Using Florian Diesch’s tutorial at Ask Ubuntu, I’ve come up with this simple guide to get your keyboard working.

1. Open a terminal. Sorry, this is all going to be command prompt based!
2. Install the program evtest

   sudo apt-get install evtest

3. You will need to find which input “event” corresponds to your keyboard. Run the following command

   sudo evtest /dev/input/event5

   When you press the scroll key on your keyboard, you should see an output like

   Event: time 1325072953.278713, type 4 (Misc), code 4 (ScanCode), value c022e
   Event: time 1325072953.278729, type 1 (Key), code 109 (PageDown), value 1
   Event: time 1325072953.278752, -------------- Report Sync ------------
   

   If you don’t, cancel (using CTRL+C) and try another event number. Start at event0 and work your way up.

4. Let’s see what the keys are currently mapped to. Type the command

   sudo /lib/udev/keymap -i input/event5

   (or whatever “event” number you need). You should see an output like

   scan code: 0xC022D   key code: zoomin
   scan code: 0xC022E   key code: zoomout

5. We need to create a file which contains the new keymapping. To do this, type

   sudo nano /lib/udev/keymaps/microsoft-4000

6. Insert the following two lines into the file

   0xC022D pageup
   0xC022E pagedown

   If you would rather scroll line-by-line, you can use

   0xC022D up
   0xC022E down

   Save the file by pressing CTRL+X.

7. Now, let’s implement the remapped keys. Type

   sudo /lib/udev/keymap input/event5 /lib/udev/keymaps/microsoft-4000

8. Your scroll buttons should now be working! If not… errr… try again?
9. Assuming it is working, we need to make this permanent so that we don’t have to type in a command every time we reboot. To open the keymapping file, type

   sudo nano /lib/udev/rules.d/95-keymap.rules

10. Scroll through the file until you see

    #
    # The following are external USB keyboards
    #
    
    LABEL="keyboard_usbcheck"
    

    Past in the following line

    ENV{ID_VENDOR_ID}=="045e", ENV{ID_MODEL_ID}=="00db", RUN+="keymap $name microsoft-4000"

    The line needs to be above

    GOTO="keyboard_end"

    Save the file (CTRL+X).

11. Reboot.

Hey presto! Your keys will now obey your commands.

Further evidence of this can be found on Microsoft’s latest XBox poster which contains a rather prominent QR code.

Here it is in more detail.

When scanned, it goes to a Google URL shortner!

If Microsoft’s own marketing department doesn’t have faith in the MS Tag – or their own QR creator – why should anyone else?

It was the best of phones – it was the worst of phones…

I want to start this review by saying three things:

• I got this phone for free – thanks Nokia!
• I’m an extremely demanding mobile user. I recognise that I am an edge-case; what I find annoying, you may not.
• I’ve tried to stick to actual bugs, not just “it does things differently.”

Sergeant Elop’s Lonely Phone Club

Imagine, of you will, you have just purchased a brand new copy of Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band on vinyl.

It is beautifully designed, an astonishing work of art. You play side one and it is sublime – perhaps the perfect start to any album.

The you flip the disc to side two – and it’s Justin Bieber. A screeching, horrible, tune free noise that damages your calm and makes you want to smash your stereo.

That’s the Lumia 800 from Nokia. It’s Finland’s first Windows Phone 7. It’s beautiful and infuriating in equal measure.

The Good

There is much to praise the Lumia – and WP7 – for. So much potential – and nearly all of it squandered. But, we’ll get to that… Let’s start with what I love.

Beauty Is Skin Deep

The phone is gorgeous. Like a futuristic pop-tart. Sleek, shiny, and midnight black.
It pulls off the incredible feat of being discreet and eye catching.
A pure monoblock. As enigmatic and attractive as the monolith from 2001.

There’s just one problem. We’re in 2011.

A Brand New Operating System

Windows Phone 7 is different from all other phone operating systems before it. Sure, it has icons, widgets, lists, long presses, swipes, and … you know what? It isn’t different. It isn’t a new paradigm. What it is, is gorgeous.

It’s a sparse and elegant experience. Fast and user friendly.

The “Metro UI” is really easy to use, gentle on the eye, and a clever way to organise a phone.

Speed Demon

This is one of the fastest phones I’ve used. It’s startup speed rivals that of BlackBerry. In day to day usage, I never found that it stuttered or slowed down – even while having several apps open at once.

