As a developer, the McLaren news is even more chilling.

[Jazmac]

The stock actually closed at no change. The stock market doesn't determine everything, but obviously investors think MSFT is making the right moves. It wasn't long ago that the stock price was hovering around $26, and now it's $44.53. It's definitely a positive for their financial well-being.

Investors think that because they are largely selfish people. Less money to workers to them mean more money in their pockets. And the wholesale firing of a department is a bonanza.

But on the topic, I'm with the OP on the reduction of innovation in the platform. I don't know how we got here but I hope to hear a good reason to stay with WP and soon.

 

[loofmodnar]

Investors think that because they are largely selfish people. Less money to workers to them mean more money in their pockets. And the wholesale firing of a department is a bonanza.

But on the topic, I'm with the OP on the reduction of innovation in the platform. I don't know how we got here but I hope to hear a good reason to stay with WP and soon.

Largely selfish? Would you consider someone with a job selfish for accepting a paycheck every week?

I'd say they're pretty well informed and realize that the layoffs mean MS is focused on getting rid of the duplicate and unprofitable parts of the company. So they can streamline their business and make them more money.

 

[steve_w_7]

Coupled with the fact that you don't actually know what Microsoft's plans are...

That's the point. Microsoft hasn't given us a reason to be optimistic about the future.

 

[MrWhiteman]

There will be a McLaren, but I think they've realised news of it is hurting current sales because people are waiting for it. I bet you it will pop up again.

 

[stephen_az]

Any feeling on what is driving this lack of commitment to the Mobile platform from Windows? I love my phone Nokia 920...and the OS it runs. Yes, there are the occasional quirks, but overall it is a very easy to understand and usable phone. A year and half ago I convinced my 80 year old father to replace his LG flip phone with a Samsung Focus WP7. I did this because he had already been exposed to using windows on his PC and I figured it would be the easiest way for him to convert to a SmartPhone. He has since upgraded to the Nokia 920 and just loves showing his friends the high quality display and pictures he can now take. He is able to easily use Cortana to text me and his grandkids and share pictures. His generation (I am referring to the retired folks) is an untapped market in my opinion that windows should be looking at

Pretty straightforward - a CEO who is only interested in giving stockholders a short term boost in stock price. That is what is clearly driving all of these decisions. Quite frankly it is an appalling situation given the company has exceptional financials and had a long term plan that was starting to show results. Layoffs, reorganizations, spinoffs, and cancelled projects are all about reducing costs to maximize short term numbers at the expense of long term performance.

 

[stephen_az]

The stock actually closed at no change. The stock market doesn't determine everything, but obviously investors think MSFT is making the right moves. It wasn't long ago that the stock price was hovering around $26, and now it's $44.53. It's definitely a positive for their financial well-being.

Investors think Microsoft is making the right moves to maximize the value of their portfolio so they get the best return when they sell their stock. They don't care in the least whether it is really in the best long term interest of the company. Sorry but this purely about the instant gratification obsession that now guides business decisions. It will also make the next stock crash/bubble burst at least as ugly (if not worse) than the last.

 

[stephen_az]

I actually see the recent news as a short term pain, then a long term gain. I would venture a guess that the OS teams dropped a lot of dead weight. The cancelled phone could have been canned due to it being gimmicky, and MS recognizing that.

​I really think that focusing on strengths is the best thing long term.

