has in the last 10.
Don't be ridiculous.
Yeah, if you're a member of a well-regulated militia, the feds can't pass a law preventing you from carrying guns.
Well, the Supreme Court has actually addressed that particular interpretation, which I never found terribly convincing. [ District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008) ]
"A well-regulated militia, being necessary for the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed"
It's talking about two separate groups: a well-regulated militia and the people.
Read this way, it's easier to see the meaning as the SC decided:
"Because a well-regulated militia is necessary for the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed"
You can read the decision about a zillion places online.