Our Friends Connected

You can add in all your disparate social networks into your phone book. So, when you look up a contact, you can easily see their last status message, their Facebook photos etc.

Just like Vodafone 360 did years ago…

But, unlike 360, it works really well. It seemed to match up all my Twitter, Facebook, and address book friends without hassle.

Getting The Basics Right

Call quality was excellent. Good speaker phone. Fine reception. Basically, it works as a phone.

The camera is quick to focus and produces outstanding images.

Ok… ok… If you want to use it as a basic smartphone, the Lumia will do you fine.
It browses the web, plays music, links all your social networks together, and looks beautiful while doing so.

It is basically fine – until you scratch beneath the surface.

The Bad

I thought that the Nokia N8 was the worst phone ever made by Nokia. The Lumia may come a close second.

I’ve been posting a running commentary on Twitter of all the niggles I have with the Lumia.

Here are the highlights – and slightly more in depth explanations – of every bug and annoyance I found. I have suffered, so that you may not.

Let’s start off with a gentle one…

Aww! #WP7 has a skeuomorph for its save icon. http://t.co/4CFKklEz

29/11/2011 20:38 via TwitpicReplyRetweetFavorite

@edent

Terence Eden

That was the warm up. What would you say to a phone that you can’t switch off?

I have since discovered that this only happens when the phone is plugged in. Maybe I’m unusual but, before going to bed, I switch off my phone and let it charge overnight. I’ve had several WP7 fans say that I should switch my phone on to flight mode (go in to settings, scroll through) or switch my phone on to silent if I don’t want to be disturbed during the night.

There’s just two problems with that. Firstly – why doesn’t the phone tell me that I can’t switch it off? Secondly – it’s impossible to switch the phone on to silent.

Silence Is Golden

This may fall under the “just how I am used to it” school of errors, but bear me out.
On every phone I’ve owned I’ve had three sound profiles that I can toggle through.

• Ring and vibrate – what the phone is normally set to.
• Vibrate – when I want to be notified, but having a loud ring isn’t appropriate.
• Silent – I don’t want to be notified (I’m in a meeting).

With the Lumia, I can toggle between Ring+Vibrate and Vibrate. There’s no way to get the phone to go silent without diving through a maze of menus.

In fairness, this is a problem which has affected recent Android phones – but there are multiple (free) widgets which solve it.

Screen Issues

The screen on the Lumia is a mixed bag. When it’s displaying white text on a pure black background, it’s perfect. When there’s a white background, the screen seems – to me – to have lots of artefacts on it.

The Lumia’s screen is at its worst when dealing with greys, and solid blogs of colours. It suffers from lots of vertical banding which is really quite unpleasant.

I’ve scanned in the screen looking at a fairly normal grey image. While the scanner has overemphasised the problem (and my greasy finger prints!) you should be able to get an idea of how the problem manifests.

Browser Bugbears

Internet Explorer is a reasonable browser – but very buggy.

The URL bar keeps disappearing. I’ve had this a couple of times. The URL bar just vanishes when you’re using the web. As far as I can tell, there’s no way to bring it back.

Only two browsers have the URL bar at the bottom. #WP7 and Lynx.Right now, it's tough to say which is more functional...

03/12/2011 22:49 via ©Terence Eden SomeRightsReservedReplyRetweetFavorite

@edent

Terence Eden

One more annoyance with the Lumia's browser. Scroll down a page, click a link, then click back - it dumps you at the top of the page. #WP7

04/12/2011 09:02 via ©Terence Eden SomeRightsReservedReplyRetweetFavorite

@edent

Terence Eden

Unbelievable! IE on #WP7 doesn't reflow text when you zoom in on a web page. The Lumia is quickly losing its lustre.

02/12/2011 06:46 via ©Terence Eden SomeRightsReservedReplyRetweetFavorite

@edent

Terence Eden

The scrolling for the web browser sometimes stops responding.

Meeting You, Meeting Me

It’s really hard to accept meeting invites on the Lumia. On my Exchange email, it works perfectly. For some Gmail invites, I have to click a link and go to Google Calendar on the web. The Lumia doesn’t recognise .ics files – so there’s no way the email client can talk to the calendar.

But, worse is to come. I asked someone at Microsoft to send me a meeting invite to my Gmail account. While the invite worked fine on the web, the Lumia gave me literally no way to answer the meeting invite – as this video demonstrates.

