I've posted this on the thead at 4WM, just want to put it all past you to get an opinion, I've been a mac user since the early 90's and my first mac was a 2fx!
Id like to put my pennies worth in from a different perspective, that of a hardened mac user forced to make the switch to windows because the engineering cad software that I need didnt run on the mac.
I also chose to buy a Samsung omnia over an iphone for no other reason that I really wasnt keen on leaving Vodafone for 02, and the WM platform gave me the opportunity for what I hoped was seamless integration with windows.
In answer to the question of the thread however, I do feel that Alexs post hits the spot perfectly, it does rest at the door of Microsoft to lead the revolution and turnaround, Apple saw this in 2000, and at that point they took their balls in their hand and swallowed.. let me explain:
The apple OS 9, was a great OS, but over time had become fat on its own development. You see, every iteration of it was not really a redesign but an addressing of faults and streamlining of functionality, which in itself was no bad thing. However, as functionality grew, so did the system requirements, and these extensions provided all the work.
I likened it to resurfacing a cracked road, sure you could feel the difference, but it didnt deny what was underpinning it before, you can add a new layby function or a telephone function, but you still have to dig up what went before and redress it afterwards.
And as a mac user, rightly or wrongly thats how I see windows - lots of layers on an old foundation.
With Mac OS X Apple realised that to progress they needed something new to start from.
Other than the unix underpinning that OS X runs on, Apple totally let go of the old OS. They really did start from scratch, and being creatives at heart, they looked at the aesthetic and tactile nature of the GUI.
The included alpha transparency is part of the core OS, and runs on the same technology which makes adobes pdf work the added bonus is that you can choose to print as a pdf from within the OS. The widgets which originally were functionalities driven by a programme called konfabulator were again integrated into the core OS, and unlike Vista, apple reached out to manufacturers of peripherals and said can we help you code drivers so that they are part of the OS rather than were releasing this OS heres the SDK you will comply.
You dont download drivers for HP all in one devices for instance, because they are already part of the mac OS.
But heres the most important bit they removed legacy from the OS X, but they didnt drop it:
Apple understood that porting programmes would take time, so you could still run OS 9 within OS X in a separate shell. It wasnt an emulator but the real deal, and I myself ran photoshop and other programmes within the classic environment without hiccup until the OS X versions came out, and when they did, I cold drop the classic OS and work strictly in the streamlined new on. Now of course, there is no more classic environment, but Apple supported it all the way till the development community caught up.
OS X is a full unrestricted 64 bit OS, on which for developers apple opened it up fully. The invited developers to submit programmes to the apple site showcasing the products under the Made for OS X tag. This wasnt philanthropy in any way on apples part, but clever strategy I never needed to hunt anywhere else for apple software, I knew what was out there, and apple themselves guided me to it.
The Appstore is the evolution of this, why bother with handango when Apple themselves invite you to showcase your app?, and as theyve provided you with the developer guidelines, they can and do check functionality as well. If your app is free, great if not, apple get their cut, but as a developer you know youve gone to the only place that iphone and Mac users will bother going to see whats out there. Without the user realising, Apple have made sure that all its product user base keep the mothership firmly within their sights and they do it willingly because they are invited not forced (perceptually).
Microsoft on the other hand with Vista have in my opinion just resurfaced that road again. Yes its wider, prettier but its still rocking on those old wooden post foundations. The reason I once read for Vista not being a 64bit OS was because there were people still running older apps and the 32bit os could handle 16bit drivers, but the 64 could only handle 32 or newer.
Sorry but isnt that saying that progress has stopped because someone cant display a webpage in IE 3 or that his compiler wont understand Fortran commands?
It would have been too easy for Microsoft to rewrite a wholly new OS, and have the legacy support in a shell as apple did, knowing that one day the world would catch up and it could be discarded without any ill effect. It would have been too easy for them to work with developers and their products, rather than command developers be the pro-active action takers.
The technology within windows is already there to provide a one stop solution for consumer and commerce, but Microsoft chose to make these two categories hunt for it. When you buy OS X, you pay for OS Xthats it. No 32 or 64bit differences, no home, business or premium business home, you get what everyone gets from student through to system administrator.
If I am a network administrator I find all the server tools I need buried within a folder in the programmes folder. I never did need them, but I knew they were there. And its the one thing I couldnt understand or get my head around with windows all the different flavours of it, when it should just have been Windows Vista 64bit Ultimate! Priced below £150 like OS X was.
So I stuck with XP Pro.
iPhone works well because at its heart all of its functions work at OS level. In the desktop OS, all the widgets work at root OS level, and in essence iPhone is really a collection of widgets when you quit they turn off.