Sorry but it is quite the opposite. What is happening is all about short term gain (boost in stock) and long term pain. They have the CEO stockholders want, not one who will grow the company for another generation. This has become a common business model which almost never ends well. He is replacing a long term plan and multiple projects with slogans, memos, and vaporware,

 

[switch side method]

Going back to the topic of McLaren (if that's ok) then with it being dismissed is a good thing. Why? Think how many people just bought the 1320.....they would be so pissed off they would leave. That's the mistake apple makes. They release a new phone every year.... That's bad as its expensive to buy a new phone every year. I just got my 1520 and I love it. Sure it wouldn't bother me if the McLaren was launched but if say 2-3 new phones a year came out then I would be worried as my phone would be outdated and therefore may not be included in any future updates. I think the Lumia handsets are great and since I first got into a windows phone with my 520 I have never looked back and can't see myself going back to apple or android again

 

[salmanahmad]

I have tried Channel 9 to learn C#, Bob Tabor's goal is to get you to learn C# as fast as possible and I found it hard to keep up with him after 9 videos, maybe because I'm too stupid. :/

Oh and your Atmosphere weather app still crashes after the splashscreen on my Lumia 520 running Windows Phone 8.1 Developer Preview.

By the way I wanted to know how did you design the amazing UI? Photoshop?

I know a decent amount of grapbic design in Paint.NET and I could make a good app, but still learning C#, at a very slow pace though, sadly.
Sent from my RM-914_im_mea3_380 using Tapatalk

 

[buxz777]

3d gestures was never going to be ready by xmas , not at consumer level , where Microsoft wouldn't get ripped and it called a gimmick

what Microsoft really need to do is throw everything they do have at their disposal right now and get a beast of a phone out to all markets in all colours with no network exclusives

I mean why buy nokia hardware division if your not going to utilise it and make money out of it and the research they have already done

get a 5" , 32gb + micro sd slot , 41mp pureview xenon flash based camera with some slight improvements over the 1020 (808 size sensor) , a snapdragon 801/805 soc with latest gpu , try to get some monster battery life , 5" 1080p high quality screen like 1520 , try to make it waterproof , good quality speakers , infa red port , mhl connection for usb in and tv out , keep the Lumia design , loads of cool colours , wireless charging built in , a true successor to the 920 and 1020 all rolled into one beast of a device so consumers aren't confused as wether to get the 1520 , the 930 or the 1020 because they can get one device that has it all ..... all this leaving things out of devices and including it in others that also have something missing is so annoying :-/ throw everything you have into it and then add a kitchen sink is what I say ;-)

the devolopers , the reviewers , the consumers will all be happy , no one will be able to slate the phone , it will be the highest grade running the latest spec and the thing is Microsoft have the stuff to build this device , to release it asap , to get it to all markets and advertise the hell out of it and we are still waiting??

 

[salmanahmad]

Going back to the topic of McLaren (if that's ok) then with it being dismissed is a good thing. Why? Think how many people just bought the 1320.....they would be so pissed off they would leave. That's the mistake apple makes. They release a new phone every year.... That's bad as its expensive to buy a new phone every year. I just got my 1520 and I love it. Sure it wouldn't bother me if the McLaren was launched but if say 2-3 new phones a year came out then I would be worried as my phone would be outdated and therefore may not be included in any future updates. I think the Lumia handsets are great and since I first got into a windows phone with my 520 I have never looked back and can't see myself going back to apple or android again

What do you mean by Apple makes a mistake? Every phone company releases a new phone every year, mostly. Even Nokia.

That's the thing about technology you buy something, it's gonna be outdated in a matter of months.

When the Lumia 1520 launched it's specifications we're already a bit outdated. But don't worry too much about this.

The only company that is the worst at this is Sony, they release new phones every 6 months and provide very little support for older phones.

Motorola, HTC, Google, Apple and Nokia would be the best in this regard, releasing phones on an yearly basis and getting updates on them for 2+ years.

 

[ajj3085]

Ms didn't buy Nokia just to give up on mobile. There's probably a lot of overlap now with Nokia being folded in. As far as the canceled projects, sometimes you research something and it goes nowhere, actually much of the time. Nothing to really be concerned about. People said the same thing about WinFS, which while it never materialized much of what MS learned did make it into other products.

 

[FinancialP]

Windows Phones will always be around, just like they have been for the past 14 years.

The market share may never be high, MS doesn't care, just like the past 14 years.