Crapware

This is Nokia’s flagship phone – so you think they would have taken more care with it, wouldn’t you? As well as a buggy OS, they’ve filled it with… let’s just say “non-premium” apps.

I do like the fact that I can uninstall the bloatware on the Lumia. Goodbye Ministry of Sound (what?) and Sky "News".

01/12/2011 08:57 via ©Terence Eden SomeRightsReservedReplyRetweetFavorite

@edent

Terence Eden

I think one problem with #WP7 is that it's caught between fun and serious. A BA app & Ministry of Sound. Xbox & Office. Feels conflicted.

01/12/2011 09:00 via ©Terence Eden SomeRightsReservedReplyRetweetFavorite

@edent

Terence Eden

Some apps, like this one from BA, need updating as soon as you switch on the phone. Sadly, you can’t click a button to update – you have to go into the app store.

The greatest opprobrium is reserved for TripAdvisor. I know that deals like this take a lot of time and money to organise – but they really could have done better than this pathetic effort.

One of the default apps on Nokia's flagship Lumia is... an iPhone app. Well done TripAdvisor. http://t.co/7tQPWEOf

06/12/2011 16:53 via TwitpicReplyRetweetFavorite

@edent

Terence Eden

Still, at least they let you easily install the bloat.

Things Go Better When We’re Together

Microsoft may – or may not – be buying Nokia. One thing is for sure, they’re working closely together. What’s weird is why they’ve decided to duplicate some of the services on the phone.

The Lumia has both the Zune music store *and* the Nokia music store. Different prices in both. Different sign-in requirements for both. #WP7

02/12/2011 15:06 via ©Terence Eden SomeRightsReservedReplyRetweetFavorite

@edent

Terence Eden

Very impressed with the Lumia's music streaming over 3G. No idea if it's Nokia music or Zune, but it's free & high quality.

02/12/2011 18:17 via ©Terence Eden SomeRightsReservedReplyRetweetFavorite

@edent

Terence Eden

Just discover that the Lumia has Microsoft maps AND Nokia maps. Now that's what I call synergy!

06/12/2011 17:05 via ©Terence Eden SomeRightsReservedReplyRetweetFavorite

@edent

Terence Eden

Finally, Nokia seems to have its own app store. Once again, we see just how little Nokia care for UX.

Nokia Lumia: untested, buggy, & even its own app store looks amateur. Still, Facebook is hardly a major brand, is it? http://t.co/LeXonzxj

05/12/2011 16:53 via ©Terence Eden SomeRightsReservedReplyRetweetFavorite

@edent

Terence Eden

Paperback Writer

The keyboard is a very strange beast. It’s mostly fine, but has some oddities.

Lumia's keyboard is infuriating. Sometimes white on dark, sometimes the inverse. Jumps up to accommodate buttons which ruins touch typing.

30/11/2011 13:55 via WindowsLiveReplyRetweetFavorite

@edent

Terence Eden

Latest Lumia niggle - the keyboard doesn't display a "next" button when filling in text fields. And "Lumia" isn't in its dictionary! #WP7

01/12/2011 07:51 via ©Terence Eden SomeRightsReservedReplyRetweetFavorite

@edent

Terence Eden

The #WP7 keyboard tries to autocorrect the word "Google" into "Bootleg". That's a new one, spreading FUD via dictionary!

06/12/2011 07:41 via ©Terence Eden SomeRightsReservedReplyRetweetFavorite

@edent

Terence Eden

Weirdly, the word “Lumia” isn’t in the Lumia’s dictionary. So there’s a little red squiggle ever time you write it. Or other common words.

That said – the in-line spell check is very nice. I miss it on my Android – I think I first saw it on the BlackBerry many years ago.

My Baby’s Got Me Wrapped Up In Chains

We’re living in a post-PC age. Unless you’re Microsoft. You have to connect to a Windows PC to update software, copy across music and videos, change the BlueTooth name of the device, or even subscribe to podcasts.

What’s worse, is you have to install the Zune software if you want to get music or photos off the device. You can’t send via Bluetooth, you can’t just shove in a USB cable and drag them off. You have to install the 100MB behemoth that is Zune, restart your PC several times, fire up the software, wait for it to detect your phone, then let it sync before you can get your photos out.

Of course, you could email your photos off the phone – but the UI for that is terrible. There’s no way to select multiple images, so you have to attach each one individually.

