Last week, Nokia announced the launch of it’s Windows Phones, the Lumia 800 & 710. Normally, a new cutting-edge smartphone from Nokia would interest me, as I have been a loyal Nokia customer for all of 11 years, and a Nokia employee for quite near to 5 years. But there is one reason why I will not buy these phones, even though they seem to be reasonably priced.
Every morning, as I settle down in my cubilce for another days’ work, I open my laptop, and stare unproductively at the screen as I wait for it to wake up. Once awake, I open Outlook, and again stare at the splash screen while it says “Processing...” endlessly. I cannot help but think that there’s got to be a better alternative. But there isn’t. Microsoft has made sure that it’s “Wintel” monopoly (Windows OS, Intel Processors) is so near complete, that there are no practical alternatives. Yes, we have Macs, and we have Linux, but neither are very practical. Mac, is still very expensive for what you get, and Linux, though free, has still some issues.
I have tried Ubuntu Linux on my home laptop. I loved it. It booted up in a jiffy, woke up from sleep in an instant. Ubuntu installed much faster, and with less hassles, than any Windows XP install that I have done (I have not installed Windows 7 myself, so cannot comment). Wireless LAN/WiFi setup was done in seconds, printer & scanner took a bit longer, but still was quite straightforward. But my love affair with Ubuntu did not last long. I soon ran into major issues syncing my iPod and my Nokia (Symbian) Phones. There seemed to be no easy way, and this was so important to me that I reverted back to the hated Windows XP.
But XP was fast when I installed it. I thought maybe I was biased. Maybe in my home laptop... where Outlook, Powerpoint, Word & Norton would not be needed... would not start slowing down. I was wrong. A few months of use, and it’s slow. Boot up has started taking significantly more time. Where previously I could press the power button and wait just about 45 seconds to start working, now I have to go and get coffee and come back to see the curser is still hour-glassing.
Microsoft software IMHO are not the best. Microsoft business practices of encouraging a monopolistic environment are even worse. It would not be good for the smartphone customers if a WinComm (Windows OS with Qualcomm processors) mimics the PC Wintel monopoly. Which is why, when it’s time to upgrade from my Nokia N8, I will be most likely looking at a Samsung Galaxy SII.
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