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AOSP is still open-source, it's what allows CyanogenMod to exist, it's what allows Replicant to exist, it's why Amazon could fork it for their Fire OS and in te

AOSP is still open-source, it's what allows CyanogenMod to exist, it's what allows Replicant to exist, it's why Amazon could fork it for their Fire OS and in terms of user experience, compared with both iOS and Windows Phone, it's the mobile OS that allows for third-party app stores, or that allows alternatives for "system" functionality, like the browser or the search app being used. It's also the only mobile OS on top of which the Firefox browser runs, a browser that supports extensions, like AdBlock Plus. This font itself is part of AOSP and it's been open-source for some time, licensed under APL 2, just like most of AOSP. Chromium and Chromium OS are also open-source. We are talking about another operating system that has been a success. Not to be harsh, but Microsoft hasn't open-sourced anything of this magnitude or importance. And don't get me wrong, I like the direction of .NET, however we've been having Java / the JVM, with all the great languages built on top, like Scala, Clojure, JRuby, Groovy, Kotlin, Ceylon and with all the great projects built on top, like Hadoop, Cassandra, Lucene, Apache Spark to name a few and Android uses Java-the-ecosystem as well, so we've been fine without it. But on the other hand, here's me holding in my hand a Windows device received as a gift and I can't install apps from third-party sources, I can't use my IMAP email account, not to mention IMAP IDLE, I can't use CardDAV or CalDAV (because Microsoft insists on their own patented and expensive ActiveSync), I can't change the default search engine and I'm browsing through an app store filled with shit which is supposed to be curated. And from the looks of it, Microsoft's Edge only supports extensions installed from this same store filled with shit, it won't be open-source and it won't be cross platform. And I also remember a time when Microsoft sponsored SCO in its lawsuit for the ownership of Linux and when Scott Hanselman writes an ironic article that's somehow proof enough that Microsoft hasn't killed my pappy, he conveniently forgets that Microsoft acts like a patent troll by blackmailing Android phone makers with the FAT patent and extracting from this act of racketeering more profit than from its Windows phones. And I'm becoming more and more negative on Microsoft, even though I want to like some of the things they do, but this is the reaction I'm having lately because I fail to see how Microsoft is changing, even though everybody says so - as frankly I smell nothing more than a massive PR push and it's pissing me off. And btw - I've ranted on Google and Apple countless of times, one of these days I'll write about why I've shut down my Google Apps account, my standards are pretty consistent across the board ;-)

hurricaneSlider 11y ago
Much of your criticism around Windows phone is false. And yes there has been a PR push, but this has been accompanied by increasing amounts of new and previously closed tech being released, such as DNVM, Roselyn, VSCode, etc While MS is by no means a shining angel, you should at least give them a chance to prove themselves under new leadership. Also large parts of Cyanogen mod only exist because of the good grace of Google.
mynameisvlad 11y ago
> I can't install apps from third-party sources http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/how-to/wp8/apps/how-do-i-install-apps-from-an-sd-card http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/how-to/wp8/apps/how-do-i-i... > I can't use my IMAP email account http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/how-to/wp8/email-and-calendar/set-up-or-delete-an-email-account http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/how-to/wp8/email-and-calen... under "To enter email account settings manually (advanced)" > I can't use CardDAV or CalDAV Available in GDR2 (http://allaboutwindowsphone.com/features/item/17752_CalDAV_and_CardDAV_Google_supp.php http://allaboutwindowsphone.com/features/item/17752_CalDAV_a...) and was available by hacking on older versions because CardDAV and CalDAV was only available for Gmail and iCloud accounts before (http://www.reddit.com/r/windowsphone/comments/23o89h/setting_up_carddav_and_caldav_on_windows_phone_81/ http://www.reddit.com/r/windowsphone/comments/23o89h/setting...) > I can't change the default search engine http://www.pocketmeta.com/change-search-button-function-default-search-engine-bing-google-windows-phone-17854/ http://www.pocketmeta.com/change-search-button-function-defa... > I'm browsing through an app store filled with shit which is supposed to be curated. Microsoft can't really put a gun to developers' heads and force them to write software for Windows Phone. If developers don't want to write non-shit software, then the store will only have shit software. There's only so much a company can do. iOS and Android app support is coming in Windows Mobile 10 (http://www.theverge.com/2015/4/29/8511439/microsoft-windows-10-android-ios-apps-bridges http://www.theverge.com/2015/4/29/8511439/microsoft-windows-...) with minimal changes necessary to get the apps working. > And from the looks of it, Microsoft's Edge only supports extensions installed from this same store filled with shit, it won't be open-source and it won't be cross platform. Wut? It supports Chrome and Firefox extensions (http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/microsofts-new-browser-officially-named-edge/ http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/microsofts-new-browse...) and like Windows and Windows Phone itself, sideloading will probably be supported. If you go bash a product, at least make sure your bashing is accurate.

hurricaneSlider 11y ago

Much of your criticism around Windows phone is false. And yes there has been a PR push, but this has been accompanied by increasing amounts of new and previously closed tech being released, such as DNVM, Roselyn, VSCode, etc While MS is by no means a shining angel, you should at least give them a chance to prove themselves under new leadership. Also large parts of Cyanogen mod only exist because of the good grace of Google.

mynameisvlad 11y ago

> I can't install apps from third-party sources http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/how-to/wp8/apps/how-do-i-install-apps-from-an-sd-card http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/how-to/wp8/apps/how-do-i-i... > I can't use my IMAP email account http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/how-to/wp8/email-and-calendar/set-up-or-delete-an-email-account http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/how-to/wp8/email-and-calen... under "To enter email account settings manually (advanced)" > I can't use CardDAV or CalDAV Available in GDR2 (http://allaboutwindowsphone.com/features/item/17752_CalDAV_and_CardDAV_Google_supp.php http://allaboutwindowsphone.com/features/item/17752_CalDAV_a...) and was available by hacking on older versions because CardDAV and CalDAV was only available for Gmail and iCloud accounts before (http://www.reddit.com/r/windowsphone/comments/23o89h/setting_up_carddav_and_caldav_on_windows_phone_81/ http://www.reddit.com/r/windowsphone/comments/23o89h/setting...) > I can't change the default search engine http://www.pocketmeta.com/change-search-button-function-default-search-engine-bing-google-windows-phone-17854/ http://www.pocketmeta.com/change-search-button-function-defa... > I'm browsing through an app store filled with shit which is supposed to be curated. Microsoft can't really put a gun to developers' heads and force them to write software for Windows Phone. If developers don't want to write non-shit software, then the store will only have shit software. There's only so much a company can do. iOS and Android app support is coming in Windows Mobile 10 (http://www.theverge.com/2015/4/29/8511439/microsoft-windows-10-android-ios-apps-bridges http://www.theverge.com/2015/4/29/8511439/microsoft-windows-...) with minimal changes necessary to get the apps working. > And from the looks of it, Microsoft's Edge only supports extensions installed from this same store filled with shit, it won't be open-source and it won't be cross platform. Wut? It supports Chrome and Firefox extensions (http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/microsofts-new-browser-officially-named-edge/ http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/microsofts-new-browse...) and like Windows and Windows Phone itself, sideloading will probably be supported. If you go bash a product, at least make sure your bashing is accurate.