Guess how easy it is to email multiple photos on #WP7?Android: Gallery, select photos, send.Lumia: Email, add, photo, select one. Repeat.

01/12/2011 10:58 via ©Terence Eden SomeRightsReservedReplyRetweetFavorite

@edent

Terence Eden

It seems that any time you want to do something to your phone, you have to connect it to a PC running Windows.

Yay! There's an update for my Nokia Lumia!Boo! I have to connect to a computer to install it.#WP7

02/12/2011 22:36 via ©Terence Eden SomeRightsReservedReplyRetweetFavorite

@edent

Terence Eden

Unbelievable - the Lumia won't let me download an MP3 from the web. It'll play it, sure, but it's not saved anywhere. #WP7

03/12/2011 22:06 via ©Terence Eden SomeRightsReservedReplyRetweetFavorite

@edent

Terence Eden

Let’s Talk About Text, Baby

Do you ever use read receipts for SMS? Perfect for seeing when someone has received your message. In every other phone on the planet, the read receipt is integrated in to the SMS app – so you can see at a glance which messages have been received.

With WP7, you get a long list of phone numbers which have received a message. It doesn’t even do the simple task of showing you the name of your contact.

No Thanks

I hope that what I’ve shown you is a litany of bugs, errors, gotchas, and foul ups. I don’t think any of the points I’ve raised are unfair. I like to think that I judge other phones just as harshly – see my treatment of BlackBerry and of iPhone and of Android.

For regular users, the Lumia is an astonishing phone, & #WP7 is a joy to use. For power-users, it will enrapture & disgust in equal measure.

03/12/2011 11:34 via ©Terence Eden SomeRightsReservedReplyRetweetFavorite

@edent

Terence Eden

I know this is a brand new OS – but you don’t get credit for trying.

I want to make it clear that, like the iPhone, the Lumia is an excellent device; as long as you stay within its parameters. I'm an edge case

02/12/2011 07:45 via ©Terence Eden SomeRightsReservedReplyRetweetFavorite

@edent

Terence Eden

I’m not giving up on Windows Phone 7. It is still a work in progress. There is a great deal of potential here – and I look forward to seeing what the future brings.

For the record, Lumia is a gorgeous device, the #WP7 interface is *mostly* amazing. It feels like the original iPhone; radical and limited.

01/12/2011 10:59 via ©Terence Eden SomeRightsReservedReplyRetweetFavorite

@edent

Terence Eden

For now though, avoid the Lumia. Wait until Microsoft fixes the bugs and until Nokia decides release a phone that they are happy with. Because, honestly, I don’t think anyone at Nokia can believe this is the best that they can do.

The first thing to note is that WP7 still looks gorgeous – the front tiles (aka widgets) are smart and add a real feeling of fluidity to the phone.

Juicy

The second thing is rather more depressing. Windows is still playing catch-up. It’s a standard joke that neither the iPhone nor WP7 had copy-n-paste on release – what’s not a joke is the number of “new” features that Microsoft announced are things which have been around for years.

• Groups of contacts. I don’t know about you, but I was able to group contacts on my ancient 6310i.
• Multi-Tasking. You know, like all those Symbian phones had years ago.
• Facebook events now appear in your calendar. Again, just like on BlackBerry, Android, etc.
• Music pauses when you receive an SMS – the phone reads the message to you and you can use voice recognition to compose a message. Nice that it’s all integrated, but hardly revolutionary.

Cognitive Dissonance

Compare and contrast the following two statements made by Microsoft.

The way in which people browse the web on a phone is different to how they browse the web on a desktop PC.

…and…

Windows Phone 7 uses Internet Explorer 9. The exactly the same rendering engine as desktop IE9. So pages look the same on both Desktop and Mobile.

While it’s admirable that there’s just one set of quirks for developers to code for – and potentially the same exploits on both – I can’t help but think this is misguided. Do users really want all pages to render the same, or would they rather have a mobile specific rendering?

Here’s a sample image provided by Microsoft.

Forget your troubles, come on, get ‘appy

And so, finally, on to apps.

Where WP7 really excels in in 3D. The sample BA app had a 3D seat checker which, while gimmicky, was incredibly smooth.

With a claimed 18,000 apps, WP7 has overtaken BlackBerry and is catching up on the other platforms. There are just two flies in the ointment.

