So much for the "big" update. I've had a WP8 device for over 10 months and I've actively used it for most of that period. There are many things I consider a downside of varying importance (some of which are a result of the extremely closed design) and the only thing they fix is a VPN client and that's to unknown extent. WP8 is a toy more than anything.
Microsoft unveils Windows Phone 8.1 with personal assistant Cortana
111–118 of 118 posts
Re: Microsoft unveils Windows Phone 8.1 with personal assistant Cortana
#112What baffles me is why the hell Microsoft didn't follow Apple's route of controlling their own distribution? Now Windows Mobile users have to figure out when their network is going to distribute the update[1]? That is hideous from a user standpoint. Microsoft has the money to convince the carriers, and probably a lot of weight as well. Why wouldn't they avoid that nightmare? Granted I don't have a windows phone so it…
Can someone explain why the network controls the update ?
I get why OEMs need to test/approve an update for their specific phones but what kind of role carriers play here ?
Re: Microsoft unveils Windows Phone 8.1 with personal assistant Cortana
#113What baffles me is why the hell Microsoft didn't follow Apple's route of controlling their own distribution? Now Windows Mobile users have to figure out when their network is going to distribute the update[1]? That is hideous from a user standpoint. Microsoft has the money to convince the carriers, and probably a lot of weight as well. Why wouldn't they avoid that nightmare? Granted I don't have a windows phone so it…
Can someone please explain the role that carriers play in the United States? In most countries, the carrier simply provides you with a SIM card that allows you to make use of their network, but they have nothing to do with your hardware / OS. How come carriers control OS updates in the United States? To me, this sounds as absurd as an ISP having control of your computer - imagine if you had to wait till your ISP allo…
This isn't unique to the US. In most countries the carrier restricts ota updates for android and windows phone. I don't know why the iphone is the only device which doesn't need carrier approval prior to rollout. I also don't know why the carriers are involved, but it's definitely not unique to the US, most of europe is the same way.
Re: Microsoft unveils Windows Phone 8.1 with personal assistant Cortana
#114Earlier quoted context omitted.
So this is one thing that puzzles me. Why can't phones have modular drivers like a PC? Phones of today are way more powerful than PC of the past, but it seems that manufacturers still want to keep an appliance like structure for the phone. In my ideal world, I'd download (say) Android 4.4 and install it on my phone. After that, I'd hunt around, download and install the drivers for my phone like mic, camera, gyro, etc…
Historically a huge amount of effort went into making PC hardware enumerable at runtime and hotpluggable: BIOS, then ISA PnP, then PCI/PCIe, and ACPI. eg. There are BIOS functions dedicated to telling you, in no uncertain terms, what RAM you have and the addresses it appears at. ARM's architecture is still quite firmly stuck with the embedded approach where you get your memory map and peripheral availability at compi…
Don't forget that there was also a huge amount of effort invested in making the PC backwards-compatible for software; although this has (unfortunately, IMHO) become somewhat decreased these days, you can still mostly count on a PC having the same "legacy" devices (8042, 8259, 8254, 8237, MC146818) that behave the same as they did in the AT, despite them being integrated into the chipset now. Those weren't enumerable since this was before PnP, but them being there was a pseudo-standard that software could depend on.
In contrast, ARM SoCs are extremely diverse, and the only thing they all have in common is an ARM CPU core. There is no one standard for where the peripherals are, how they behave, how the SoC boots, etc. There is no "standard platform" for ARM like there is the PC for x86. The closest "de-facto" platform I can see for smartphones is the Mediatek MT65xx, which is used by the majority of the generic Chinese ones (and some branded ones, like Lenovo).
Re: Microsoft unveils Windows Phone 8.1 with personal assistant Cortana
#115What baffles me is why the hell Microsoft didn't follow Apple's route of controlling their own distribution? Now Windows Mobile users have to figure out when their network is going to distribute the update[1]? That is hideous from a user standpoint. Microsoft has the money to convince the carriers, and probably a lot of weight as well. Why wouldn't they avoid that nightmare? Granted I don't have a windows phone so it…
Can someone explain why the network controls the update ? I get why OEMs need to test/approve an update for their specific phones but what kind of role carriers play here ?
They add their own bloatware / proprietary apps to the build. Some are useful (e.g. TMobile's wifi calling) and some are not (partnerships with various app vendors).
Also, Carrier IQ. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrier_IQ)
Re: Microsoft unveils Windows Phone 8.1 with personal assistant Cortana
#116What baffles me is why the hell Microsoft didn't follow Apple's route of controlling their own distribution? Now Windows Mobile users have to figure out when their network is going to distribute the update[1]? That is hideous from a user standpoint. Microsoft has the money to convince the carriers, and probably a lot of weight as well. Why wouldn't they avoid that nightmare? Granted I don't have a windows phone so it…
Can someone please explain the role that carriers play in the United States? In most countries, the carrier simply provides you with a SIM card that allows you to make use of their network, but they have nothing to do with your hardware / OS. How come carriers control OS updates in the United States? To me, this sounds as absurd as an ISP having control of your computer - imagine if you had to wait till your ISP allo…
Actually in this case, you even get your PC from your ISP. So i think it works out like this:
first the OS people update it. Then the manufacturers launch a device with said OS. Then your ISP gets to sell said devices to you. (or maybe you can update on your existing device but the ISP still has to approve it)
In simpler words:
In US, people do not directly buy their phones from the manufacturers. They buy the PHONE from the carrier, who also includes a SIM with said phone. And the cost of the phone is distributed over several months and is combined with your monthly cellular service charges.
Pro: you get to have expensive phones for far less.
Con: The carrier apparently gets a lot of say. In fact you can't even switch carriers easily. They make you sign a contact.
Interesting fact: Originally when the smart phones came out in the pre-iPhone era, the carrier's tried to control app stores by having exclusive, carrier specific app-stores. It was apple who convinced one carrier (can't remember which one) to let Apple control the app store and thus this revolution.
Re: Microsoft unveils Windows Phone 8.1 with personal assistant Cortana
#117Re: Microsoft unveils Windows Phone 8.1 with personal assistant Cortana
#118Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think it's a fascinating move on Microsoft's part to integrate a video game character into a users day-to-day reality. I can imagine some nostalgia fueled sales happening as a result. But moreover, I can't help but be reminded of the movie Her. Where the lines between our physical reality and our digital reality start to blur
The beginning where he talks to Cortana, it totally reminded me of the movie Her. [1] It seemed fascinatingly real. Although that bit might have been pre-recorded, I think we will eventually get there, where a computer's voice and its interaction would seem indistinguishable from a human's. [1] http://channel9.msdn.com/?wt.mc_id=build_hp [~1:12:50]
The link changed (it was a live stream before). Archived at http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Build/2014/KEY01. Cortana part starts at ~12 minutes.