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General discussion

Did BoL really skip the Windows Phone 7 launch?

Oct 23, 2010 4:42PM PDT

I haven't had a chance to listen to the past couple of BoL episodes but I skimmed the show notes and it looks like they just completely skipped the WP7 launch. What the hell? As if we needed any more evidence for the blatant anti-MS bias on the show, now this?

I just want a reliable source of audio tech news, but it's getting ridiculous that I can't listen to a single episode without being bombarded with mundane, unconfirmed Apple rumours yet a major product launch appears to have been ignored.

Discussion is locked

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They talked about wp7
Oct 24, 2010 11:14AM PDT

What exactly did you want, live coverage?

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At least zombie coverage.
Oct 25, 2010 1:16AM PDT

After developing apps on Windows Mobile you got the feeling you were working with the living dead. It was painful to see Microsoft miss the mark with WM 6.0 to 6.5 never allowing that home screen to be modified by the users. It was strange to see this one thing be ignored over and over.

Back to WP7. Yes, coverage was apparently dismissed and folk noticed.
Bob

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Tech Media
Oct 25, 2010 3:55AM PDT

It's getting a little annoying that some in the tech world want to hang Microsoft with this "judging by their past" standard. I see that with IE 9 and now, seemingly, Windows Phone 7. If it were the greatest phone OS ever (which I am not claiming), we'd still hear the usual boilerplate about "MS is late to the game --as usual", which, of course, totally overlooks Google's very recent and successful foray into the smartphone OS world. I have an Android phone, and it sure as hell ain't perfect.

Microsoft may be guilty as sin for this or that in the past (as could any company be), but they should be judged on the merits of what they have in the marketplace now. I see tech people giving only grudging props (if that) for IE9 because of their hatred of IE6. I see people pan MS Security Essentials, when it's been independently tested as faring quite well in its core mission. And now Windows Phone 7? I guess the "jury" is still out on it, but I'm hoping for impartiality (warts and all), not someone's frustrations with MS of old.

Judge them for today, not for prejudices borne of personal experiences of yesteryear. I'd put my Zune HD up against any comparable iPod. Windows 7, in my view, is easily the match (and then some) of anything Apple is offering in OS X-pick-your-version, but hey, it's Microsoft, and we all know what THEY'RE like. It does get old, and the "too cool for school" attitude by some in the tech media world is yet another reason for me to tune out. I'm guessing I'm not alone.

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Not convinced.
Oct 25, 2010 4:07AM PDT

The missed opportunity for WM 6.0 to 6.5 is worth knowing and discussing. If you look at the WP7 leader you discover something disturbing. Maybe he had to do that but then again you have to wonder if they picked the right person.
Bob

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Why should I care?
Oct 25, 2010 5:31AM PDT

That's your beef, not mine. Am I missing something here? Is what you're talking about still a relevant issue with the new OS? Doesn't seem to be, according to this snippet from an Ars Technica review of three days ago:

"The home screen belongs very much to the user. It's mine to customize. Though there are a handful of applications preinstalled on the screen (Orange Weds, Orange Maps, and a few more besides), I can remove them simply by long-tapping them and choosing to unpin them. I can also rearrange tiles by long-tapping and dragging them around, and I can add new applications to the home screen by long-tapping them and choosing to pin them. It's my screen that I'm free to organize as I want. If I'm feeling particularly perverse, I can even remove everything on the home screen."

Someone at MS obviously noticed that "Windows Mobile" had some serious issues. Notice this isn't "Windows Mobile 7.0". There's probably a good reason for that. They've opted for a fresh start and I don't see any point in obsessing about the sins of the past, particularly if those prejudices get in the way of accurate coverage.

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Here's why.
Oct 25, 2010 7:52AM PDT

Look at the head of WP7 and what shenanigans happened under their watch.

That's not a good thing. You may want to research that.
Bob

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And
Oct 25, 2010 4:48PM PDT

Wp7 might be brilliant and revolutionary UI wise. But it's as closed and restricted as iOS. And missing the iTunes integration, and missing copy and paste and multitasking, so basically where iOS was in 2008.
If somebody asks me what smart phone to get, I say Android. Openness and freedom from censorship is good.

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"Openness and freedom from censorship is good"
Oct 25, 2010 11:08PM PDT

.. for geeks with ideological leanings that is. The general public does not care about this stuff. They care about getting their email, checking Facebook, making a few tweets, sharing pictures and videos, and playing the occasional casual game.

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I disagree
Oct 26, 2010 2:25PM PDT

That's only because they don't understand the difference. If you explained to people what it meant, apps blocked sometimes for political reasons, ie satire, porn apps blocked, flash blocked etc. If you could easy explain to people the value open brings, everyone would be for it. It's not something that's only for geeks, it's rather something that only geeks understand.

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Wanting the to care won't make it so.
Oct 27, 2010 7:40AM PDT

All evangelists, regardless of their cause, have to eventually face the fact that no matter how hard you try to reason with otherss most people just don?t care to get wrapped up in the things that you feel so passionately about.

In my office of 38 people, there are 32 smartphones (most of them iPhones). Two of us are geeks and resigned ourselves to the role of informal phone IT managers for the rest of these 32 people. And believe me when I tell you from experience that they just don?t care to get that involved in the workings of their phones or the politics of their OS. You can talk about it but they just glaze over. Android v. iPhone v. Windows 7 v. Palm? none of that stuff matters.

What matters is simple: can I get a sexy looking phone on the carrier of my choice that lets me upload pictures, check Facebook and email and play a few games. Period. They don?t care that Windows 7 doesn?t multitask or have copy and paste, they don?t care that you can get a DOS terminal or bit torrent client for Android or that Apple denied some random app or that Android builds are becoming fragmented. They simply want the basics, on a sexy looking phone, on their preferred carrier. And just about any of these phones will give them to what they need so naturally the ones that are available on the most carriers with the most choice of styles will get the most market share.

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(NT) Well said
Oct 27, 2010 9:27AM PDT
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I hear you.
Oct 26, 2010 2:07AM PDT

And what did I get? The Sprint EVO 4G (sorry if I get the model wrong here.)

This after over a decade of PalmOS and WM developing. Oh, did I reveal I author apps for those old things?

My only regret was on the old WM they never accepted that folk wanted to customize those screens. They (I can write who they are if need be) listened to the carriers about locking it down to what the carriers wanted on those screens for years too long.

-> I have begun the port of our apps to the droid but wish we could have gone with Apple years ago but ONE THING STOPPED US. It was Apple's lack of the BLUETOOTH SERIAL PORT PROFILE.

Bob

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Did BoL really skip the Windows Phone 7 launch?
Oct 25, 2010 7:19AM PDT

No because the Windows Phone 7 launch isn't until November 8th 2010

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Huh?
Oct 25, 2010 7:40AM PDT

The phone is available in stores now.