Apples developer kit for iPhone Apps is childs play, admittedly apple do have the advantage that they control their product and build it so can ensure perfect compatibility, whereas WM will run on many different manufactures platforms, which lets face it, since when have the minimum hardware requirements every really been sufficient?
Again this is where Microsoft should step up to the mark, but telling manufacturers what to realistically spec their machines to.
Microsoft could have an Appstore equivalent overnight if within the developer framework they could send MS the programme for vetting, testing and for submission to the windows mobile site which is just shockingly crap in my opinion.
Alex touched on what made coding for both platforms easy and infuriating, but lets consider for a moment that Microsoft have the desktop software division, Mobile, Zuno and Xbox coders all reading from different hymn sheets but iPhone and OS X coders all read from the same, as its the same guts at the end of the day.
Now Im not a programmer, so I cant really say that I know what Im talking about in this respect, its just the perception I get.
Aesthetics count for a lot as well, but as a creative I would say that. The one thing that the iPhone does, which no windows mobile does is pass the gran test! I was in the 02 shop with my other half who is a total technophobe, she was using the iphone comfortably within 5 minutes, all I did in the first thirty seconds was show her how to return to the start screen.
People want to explore the iPhone because theres never a fear of doing something wrong, or that feeling of what do I do now.
On my Samsung Omnia, as on the HTC Touch which I would have bought as I prefer the touchflo interface, but didnt like the size, you touch the message icon, and suddenly youre back into the WM message editor.
Suddenly Id undone good work of the top dressing as the underpinning couldnt carry it though.
I disagree that the iPhone is not functional, everything is easy to work and intuitive to work with thats what functionality is. This perception could be perhaps because initially the functionality of iPhone was driven by the consumer needs rather than by enterprise, but ironically, we mustnt forget smart devices are still phones first and foremost. Apple addresses this and from there enterprise functionality follows.
The apple SDK concerns itself in ensuring that whatever is done for either iApp or desktop, it is Mac like, and conforms to those rules I dont know if this is the case with windows. As Alex pointed out with his alpha transparency illustration, the core OS already has this functionality within it. Its up to the developer to decide if and when, rather than have to strangle it out of the system buy creating faux effects.
I know that from the links provided that SPB and Vito are working to make the experience more user friendly, and I probably will download one of the two shells, but It seems once again theyve had to take the OS by the scruff of the neck and shake it about!
Once again, were back in the realm of core OS functionality. I am still driven nuts by the fact that I cant exit a program and actually shut it down without having to go into the task manager and physically close it down. Why cant this just be an option in the program settings, such as when you return to the today or front screen programme quits?
Why cant WM allow me to place icons of my favourite programmes on the main screen instead of the start menu?
Why can MS not have their new OSs SDK incorporating the functionality to understand that if the harware is keypad driven do this if stylus; this and if touch based then this?
Again, it all has to happen at root OS level.
Im finding my WM experience tedious, but Im willing to persever because I do understand its underlying versatility, and from what Ive been reading many users reshell almost straight away.
I feel that Microsoft is at the point now where apple was in 2000. It needs a total and utter overhaul of the fat overweight animal it calls windows. Annoyingly it has the power to do it once again, but it should drop legacy support as apple decided to do, and reinvent itself by opening itself to compatibility rather than proprietary formats its what apple was forced to do in order to compete, and on a mac I can pretty much open anything from within the main OS without hunting for a driver or converter.
If Windows mobile/desktop OS/games console OSs were developed as a whole entity then I think it has a chance, ultimately all apple devices run OS X they just strip whats not needed, but the innards are the same, they allow the developers to work on both platforms simultaneously with very little effort.
It would be great if Microsoft turned the WM home site into a one stop shop for all applications, ringtones, skins et al. It wouldnt be difficult. But Microsoft have to start treating enterprise and consumers the same as apple do.
iPhone is an elegant design, it invites tactile senses and users want to play with it, I still dont want to do that on my WM device because once Ive got off my eye candy screen the difference is jarring. If MS tried a bit harder it wouldnt have to be like that.
If simple scaling was incorporated into the core OS, then Alex could code for touch or stylus by scaling the check box, and open GL which is the basis for Apples Core Animation technology would allow him a wealth of effects which wouldnt make the programme crawl because they are already there at system level.
I think that if MS took this approach, then perhaps it will dominate the mobile market, until then, windows mobile is in real danger of becoming something which people poke with a stick then run away from. Just because a user is an enterprise user, there is no reason he should be denied aesthetics he makes his office a nice working environment, if we use the current model he could make do with a concrete cube room, with a working pc and a phone. I do believe the aesthetics enhance productivity.
