Windows Phone is defined as much by what it is NOT as by what it is

[iamtim]

Like I said, "official Microsoft apologist thread"

Is everyone who disagrees with you an apologist or a ******? Do you have no room in your world for opinions other than your own?

 

[brmiller1976]

You missed the part where I told you I had an 822 I guess. It is what it is I guess. Like I said, "official Microsoft apologist thread"

So you had a bad experience with a defective low-end device and you're on da warpath. RAWRRRRRRR! Watch out homies, the angry jaded ex-WP lovah is coming to shake down your skinny boi butts!

 

[willied]

I disagree.

Desktop sync is legacy tech that should be abandoned. The future is in the cloud and smart glass. I wish Microsoft had removed the option to "desktop sync" altogether. They should delete it and tell users to deploy via Skydrive ams streaming media.

Desktop syncing is a concept from Atari days in the early 80s.

I disagree completely. Skydrive is only 7GB. Then you have to use data on the phone to listen to the music, running down the battery and using up your data, and that's if you have a signal. Some things don't need fixing or removing, and syncing with a desktop is still the best option for most people. I think the option should be there for both, as it already is.

 

[TaliZorah]

Gmail syncing sucks, can't deny it. Xbox music is flat out embarrassing (check main page for an article on that), and the marketplace double charges people. Read better. You can't deny any of this. The OEMs and customers (us) deserve better than this half baked OS that's wp8. #Thebetatestisfarfromover. Also, #techapologistsarelame

So glad I got rid of my gmail account. Read googles lates terms of service? You might as well just not password lock your google account at all and send everything you do on it to the US government and the rest of the world. Seriously, it's scary but nobody reads that stuff.

I remember when Android first came out it would double-charge people too. My how soon people forget the troubles of a young OS.

Sooooooo... Not so good with syncing the gmail and some marketplace errors... that's it? Really??? I haven't had any marketplace errors myself and if I remember correctly it only double charges you if you click ACCEPT when the price shows up. AKA the marketplace does not double-charge, it forgets what you have already purchased and ONLY IF THE USER ACCEPTS THE SCREEN THAT SAYS YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR IT (again) then you won't get charged again. It's a user error but yes something that needs to be fixed.

Those are pretty weak arguements to hate an OS. I don't know, I was an early adopter of Android AND iOS so I know they have had the same, similar, and other bugs when they were brand new to the market too. I can look past it though becuase I understand how these things work.

You obviously don't. And if you haven't got rid of your WP yet I suggest you do it soon so you can save us all from your whining. Trust me, nobody who likes WP will miss you or care if you stop posting here. Unless of course you have already got rid of it and just love trolling???

Why is it so hard for people to make their own decisions and sell / trade their devices that they don't like? Instead they just whine about it on the forum people discuss it.

 

[independentvolume]

Why does everything have to be ducky and bunny? Take off the skirts fellas. If I didn't like the OS I would of never kept my Trophy. I apologize for being critical and wanting wp8 to actually succeed. I leave this thread so you guys can continue to pretend it's perfect.

 

[iamtim]

So you're not going to answer my questions, then? Figures.

 

[AZBrowncoat]

I disagree.

Desktop sync is legacy tech that should be abandoned. The future is in the cloud and smart glass. I wish Microsoft had removed the option to "desktop sync" altogether. They should delete it and tell users to deploy via Skydrive ams streaming media.

Desktop syncing is a concept from Atari days in the early 80s.

Not everyone has blazing fast Internet and/or unlimited bandwidth that supports everything being in the cloud...you'd be surprised actually how many people do not have access to those two critical components that make storing everything "in the cloud" a practical solution. Currently in my household there are numerous iDevices (all the way back to an original 1st Gen iPod Mini) and I'm breaking "tradition" by trying something not made by the Fruit Stand. In our case by having a single PC that stores all music and apps that can be downloaded ONCE and shared by multiple users is generally the optimum solution - saves us bandwidth, time and money.

The cloud may be the future but the future isn't quite here yet...

