Linked by Thom Holwerda on Tue 11th Dec 2012 23:09 UTC
So, last night, Windows Phone 8 got its first update - specifically for the HTC 8X. In this day and age, where iOS is the gold standard and shows the industry how it ought to be done, and Android is the exact opposite, Windows Phone 7 was a bit of an in-between - every phone got every update, but the staggered rollout was slow and frustrating, often due to carrier meddling. How will Windows Phone 8 fare?
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Member since:2005-09-21
I own an unlocked Nexus device and get my updates straight from Google with more frequent updates than IOS—and I recommend all Android users do the same. That said, I do find it quite humorous that a modern phone, like Windows Phone 8, is only now able to maintain a Wi-Fi connection while the phone is locked.
Yep. If I ever buy an Android device it will be from Google. I've got exactly zero interest in any of the other handsets that mess around with the software and screw everyone on updates. Completely inexcusable.
Google needs to offer a high quality phone though. The nexus 4 seems good for the low end, but there is no high end option that supports LTE (and the nexus 4 seems to have some quality issues: http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=39936 )
Member since:2005-11-29
That's not always true. People have waited months, despite owning a Nexus device, to have the latest version of Android pushed down to them. The fairy tale, because that's what it really is, a fairytale, that Nexus devices get updates on day #1 is getting old.
To contrast, when Windows Phone 7.5 came out, it rolled out to every device, across every carrier, in every country. Without a hitch.
Very little apps are impacted by the WiFi fix, because very little apps run under lockscreen, since 7.5 it hasn't been recommended to run under Lock screen. Instead, you just support Fast App Switching and Fast App Resume and call it a day.
About the only apps that I can see having a meaningful impact by this are apps that 1) Transmit data in the background like an Audio Streaming app, or 2) Apps that would like a persistent transport connection to be maintained.
Neither are very common. This is a low impact change, and it's opt-in, so it's not even default behavior. Its more to appease some power users.
Member since:2005-06-29
To contrast, when Windows Phone 7.5 came out, it rolled out to every device, across every carrier, in every country. Without a hitch.
Speaking of fairtytales. You clearly weren't there during the rollout. It took months and months and months, with bugs and bricked devices. It wasn't until TWO WEEKS AGO that the Focus 2 on some carrier got it.
Two weeks ago.
Member since:2008-07-15
To contrast, when Windows Phone 7.5 came out, it rolled out to every device, across every carrier, in every country. Without a hitch.
Yes, and then, when Windows 8 came out (not even a year after Windows Phone 7.5) every single consumer up to that point got screwed out of any future updates to those handsets, ever. Great comparison there. Try a little harder next time, okay?
Member since:2005-06-29
The fairy tale, because that's what it really is, a fairytale, that Nexus devices get updates on day #1 is getting old.
Fairy tale, huh? From Wikipedia (and common knowledge to Nexus owners, of course), emphasis mine:
"On June 27, 2012 at the Google I/O conference, it was announced that the Nexus S would be one of the first devices to receive an upgrade to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, along with the Motorola Xoom and Galaxy Nexus, began on July 26, 2012."
I finally gave up waiting for WP7.8 and went back to my Nexus S 4G. This is a phone that is well over a year old and yet received the Jelly Bean update soon after it was gold. My best friend's HTC One X, on the other hand, is still waiting several months later.
While my Nexus won't be getting 4.2 officially, my contract runs out right around the time the Galaxy Note 2 will likely drop in price. That device is already my chosen upgrade path so I'm set for a couple of years yet. And if I do want to get a taste of 4.2, there's always CyanogenMod. I'm also going to hang on to the phone to play around with Firefox OS builds.
As much as I enjoyed using Windows Phone, between the lack of updates and fixes for my old phone and Sprint's flippant attitude towards the platform, I had no choice but to leave it behind for the foreseeable future.
