So, Microsoft developer evangelist Nuno Silva, who stated in an interview with a Portuguese website that current Windows Phone devices would be upgraded to Windows Phone 8, has officially retracted his statements about upgradeability. More fuel for the current-devices-will-not-get-WP8 fire.
Hey, I remember him from college! 🙂
It’s like it’s always been… Microsoft is going to keep throwing shit against the wall until they find something that sticks. If that means abandoning old technologies (along with anyone who bought into them), then so be it.
Which would be just fine if the handsets in question were at least a year old! But to have this stance when their “flagship” device just launched and the new OS is six months out is just ridiculous! It is a VERY good thing that they are giving away these phones…the customers that get suckered into getting one can use the money they save to pay off the early termination fee and get a real phone!
And yet Microsoft only confirmed apps compability.
Let’s just wait for the next Apollo event.
I am very curious to see how much, if any, Nokia will have influenced WP.
They used to be champions of backwards compatibility. I know there is a sensible limit, but at least you’d expect to support WP7 devices for more than a year.
The support is needed to build a healthy ecosystem. You need developers, device manufacturers, users, mobile operators, and content providers on your system.
They dropped all WM 6.5 devices, and the codebase. They dropped VB 6. They dropped the original Xbox. Those choices were understandable, since the technology hit a dead end. (Like Win9X kernel and DOS, etc).
However they are now dropping WP7 devices, Silverlight, C#, and original Win32 API desktop apps. And not providing any sensible upgrade path.
Apple, which used to provide almost no backwards support, lets you install the latest iOS on iPhone 3GS, and is trying to migrate the API to their desktop OS. Btw, even though I personally dislike their choice of Obj-C, they at least try to support it everywhere.
How are they going to keep their ecosystem happy, if they change the API and the devices every other year?
Edited 2012-04-20 07:11 UTC
However they are now dropping WP7 devices, Silverlight, C#, and original Win32 API desktop apps.
Where did you get any of that information from?
“They are now dropping WP7 devices”….No they are not. At least not NOW and nothing is known about the future.
“…Silverlight.” This seems to be a bit in limbo, but the general idea seems to be “no new version, but older versions will get supported for a long time”
“…C#.” If you really think they are dropping this ….. NO WAY
“…and original Win32 API desktop apps”. They work just fine in Windows 8 so far.
Just when is that “now” that you mentioned going to happen?
Sorry, I need to choose my words better. I’m not saying those programs will suddenly stop working, or the devices will fall apart. But, what I mean is there are different levels of support, and “it’s continue to work” is not a good enough level of support for a platform to invest in.
It’s about the ecosystem. There is no single Microsoft ecosystem that will run on current systems, and will continue be supported as first class in the future.
Today, if I were to develop an Obj-C application, I can publish it on iPhone, iPod, iPad, and Macs with little modification. If I develop an android application, I can access to a market that has a great variety of phones, tablets, pmps, etc. If I develop a C++ application, the core (only the core) can go anywhere. You see the pattern, similar things can be said for Java, Python, etc.
However, today there is no good Windows ecosystem. If I were to develop in C++, i have to choose between Win32, and Metro. Win32 apps will run on older systems, including WM6.5 phones
, and desktop Win 8, but Metro apps will run on Windows 8 PCs, tablets, and newer phones – but not on current WP7.
If I develop in C#, I have to choose between Windows.Forms, WPF, Silverlight, XNA, and Metro. This is even worse, if you include the dependencies to 3rd party vendors for common controls – you do not want to reinvent the TreeView. Then I would be able to target a subset of, current, and/or future Windows versions, Mac, Linux, Xbox, Media Center, current WP7, or future WP8. But only a few at a time, definitely not all of them, not even a majority.
If I were to develop in HTML5/JavaScript I could have my app on Metro, and some mobile phones, but nothing else.
Why should I, as a software developer, invest any more in Microsoft technologies, if they will not support my code in future versions?
Edited 2012-04-21 19:17 UTC
At least, while the OS might very well turn out to be non-upgradeable, there is some talk about app compatibility…
(latest iOS on iPhone 3GS is not quite so rosy as many make it out to be – features missing, availability of Siri on pre-4S devices even purposefully removed from appstore, plus don’t forget it’s a device still actively promoted and pushed on consumers; maybe we should count also from the ending times of large-scale sales)
Edited 2012-04-22 10:29 UTC
How obfuscating can one get? We are still left to applying reason: that is, if Microsoft refuses to address the issue of the upgrade, the upgrade must not be available. I wonder how much this (IMHO) very critical supposition will actually affect sales. Well, I suppose it is true that reason and lust are incompatible bed partners.