On the subject of my Omnia, I think that Samsung have missed the whole idea of widgets by a mile, and Im stunned that MS dont seem to have a handbook for WM on their site as far as I can tell. The website tries to tell me how great it is for consumers and enterprise users, but in reality it tells me nothing, and just showcases the handsets that use it rather than showcasing the system itself but perhaps the reality is how can it, when there is nothing there to really impress at first glance?
Id like to be able to go into the WM site appstore and think hey I really like the touch diamond interface, but because I didnt buy an HTC, Ill have to pay to download it. It could all be done, but MS has to step up to the mark and realise that the functionality lies not in the phones but the software platform, and that is what should be promoted, rather than the its Microsoft thats good enough mentality.
If Microsoft could achieve that fundamental overhaul in OS architecture and attitude, then perhaps Apple will once again be pushed into niche. Until then it will be MS who will start to suffer. Lets face it, the consumer crowd really only stick with windows because of the games houses. How many times have I been in PC world and people look at the mac and say - Id love one, but it wont run games.
Microsofts saving grace is that Apple will never release its OS to third part hardware vendors, they made that mistake in the 90s and it nearly bankrupted them. The iPhone will always be an iPhone rather than a Samsung or sony running Mac OS X iPhone software.
If it can get he OS right, then hardware manufacturers will adopt the technology and it will be as prolific as windows.
However, if Apple release the iPhone to all networks, then god help the other hardware manufacturers.
As for Why are Windows Mobile Apps falling behind IPhone ones? Perhaps its as simple as this development houses realise that people want to use iPhones?
As a follow on, the truth of the matter is that two years on, if Solidworks or Catia appeared for OS X, i'd be back to Apple like a shot. I can't be bothered with dual booting, and there's too many issues with parallels and the like.
Hardware aside, the OSX user experience is second to none, and ultimately that's what productivity is all about - the need to not need to dick about in settings and looking for drivers and the like. Apple also know about aesthetics, my windarse desktop still has all the OS X backgrounds and I use a BT keyboard and mouse on an apple cinema display. Vista never quite got it. It's not about 'windows sucks' because it's powerfully versatile - if you can actually really be bothered to wade into the OS, and ultimately that means having a greater chance of screwing it up - something you'd never get on the mac, purely and simply because you don't need to.
Id like to put my pennies worth in from a different perspective, that of a hardened mac user forced to make the switch to windows because the engineering cad software that I need didnt run on the mac.
I also chose to buy a Samsung omnia over an iphone for no other reason that I really wasnt keen on leaving Vodafone for 02, and the WM platform gave me the opportunity for what I hoped was seamless integration with windows.
In answer to the question of the thread however, I do feel that Alexs post hits the spot perfectly, it does rest at the door of Microsoft to lead the revolution and turnaround, Apple saw this in 2000, and at that point they took their balls in their hand and swallowed.. let me explain:
The apple OS 9, was a great OS, but over time had become fat on its own development. You see, every iteration of it was not really a redesign but an addressing of faults and streamlining of functionality, which in itself was no bad thing. However, as functionality grew, so did the system requirements, and these extensions provided all the work.
I likened it to resurfacing a cracked road, sure you could feel the difference, but it didnt deny what was underpinning it before, you can add a new layby function or a telephone function, but you still have to dig up what went before and redress it afterwards.
And as a mac user, rightly or wrongly thats how I see windows - lots of layers on an old foundation.
With Mac OS X Apple realised that to progress they needed something new to start from.
Other than the unix underpinning that OS X runs on, Apple totally let go of the old OS. They really did start from scratch, and being creatives at heart, they looked at the aesthetic and tactile nature of the GUI.
The included alpha transparency is part of the core OS, and runs on the same technology which makes adobes pdf work the added bonus is that you can choose to print as a pdf from within the OS. The widgets which originally were functionalities driven by a programme called konfabulator were again integrated into the core OS, and unlike Vista, apple reached out to manufacturers of peripherals and said can we help you code drivers so that they are part of the OS rather than were releasing this OS heres the SDK you will comply.
You dont download drivers for HP all in one devices for instance, because they are already part of the mac OS.
But heres the most important bit they removed legacy from the OS X, but they didnt drop it:
Apple understood that porting programmes would take time, so you could still run OS 9 within OS X in a separate shell. It wasnt an emulator but the real deal, and I myself ran photoshop and other programmes within the classic environment without hiccup until the OS X versions came out, and when they did, I cold drop the classic OS and work strictly in the streamlined new on. Now of course, there is no more classic environment, but Apple supported it all the way till the development community caught up.
