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I think that’s what Apple wanted, but the networks were not willing to hand control over to Apple.

2 days ago on Apple TV to get first network television app with addition of CW 1 reply 1 recommend

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“but then there’s no reason to use WP, what exclusive stuff does it have?”

I’m going to have to make a post about this. For now I’ll give you an overview and you let me know what you think…

Ongoing services and one-time experiences are two different things.

A game is a one-time experience. This is the kind of “exclusive” a company should definitely have as it enhances the product. For example, I love Halo and Forza. I’m going to buy a next-gen Xbox because of those experiences.

Things like music streaming and cloud storage are ongoing services.

It’s true that having these services available enhances your product, however if taken to other platforms they can also be used to encourage users from those platforms to join your own, or just as importantly, prevent users from being locked into ongoing services on another platform that aren’t available on your own.

The “correct” way to implement services depends (among other things) on your market position.

If a company is in a dominant and/or defensive market position, they can limit services to their own platform in order to attempt to lock users in and prevent them moving to other platforms.

If a company is in a weak and/or attacking market position, it’s more beneficial to take services multi-platform in order to encourage users on other platforms to try out your own, or in the very least prevent them from being locked into a competitors platform.

Now to bring this all back on-topic!

At least 96% of the phone market is non-Microsoft and at least 92% of the tablet market is non-Microsoft.

For on-going services where mobile access is a requirement (such as music streaming and cloud storage) Microsoft is in neither a dominant position nor should they be in a defensive one.

Microsoft need consumers on other platforms to be using Microsoft services. This will both make them more comfortable and familiar with the Microsoft platform and prevent them getting locked into services that will never be available on Microsoft platforms (e.g. Google Drive, Google Music, iCloud, and eventually Apple’s Pandora clone)

The answer to your original question (“but then there’s no reason to use WP, what exclusive stuff does it have?”) is simple. You use Microsoft products because they have the best implementation of the services you love on the best OS.

If Microsoft doesn’t have the best implementation of the services you love on the best OS, then the Windows and Windows Phone teams aren’t doing their jobs.

2 days ago on MS should probably just give up in the consumer space 1 reply 2 recommends

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What app is that?

2 days ago on Why do people complain about large tablets when people carry paper notebooks, magazines every single day for work, school, college, leisure etc.

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It made sense.

It’s a developer conference, so they focused on their core web services that developers can code to.

It never really made sense for IO to be the place to launch products.

2 days ago on Your thoughts on Google I/O? 1 recommend

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The “services” part of the Microsoft’s new “devices and services” goal needs to target multiple platforms.

I don’t use Xbox Music because I have an iPhone, even though basically everything else I use is from Microsoft.

2 days ago on MS should probably just give up in the consumer space 3 replies 1 recommend

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Conspiracy theory… EA is trying to devalue Nintendo because they want to buy them out!

2 days ago on Electronic Arts is no longer developing games for Nintendo's Wii U 2 replies

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Why wait for Google when it’s already available on AWS and Azure?

If you want you can grab it from github today and start coding on a trial account.

3 days ago on Google offers new App Engine features to chase after Amazon's cloud computing dominance

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Why wait for Google when it’s already available on AWS and Azure?

If you want you can grab it from github today and start coding on a trial account.

3 days ago on Google offers new App Engine features to chase after Amazon's cloud computing dominance

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That’s what I’d call “business metro” :)

It’s like Server 2012. Metro… but serious!

3 days ago on Metro 2.0

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Google App Engine is similar to AWS, but like Microsoft’s Azure, it’s a step more removed — infrastructure solutions like AWS require (allow) you to get your hands dirty administering your own servers, but Google’s option will take care of all of the optimization and scaling for you.

Actually Jeff, Azure does both.

It was originally PaaS but recently added IaaS with support for Windows and Linux.

3 days ago on Google offers new App Engine features to chase after Amazon's cloud computing dominance 2 replies

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Why moron?

Nokia delivered exactly what was expected for a 6 month refresh of the Lumia 920…. more actually (with the Windows Phone 8 updates).

3 days ago on looks like the nokia event was exciting afterall 1 reply 2 recommends

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They are the ones who blocked Google from over 90% of windows 8…not allowing them to be used as the default search client. And not allowing Google to be used at all in the RT versions other than the web page.

I use Google as my default search engine in Windows 8.

There is nothing preventing Google from writing WinRT apps, apart from their desire to screw their users over that happen to be on a Microsoft platform of course.

3 days ago on Microsoft responds to YouTube demands, 'more than happy' to include ads if Google allows it 1 reply 9 recommends

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Bingo.

All the excuses have been blown away. The core of the matter is that Google want users accessing YouTube from Windows Phone to have a poor experience

It’s a prick of a move, to put their desire to promote Android ahead of their own users, but it seems like that is par for the course for Google these days.

The ball is now in Google’s court, the next move it up to them.

3 days ago on Microsoft responds to YouTube demands, 'more than happy' to include ads if Google allows it 15 recommends

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A symbolic win for Google to make themselves look powerful, in an instance where Windows Phone market share means nothing fits the very definition of petty and spiteful.

3 days ago on Microsoft responds to YouTube demands, 'more than happy' to include ads if Google allows it 2 replies 16 recommends