There are lots of things to like about WP8...I love trying new OSes, whether they are desktop or phone OSes (anyone else remember OS2 Warp? )...so I try to be open minded; however there are features missing from WP8 and just because a particular person doesn't see need or reason for a particular feature (forward/back browser buttons) does not mean that that particular feature is unnecessary or irrelevant IMHO.

 

[TaliZorah]

Why does everything have to be ducky and bunny? Take off the skirts fellas. If I didn't like the OS I would of never kept my Trophy. I apologize for being critical and wanting wp8 to actually succeed. I leave this thread so you guys can continue to pretend it's perfect.

I have small issues with the OS too but they aren't enough to make me hate the entire OS. You talk about it like someone pee'd in your cherrio's. Sorry, I just find your points weak. Sorry.

 

[gsquared]

Gmail syncing sucks, can't deny it. Xbox music is flat out embarrassing (check main page for an article on that), and the marketplace double charges people. Read better. You can't deny any of this. The OEMs and customers (us) deserve better than this half baked OS that's wp8. #Thebetatestisfarfromover. Also, #techapologistsarelame

You did get one item. Not being able to play XBox videos in WP8 is a global issue. There is no denying this and they do need to fix it. I do not sync my Gmail account directly to my phone. I instead forward them to my main email account that I do snyc to the phone without issue. As for XBox music (music only) I also have no issues.

I will not reply to this thread anymore as your going to continue to argue no matter how irrational the arguement becomes.

 

[philpeeps]

...rendition of Hank Williams Junior's "You Never Even Call Me By My Name"...

psst...that's David Allen Coe. His name is even in the song

 

[pdch]

I am new to WP8 and have to say that there are some good things and some not so good things. This platform is definitely a work in progress. Honestly, it is MUCH less user friendly than my HP Pre3 I just upgraded from. The browser on WP8 is pretty frustrating. Not being able to pull up a search result in a web browser and then just go BACK to the result list is head scratching. I can't even believe how many things take multiple steps that only took one or two on WebOS, which is OLD by today's standards. Having to hit back 11 times to completely close an app instead of just being able to swipe it off the screen or hit an X in the "card view?"

The reality is, this is a new OS. There are going to be problems. We, the users, need to give feedback to MS and let them know what we want, what we like, what we don't like - and let them implement those improvements later on.

For those of you who are fruitlessly arguing that this is a perfect OS - get your head out of the sand. IT IS NEW, it WILL be tweaked.

Oh, and try using your skydrive to play music on a plane.

 

[pdch]

Oh, and for GOD's sake, PLEASE let me set the d@mn BING button to HOLD TO ACTIVATE instead of ACTIVATE IF A GRAIN OF DUST IS WITHIN PROXIMITY OF THE BOTTOM THIRD OF THE PHONE!

 

[brmiller1976]

it is MUCH less user friendly than my HP Pre3 I just upgraded from.

I am an old webOS guy, and I will tell you that the "gestures" of webOS were HUGELY frustrating to people used to another OS.

webOS had no "back" or "forward" button in any apps outside of the browser either -- just a gesture. Getting to card view also required a gesture. Palm's concession to the outdated "front/back" buttons in the browser ensured that the gesture concept would never take off in the rest of the OS, and it crashed into a mountainside.

If you came from a BlackBerry, webOS was "user unfriendly." Until you mastered the gestures, which were ingenious. Ditto for the WP user experience. Once you accept that you're coming from an older way of thinking and need to relearn (as opposed to just using muscle memory), you'll wonder how you ever went without proper "select a page" rather than "back back back back back oops, too far, forward forward."

Not being able to pull up a search result in a web browser and then just go BACK to the result list is head scratching.

That's because you're using "search in a web browser," rather than integrated system search via Bing, which retains the history for you.

"Search in a web browser" is another obsolete legacy concept.

Having to hit back 11 times to completely close an app instead of just being able to swipe it off the screen or hit an X in the "card view?"

Having to close an app is obsolete. Back in webOS, you had to close apps to get battery life measured in hours rather than minutes. Windows Phone takes care of all that stuff for you. You no longer have to worry about closing apps, just like you no longer need to crank the front of your car to start it (thanks to power ignition).

For those of you who are fruitlessly arguing that this is a perfect OS - get your head out of the sand.

