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But would responding like “Sure Microsoft, here’s the APIs for that app you’ve already built FREE for us” really affect Google’s mission to build that Star Trek computer? They could still build it. And they could and likely will still amaze people with it. That’s what can be kind of sad with some tech company rivalries, two sides could have amazing technological visions of our future in development…but they sometimes decide that in order to ensure their dreams come true, they have to utterly destroy/freeze their competitors rather than just keep working hard and letting their product do the talk in the end.

This “pointing gun to each other’s head” idea you say is what sucks about competition when it gets too intense and the players forget it’s a game that everyone should be enjoying. Google should not have to fear Microsoft with regards to its plans for the Star Trek computer. People will be astounded by what they will be able to do when they go and Google something in the near future, from the looks of things from I/O. Likewise, I love the direction Windows/Windows Phone is heading and believe they should keep pushing for that unique vision they have without fearing competitors and people fighting necessary fundamental changes, and just keep thinking about what’s best for the user for the next 20 years, not the last 20 years.

Obviously, we’re dealing with multi-billion dollar/pound companies but still, it’d nice if they could just…you know…have a laugh together.

Microsoft: “Wow that Star Trek computer is pretty cool! I bet I can build one better one day! In the meantime, ima keep at this Metro shiz I made ;) I want to do something people aren’t doing right now either. Plus, I do kinda need a refresh tbh.”
Google: “Ah cheers bro :D Metro is looking pretty swish too if I may say so myself. You’re going in really different direction to what all the other peeps are, that’s pretty cool too! Haha, go on mate, BRING BING IT ON! Loser has to buy the winner a pack of Haribos…”

about 9 hours ago on Windows Phone and Google Services

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Like everyone has said above, I feel as though the two consoles will be similar due to the X86 CPUs, etc. And yet, I feel like Microsoft might reveal so much more too. Their plans with Illumiroom, Kinect 2 (and maybe even Fortaleza and smart watches later on) really push things far further compared to what I’ve seen of the PS4 so far. Also, seeing as Microsoft pretty much spear-headed the “Put People First” philosophy with Windows Phone, I reckon Microsoft will definitely enhance the social aspect of gaming even more so than Sony has done (which was great, nonetheless).

Regarding the so-callled “Xbox Surface”, I’m actually unsure. If you made an ‘Xbox Surface’ gaming tablet, then that’s just a gaming tablet really. Would it be good enough to be like a Surface/Windows tablet? If not, then it’s gonna have to be cheap because I’ll still have to buy a Windows tablet/laptop/PC to do computing stuff. A gaming tablet would end up being a companion device and that necessitates a cheaper price IMO. Also, what if I buy a Surface Pro and want it to do the same stuff? A Surface Pro has got to have the performance to be able to do the same stuff that a smaller, cheaper Xbox Surface could do, right?

Therefore, I reckon that Microsoft would and should rather integrate Xbox across Windows/Windows Phone as software platform rather than build a dedicated and probably limited-capability gaming tablet. They should make Xbox actually work cross device with the genuine cross-device online multiplayer that we’ve always wanted, expected, but never attained. If it works across your Windows Phone, your Windows 8 tablet/laptop/PC (i.e. any size Surface), and your Xbox console, then that’s that. Microsoft will have truly expanded Xbox to its fuller potential and made a Windows 8 computer that much more attractive over an iPad or Android tablet. Work via Office and Windows, play via Xbox. Microsoft would end up owning both business AND consumer ideologies simultaneously.

about 10 hours ago on Microserfs: a weekly community thread 4 replies 1 recommend

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I think it’s a bit of two things – the old Windows way of things from Microsoft, and the OEMs.

The OEMs would, of course, try to make their products as cheap to build as they can. And I guess trackpads are an area which used to and still does get sacrificed for this. And old Windows was simple – it was a desktop that used a mouse that you would just move and click.

Nowadays, we expect way more. We want gestures, sweeping motions, seamless interactions and transitions between what our fingers do on that trackpad and what happens onscreen. And I do believe Microsoft clearly wants to have an Apple-level user experience and that is why they’ve pushed for the biggest revolution in their OS since Windows 95, arguably even more so.

