Newsletter Archives

• Gralla: RIP, Windows Phone. Your demise could lead Microsoft to redemption.

  Posted on October 30, 2017 at 11:25 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Another good one from Preston. Computerworld.

  It may be, though, that the demise of Windows Phone indicates that good things are ahead for Microsoft — that is, if its death means that the company has finally and truly shed the arrogance that hounded it for decades.

  You might’ve noticed that I’ve (almost) never written about Windows Phone. Er, Windows Mobile. Uh, Windows something-or-another for phones with Windows. Good reason why: I’ve never owned one — except for one inexcusable lapse. I bought a Windows phone about a year ago, to test Win10 builds, and Microsoft promptly declared it would no longer receive Win10 builds. It’s been sitting in a drawer, uncharged, ever since.

  Win10 Phone/Mobile always seemed like a waste of time to me. Never saw any compelling reason to switch from Android (I have a Pixel XL; son uses a hand-me-down Note 3) or iPhone (wife has a 7s). There are better ways to spend a thousand bucks.

  Other Windows Mobile, Windows Phone

• R.I.P. WP, WMP

  Posted on October 9, 2017 at 09:47 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Capping off a lackluster week of Windows non-news, the weekend brought two more headstones, hardly worthy of note. But I’ll note them anyway.

  First, MS Corporate VP for Windows Joe Belfiore confirmed in a series of tweets that Windows 10 Mobile is dead as a doornail. Zac Bowden, who’s been using Win10 Mobile far beyond its obvious expiration date, has details on Windows Central. (Formerly WPCentral, as in “Windows Phone Central” – a timely pivot.)

  I’ve never covered Windows Phone, and don’t understand why anyone would bother.

  I mentioned Edge’s coming metamorphosis to run on iOS and Android:

  Why would anybody use an also-ran browser just because it has Microsoft’s name on it?

  Then there’s the Microsoft Launcher on Android, now in beta. Hope springs eternal, I guess.

  Second, it looks like Microsoft is going to kick Windows Media Player out of the Win10 Fall Creators Update with a patch released to some folks yesterday called KB 4046355. I haven’t seen it on my FCU machines, but Günter Born and Martin Brinkmann both have full details. Says Born:

  Until now, the Windows Media Player was on board and pre-installed in Windows 10. If you enter Media in the search field of the taskbar, Windows Media Player will be found and displayed as a hit in the Start menu.

  Today I was suddenly offered a FeatureOnDemandMediaPlayer update (KB4046355) on one of my machines (a 64-bit Windows machine) running Windows 10 Build 16299.15.

  A search using the taskbar’s search box actually revealed that Windows Media Player had been removed from the machine as features. To use the WMP again, you have to add it as a feature.

  If you know anybody who’s still using Windows Media Player, encourage them to take short, deep breaths, and break the  news that there are myriad far, far better media players around, on all platforms.

  Of course, without any documentation, it’s anybody’s guess if this is an intended consequence or just a beta bug.

  Yes, I know, it’s not polite for MS to yank an app without warning. On the other hand, man, Windows has become so bloated and Byzantine, it has to be pulled into the 20th century at some point.

  UPDATE: Mary Jo Foley reports:

  

  Uncategorized Windows Media Player, Windows Mobile, Windows Phone

• Windows Mobile obituary

  Posted on April 4, 2017 at 16:49 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Excellent article from Jez Corden at Windows Central:

  Windows 10 Mobile should’ve been Microsoft’s bridge to the future — not an afterthought… Microsoft’s Universal Windows Platform (UWP) is pointless without a mobile component… For the Windows Store to be anything more than an extra hoop to access services available on the desktop web, UWP needs a mobile endpoint. Otherwise, UWP might as well be thrown onto the scrapheap along with Windows 10 Mobile.

  Microsoft’s vague non-committal comments, the odd leaks we get, and Windows 10 Mobile Fast ring updates simply aren’t enough to convince developers, consumers, or the wider tech media, that those scalable UWP apps have more value than Win32 or web solutions. And without confidence in UWP, the entire proposition falls apart. Windows as a Service will flop along with it.

  Well worth reading.

  Windows News UWP, Windows Mobile

• Mobile Windows market share stabilizes

  Posted on October 12, 2011 at 06:46 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  … but is it too late to save the patient?

  InfoWorld Tech Watch.

  Windows News Windows Mobile, Windows Phone 7

• Microsoft makes more on Android than Windows with smartphones

  Posted on June 1, 2011 at 21:34 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Interesting numbers.

  Check out my InfoWorld Tech Watch post.

  Microsoft News Android, Windows Mobile, Windows Phone