Adding features that allows/requires users to fiddle around with things they shouldn't need to fiddle with in the first place is a terrible idea. It's like adding a treadmill to every Sony television because their power cords are defective. Fix the problem, don't engineer around it.
As it is now, each app saves files in its own storage area that is isolated from every other app and shielded from direct user access. The only way to access such a file is by uploading a copy to a server, typically SkyDrive, and accessing it there. Unfortunately, not every app can upload files. Even if a particular app can upload files to SkyDrive, that might not always be appropriate. For example, many people have their own NAS servers at home and would appreciate being able to upload their files via shared folders, WebDAV or FTP. The inability to attach arbitrary files to e-mails is a similar problem. As it is now, every app must include these exact same features... over and over again, as part of every individual app. Not good.
These are what I perceive to be the main file related problems. I'm doubtful that a file explorer app is the best way to solve these though.
For anyone on this forum a file explorer app certainly wouldn't cause any problems, but for many of the more casual smartphone users it may. Such an app also has the potential to introduce security holes into the system.
To say it is unbelievable is a gross understatement. At first I thought that I am definitely missing something, and kept on looking for ways to attach a file. But after spending some time, when I could not figure it out, searched over the internet and found that it has been figured it out by many that you cannot attach a file in your email locally!!! Well I am unable to figure out the words to express my amazement and how disgusted and cheated I feel right now. Can anyone believe this, for god?s sake?
A company like Microsoft who has made ?outllook?, the most widely used email client, would make an email app in which you cannot attach a file, is simply unbelievable to say the least. Is this some kind of a joke or has the company really decided to shoot itself in the foot and is trying its best. As per me a smartphone has three most important functions i.e. to make a call, send a message and send or receive an email ? rest all the functions added to it are secondary. And if a person is buying a product from a company like Microsoft he would assume an adequate implementation of atleast these functions, and I am horrified to say the least.
I am more amazed because this output is coming after more than three to four years of product development. And this is in a product on which it has put billions of dollars at stake. This makes me feel that this is some kind of business decision rather than an error. So has the Microsoft suddenly felt that its customers no longer want to attach files in their email, is this an outcome of some kind of intense research? This makes me wonder is there some kind of Trojan in this company from Google or Apple who is making these decisions to deliberately makes Microsoft?s products unusable even at a basic level. Isn?t this the most basic functionality of an email client - to attach files?
So I a faithful customer of Microsoft is now stuck with a product which I purchased for more than $700, from which I cannot even send mails! A person who uptill now was vouching for its mobile OS and heaving praise at various forums is now stuck with an virtually unusable product. Amazingly this omission wasn?t covered even in a single review out of hundreds of WP8 reviews I read. Well after using my Lumia920 for two days, I have come across hundreds of things that require serious work on the operating system, but none so basic and essential as this one. And I must mention here that we are talking about a company who targets its products towards enterprises and professional users as well. I wonder how the entire team working on this email client visualized the professionals using a product in which they cannot attach files, they cannot save their attachments in different folders, cannot browse their files and folders ? you bet ? I am done with this, almost. What is going on over here, android has this since last three years, are these some backward steps from Microsoft to let Android continue to have android a free run. Google is beating MS in MS?s turf, and I was seriously expecting much more after more than 3 years of product development.
There is not even a third party app which can do this, so for how many days can I use this product now that I have bought this, without sending emails, can someone please tell me over here? I had put some basic level trust while purchasing this and yes I feel betrayed.
Ok let me try and address the glaring flaws in the thought process when this idea was conceptualized:
No I do not want to attach files only from Skydrive or the attachment I have received because Skydrive has space limitations, my phone has more memory. Attachment that I receive is something that I wanted and the attachment that I want to send is something that some other person wants. These are two different things. Can someone in MS understands this. I want to the freedom to organize my files in various folders in the phone, copy files from my PC in various folders and send whatever I want. Do not try and take away my freedom, I love my freedom and I would not stay with you, because I have options.
Right now if I compose an email and try to attach, the only option I get is to attach a photo and no skydrive option. I have to first open office or skydrive, and from there send the file, the implementation of skydrive itself is flawed. In my phone skydrive app itself is not able to connect, I do not know the issue, to I am stuck like ****. What if I create anything in the phone and want to attach it? What happens if I reply to an email and want to attach something??? Only thing I can attach right now in reply is photos!!! Really?
What if I want to send an email when there is no internet connection, so I just want to attach the file and press the send button, and leave it, so that whenever there is an internet connection, the email is sent automatically. Why do I have to rely so heavily on skydrive and wait for the internet connection even to compose my email?