Private Apps

If you’re a big business and want to put “employee only” apps on to your employee’s phones, you can! Well, you upload the app to the marketplace, set it as private, then distribute a secret URL to your employees. Anyone with that URL can download the app – so if an email accidentally gets forwarded…

It’s a rather unsatisfactory kludge. Why not allow developers to deploy direct to handsets? (I know, I know… it breaks the MS control.)

Developer Tools

So, you’re competing with Apple iPhone. Presumably you want to attract iPhone developers to your platform, right? So, why aren’t WP7 development tools available on the Mac?

Windows 7 runs perfectly on a Mac. Buy a licence. We’ve no interest in making our tools available on other operating systems.

That is, almost verbatim, the answer I received. I can understand not making the tools available on Linux. But iOS developers can only use a Mac. Why should they have to fork out for and install an entire OS just to run WP7 development?

Microsoft Office is available on Mac – so someone in Redmond has an eye on that market.

It just seems silly that you’d ignore all the iOS developers.

Overall

WP7 is a great platform. It’s finally catching up with features that other phone users take for granted. The hardware and software work well – especially when tied in to Microsoft services like Xbox and Sharepoint.

I’m just left with a feeling of “so what?” As a platform, there’s nothing I can do on there that can’t be done on other devices. Yes, the 3D XNA / Silverlight thing is nice – but any better than OpenGL?

As a consumer phone, it’s perfectly acceptable.
For Xbox gamers, this is the only phone to consider.

As a business device, it ticks many of the right boxes.
If you’re heavily invested in the Microsoft way of working (Sharepoint, Office 365, Outlook), you’d be hard pressed to find a better phone.

But for everyone else, there’s no “wow” factor. Nothing that makes me think “I have to get this phone because it does something nothing else does.”

Perhaps I’m being slightly cynical. The hardware and software is great – it’s nice to see them catching up with all the other phones. WP7 is a welcome addition to the ecosystem, even if it isn’t driving forward innovation.

But I do have serious concerns about Microsoft’s attempts to enter the 2D tag market. While talking about QR Codes on Twitter, the Online Community Manager for Microsoft Tags sent me this message.

@PongrMedia @edent have you checked out Microsoft Tag? You can make some pretty cool custom designs http://ow.ly/i/5Ljk

23/11/2010 19:25 via HootSuiteReplyRetweetFavorite

@elemenager

Elliott Lemenager

It seems that Elliot spends his entire time trying to convince QR users that MS Tags are the next big thing. But are they really? Not everyone is convinced. I’d like to take you through why I think that Microsoft’s tag strategy is misguided and why you should avoid using them.

Example MS Tag

Indirect

I’ve spoken before about the perils of indirect codes. Essentially, an MS Tag contains just a number, the reader then has to connect to the Internet, query Microsoft’s servers, then return the information to you.

This is worse than a QR code and raises the following questions:

• What if Microsoft’s database goes down, gets corrupted, is switched off, or is generally unavailable?
• Can Microsoft profit from your data?
• When Microsoft starts charging – what happens if you don’t pay?
• If a customer is roaming, or doesn’t have internet access, how do they get the content? A QR card containing a business card can transfer contact details to your phone even if you don’t have an Internet connection.

One positive feature of using an indirect code is that you can update the destination information. You can log on to Microsoft’s servers and point your code at a different URL, that way, you don’t need to reprint your tags.
Of course, you can do this with a QR code as well! If your QR code points to example.com/ScanMe – all you need to do is update your .htaccess file to redirect the scanner to a different page.

Controlled By a 3rd Party

With a QR code it is you who are in control. When you relinquish that control, you open yourself up to a world of uncertainty.
Take a look at these two clauses from the Microsoft Tag Terms of Use

we may change this Agreement, the API or any Service at any time and for any reason, with or without notice. Such changes may include removal of features, addition of new features or the requirement of fees for previously free features

So, once your MS Tag is getting a few hundred scans a day, Microsoft can send you an email saying

“Nice campaign you’re running there. It would be a pity if anything happened to it. Shall we say $10 per scan?”

Or, take a look at this fine piece of legalese.

