This week the folks on the webOS forum got into an interesting and productive discussion about how webOS can fit into the current world where iOS and Android seem to have completely stitched up the market. Even Windows Phone 8 is having trouble getting a toe-hold! But there is hope.
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Member since:2011-05-12
The stock apps tend to have the basic functions covered + some extra. Third party apps should be better, or else it would make no sense to release them (unless you call them "light weight").
I have an iOS Phone and a WP one. Some apps are available on both platforms, but the WP ones are of lesser quality. They can be described as light versions of the iOS ones.
But for example my bank has an iOS app, it allows me to check my accounts and transfer money between them and to other people. This is great and less hassle than using a computer. It didn't have a WP app, until recently. No big deal, because I had it on iOS. But imagine having a WebOS or Ubuntu phone. Not very likely it will get the app and I would miss it. Probably a number of apps I would miss.
Then what good would the stocks app be if other phones provide these same functions? Maybe the OS can read minds which would be great, but it can't read my bank account, display my Dropbox files, kill pigs with birds and a number of things common on iOS, Android and to some extend WP.
Before I had an iPhone I had an iPod touch. It was great, I loved it, but very quickly it became limited. There was no app store. Then came the app store and it's capabilities became unlimited, because over time more and more interesting, fun and useful apps appeared.
So I don't want a phone with only a few apps, no accessories, no users and no serious backing and thus no future even if it's the greatest operating system ever and is the most usable thing in the history of the universe.
So, the Xbox One disaster continues. Microsoft's policy for dealing with the used games market has reportedly leaked - and it's a clear and direct attack to destroy the used games market. Prices for used games will be set at the retail value of a new game, and retailers have to hook into Microsoft's computer systems and comply with Microsoft's terms and conditions.At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!The day has finally come! Jolla has finally announced the launch device for its Sailfish operating system - and by god this is a looker. It's decidedly different from other phones out there, but it has good specifications and carries a relatively reasonably price tag - EUR 399, and it's up for pre-order today, shipping in the fourth quarter of this year.
Why does Google get so much credit in the technology industry? Why, despite the company's many obvious failings, do many geeks and enthusiasts still hold a somewhat positive view on the all-knowing technology giant? A specific talk at Google I/O this week provides the answer.
OSNews is a sponsor of this year's O'Reilly OSCON in Portland, Oregon, USA. A lucky OSNews reader will win a free three-day pass, including two tutorials days. To win the pass, post a comment on this story saying something about Open Source Software or OSCON. We'll pick a winner at random next week. If you don't have an OSNews account, you may email us your entry. Part of the conference is the 9th annual Open Source Awards, and today the 16th is the deadline for nominations. If you'd like to nominate an outstanding open source contributor, do it here. Read on for more information about OSCON. Update: The 20% discount code for OSNews readers is "OSN."
"Windows is indeed slower than other operating systems in many scenarios, and the gap is worsening." That's one way to start an insider explanation of why Windows' performance isn't up to snuff. Written by someone who actually contributes code to the Windows NT kernel, the comment on Hacker News, later deleted but reposted with permission on Marc Bevand's blog, paints a very dreary picture of the state of Windows development. The root issue? Think of how Linux is developed, and you'll know the answer.
This is one of those news items that's fun to write, fun to read, fun to comment on, and where no one will be able to say anything unkind. It's all just one big ball of awesome fluffiness. TuneTracker, the BeOS radio automation software, has just released something very special: TuneTracker System 5, the first version designed entirely and specifically for Haiku. In fact, it actually includes Haiku in the software package. Better yet, TuneTracker also unveiled several system-in-a-box products - which have Haiku and TuneTracker pre-installed.
Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.They're here! Whether that excites you or not remains to be seen, but the Galaxy S4, which will most likely become the best selling Android smartphone of the year by a huge margin, has been reviewed by all the major sites, and there's lots of interesting conclusions in there - although I think most of you will get the gist.
Member since:
2010-03-08
I guess it depends on what one calls ''applications". In my experience, mobile software that doesn't come from the OS manufacturer will almost always be of horrendously bad quality and should not be used unless there is absolutely no way around it. Which rarely happens anyway.
It even kind of makes sense : considering how little one pays for mobile apps, one shouldn't be expecting much of them.