By not letting I am pretty sure that MS is desperately trying to play Apple over here. It is thinking that by adopting Apple philosophies it can achieve success. However, it needs to understand that not all philosophies of Apple are good, or popular or are leading to its success. MS seriously needs to differentiate. The restriction to not let outside apps to be install is a quality control decision; however, not letting the users to browse its files or to attach its files is taking away its freedom and basic usability of product with no obvious gain. MS needs to realize that it is because of these restrictions from Apple, people are trying to move away from its products and the popularity of Android is increasing. Who wants to stay in a jail and for how long? MS needs to understand that its customers have always been people who like freedom and who understands products and their usability. MS needs to understand that the bulk of its customers which would shift to WP, if ever, would be from Android and not Apple, so it needs to align its product more towards usability and freedom and less towards Apple. Apple has its set customers, the ?iDiots? who like iProducts, who have low requirements and are happy with whatever **** they get, and so a lot of them would continue to be with Apple. Android is the one who has taken MS?s customers and they are the first one MS needs to target. MS?s customers are professionals as well and MS?s have partners as well, more like Google and less like Apple, and the partners would also like their customers to have the freedom and maximum usability of product or they would stick with Android. I was one of those customer and I really wanted to use this product, but MS tried really hard for me not to use it and has almost succeeded. There are many like me. Time is running away very fast for MS, it really needs to act very swiftly, to make the product usable atleast at the basic level. This is not 1980?s or 1990?s or even 2000, competition is running away, and people are loosing patience and people have to get the work done. Companies have to act fast or they would be left behind. Take a lesson from the way Google way surpassed MS in the mobile OS and would continue to do so if MS atleast now do not take it seriously.
I blindingly expected that MS would have delivered much more than what I got. Android 2.2 which was released in 2010 is able to connect to the Blue & Me in my car which is built my MS, but WP8 built by MS in 2013 is not able connect, one more reason to make my phone virtually unusable. A lot of the websites get stuck in IE10 in WP8 in the end and just show a white page and are in any case very very slow, another reason to make this product virtually unusable.
Don?t sit on those billions of dollars, use them to improve your product very very swiftly, in a matter of few weeks and surprise the industry in a different way, no matter how much resources needed to be put for it. As this is your bread and butter, which build those billions.
I do not understand what MS wants to make things tougher for the user and not keep it simple and normal as they are in other enviornments like tablet, laptop and desktop. Why should we do things differently here and in a more tedious way where 90% of the prople would have a hard time understanding it in the first case and even if they do understand this in any case is not they way things should be.
Why does MS wants to put people in jail like Apple. These are not the policies of Apple which anyone appreciates. Peole like Android over iOS, and thus the market share, because of these reasons, it gives user choises, its give people their freedom.
MS had 95% market share as compared to Apple because earlier it valued the freedom of its users when Apple restriced its platform to its own hardware.
Why is MS trying to take backward steps which no user would appreciate.
You can always have the option to work from cloud and all that but let it be an option, do not force it on users. People have their own likings and work dynamics.
Why should I not be able to simple click browse and go to my folder and attach the file, just the way we do it. Why should I first go to office to send a file and change my total workfrom from the normal one. In this case I unnessorily would be using two applications and in any case why should I do it? What would happen why I have more than 100 files, where would I search them in office. Why should I not organise them as per my liking in different folders. what about documents that do not belog to office. Reply in any case do not work. What should I do if I want to reply back with one pdf, one zip and one mp3 files? With quadcore, octacore and increasing screen sizes, people ought to use their mobiles more as tablets and as total communication devices. If MS is talking of integration of different platforms then why does it want its users to have a totally different kind of experience on 5inch/7inch device and 10 inch device. Shouldn't there be basic commonality in the workflow of all the devices?
If MS wants to restric access to a certain section of the space the do it, but let the other space be free and visible to people, let them have the freedom to organise and play with it.
Don't try and fool around with people's freedom because they will not let you do it, more so because Android is up MS's neck and MS's competition is with Android and not with iOS. And it is Android which is currently beating MS very badly on MS's turf of operating system. It needs to act very very fast as in all honesty in its current state WP8 is unusable even at a basic level. Time is running away for them and I a loyal user have been royaly fooled by MS by giving an OS with such restrictions and absence of basic functionalities. I was expecting much more from this OS and definitely not a stupid Apple like policy towads restrictive approach. I hope MS learns from the users demand in various forums to bring these functionalities or else I like many other users are difinitely gonna shift to android.
MS need to try its best NOT TO TRY AND PUT ITS CUSTOMERS IN ANY FORM OF JAIL except the apps market, it would grossly backfire.
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