Originally Posted by Copernicus

Actually, iOS is not OS X, nor any other flavor of Unix. Although Apple is happily attempting to scale up iOS to tablets (and presumably other devices), I doubt it will have either the flexibility or the longevity of OS X; as more powerful processors become more widespread in small devices, limited operating systems like iOS will lose out as users clamor for true multitasking and full-blown application software (rather than lots and lots of miniscule apps).

Originally Posted by daperl

You started wrong, but finished strong.

Originally Posted by Copernicus

As such, I suppose they could scale it up fairly easily to have more powerful abilities. I take it back, iOS may, unfortunately, be here to stay...

Originally Posted by mishmich

The other thing that bugs me a bit is that it is a bit fiddly if, when you call a number, holding the device like a phone, you then have to start pressing numbers; or if you are speaking to somebody on it, and you have to look up a number for them. The latter has always been a pain for me - but the former seems worse when using a device without a numeric keypad.

Originally Posted by mishmich

I realise that within the form-factor there is not much can be done about it, although I do wonder how other similar devices work. It seems odd to me that when you use the device as a phone, you have to select the numeric keypad to open to replace a screen that shows you that you are on the phone to somebody

Originally Posted by mishmich

with a button to disconnect. After cutting off mobile-phone sales cold-callers, the next most likely thing you would do with a phone would be to press a number, I'd have thought.

I am sure somebody will disagree with me on this vehemently, and tell me I am ignorant fool for saying so. Feel free to move this observation somewhere else if necessary.

Mish

Originally Posted by dmberta

You have to understand that while running a better system is really important to you, most of us just want our computer to work when we turn it on and since most pre-made computers come with Windows, well there you go.

Originally Posted by dmberta

Also, most people in my experience aren't willing to learn the nuances of more than one or two operating systems. For them Windows was hard enough, mac on top of that make two, why would they bother with Linux?

Originally Posted by dmberta

Nope, I like Windows XP, never had any problems with it and it runs everything I need it to.

I could mess around with Linux all day long but I've got other things I would rather spend my time on, so I don't. You have to understand that while running a better system is really important to you, most of us just want our computer to work when we turn it on and since most pre-made computers come with Windows, well there you go. Also, most people in my experience aren't willing to learn the nuances of more than one or two operating systems. For them Windows was hard enough, mac on top of that make two, why would they bother with Linux?

I'm not trying to diss Linux or anything like that but saying

"mabey comfortable but they really really don't like it."

is a huge stretch

Originally Posted by daperl

Yes, you can't f*rk or create daemon processes, but you can thread. I keep with my prediction that when the iPhone goes multi-core, iOS gets unleashed. Developers already have access to limited background tasking, and this will only improve.

Originally Posted by Copernicus

You know, I'm really starting to wonder what Microsoft is thinking. With iOS based on Mach (a powerful, scalable kernel), Android based on Linux (a powerful, scalable kernel), and Windows Phone 7 based on Windows CE (an OS built from the ground up for use in embedded hardware), I'm not really liking their chances for competing as all the various handheld devices grow more powerful...

Originally Posted by PMaff

Somehow I do not understand your problem.
Pressing numbers if you dial is straight forward on the N900.
Nothing special, nothing different than on other phones.

Looking up a contact during phone call: How do you want
to make it different?
You would need a kind of set off device if you do not want
to switch to loudspeaker. There is no other way that I know:
switch to loudspeaker, ask your telephone partner if she/he
still hears you (which is nearly always the case since the microphone and loudspeaker of N900 are very good, except if background noises are too loud), background phone application, look up contact in adress book, tell your telephone partner (or send an email),
tell your telephone partner that you have to switch off loudspeaker,
foreground telephone application, switch off loudspeaker,
proceed normally with phone call.
I do not see a problem here and I do not see, how other phones
would make this different or even with phone near ear.



I do not understand...there is the phone icon in the status bar.
So you know you are still phoning.
Is this different on your N900?




I have the impression that there is something wrong with your
N900. ;-)
Misconfigured somehow? ;-)

Of course I'd like a 2nd use for e.g. camera button when phoning
which selects an application by voice control and selects an entry
within that application (in this case a calendar entry) and reads it to the telephone partner on the other end of line.
But even this would be odd for your telephone partner and
it would be a matter of procedure and not of technical issues.
I never heard of such a feature on other smartphones.

Originally Posted by Copernicus

You know, I'm really starting to wonder what Microsoft is thinking. With iOS based on Mach (a powerful, scalable kernel), Android based on Linux (a powerful, scalable kernel), and Windows Phone 7 based on Windows CE (an OS built from the ground up for use in embedded hardware), I'm not really liking their chances for competing as all the various handheld devices grow more powerful...