08-08-2003, 10:49 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Our First Controversial Post!
Well it wouldn't be a Thoughts site if we didn't have a little controversy now and then, right? ;-)
Yesterday I did up a post about mobile phones crashing, and I ended with a thought that generated quite a bit of controversy. I was surprised to see that post making the rounds on several sites - I didn't realize anyone knew we were here yet. :wink: Here's a shout out to the people who flamed me on Geek.com: wassup! :lol:
The real point of my post was not to compare Windows Mobile and Symbian, but rather to say that ALL phones, regardless of operating system, are less stable now than when they were dumb voice terminals. If it's a computer, it will crash. It's a myth that anyone has designed the ultimate crash-proof OS. Macs don't crash? Sure they do. Linux doesn't crash? Sure it does. Symbian doesn't crash? Sure it does. Windows doesn't crash? Sure it does. If you can't admit that, then you're living on the wrong planet. The real test of an OS is how well it deals with problems when they come up, and how often it fails. It's not a matter of if it will fail, it's a matter of when. I wasn't trying to paint a picture of Symbian being an unstable OS when I saw the Nokia crash, I was simply pointing out that it did crash, and it crashed like a computer - which was the point of the post.
Now onto the more thorny issue of Microsoft vs. the Symbian consortium (and here's the part where I'll get flamed). Yes, Symbian as an OS is more mature than Microsoft's mobile offerings (especially on the Smartphone). The Smartphone 2002 OS is a 1st generation product (I don't understand why some people are calling it a 2nd generation product), and it shows it's ugly head now and them. Does Microsoft have a huge, long road ahead of them? Yes, absolutely. Does the Smartphone need improvement? Yes, absolutely. Will Microsoft continue to invest in the platform and work hard at making sure it improves? Yes, absolutely.
Microsoft works best when they're an underdog in a market. Look at how fast Internet Explorer evolved when Netscape was in the lead! That's the position Microsoft finds itself in right now with the Smartphone - they're the underdog with a very, very small piece of the market. But they understand the importance of mobile devices to the future of their company, and they're going to remain committed. The people who think cramming Windows XP into a PDA-sized device are drinking some funny-coloured Kool-aid. :lol:
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