5 ms·

PCs need to be open, cell phones less so. PCs have ever been so, cell phones have not. That's not actually hypocritical however dischordant it may sound to some

PCs need to be open, cell phones less so. PCs have ever been so, cell phones have not. That's not actually hypocritical however dischordant it may sound to some.

rplnt 14y ago
PCs are "open", Windows 8 RT is not for PCs.
- OriginalSyn 14y ago
  But Windows 8 is and the store for RT and 8 is shared.
  - eprom 14y ago
    The only apps that are limited to being exclusively available through the store are formerly-known-as-Metro apps which are generally more similar to iPad apps than OS X apps in functionality and emphasis on touch. The comparison is complicated because Microsoft's POV is that one OS can compete in both sectors, but no move has been made to close down the desktop on Windows 8, and it is as open as ever. Full disclosure: I work at MS, my words are mine only.
    - eropple 14y ago
      it is as open as ever What I see when I press the Windows key on my keyboard tells me you're wrong. That's still my desktop, whether you want to call it the desktop or not.
      - OriginalSyn 14y ago
        Exactly, by default the metro app labelled as desktop feels more like the equivalent of the command prompt in earlier version of Windows than an actual desktop... a power user/administration feature that is shamefully pushed off to the side by the OS hoping you won't notice it.
    - Ntrails 14y ago
      Long rationalisations are not easily conveyed to a public which is used to one liners. "You can no longer install games on windows 8 except through the windows store." vs "Some versions of windows 8, which come under the bracket of windows RT but will still be referred to as windows 8, will not allow you to load specific metro apps without buying them through the windows store, but desktop programs will be run and installed as normal. The famous people in the news complaining about Microsoft locking down windows are wrong." Full disclosure: I could be wrong in the exact details of the second statement, it's just what I've gleaned thus far from reading comments about it.
jbackus 14y ago
I'm not rejecting your statement here, I'm simply interested in hearing your rationale: > PCs need to be open, cell phones less so Why is it more important for PCs to be important? I'd argue that, because PCs and smartphones were open and closed respectively when they gained popularity, we've been conditioned to assume those states are permissible. I think if those initial conditions did not influence our perception of the products so strongly we would value openness equally across both. Since we are influenced though, we seem to be inclined to focus on the negative of the each's alternative option (anti-competitive PC market places and virus-ridden cell phones, respectively).
- jbackus 14y ago
  > Why is it more important for PCs to be important? Woops, meant to say why is it more important for PCs to be open.

PCs need to be open, cell phones less so. PCs have ever been so, cell phones have not. That's not actually hypocritical however dischordant it may sound to some.

rplnt 14y ago

PCs are "open", Windows 8 RT is not for PCs.

OriginalSyn 14y ago
But Windows 8 is and the store for RT and 8 is shared.
- eprom 14y ago
  The only apps that are limited to being exclusively available through the store are formerly-known-as-Metro apps which are generally more similar to iPad apps than OS X apps in functionality and emphasis on touch. The comparison is complicated because Microsoft's POV is that one OS can compete in both sectors, but no move has been made to close down the desktop on Windows 8, and it is as open as ever. Full disclosure: I work at MS, my words are mine only.
  - eropple 14y ago
    it is as open as ever What I see when I press the Windows key on my keyboard tells me you're wrong. That's still my desktop, whether you want to call it the desktop or not.
    - OriginalSyn 14y ago
      Exactly, by default the metro app labelled as desktop feels more like the equivalent of the command prompt in earlier version of Windows than an actual desktop... a power user/administration feature that is shamefully pushed off to the side by the OS hoping you won't notice it.
  - Ntrails 14y ago
    Long rationalisations are not easily conveyed to a public which is used to one liners. "You can no longer install games on windows 8 except through the windows store." vs "Some versions of windows 8, which come under the bracket of windows RT but will still be referred to as windows 8, will not allow you to load specific metro apps without buying them through the windows store, but desktop programs will be run and installed as normal. The famous people in the news complaining about Microsoft locking down windows are wrong." Full disclosure: I could be wrong in the exact details of the second statement, it's just what I've gleaned thus far from reading comments about it.

jbackus 14y ago

I'm not rejecting your statement here, I'm simply interested in hearing your rationale: > PCs need to be open, cell phones less so Why is it more important for PCs to be important? I'd argue that, because PCs and smartphones were open and closed respectively when they gained popularity, we've been conditioned to assume those states are permissible. I think if those initial conditions did not influence our perception of the products so strongly we would value openness equally across both. Since we are influenced though, we seem to be inclined to focus on the negative of the each's alternative option (anti-competitive PC market places and virus-ridden cell phones, respectively).

jbackus 14y ago
> Why is it more important for PCs to be important? Woops, meant to say why is it more important for PCs to be open.