But still. OEMs. They’re stuck with razer thin profit margins unless they can trim down on stuff and they keep ruining the trackpad because of that.

I’m sure that Microsoft can support a high quality trackpad experience. It really does depend on the OEMs though to build the other half of that experience via suitable hardware, I feel.

about 10 hours ago on do windows trackpads suck because of windows?

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PS. billysitch, I recommended your comment because I do feel that Microsoft and Google should stop bickering and that tech companies in general should just compete on technological prowess, ecosystem integration/usefulness, and user experience/enjoyment alone. But I stand by what I said because whilst Microsoft isn’t COMPLETELY going by these principles, Google sure isn’t either in this particular case :/

about 10 hours ago on Windows Phone and Google Services 1 reply

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One person might say it’s a thinly veiled attack against Google (and yeah, these two companies are kind of competing so fair enough), but Microsoft also kind of proved a point by doing all this:

Google wants Microsoft to kill their YouTube app on Windows Phone because it doesn’t show adverts and allows downloading of videos. Okay. And yet, Google hasn’t sent the the same cease-and-desist letter to all the other third-party apps of all three major platforms – I assume iOS and Android have apps that let you download the videos, etc, as well. Lots of apps that have way smaller numbers of users that Windows Phone has as a platform. Only Microsoft appears to have been singled out and told to shut down their YouTube effort even though it cost Google nothing since Microsoft built the app for them and just needs the APIs. And Microsoft can’t put the ads into the videos anyway unless Google gives them the APIs to do so.

The key issue here is that all these other third party Youtube apps are NOT competing with Google in certain industries whereas Microsoft does compete with Google (in search, mobile, laptops, office-style productivity programs, etc). There’s a YouTube app on the Xbox because Google doesn’t compete in the console market with Microsoft. But online, in mobile OS? Google and Microsoft have a competitive rivalry in mobile OS, and so Google would be compelled to inhibit Microsoft’s new mobile OS from taking off by unfairly providing apps for all platforms/devices except for a direct competitor – Microsoft – that they have the monopolistic power over to actually inflict damage upon. They built apps for Apple platforms because they just couldn’t afford not to. Google were the weak ones in that particular situation because they didn’t have that dominating power over Apple to do that and win against their platform. But, they do over Microsoft with Android vs Windows Phone. That’s got to be anti-competitive. And, it’s unfair on users who want to use Google services but just happen to be on Microsoft’s mobile platform. Why should they be discriminated against when they clearly outnumber the users of the YouTube app on the Sony PS Vita, for example?

If Microsoft’s YouTube app, built for Google free of charge, is damaging Google’s ad revenue, then it can only be so if the usage of the app, and thus the platform, is significant enough to do so. If it’s significant enough to cause a noticeable loss in Google’s ad revenue, then merely saying “Sure Microsoft, here’s the APIs for that app you’ve already built FREE for us” would cost them nothing and would prevent that noticeable (and so significant enough not to ignore) loss in revenue.

Herein lies the contradiction – Windows Phone is too small to develop for [or even give permission for a freely pre-built app, that clearly has more users than some of our other platform-apps like the Sony PS Vita, to simply exist]…..but Microsoft better get rid of that app because we’re losing too much ad money!

I do agree that the Scroogled campaign isn’t exactly helpful with Microsoft’s relationship with Google. And I do think that advertising their own products shouldn’t have to always be done by trying to shame their rival’s products. I personally enjoy using Microsoft products (Windows Phone, Outlook.com, Skydrive, etc) and that enjoyment and usefulness in the Microsoft-ecosystem is what advertises their products to me. Plus Metro. I really love Windows Phone Metro UI! But at the same time, I do sometimes agree with their points. Google is a great company. I really was inspired when watching I/O 2013 and realised that tech companies should just be tech companies that push the human race forward just like how they envisioned they would. We shouldn’t have these stupid problematic rivalries and should have genuine, who-can-push-us-forward-the-furthest competion. But it does appear as though Google is being pretty unfair by actively avoiding Windows 8 and Windows Phone.

