Microsoft Unveils Its Developer Strategy for the Next Generation of Windows Phones

Are they going to let people dev for Windows Mobile with the express versions of their dev tools? I didn't see that mentioned, but free dev tools is still anice plus for the iPhone. There's good Windows Mobile devs out there now, they just need to get more folks onboard.

Please pardon the OT post. I got into the appropriate thread after it was closed, but I had to comment on this "Waethorn" gem: "I've used some of the original versions of RenderMan on PC. A few I've used back in Windows 3.0, long before Pixar started making films." As "Wae" him/herself would say: "LIAR!" Windows 3.0 was released in May of 1990. Pixar started making films in 1984 while they were still under Lucasfilm, and in 1986 released "Luxo Jr.", the first official Pixar film. I know this very well, because at the time I was using a Mindset II computer for video graphics work, and took a couple animation courses where we studied the Pixar films of the era. So unless "Waethorn" was utilizing a magical time machine, there's no way s/he could have been using Windows 3.0 prior to 1984. Get your facts straight, Wae.

"Pixar started making films in 1984 while they were still under Lucasfilm" Pixar didn't produce the films under their own name though. "in 1986 released "Luxo Jr.", the first official Pixar film" It was a short. Not a full-length feature. Get your facts straight. They didn't produce their first full-length feature film until Disney started working with them. Besides that, your primary source of facts says this: "Pixar has made 9 feature films beginning with Toy Story in 1995" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixar So, :p

Microsoft has lost to the iPhone. Windows Mobile is the new Palm.

"Apple only sold 4 million units (bringing in ... what ... $2.67 billion?)" Apple sells hardware. Microsoft only licenses the software. Monetary comparisons aren't valid.

MJF really only posted one possible difference. The detailed feedback about their app-certification application throughout the approval process via the developer portal. Other than that, she gives no further comparison. I guess it will give a developer comfort to know exactly why they get turned down. A nicer form of rejection, but still rejection. Still, that does beat the pants off the way Apple is doing it, or even removing already approved apps.

With the Palm Pre getting some major buzz, let's not kill Palm before its time. Also, if Windows Mobile 7 is a full refresh that addresses the issues with WinMo 5, 6, and 6.5, Microsoft could end up back in the game. However, they are down considering the buzz on the Apple side. However, I would add that Samsung is working on both the Instinct Mini and the Instinct 2, which adapts and competes well to the iPhone. Also Samsung is making versions with similar features to the Instinct with both Windows Mobile and the Android platform. If anything, it is pretty impossible to predict what is going to happen on the smartphone and consumer cell phone market. But to provide some context, since mostly the concerns here are about North American markets, we rarely address what happens in Europe and Japan. In Japan, the iPhone isn't quite the hit as it is here. In Europe, its sold for free or a little under 2 bucks in Europe. http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20080618/153419/ For the very same reasons why American consumers are critizing the iPhone, the carrier in Japanese carrier Softbank has dropped calls and pricey phone plans. So this isn't just an AT&T issue, this is happening in other countries. In European countries, you can get the iPhone for free in the UK or Spain. In Germany, it sells for a 1.40 subsidy. Also, the minimum average phone plan for an 8 GB iPhone is $51 to $64 or for a 16 GB ranges from $107 to $152 dollars. Ouch. What really sucks about this, is that if good carriers and reasonable prices, the iPhone could be a much bigger hit with consumers world wide. If Apple would loosen its grip on the App Store, lower the prices, push carriers for better subsidy's, and require at least 2 carriers of the phone per market. Then you'd have a healthy and competitive environment for the iPhone while fostering competition. However, Samsung is the world's second largest mobile phone maker with plenty of Windows Mobile phones. So I think with the right designs and a major refresh, WinMo could be back. However, Microsoft has to take it seriously and put in some elbow grease. As for me personally, I really dislike Windows Mobile phones. I have never owned one for personal use. I was forced to use one for work purposes and a PDA with WindowsCE edition. YUCK. Clunky and froze often. Made work at times impossible. Microsoft has its work cut out.

"Pixar didn't produce the films under their own name though." "Pixar has made 9 feature films beginning with Toy Story in 1995" Oh, where to begin...perhaps you should get your own damn facts straight: - You didn't say "feature films", you said "films" - You said you were using RenderMan on Windows 3.0 "long before Pixar STARTED MAKING films" (emphasis mine). Even if one accepts your backpedaling tale that you were talking about feature films, clearly "Toy Story" was STARTED long before Windows was released. - You spewed the nonsense that "Pixar didn't produce the films under their own name though", which is BS. When Jobs bought the company, he named it "Pixar", and "Luxo Jr." was released under the Pixar name. - "Luxo Jr." was nominated for an Academy Award™ in 1987. For Pixar (the company that "doesn't produce the films under their own name"). Note of clarification, "Waethorn": the academy only nominates FILMS. You know, the ones you say the nonexistent Pixar wasn't producing. - "Tin Toy" (another "film") won an Academy Award™ for Pixar (again, the company you claimed didn't release films under their own name) in 1989, a full year before Windows 3.0 was released. - You, sir/ma'am, are a jackass.

"No, the emphasis was on that *THEY* didn't release feature films, which they didn't. They only did special effects for movies." ...and Academy Award-nomintated and -winning short films, as well as commercial work. Are you really that stupid, or are you just pretending You really are a twat, Wae. Read your original comment (if you know how to read, that is). You said you were using RenderMan on Windows long before Pixar released FILMS. My gawd, you are so intransigent when you're wrong. "It was nominated for an award in 1986, and the academy nominates not only films, but individuals, groups, and companies for technical merits and acheivements. You should try watching TV or movies sometime to get your facts right." LOL...Yeah, I'm sure "watching TV or movies" is how you get your facts right in Canada. But again, you're obfuscating because you're wrong. Pixar was nominated for a film. Check YOUR facts: According to Pixar's website, "the film "Luxo Jr." received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Short Film. http://www.pixar.com/companyinfo/history/1987.html See that, "Waethorn"? Read it again. 1987. Film. Pixar. You're wrong*...get over it. * You are right about one thing. I screwed up when I referenced the start date for "Toy Story". You, however, are completely and utterly wrong about everything else.