Member since:2010-06-25
Member since:2005-07-23
News
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/19/13 23:02 UTC, submitted by M.Onty
"Microsoft has sensationally abandoned its controversial plans to restrict the sharing of XBox One games, and has also removed daily online authentication requirements for its forthcoming console", reports The Guardian. They had no choice. Still a good move.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/19/13 22:28 UTC
"A snippet of code in the Steam digital distribution platform has revealed that Valve may be planning to let users easily share their games with friends in the future. The Verge has verified the code's authenticity, which was originally spotted by a member of the NeoGAF gaming forum; the code references a 'shared game library' and a notification that would alert a user when their games are currently in use by a borrower." This would change the, uh, game.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 22:33 UTC
Official Apple statement on PRISM and privacy: "Regardless of the circumstances, our Legal team conducts an evaluation of each request and, only if appropriate, we retrieve and deliver the narrowest possible set of information to the authorities. In fact, from time to time when we see inconsistencies or inaccuracies in a request, we will refuse to fulfill it." This is basically Apple re-publishing their earlier statement in a more official manner. You either believe it, or you don't.
Linked by Anonymous on 06/18/13 22:26 UTC
The open source Contiki operating system and its commercial Thingsquare distribution are making strides towards the connected home. According to a Computerworld article, a new LED light bulb manufacturer is putting small computers into their light bulbs. Each computer runs the Contiki OS, which gives each bulb an IP address and allows them to be controlled with a smartphone application. To connect the bulbs to the application, the bulbs use both Wi-Fi and the much lower power IEEE 802.15.4 mesh technology.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 22:25 UTC
"Google asked the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court on Tuesday to ease long-standing gag orders over data requests it makes, arguing that the company has a constitutional right to speak about information it's forced to give the government. The legal filing, which cites the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech, is the latest move by the California-based tech giant to protect its reputation in the aftermath of news reports about sweeping National Security Agency surveillance of Internet traffic." Draining the ditch after the cow has drowned in it.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 17:45 UTC
"I can't find one person who has been using the Nexus 7 for an extended period of time, and hasn't seen a massive downgrade in performance. Just what kind of downgrade are we talking here? I cannot pick up my Nexus 7 without experiencing problems like a lag of ten seconds, or more, just to rotate the display; touches refusing to acknowledged; stuttering notification panel actions; and unresponsive apps." Fully and utterly agreed. My Nexus 7 was blazing-fast and awesome for a few months, and at some point, it just started sucking. Just like that. I've tried loads of ROMs, and nothing helps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 17:32 UTC, submitted by poundsmack
A new release of the hobby operating system MenuetOS! The release notes are a bit non-descript, but you'll have to take what you can get: "updates and improvements (picview, httpc, ehci, ...)".
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/17/13 17:58 UTC
"The Internet is one of the most transformative technologies of our lifetimes. But for 2 out of every 3 people on earth, a fast, affordable Internet connection is still out of reach. And this is far from being a solved problem. There are many terrestrial challenges to Internet connectivity - jungles, archipelagos, mountains. There are also major cost challenges. Right now, for example, in most of the countries in the southern hemisphere, the cost of an Internet connection is more than a month's income. Solving these problems isn't simply a question of time: it requires looking at the problem of access from new angles. So today we're unveiling our latest moonshot from Google[x]: balloon-powered Internet access." Insane.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/17/13 17:52 UTC
"MineAssemble is a tiny bootable Minecraft clone written partly in x86 assembly. I made it first and foremost because a university assignment required me to implement a game in assembly for a computer systems course. Because I had never implemented anything more complex than a 'Hello World' bootloader before, I decided I wanted to learn about writing my own kernel code at the same time. Note that the goal of this project was not to write highly efficient hand-optimized assembly code, but rather to have fun and write code that balances readability and speed. This is primarily accomplished by proper commenting and consistent code structuring." Just cool.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/14/13 21:03 UTC
Jon Rubinstein, former CEO of Palm: "Well, I'm not sure I would have sold the company to HP. That's for sure. Talk about a waste. Not that I had any choice because when you sell a company you don't get to decide that. Obviously, the board and shareholders decide that. If we had known they were just going to shut it down and never really give it a chance to flourish, what would have been the point of selling the company? I think the deal we had with Verizon really hurt us, but who knew that at the time? These things are all hindsight."More News »
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Member since:
2006-02-19
I own an unlocked Nexus device and get my updates straight from Google with more frequent updates than IOS—and I recommend all Android users do the same. That said, I do find it quite humorous that a modern phone, like Windows Phone 8, is only now able to maintain a Wi-Fi connection while the phone is locked.