Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

With all the N900 bashing that goes on here lately I sometimes find myself thinking maybe I should have bought or buy a Droid phone or God forbid an Iphone.

The N900 shows me there really is no other phone on the market like it.

Tonight while eating out with my family I had to work on a remote server with an issue my tech guys could not handle.
I was able to answer 2 tickets on my support desk, update a ticket that was open to my upstream data centers help desk, IM my technician on duty and discuss the problem with him, VPN into my private networks database grab a servers details from it copy them then paste into a ssh session open a connection to the server upgrade the kernel and reboot the server then monitor a ping until the server was back on line, all those windows open at the same time. And did it all in less 15 minutes.

No other phone form factor on the planet would let me do that.
So yeah it may have issues not the best phone functions in the world, the email client sucks, but as a Internet tablet, hands down it can't be beat.

Re: Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

thats good for you.now you need to learn that 'family time' and 'work time' are two separate things :)

Re: Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

That sounds badass to the nerdiest degree, but what the hell does all that mean...

Re: Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

Hahahahaha...

ROFL

Re: Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

haha this is indeed the most useful phone I've ever had in my entire lifespan. I had the same experience as Techark, perhaps I should nickname the device "God's Hand". Even though it lacks certain features which tech savy or end users are looking forward to, it fulfils most of the features which I ever wanted and ever can do on a single multiclassed telephony/all-in-one device. :D

Re: Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

hi so i guess to grab the server data via vpn from your database and to open the ssh connection to the other server would be possible with another Phone OS that provides the same Applications (its all about VPN and SSH) too. This isnt anything what makes the N900 unique.

Re: Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

Well, if you are a 'nix sysadmin, just doing this stuff with your regular tools IS unique. Also, while android would allow doing all this stuff simultaneously, iOS most certainly would not.

Re: Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

Yeah I don't quite understand the abshing of the N900. Nokia is really messing things up with OVI and all atm, but I wouldn't trade my N900 for any existing phone/tablet on the market. I don't use it quite the same way as you tho. For me its more about social networking and communicating with people aswell as enjoying media. A few weeks ago I got a wow moment with the N900 when i found myself talking to my sister on skype and at the same time I was sending a mp3 via email to a friend while chatting with him on facebook chat. And during all this, the media player was playing music in the background. 900 FTW!!! Yeah I said it :)

Re: Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

OP never said the n900 being unique

Re: Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

I wholeheartedly agree with the OP.

No other phone has the same potential that the N900 has.
I'm not a coder, I'm a user. But I'm not scared of pushing to see what the device can actually do.

A month after I got the phone I actually applied for a job via web application.
First off I found the job, filled in the online application form, fired up AbiWord and typed out my covering letter, then edited my CV/Resume using AbiWord. I then switched back to the web and attached both documents to the online application and tapped submit.
A few minutes later I got an email confirming my application with a copy of the application attached.

In my opinion, the bashing is mostly unjustified, and if you ask me, I think it could drive the final nail into the N900s coffin.

Re: Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

The N900 is a good phone for a serveradmin, it was really helpful for me already.

Re: Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

To put things into context, you have the raw flexibility of a device running an open source desktop platform with rudimentary phone features (at the start) but where is the value added benefit from Nokia? They didn't invent linux.

That is the consternation. Its that the device should be supported do so much more given its ready made headstart.

Now they have run off onto the next project without ever really helping this one. But yes, a phone with a desktop style OS is a great idea. I think the Moorestown/Pinetrail CPU's will truly usher in this era.

I think the n900 still has its tricks up its sleeves due to community effort and we will see it on engadget with cool stuff happening sometime.

Re: Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

No other phone form factor on the planet would let me do that.

this i would understand as unique.

Re: Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

Technically, the Villiv 3g is one to consider as it makes calls/texts and runs Windows 7, Flash 10.1 and any other OS. But it is 395g and 6 hour continuous usage, 200 hour standby.

Re: Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

In this scenario he would have to go back to office if he couldn't handle the situation with his N900 remotely. I guess his family time was saved by N900 in this case. XD

Re: Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

Depends on your job. If you work in IT and are being paid big bucks to be on-call then there is no separation of 'family time' and 'work time'.