THE API AND SERVICE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO TAGS AND REPORTS, ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. MICROSOFT AND/OR ITS RESPECTIVE SUPPLIERS MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS ABOUT THE SUITABILITY, FUNCTIONALITY, ACCURACY OR AVAILABILITY OF THE SERVICE OR TAGS, OR THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THE DOCUMENTS, REPORTS AND/OR RELATED GRAPHICS PUBLISHED AS PART OF THE SERVICE OR IN CONJUNCTION WITH ANY TAGS FOR ANY PURPOSE

Now, I know that all services disclaim liability. But a QR code isn’t a service. It’s a specification. No one can suddenly revoke it. It will never stop working because a company goes out of business or simply decides to retire a service.

More Expensive To Print

This isn’t a trivial point. A QR code works best in black and white – but you can use colours if you want. MS Tags require a complex colour printing process. That’s expensive if you’re printing out fliers, photocopying leaflets, or simply ordering business cards.

You can hack MS Tags to make them readable in black and white – but it’s not officially supported.

I’ll agree that the basic QR code is nothing much to look at – but that doesn’t mean you can’t make them as visually interesting as MS Tags if you want.

Limited Availability

I’m a big fan of Windows Phone 7. You would think it would be natural to ensure that every WP7 device has an MS Tag reader. I asked Oded Ran, Microsoft UK’s Head of Consumer Marketing for Windows Phone, if that was the case.

@edent no, it doesn't come pre-installed.

24/11/2010 19:26 via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@odedran

Oded Ran

I understand better than most the realities of bringing a device to market. It’s a constant battle over which features have to make the cut. It just seems odd to me that Microsoft didn’t insist on a tag reader to be installed. True, there are readers available in the Windows Phone 7 app store – but it strikes me a glaring omission not to capitalise on the new platform. The MS Tag reader wasn’t even available at launch. I’m sure Microsoft have a high level of confidence in both platforms, but it’s a worrying gap.

While Microsoft claim that they’re available on more phones than other readers, I find that hard to believe. What’s more, because the code is proprietary, you’re once again reliant on Microsoft to release a reader for your platform. If MS makes a business decision not to support, say, Bada, you literally cannot reach those customers. You can see the full list of supported phones at http://www.gettag.mobi/ – Bada isn’t on the list – and there’s no indication of when or if it will ever be available.

Once again, the open standard wins through. Readers can be created by anyone for any platform.

Not as Recognisable

It’s pretty cool that MS Tags can be merged into images like these.

But how do you let users know that it’s a scannable image? You either need an extra graphic or text explaining which image can be scanned.
A QR code has a distinct look which is easy for a customer to recognise.

Continuing Support

It’s hard introducing a new technology to a crowded marketplace – but once again, Microsoft haven’t done themselves any favours with developers. The MS Tag support portal is eerily quiet and littered with unanswered questions.
True, there is only a small team working on this – but it still strikes me as a bit of a half-hearted effort.

Final Thoughts

QR Codes are an open and published standard (ISO/IEC18004). There are no patent or royalty fees to pay. Ever.

I struggle to see what MS Tags bring to the party. Their one strength – their attractive multi-coloured nature – turns out to be a considerable weakness in terms of cost to print and longevity. What happens when those colours fade in the sunlight?

Everything else about them strikes me as a huge risk. A closed proprietary standard which exists solely on the whim of Microsoft. At any time Microsoft can turn it off or start charging you money for campaigns which are already live. Those are two huge risks which simply aren’t present with QR codes.

Overall, I can’t find any clear advantage when using MS Tags.

Think I’m wrong? Please let me know in the comments below.

So it was with great mirth that I went along to a BizSpark event a few weeks ago. Microsoft were going to be showing off their latest “innovation” – Windows Phone 7.

I went along expecting to hate it and, instead, found myself curiously drawn to it.

Take a look at the emulator for an interactive demo.

I played with the demo hardware and software and had my expectations blown away.  I’ll be honest – I expected crap.  I had horrible memories of the stylus oriented Windows Mobile 6.  The phone which would display an hourglass if you had the temerity to receive a phone call while playing solitaire.

Windows Phone 7 (WP7) was a million miles away from the old Microsoft experience.

Pros

The user interface is refreshingly simple and fun to use.  It’s like nothing else I’ve tried before and I really think that Microsoft has outclassed both Android and Apple.

Pushing so much information to the homescreen really makes you want to use your phone constantly. iPhone only does this half-heartedly and Android does it without much animation or UI consistency.