Does that make sense to you? It’s just mine and a lot of other peoples’ opinion but in a less confrontational way – CAN’T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG? :’(

about 10 hours ago on Windows Phone and Google Services 1 reply

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I’m essentially planning the same as you – upgrade my 920 to another Nokia but with a better PureWiew camera and buy a 12-14" hybrid with pen support – except I’ll be upgrading my 920 next year when I’m hoping they’ll have had a year to refine any oversampling PureView camera that they may release later this year (slim it down and/or improve it’s features, possibly add a new type of PureView technology to the mix, etc). Plus, I only got my 920 in January so I wanna get my 2 years out of it! And my mum wouldn’t be too happy if I upgraded after less than a year…or my two sisters who got 920s with me…

That Sony Vaio Duo 13 that you showed is definitely my target device right now and I can’t wait for Sony to show it off at Computex. If this comes out in time for the next academic year in September and no one else has shown off something just as good (i.e. Surface Pro 2, a Surface notebook/hybrid, or a Nokia tablet) then, frankly, I’m already sold on this. I’ve even gone and saved the leaked render photos and the video of the Sony on my desktop so I can use it as motivation to pass my uni exams and get to my second year :P Haswell processor with possibly 10 hours of battery life, 1080p ‘Triluminos’ display, 13 inch screen size (almost the same as a sheet of paper which is just what I want as a student taking notes), NFC, ‘ClearAudio+’, and a back-lit keyboard should I need it to for more intensive typing. And it’s a Sony. And it looks absolutely stunning. Perfect!

3 days ago on Phone, Tablet, PC... What do you think of this solution for 2014?

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So, if the 920 is likely to receive the PR2.0 firmware as well, will the photo and video quality match that of the 928 exactly in all cases except where flash is used? I remember watching a video somewhere where Nokia said they’re still trying to reach the max potential of the 920’s camera sensor/module so I assume the 928 is identical in that regard with only the xenon flash being the differentiator.

6 days ago on Nokia 928 Xenon flash photo sample 1 reply

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Yeah I remember reading or watching a video about how there’s a central design team that tries to get all the groups on the same track UI-wise. I just think it’s a shame that when they decided to choose Metro as the UI for Windows 8, they didn’t use the exact same components as Windows Phone Metro and chose to make it a little different – and little worse IMO. Hopefully, over time, these differences will disappear :)

6 days ago on Concept : App list and Notification Centre (Surface Phone N)

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Perhaps a pivot-based app list would be a bit too much to get to an app, I agree.

Yeah, I’m surprised and bit let down by this reduction in the original Metro animations :/ I never had a Zune but from the photos and videos that I’ve seen of the Zune HD’s UI, those animations certainly made it look ‘fast and fluid’ as Metro in its current form is supposed to be. And it’s even more a letdown in Windows 8 where the same animations that make Metro so nice and slick on Windows Phone aren’t present. The Windows and Windows Phone team really should sync up fully on both animations and Metro-UI in general because Windows Phone is definitely the better of the two implementations right now IMO.

7 days ago on Concept : App list and Notification Centre (Surface Phone N) 2 replies

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I think if Samsung manages to build up its own software offerings and eventually get to the point where they can ditch Google and keep it’s version of Android (or maybe even it’s own OS that has compatibility with Android apps and gets apps from a Samsung-run app store) then, so long as they name it “the new Samsung Galaxy S[X-number]”, most people will buy it none the wiser. To them, it’s just the new Samsung Galaxy that they’ve always bought. On the backend however, Samsung squeezes out Google and monetizes the things that Google would’ve ran (app store, built in apps, etc).
Do you think another reason why Samsung is a threat is that it’s dominating Android and might be able to demand or even threaten Google to do certain things? Is that possible? It’s kinda like how the carriers generally want a third ecosystem to balance against iOS and Android so they can leverage better deals. If Apple and Samsung own the mobile landscape (they basically do now), carriers don’t have as much of a say in things and could just have to go along with things.