Edit: Though I should point out that my Uncle does a similar job on his iPhone 3GS that his company provides. Though due to the limitations on multi-tasking, he does it all through a VPN connection to a computer that's connected to the network.

Edit2: And my Sensei who also has a similar job does the same thing on a Windows Mobile smartphone.

Re: Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

yes other phones can do this, hell i was sshing with a razr around 2003, but this phone makes it the easiest by far if you ask me.

the desktop style multitasking and integrated IM is what makes the difference IMO.

if i am working on an urgent problem with some people i cant imagine being with some other device. the n900 and tethered n810 before it have freed me up considerably to be wherever whenever, especially now with two kids.

for times when i do have to be more of a sales shark than admin person i do miss some of the symbian phone features though, especially notes being linked to a contact and popping up when they call, that feature alone has saved my *** more times than i like to remember :)

Re: Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

Still, the N900 is the only notebook with telephony function that fits in my pants ;)

Re: Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

lately in a meeting... 6 people look at a website "there is a typo", "that sentence needs to be changed to... that code too... I send you an email earlier today" my answer was "hit refresh, please"
close to one-handed I live-edited the website's content in less than the time they were talking about the page at view... and chatted with a nice girl about having coffee later that day... under the table... one went "how did you do that" I put my hands back on the table and an "aah" sound fills the room... and in case of "I have nothing to do" at those meetings I can check if the secretary is still making out with someone at the copy-machine or if the coffee-machine needs a refill on my way downstairs...

long story short, just a geeky day in a nerdy life!

Re: Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

my mom even suspect that i have a "girlfriend" coz i keep on playing with my phone 24/7 since the day i got it....well she is a bit strict, and mom loves me (all moms love their child) so much, she even wished that i never grew up!

then i download a "Geweled" game (which is a Bejeweled clone game) and my mom loves the game, now when i get home from work she asks for my phone and play with it all night.

this is my reason why N900 is bad

Re: Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

That is saving family time for me.
When you own your business and you are the last man in line to keep a client happy or lose him then being able to do that remotely rather than jumping back in the car and driving home is a blessing. Instead of killing the whole family time I was able to take 15 minutes do what was needed and go back to enjoying the evening.

Re: Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

Oh I disagree.
I have an Iphone 3G in the family. wife has one and I have tried doing things on it, I can't do half that on it at the same time jumping back and forth between programs becomes cumbersome at the least on it. Same with a droid phone.
The ease of the copy and paste function on this phone alone makes this phone unique and in a class all it's own. I might be able to do all that on another phone but it would have taken me a heck of a lot longer and been twice the pain the a&& to do.

Re: Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

Thank you for sharing this wonderful story, stories like this is why we want/like the n900. Sadly i dont think i could do the same on my company network due to lack of MS vpn support on the n900.

Re: Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

BTW.....i have a WinXP in my office, can someone tell me the code on for the IP address in CMD? thanks

UPDATE: never mind.....found it! :D

Re: Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

Last time I was out at dinner with my family, my n900 found a wlan called "cash register" (not sure about the translation). All waiters had some gagdet with them so customers can pay via card, without the need to run back to the counter.
I wonder if I could have hacked the network on my n900 to tell the central server we already paid...

But aside from that, the n900 is plain 1337 when it comes to anything even remotly related to admin stuff. Fix database issues, correct some HTML layout issues, quickly code some changes to some java source on my home computer, chat with friends, tell the guy who asked you on the street where some obscure street is etc and all that simutaniously while beeing in a boring meeting or sitting outside in the sun.
If I had an USB keyboard I probably wouldnt even need my notebook anymore.
Plus, you can even make a phonecalll.
So yea. I do not understand the bashing either.

Re: Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

Um... astonishingly, I do all that on my Android (yes, I'm an admin.. and I use SSH and VPN) and, thankfully, I can also use my Bluetooth Freedom Pro keyboard with my Droid to REALLY get into it comfortably. This thread seems like incredible puffery for a device with many equals and a few better competitors at the moment.

Re: Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

I'm sorry, maybe we should start up more destructive "let's bash Nokia and the N900" threads up? I'm sure we could get h3llraz0r and PradaBrada to join in.