OS X is a full unrestricted 64 bit OS, on which for developers apple opened it up fully. The invited developers to submit programmes to the apple site showcasing the products under the Made for OS X tag. This wasnt philanthropy in any way on apples part, but clever strategy I never needed to hunt anywhere else for apple software, I knew what was out there, and apple themselves guided me to it.
The Appstore is the evolution of this, why bother with handango when Apple themselves invite you to showcase your app?, and as theyve provided you with the developer guidelines, they can and do check functionality as well. If your app is free, great if not, apple get their cut, but as a developer you know youve gone to the only place that iphone and Mac users will bother going to see whats out there. Without the user realising, Apple have made sure that all its product user base keep the mothership firmly within their sights and they do it willingly because they are invited not forced (perceptually).
Microsoft on the other hand with Vista have in my opinion just resurfaced that road again. Yes its wider, prettier but its still rocking on those old wooden post foundations. The reason I once read for Vista not being a 64bit OS was because there were people still running older apps and the 32bit os could handle 16bit drivers, but the 64 could only handle 32 or newer.
Sorry but isnt that saying that progress has stopped because someone cant display a webpage in IE 3 or that his compiler wont understand Fortran commands?
It would have been too easy for Microsoft to rewrite a wholly new OS, and have the legacy support in a shell as apple did, knowing that one day the world would catch up and it could be discarded without any ill effect. It would have been too easy for them to work with developers and their products, rather than command developers be the pro-active action takers.
The technology within windows is already there to provide a one stop solution for consumer and commerce, but Microsoft chose to make these two categories hunt for it. When you buy OS X, you pay for OS Xthats it. No 32 or 64bit differences, no home, business or premium business home, you get what everyone gets from student through to system administrator.
If I am a network administrator I find all the server tools I need buried within a folder in the programmes folder. I never did need them, but I knew they were there. And its the one thing I couldnt understand or get my head around with windows all the different flavours of it, when it should just have been Windows Vista 64bit Ultimate! Priced below £150 like OS X was.
So I stuck with XP Pro.
iPhone works well because at its heart all of its functions work at OS level. In the desktop OS, all the widgets work at root OS level, and in essence iPhone is really a collection of widgets when you quit they turn off.
Apples developer kit for iPhone Apps is childs play, admittedly apple do have the advantage that they control their product and build it so can ensure perfect compatibility, whereas WM will run on many different manufactures platforms, which lets face it, since when have the minimum hardware requirements every really been sufficient?
Again this is where Microsoft should step up to the mark, but telling manufacturers what to realistically spec their machines to.
Microsoft could have an Appstore equivalent overnight if within the developer framework they could send MS the programme for vetting, testing and for submission to the windows mobile site which is just shockingly crap in my opinion.
Alex touched on what made coding for both platforms easy and infuriating, but lets consider for a moment that Microsoft have the desktop software division, Mobile, Zuno and Xbox coders all reading from different hymn sheets but iPhone and OS X coders all read from the same, as its the same guts at the end of the day.
Now Im not a programmer, so I cant really say that I know what Im talking about in this respect, its just the perception I get.
Aesthetics count for a lot as well, but as a creative I would say that. The one thing that the iPhone does, which no windows mobile does is pass the gran test! I was in the 02 shop with my other half who is a total technophobe, she was using the iphone comfortably within 5 minutes, all I did in the first thirty seconds was show her how to return to the start screen.
People want to explore the iPhone because theres never a fear of doing something wrong, or that feeling of what do I do now.
On my Samsung Omnia, as on the HTC Touch which I would have bought as I prefer the touchflo interface, but didnt like the size, you touch the message icon, and suddenly youre back into the WM message editor.
Suddenly Id undone good work of the top dressing as the underpinning couldnt carry it though.
I disagree that the iPhone is not functional, everything is easy to work and intuitive to work with thats what functionality is. This perception could be perhaps because initially the functionality of iPhone was driven by the consumer needs rather than by enterprise, but ironically, we mustnt forget smart devices are still phones first and foremost. Apple addresses this and from there enterprise functionality follows.
The apple SDK concerns itself in ensuring that whatever is done for either iApp or desktop, it is Mac like, and conforms to those rules I dont know if this is the case with windows. As Alex pointed out with his alpha transparency illustration, the core OS already has this functionality within it. Its up to the developer to decide if and when, rather than have to strangle it out of the system buy creating faux effects.
I know that from the links provided that SPB and Vito are working to make the experience more user friendly, and I probably will download one of the two shells, but It seems once again theyve had to take the OS by the scruff of the neck and shake it about!