App Store.  One excellent feature of the MS app store is the “Try Before You Buy” model.  Rather than a developer putting out a free, limited version and a “pro” version they can publish a single app.  They can restrict the features and functionality of the “demo” version until the customer makes the purchase. Or, after a set period of time, the demo version can become non-functioning. Or have reduced function.  Brilliant.

Gaming on this device will be huge. It looks like it will be simple to port games from the Xbox to WP7 – that gives it a great competative advantage. Tie in Xbox Live (or whatever it’s called) and you’ll get gamers buying the same game twice – once on the console and once on the phone.  The 3D power of the phones was stunning.

Cons

There are some serious shortcomings in the Windows Phone 7 vision of the future which Microsoft urgently need to address.

• Expand the development options.  If you want to write for Windows Phone 7, you’ll need Windows installed on your computer.  Given that Android allows you to develop on Windows, Mac and Linux, it doesn’t make sense to make developers buy a new operating system.  Especially as iPhone development is tied to Apple.
• Open it up.  I love the idea of integrating my phone with my Xbox live account – but I don’t have an Xbox! Open it up so that my Wii or PS3 gaming experience can be pushed to the homescreen.
• The same goes for mail and IM – don’t restrict it just to Exchange and MSN.  Openness is hard for Microsoft, but it will attract more customers to the platform.
• Have a firm, public roadmap for enhancements which all manufacturers stick to.  Android is currently being stifled by manufacturers like HTC who refuse to update the software on their customers’ devices.
• Revenue share for developers needs to be better. At the moment it’s the same 70/30 split being offered by Android and Apple.  It needs to be lower for two key reasons.

1. Attract developers to the fledgling ecosystem.
2. To avoid any accusations of a cartel.  To have all three major platforms “independently” converge on the same revenue share deal looks suspicious.

Now What?

I’ve played with the prototype hardware and I’m impressed.  The software is really good. Much better that Microsoft’s usual standard.

It has to be.

Microsoft are betting their mobile future on this platform.  Win6.5 failed. Kin failed. They can’t afford another high profile failure like this.  Mirosoft are putting their best people on this project and, as far as I can tell, are revisiting their Xbox strategy; SPEND SPEND SPEND.

By the time the phones launch (holiday season 2010) you won’t be able to move without seeing an advert.  They will crank up their media machine to 11.  Just like the original Xbox, they will buy their way in to the market with a view that – like the Xbox 360 – the real prize is several years away.

I hope they succeed.  Not because I have any love for Microsoft, but because Nokia, Apple, and Google will all have to raise the quality of their software and hardware to compete against Microsoft’s marketing expenditure.

I’m a Linux geek – and I think Windows Phone 7 is the best thing to come out of Redmond in a very long time.

Rather than getting bogged down in philosophy, I refer to the reason people choose Microsoft Windows to do anything public facing.

Advertisers obviously care enough about their message to craft 30 second videos, they invest millions on infrastructure to support showing them. Then they take a totally unsuitable and unstable method for playing them back – why?

It’s a phenomena I repeatedly see. Advertising screens around the world which are really only displaying one message.

They’re saying “Windows – The Worst Way To Get Your Message Across”.

However, it’s not just Windows which has the problem – each of these three photos show a PC which has failed to POST correctly. So they are stuck – forever displaying their inadequacies to thousands of passers-by. (Click to embiggen)

My real rant isn’t about Windows – it’s about the design and thinking behind such advertising screens. It would appear that each screen is driven by its own PC. What madness! The cost of hardware – let alone software – must be phenomenal.

At the moment, each screen displays exactly the same content as its neighbour. There’s no reason why a single computer couldn’t be used to drive all the screens.

I say exactly the same – the screens get progressively out of sync as the day goes on. Presumably the separate PCs don’t communicate with one and other.

The next thing that bothers me is the use of Windows.

These screens aren’t using an embedded version of Windows – they’re using XP. Now, XP is a fine OS – but it is bloated in terms of what is needed. All that is needed is a small embedded device which can be loaded with video files and set to play back.

It doesn’t need a desktop OS.  It doesn’t need anything more complicated than a display, video codecs and an Ethernet port.  This is the sort of thing for which Linux is perfect.

So, why?  Why has this system been allowed to develop?  Every day I see another screen which is broken, out of sync, or crashed.  Why has such a fragile and expensive solution become so prevalent?

The majority of these photos show TFL advertising screens managed by CBS Outdoor.  I really do wonder if they ever wander through the tube and see what a shoddy experience they are delivering.