Re: Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

No, perhaps you should actually tell us what you do with the N900 that makes it uniquely stand out above the rest, instead of providing puffery statements that, in fact, many devices are able to do.

Re: Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

You're right, instead of enjoying our device we should either:

- Moan about it, with much wailing and gnashing of teeth
- Defend the fact that we don't hate the device
- Use other devices

I mean, this is maemo.org after all, not android.org or whatever. I'd rather have threads like this that attract a few replies than yet another 100+ post hate thread.

Re: Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

unless you need more than 6 apps open I guess

lets see:

text editor
browser
xterm
chatwindow 1
chatwindow 2
rdp window
oh ****, better get an n900

Re: Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

You mean I can't open more than six apps on my Android OS system? CRAP! I guess I should close a few, then. :rolleyes:

It is.. I also own an N800 and I've been waiting patiently for something as worthwhile to upgrade to but there's much to dislike in Nokia's direction at the moment. I hope they improve but you've yet to indicate anything the N900 does well that I can't do on other platforms. I simply suggest a stop to exaggeration. :P

Re: Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

No, on android, you just wait for the OS to close it for you when you run out of memory.

Re: Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

Not with them concurrently running. Only 6 active apps can be run at the same time (unless the app registers itself as a service, which a few of the IM ones do). Beyond that, if your system starts running low on resources, android will decide what you need or not by randomly closing some down. This was overly apparent on the G1 hardware.

Now, you can switch back and forth between more than that, and for the most part not notice anything because of the saved state that it does when the app closes down.. but having more than 6 different apps constantly communicating or sending updates through the network or to the user.. is impossible for android AFAIK.

Again, I'm excluding services.

Re: Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

These sorts of threads (talking about the first post) amuse me greatly. They come up pretty often and I always get the same image in my mind: someobdy rising up in a church and testifying in loud voice about the work of Jesus etc. whatever, with the congregation clapping its hands windly around him and screaming hallelujas and amens and praise the lords. Anyway, that's all. Just figured that little mental image should be shared. Hallelujah, praised be the SSH connection that rebooted thy server. Amen.

Re: Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

hey, this is the bazaar not the cathedral :)

Re: Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

Compared to the protesters holding signs outside, they're quite infrequent actually and nowhere near as popular.

Re: Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

We got to pray. Oh YAAA. We go to prayy, Oh YAA. be gone server crash. Be goooone. n900. amen.

Re: Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

I haven't seen that behavior so far. I can usually run a bunch of apps doing their own thing in the background--terminals, mail, etc. all churning at the same time.. but if that's that's true, then maybe I've just been inadvertently avoiding it even when I was trying to strain it. I've not noticed any limitation so far, though, and it seems to be a non-issue for me. I don't doubt that maybe your explanation is right, though. But then.. resource issues DO occur on any platform.

Re: Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

Yes they do (resource problems). If you hold your "Home" button you'll see the last running 6 apps. Since, with android, most apps you can't close: those are typically the actual running 6 apps on the system right now.

Now again, people have worked around this. Bloo, Meebo, eBuddy, etc register a service that constantly checks Facebook, IM's, etc for the information they need in order to notify you of their changes. And then, non network/constantly updated apps become a non-issue, because even if they aren't actively running they are in a saved state that the next time you look at it it's exactly like when you left it.

It would be really hard for me to come up with 7 active things for you to do in succession that could prove how it acts.

But, just as an example, I used to use AndChat all the time for IRC. I would try and leave AndChat connected all day long, but every time i went back to looking at it after a few hours I was disconnected. I had to manually reconnect because AndChat didn't reconnect for me. Contrast that to Xchat on my N900, I run it all day and yes, I lose connection, but it always reconnects for me. So when I look at my Xchat I'm always in the room (even if I haven't actually been there all day).

So .. multi-tasking on the N900 (at least for me) has definitely been far more consistent on the N900 than ever on my G1 (but, the G1 hardware also sucks.)

Re: Just when I start to think the N900 is bad..
 

This explains it more directly I guess.. but they don't mention a limit. So maybe the 6 app limit was more perception by users (since the task manager only displays the last 6) rather than an actual limit in the OS.

Whatever it was.. the "rules" that android used to determine which apps were important to me always failed miserably.