7 days ago on Is Samsung really a threat to Google ? (Updated)

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When I’m using the Camera and then scroll through the camera roll and want to bulk delete a few or lots of photos, I can’t do that from the camera itself without it taking ages (swipe open the App Bar, select delete, confirm delete, scroll to next photo, repeat). I have to leave the camera, go to the Pictures Hub, to Camera Roll, and then multi-select and delete :/ I think it’d be better if the Pictures Hub camera roll and Camera camera roll were better linked up

7 days ago on Official WP Rant Page.

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I think a big part of whether a device feels premium or not is how solid and dense the device feels in your hand. My 920 feels amazing in that regard and the polycarbonate body has survived several drops which with only a slight dent in the top corner which I barely noticed. My old Samsung Omnia 7, on the other hand, didn’t have that same feeling. You could just tell that the aluminium was a shell whereas my 920 feels like a solid block of premium material all the way through. You can’t tell it’s hollow! I’m sure Nokia could make a great aluminium phone as well but coloured Lumia polycarbonate is one of Nokia’s new signature qualities :)

7 days ago on NOKIA drop the polycarbonate shell!

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Polycarbonate is durable and Nokia’s colours look great with it – and the colour goes all the way through the material so scratches (if you can get them) won’t show up. Aluminium might scratch more easily but the body could be lighter and thinner with it. I’m leaning towards the polycarbonate but I think a slimmed down Lumia with an aluminium body is something that could be pretty cool too. I’d have to hold them side-by-side to decide :S

I just hope Nokia release a Lumia 930 or something that evolves the N9 design into something like this:

(from http://wp.pandaapp.com/news/03222013/nokia_lumia_930_beauful_concept_phone.shtml#.UY6amcpn2dw)

I think if the coloured polycarbonate/aluminium body wrapped all the way around (so you didn’t have that black glass back), that would be one sexy Lumia ;) I really do hope they do something like that next year when I upgrade from my 920!

7 days ago on NOKIA drop the polycarbonate shell! 1 reply 1 recommend

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I’ve wondered what Microsoft would name their version of a Notification Centre and so ‘Information Centre’ sounds pretty good to me (I’ve heard Action Centre too which implies you can do more stuff there).

I think the Information Centre in the video could look good on a larger display but there’s a slight issue in that the notifications region is a fixed area (like how in the Music Hub, when you’re scrolling through your songs list, your scrollable content only actually scrolls on the bottom 50-60% of the display whilst the pivot and alphabetical list letter stay fixed). If you think about the information density on the WP notifications screen in the Me tile and apply the same here, would you get much info at one glance and end up having to scroll? I dunno. If they made the music controls, weather widget, and quick settings scroll up too instead of staying where they are then I suppose that’d sort it. Having said that, I’m sure people would desire those controls to always stay at the top anyway. A larger 1080p display probably wouldn’t have this issue. Or maybe I’m just over-thinking this! :S Either way, it certainly does look good and functional.

The Apps List on WP as it is now has the benefit that it’s really easy to find what you’re looking for – it’s just an alphabetical list which is super simple. And you can use the letter jump list to get to an app quicker. With this new App List, I feel it breaks that :/ I think if you had a full App List like now but then had either a horizontal pivot to your other customised app lists to the right, perhaps that would be better IMO.

I like the camera photo-taking animation as well where the image shrinks to the middle first and then slides over to the left (to the camera roll). That’s cool :)

I love the lockscreen too :D What I mean by that is the way that the text and icons have a little rising-up animation when you turn on the display, and how they move up/down with the lockscreen image when you swipe – but not exactly in sync. It’s as if the lockscreen content is on top of the background image kinda like how when you open up and close the Pictures Hub: the text and the background wallpaper flip around together but are on different layers. At the moment, the text and icons move with the wallpaper as if they’re one object. It’s a small thing but I think if they applied this layered animation to the lockscreen as well, it’d make it seem just that little bit more slick and consistent too. Microsoft’s never been shy of attention to detail with WP.

Lastly (wow this is long), that Emotion Theme lighting around the edges of the phone is amazing! I’d love to have that and it’d be a brilliant notification light as well :P It could pulse and flash and stuff depending on the notification, and look super cool too. It’s probably not something we’d see in reality for a long time though.

7 days ago on Concept : App list and Notification Centre (Surface Phone N) 1 reply