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>the Apple-Android mobile duopoly A bit of a digression, but it would be great if Microsoft were to open source Windows 8 phone OS. It's probably the best bit

>the Apple-Android mobile duopoly A bit of a digression, but it would be great if Microsoft were to open source Windows 8 phone OS. It's probably the best bit of interface design that Microsoft have ever released given that they have never had a particularly strong reputation in this area. Windows 10 phone is a bit of a step back in UX in my view. But version 8 had mostly the right blend of simplicity and functionality. Plus, it's relatively lightweight to run on modern smartphone hardware. What a shame we're stuck with the insipid and uninspiring Android and iOS duopoly. Pay a premium to lock yourself into one vendor's walled garden. Or pay less to be tracked to death.

ocdtrekkie 8y ago
It wouldn't make sense for them to open source Windows Phone, too much of it is in common with components of Windows they don't want to open source. Windows 10 Mobile was a significant upgrade from WP8 in nearly every way, and it would make zero sense to use 8 over 10. What's really cool is the work a few people have done getting full Windows on ARM loaded onto phones.
- iforgotpassword 8y ago
  To me 8 felt way more consistent than 10. I only used it for half a year in 2015, but it was an enlightenment, since suddenly that whole tile stuff that was so atrocious on the desktop made sense and felt super consistent. Admittedly I only tried 10 on a friend's phone and never had it as my daily driver but it just didn't feel as polished.
  - canuckintime 8y ago
    "Windows 10 Mobile was a significant upgrade from WP8 in nearly every way" EXCEPT the UI — unfortunately the interface was the main reason Windows Phone fans took up the platform. Riccardo Mori provides my go-to reference for illustrating the difference between 8 and 10: http://morrick.me/archives/8094 http://morrick.me/archives/8094 WP8 took on Apple-Android with a beautiful interface; its glance-ability is still unsurpassed. webOS took on Apple-Android with a powerful multitasking interface; its task fluidity is still unsurpassed. I willing used both until the phone hardware was abandoned and still prefer them to Apple-Android today. KaiOS is a feature-phone OS and does NOT take on the Apple-Android mobile duopoly.
- toast0 8y ago
  Windows 10 Mobile should have been a significant upgrade from WP8, and could have been if it were a polished release. However, Edge was much less usable than mobile IE (even though Edge rendered nicely). The OS was much less responsive than 8. Lots of the strings (especially in the store) were appropriate for a computer and not a phone (ex: you must have 45 MB of space on your hard drive to install this app kind of thing). And the thing where silverlight apps sometimes couldn't start was a great testament to screwing over developers by throwing out the whole sdk once a year. On the plus side, W10M did fix notification center which was terribly broken in 8, and I think there was maybe one other thing they fixed?

ocdtrekkie 8y ago

It wouldn't make sense for them to open source Windows Phone, too much of it is in common with components of Windows they don't want to open source. Windows 10 Mobile was a significant upgrade from WP8 in nearly every way, and it would make zero sense to use 8 over 10. What's really cool is the work a few people have done getting full Windows on ARM loaded onto phones.

iforgotpassword 8y ago
To me 8 felt way more consistent than 10. I only used it for half a year in 2015, but it was an enlightenment, since suddenly that whole tile stuff that was so atrocious on the desktop made sense and felt super consistent. Admittedly I only tried 10 on a friend's phone and never had it as my daily driver but it just didn't feel as polished.
- canuckintime 8y ago
  "Windows 10 Mobile was a significant upgrade from WP8 in nearly every way" EXCEPT the UI — unfortunately the interface was the main reason Windows Phone fans took up the platform. Riccardo Mori provides my go-to reference for illustrating the difference between 8 and 10: http://morrick.me/archives/8094 http://morrick.me/archives/8094 WP8 took on Apple-Android with a beautiful interface; its glance-ability is still unsurpassed. webOS took on Apple-Android with a powerful multitasking interface; its task fluidity is still unsurpassed. I willing used both until the phone hardware was abandoned and still prefer them to Apple-Android today. KaiOS is a feature-phone OS and does NOT take on the Apple-Android mobile duopoly.
toast0 8y ago
Windows 10 Mobile should have been a significant upgrade from WP8, and could have been if it were a polished release. However, Edge was much less usable than mobile IE (even though Edge rendered nicely). The OS was much less responsive than 8. Lots of the strings (especially in the store) were appropriate for a computer and not a phone (ex: you must have 45 MB of space on your hard drive to install this app kind of thing). And the thing where silverlight apps sometimes couldn't start was a great testament to screwing over developers by throwing out the whole sdk once a year. On the plus side, W10M did fix notification center which was terribly broken in 8, and I think there was maybe one other thing they fixed?