Nobody is arguing it's perfect -- I am arguing that the UI is different and revolutionary, and that the only path to success for the OS is pushing the unique and revolutionary aspects of the UI at all opportunities.

Look at the players who failed, and you see why that's important. What was Palm's play? "We're just like Apple but better, see? We even integrate with iTunes!" No focus on what made webOS unique... so they got sucked into a war over iTunes integration and a discussion of app counts, both areas where Palm was pathetic.

Ditto other competitors. Windows Phone will win if it focuses on what makes it strong. If it tries to be another webOS, Symbian, Android, or other OS, it will follow those OSes down the path of "me too" failure.

Oh, and try using your skydrive to play music on a plane.

Gogo Inflight is on most aircraft in the USA these days.

The idea that "connectivity isn't everywhere, so we need obsolete physically connected serial transfers" reminds me of the concept that we couldn't ditch the floppy or ZIP drive because connectivity isn't everywhere (back in the iMac days).

Force the issue as a tech leader, and connectivity happens VERY fast. We saw that with the iMac and Dropbox/Box.net/SkyDrive/iCloud, and we'll see the same thing in mobile as well.

We'll never have a revolution in mobile computing if we continue to cling to concepts first introduced by Wang, Commodore and Atari.

 

[iamtim]

HEY NOW!

You can say whatever you want about Windows Phone, Android, or iOS, but don't ever - DON'T YOU EVER - diss on Commodore again. Them's fightin' words, son.

 

[brmiller1976]

Commodore SUCKS. The Atari ST is the machine for the rest of us!

(PS, I was an intern at Commodore in the "last days." Respect! And tears of remembrance every April.)

 

[iamtim]

Going way off-topic here, but my buddy was an Atari guy and I was a Commodore guy. Our debates were legendary, especially when we got up into Atari ST vs. Amiga. But I warn you... that's the last time you'll say Commodore sucks, pal.

(Edit: And hey, have you seen this: http://www.commodoreusa.net/CUSA_Home.aspx ?)

 

[brmiller1976]

ST and Amiga fanboys made the Apple cultists of today look nonchalant. Maybe Microsoft needs to recruit ex-Amiga/Atari people into the ranks?

 

[bokchoy1]

"Search in a web browser" is another obsolete legacy concept.

Oh Bing, how I love and hate thee.

Having to close an app is obsolete. Back in webOS, you had to close apps to get battery life measured in hours rather than minutes. Windows Phone takes care of all that stuff for you. You no longer have to worry about closing apps, just like you no longer need to crank the front of your car to start it (thanks to power ignition).

Sorry if I sound like a contrarian, but I'd argue that relaunching opened apps is a throwback to the dark days before multitasking. It's not app closing that's the problem, it's the fact that apps you use rarely can't be removed from the multitasking screen. So commonly used apps often get bumped off the last-5-apps list. Users are forced to go back to the home screen, much like what iOS users do, except worse because the apps don't resume.

Windows Phone will win if it focuses on what makes it strong. If it tries to be another webOS, Symbian, Android, or other OS, it will follow those OSes down the path of "me too" failure.

I agree that WP needs to be different. It already is. But focusing only on strengths does not make it a well rounded player. It will never be more than a niche product this way. WP needs to focus on weaknesses too. This is where WP is treading a thin line. It should be different because it is better, not different for the sake of being different. If some legacy feature is better than any alternatives I can think of, I'd make a concession and use it.

There's such a thing as failing because a product is too early for its time. I love WP, I don't want it to join a list of other things everyone admired but few bought.

Sent from my Lumia 710 using Board Express

 

[brmiller1976]

But I think WP *is* different in a better way. Look at all the "smoked" exercises, and how it required hacked, specially-configured phones for Android and iOS people to finally be competitive in those exercises.

 

[bokchoy1]

My beef with WP stems from the accumulation of many small irritations. It's odd using an OS that's so great at some things and so clunky at others. Things like multitasking, the default browser UI, file transfers, and so on I consider more important than speedily finding the nearest restaurant or posting to Facebook. The idea is to get things done in as few steps as possible, which isn't happening. I have hopes for future though, and don't plan on leaving Windows Phone... yet.