Opera, Microsoft, and the Mobile Browser Market 245
DrEspenA writes "Salon has an interesting article on the competition for the mobile phone browser market. Ostensibly the article is about Microsoft's efforts to dominate the market, but the key protagonist is really Opera Software, which may be gaining the (initial) upper hand simply because they are not Microsoft. Good discussion of whether standards and familiarity really is necessary in the mobile browser market."
Microsoft Will Win... (Score:4, Funny)
..If for nothing other than the fact they have a huge ad below this story =D.
The fact that Microsoft made 'bloated' their main (Score:4, Funny)
It's probably difficult for Microsoft to rule the mobile-marked because they can't seem to find a cellphone with 256 MB of DDR-RAM and a 1 GHz CPU. Not to mention a physical-media like a harddrive for swapping when you are dialing long-distance numbers.
Re:why no choice? (Score:3, Funny)
familiar look and feel? (Score:3, Funny)
User: Dammit, my cellphone bluescreened again!
Slashdot user: I bet I could h4x0R the modem and form a cellphone beowulf cluster, but someone said ??? = PROFIT! and then all the cellphones belonged to Bill...
Re:Do we really want this? (Score:5, Funny)
Just so long as it has in large friendly letters "Don't Panic" on the cover.
Microsoft's APIs don't do for Sendo (Score:5, Funny)
On Sendo's leaving Microsoft and using Symbian, where they get the source and are allowed to tweak with it:
Was it a technology problem -- did Microsoft's software work? "It was a not a technology issue," she said. "I cannot go into all the details about it, but our business model is to offer very customized phones so they have something to distinguish themselves in the marketplace, which we cannot offer if we don't have the source code."
Microsoft dismissed this explanation. In an e-mail, Suwanjindar said that Microsoft's "shared source" model "provides partners with the APIs [application programming interfaces] they need in order to customize and develop applications for our platform."
Sendo: We don't like your deal, it isn't flexible enough.
Microsoft: We'll give you our API's.
Sendo: API's aren't as flexible as the full source code.
Microsoft (handwaving): API's will do.
Sendo: No, they won't.
Microsoft (handwaving again): APIs will do.
Sendo: No, they won't! You think you're some kind of jedi, waving your hand like that?
Re:Mobile browsers? (Score:2, Funny)
will make you feel like getting one.. i guess i gotta sell my liver.
Re:The fact that Microsoft made 'bloated' their ma (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Now! In selected European countries (Score:2, Funny)
+ +
Your battery is low, please insert
a new one and reboot
[OK] [Cancel]
+ +
Re:More of a design issue (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Opera's Small-Screen Rendering (Score:1, Funny)
Does it remove all the M$ bashing, the trolls, and bad CowboyNeal jokes automagically? If it does, I'm definetly gonna download it!
Re:Now! In selected European countries (Score:2, Funny)
Not to mention having to insert the Windows CD and entering that CD-key with the phone keypad every time the thing screws up. It reminds me of the series of If MicroSoft Made Cars [vbrad.com] jokes. Of course everyone knows that the only thing M$ is after making is toaster ovens [xbill.org].
---
Do not meddle in the affairs of wizard [tuxedo.org]s, for they are subtle and quick to anger.
How to score +5 on slashdot (Score:1, Funny)
2) Condemn designers for failing to produce infinitely-flexible text-only sites (bonus: rant about Flash sites)
3) ???
4) PROFIT!