WinCE: Is it a Joke or an Opportunity?

OK, I recently decided it was time to upgrade my cell phone. I thought maybe it was time to get something that could do everything I needed: cell phone in USA/Europe, wifi, bluetooth, IR, web browser, touch screen, good color, SD mem cards, open apps... you know, the works.

It happened that the local cell provider was selling HP iPAQ 6325's that had exactly those features and offered a good discount on the unit. So, I bought it.

Well, great hardware... but, wow, WinCE is horrible software. I am not impressed. You would think that a multi-billion dollar company the size of Microsoft could get this right. Obviously, Bill Gates does not use WinCE himself, or "heads would roll". Really! (I would use more harsh language like "these MS WinCE guys must be brain dead morons" but that sounds unprofessional).

I don't make the above statement lightly. I own half a dozen useless WinCE devices that are stacked up on a shelf behind me as I write this. I've tried them all, extensively. (They are from a few years ago when we thought we should port REBOL to WinCE, only to find out that no one downloaded it, so we stopped.)

Those WinCE devices from 2001-2002 are a joke. But, unfortunately, so is this WinCE on my new cell phone. Wow, I finally understand why I see Blackberry taking over the world. I never understood that fad until now. You have to be a total nerd to use WinCE. There's no concept of usability or user workflow here. There is no elegance.

But, someone suggested that perhaps this should be seen as an opportunity in disguise. Maybe we should port REBOL to WinCE and do it soon. If I had REBOL, IOS, and AltME on my cell phone... that would not only be useful, it might even be cool.

So, how can that happen? Ah, well the REBOL factory gears are turning faster and faster. That's all I can say for now. (Of course OS X gets priority for new platforms, but there's more than that bubbling in the lab.)

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Updated 8-Mar-2024   -   Copyright Carl Sassenrath   -   WWW.REBOL.COM   -   Edit   -   Blogger Source Code