MS understands the only Block Buster has been the 520. Not the icon, or 1020, or whatever else people here try to hype up.

 

[Jazmac]

Largely selfish? Would you consider someone with a job selfish for accepting a paycheck every week?

I'd say they're pretty well informed and realize that the layoffs mean MS is focused on getting rid of the duplicate and unprofitable parts of the company. So they can streamline their business and make them more money.

So what? People that work for a living because that isn't at all what I'm talking about. Moreover, that doesn't mean shareholders aren't like any other gambler in Las Vegas, hoping to hit it big doing less and it doesn't matter who else loses just as long as it isn't them.

 

[k0de]

I am an Application developer who has always had faith in Windows Phone and kept all of my apps exclusive to this platform. I have released apps like Atmosphere, which has been featured here on WPCentral and the Windows Store multiple times and receives over 10,000 downloads every two weeks. In the past, I have released apps that patched holes in WP such as Speech, which was essentially "Cortana before Cortana". The point is, I am extremely loyal to the WP8 platform and have developed for it even during the darkest times when every other developer was porting to android and iOS. The McLaren news, coupled with the latest news about layoffs of software teams, cancellation of feature phones that paved the way for new smartphone users to adopt WP8, among other things, sends one single, chilling message about the future of windows phone - that the future simply does not exist.

Windows Phone is struggling with marketshare now - when people were hyped and excited for features like Cortana, 8.1, and the MCLaren. This is the time when windows phone should be flourishing. But it isn't. Now, following this news, I can't even begin to imagine the fallout. Initial comments are reporting that people are quitting windows phone en masse, people who follow this website, and the ONLY people that follow this website are loyal WP8.1 users.

If people that have been loyal to the platform for years are leaving, imagine regular smartphone users who buy the most heavily advertised item on the market. These WP users will flock to the next generation of phones, such as the iPhone 6 and the next Android phones, not even giving WP a single thought. Why? Because there is nothing competitive on the market for the user to buy. No one wants a one-generation-old "flagship" device. And when the only WP8.1 flagship device is an outdated flagship device, that translates into sales stalling to a halt.

I'm still deciding if I will continue developing for Windows, but I am most certanly not staying with it. Microsoft might as well have comitted suicide with some of these recent news stories, and when MS commits suicide, users and developers leave.

I love your work. And thanks for developing for Windows Phones.

Don't let minor news like this interrupted your focus. WP is here to stay.

Please continue the good and developing for Windows Phones. You still have an audition of millions here ready to use your services.

 

[k0de]

I love your work. And thanks for developing for Windows Phones.

Don't let minor news like this interrupted your focus. WP is here to stay.

Please continue the good work and developing for Windows Phones. You still have an audition of millions here ready to use your services.

 

[k0de]

Windows Phones is in need of dev's like yourself. We will support you.

Rip, Rip, Rip.

Make that million downloads.

Thanks for your apps.

 

[Jas00555]

If they don't have any high end phone this holiday period, then for sure WP is dead.

Now how in the hell is this statement even remotely true? High end phones have NEVER had anything to do with WP's growth. At most, the 920 pushed 3 million units, but that's it. With almost all of WP's growth in the low end sector and many OEMs unveiling low end handsets, how in the hell does not having a high end WP this holiday season kill it?

 

[k0de]

Now how in the hell is this statement even remotely true? High end phones have NEVER had anything to do with WP's growth. At most, the 920 pushed 3 million units, but that's it. With almost all of WP's growth in the low end sector and many OEMs unveiling low end handsets, how in the hell does not having a high end WP this holiday season kill it?

WP is still here to stay. Agree!

 

[Zulfigar]

Now how in the hell is this statement even remotely true? High end phones have NEVER had anything to do with WP's growth. At most, the 920 pushed 3 million units, but that's it. With almost all of WP's growth in the low end sector and many OEMs unveiling low end handsets, how in the hell does not having a high end WP this holiday season kill it?

That's depressing...