I have no idea why you think that dealing with MS would get you dragged and shot. MS is not going to tell Nokia how to make phones, if they do they both lose. What do you base your "Windows powered by Nokia" premise?

Nokia has the upper hand in designing hardware and exterior design, it would be a bad move to take that away. Not that Nokia still designs high-end phones, they are all slabs. N9 is ugly like ME. Oh well, could be temporary.

Frankly, N900 could run Windows for all we know and the design would be the same. Why would MS break a perfectly good design?

I could argue all night but I'll restrict to the following points:

* Nokia is going to partner with MS not surrender. Any basis for that conclusions other than dragons in the dark?

* Just because MS marketing decided to release unfinished products to keep the 3 year release cycle doesn't mean they can't code. Vista is W7 alpha, forked for markting. You don't like it, don't get it. No, I didn't really expedt a documented opinion.

"or the disinterested consumer"

Disinterested? You mean the consumer that would have the choice between Windows and loads of apps and a good development platform and the consumer who would rather have a preferred OS with big holes. Yes, yes, the OS is fine, it's the apps that suck. So what? It's not like they aren't a package deal.

Dedicated fans are few. I am not among them. Linux offered more than Windows when N900 was launched, I got Linux. By the time I change N900, if a Windows alternative offers more I'll take it.

I was down to N900 and HTC HD2 before I decided, like many others.

If you think I'm buying a broken phone app on Linux again you are way off. How many people here would buy N910 with Meego if phone stutters?

"I don't see how any of that matters here in a forum frequented by people who are interested in open source and mobile OSes that don't restrict what you can do."

I think you are mistaken. This forum is interested in what the device has to offer, mainly. I believe that few users care about their app being open or closed and more about being available and working.

I didn't see anyone shrug away from Instinctiv or Angry birds.

It has been hammered into them that on Linux available equals open. This may be true here, for N900 and Maemo or other Linux distributions, and for ports, but it's not for other OSs.

In fact, businesses have the best software and for them available is closed. Plus, on a close OS you get both.

"Why would you preach the "benefits" of what essentially iOS with a Microsoft face to a bunch of people who came here because of what Maemo is and is not relative to that OS?"

People are here because of N900(800, 700). I don't think the majority of N900 users bought Linux. I didn't for one. I bought a Nokia, then an ARM device with an OS. But with no real data, the point is moot.

Still, saying that Windows is Apple basically is not only narrow sighted, but ignores many figures. Apple may be big in mobile now, because market is very young and they have a polished OS. It's way too soon to tell. If anything, the PC market is where this is going. Plus, as soon as X86 is available in poket form I'm out of this transitional mess.

"Done on the N900. Nothing to do with the OS."

It is NOT done on N900. None of the available apps are even close to other solutions offered by other OSs. I've tried most. Android, Maemo, WM, Windows, iOS included.

"After seeing the past 14 years and what MS has done, no thanks."

Sorry to be blunt, but that sounds like it came from a person who hasn't really tried the alternatives.

Without any experience of alternatives, without true and extensive research, "OMG MS is going to eat our phones with their logos" is just FUD.

I own several Windows devices, an iPad, a Maemo device, and am purchasing an Android tomorrow(ish). My point of view might be subjective, but at least it is informed.

Oh and, "in the past 14 years" Maemo has abandoned every single edition of their OS and broke backwards compatibility. Might I add it's the only OS on this list that did that. Windows can still run apps from 14 years ago, no recompile. In fact, it can run just about anything ever written for Windows, plus a few old ones for OS/2.