Skip to main content

Windows Mobile Team Blog : 27,469

So now that the Windows Mobile team has Windows Mobile 5.0 out - they now have to convince developers and end users to use it.

While Rob Levy is tasked with that (and will be getting 27460 air miles for it), Mike Dimmick makes the point:
"This 1 developer not very happy he has to buy 1 new development environment, not yet released, to debug code on 1 new operating system. You seem to forget that Pocket PC 2002 is only three years old - companies do _not_ want to replace their devices that frequently."

Agreed - Mike. I actually have a PocketPC 2003 and am amazed that I will have to actually think about replacing the unit later this year to get the latest features.

It's enough to make me want to consider more open-sourced programs for the PocketPC rather than the provided ones.

Why can't Windows Mobile 5.0 run on these devices as an upgrade? That would at least solve the end-users problems and make it easier for developers to swallow getting a new environment.

It may not seem like much to those with corporate accounts but spending $500 a year for a new device that does pretty much what the previous one did - doesn't sound like a win-win, even if it does consolidate dev between two similar but different environments (Pocket PC and Smart Phone).

Now HP is offering an upgrade plan for their units from this year but not earlier years. So is Dell for their Axim x50 line.

Now some of the great new features that they are promoting : Mobile blogs , PhotoStory, and Windows Media 10 all sound great but you know?

What I would love is being able to use more advanced JavaScript in the Pocket Explorer - that way I don't need to rely on a Wifi Connection - I can simply use something like TiddyWiki.

Get done more in meetings? Where's OneNote for the Windows Mobile devices? Right now, I find I get more done with MindManager for my Pocket PC.

Yes, sure - Windows Mobile 5.0 is an evolutionary step - but it seems to be more about putting disparate devices together than really making a difference in the end-user experience. Sure - there will be some of that - but there needs to be more.

Windows Mobile Team Blog : 27,469

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Merry Christmas

Whether you celebrate now, have already celebrated your past holiday, are planning to, or not, I hope you find yourself surrounded by family and those you love during this holiday season and are able to remember fondly those who are not with you. We often find ourselves buried in work, or too distracted by other problems, to share and remember a few moments with those closest to us. So many of us are separated by huge distances, we often find it easier to focus on those who are out of arm's reach yet so easy to connect with online, instead of those who are right beside us. So do yourself a favour, put down the keyboard (stylus, mouse, etc) and spend that time. I know I will. Merry Christmas. Powered by ScribeFire .
4 comments
Read more

Programmers vs. Developers vs. Architects

I received an email this morning from Brandon Savage 's newsletter. Brandon's a PHP guru (works at Mozilla) but his newsletter and books have some great overall perspectives for developers of all languages. However, this last one (What's the difference between developers and architects?) kind of rubs me the wrong way. Either that, or I've just missed the natural inflation of job descriptions. (maybe, it's like the change in terminology between Garbage man and Waste Engineer or Secretary and Office Administrator) So maybe it's just me - but I think there's still a big difference between Programmer, Developer and then of course, architect. The key thing here is that every role has a different perspective and every one of those perspectives has value. The original MSF create roles like Product Manager, Program Manager, Developer, Tester, etc - so every concept may pigeon hole people into different roles. But the statements Brandon makes are often distinction...
11 comments
Read more

From Writing to AI: the pattern repeats itself

When I was ten years old, my dad bought a computer and, thanks to an advertising supplement in a Superman comic I read, it was a TRS-80. A month later, he dragged the entire family (my mom and brother were not the most enthusiastic) to a class at Radio Shack teaching how to use microcomputers. At the time, I understood why my mom wasn’t that excited: the computer was yet another gadget in the house. But today I find it fascinating. My mother went to Vassar in the 50s. She learned how to type — not a common skill at the time — but it opened doors. Her ability to communicate effectively led her to a career in adult education and later communications work with the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation). This isn’t a nostalgia post. Today, the ability to use artificial intelligence, be it through Copilot or simply writing the right prompt, is becoming a critical skill. But is it really that novel? In the 1500s and 1600s, the printing press gradually made reading accessible beyond cler...
Post a Comment
Read more