Once again, were back in the realm of core OS functionality. I am still driven nuts by the fact that I cant exit a program and actually shut it down without having to go into the task manager and physically close it down. Why cant this just be an option in the program settings, such as when you return to the today or front screen programme quits?
Why cant WM allow me to place icons of my favourite programmes on the main screen instead of the start menu?
Why can MS not have their new OSs SDK incorporating the functionality to understand that if the harware is keypad driven do this if stylus; this and if touch based then this?
Again, it all has to happen at root OS level.
Im finding my WM experience tedious, but Im willing to persever because I do understand its underlying versatility, and from what Ive been reading many users reshell almost straight away.
I feel that Microsoft is at the point now where apple was in 2000. It needs a total and utter overhaul of the fat overweight animal it calls windows. Annoyingly it has the power to do it once again, but it should drop legacy support as apple decided to do, and reinvent itself by opening itself to compatibility rather than proprietary formats its what apple was forced to do in order to compete, and on a mac I can pretty much open anything from within the main OS without hunting for a driver or converter.
If Windows mobile/desktop OS/games console OSs were developed as a whole entity then I think it has a chance, ultimately all apple devices run OS X they just strip whats not needed, but the innards are the same, they allow the developers to work on both platforms simultaneously with very little effort.
It would be great if Microsoft turned the WM home site into a one stop shop for all applications, ringtones, skins et al. It wouldnt be difficult. But Microsoft have to start treating enterprise and consumers the same as apple do.
iPhone is an elegant design, it invites tactile senses and users want to play with it, I still dont want to do that on my WM device because once Ive got off my eye candy screen the difference is jarring. If MS tried a bit harder it wouldnt have to be like that.
If simple scaling was incorporated into the core OS, then Alex could code for touch or stylus by scaling the check box, and open GL which is the basis for Apples Core Animation technology would allow him a wealth of effects which wouldnt make the programme crawl because they are already there at system level.
I think that if MS took this approach, then perhaps it will dominate the mobile market, until then, windows mobile is in real danger of becoming something which people poke with a stick then run away from. Just because a user is an enterprise user, there is no reason he should be denied aesthetics he makes his office a nice working environment, if we use the current model he could make do with a concrete cube room, with a working pc and a phone. I do believe the aesthetics enhance productivity.
On the subject of my Omnia, I think that Samsung have missed the whole idea of widgets by a mile, and Im stunned that MS dont seem to have a handbook for WM on their site as far as I can tell. The website tries to tell me how great it is for consumers and enterprise users, but in reality it tells me nothing, and just showcases the handsets that use it rather than showcasing the system itself but perhaps the reality is how can it, when there is nothing there to really impress at first glance?
Id like to be able to go into the WM site appstore and think hey I really like the touch diamond interface, but because I didnt buy an HTC, Ill have to pay to download it. It could all be done, but MS has to step up to the mark and realise that the functionality lies not in the phones but the software platform, and that is what should be promoted, rather than the its Microsoft thats good enough mentality.
If Microsoft could achieve that fundamental overhaul in OS architecture and attitude, then perhaps Apple will once again be pushed into niche. Until then it will be MS who will start to suffer. Lets face it, the consumer crowd really only stick with windows because of the games houses. How many times have I been in PC world and people look at the mac and say - Id love one, but it wont run games.
Microsofts saving grace is that Apple will never release its OS to third part hardware vendors, they made that mistake in the 90s and it nearly bankrupted them. The iPhone will always be an iPhone rather than a Samsung or sony running Mac OS X iPhone software.
If it can get he OS right, then hardware manufacturers will adopt the technology and it will be as prolific as windows.
However, if Apple release the iPhone to all networks, then god help the other hardware manufacturers.
As for Why are Windows Mobile Apps falling behind IPhone ones? Perhaps its as simple as this development houses realise that people want to use iPhones?
As a follow on, the truth of the matter is that two years on, if Solidworks or Catia appeared for OS X, i'd be back to Apple like a shot. I can't be bothered with dual booting, and there's too many issues with parallels and the like.
Hardware aside, the OSX user experience is second to none, and ultimately that's what productivity is all about - the need to not need to dick about in settings and looking for drivers and the like. Apple also know about aesthetics, my windarse desktop still has all the OS X backgrounds and I use a BT keyboard and mouse on an apple cinema display. Vista never quite got it. It's not about 'windows sucks' because it's powerfully versatile - if you can actually really be bothered to wade into the OS, and ultimately that means having a greater chance of screwing it up - something you'd never get on the mac, purely and simply because you don't need to.