I’m not saying we got it perfect out of the gate – but there are real advantages to the app-powered model in the long run. Besides what I mentioned above, it will get better over time as the apps get updated. For example I mentioned in another reply that we’re working with Facebook on an update to the fb app that improves performance, and that’s in turn going to make the social integration experience better. We’re working with others developers on this too.
I would encourage ALL developers to look at this integration as an opportunity – and work with us together to make it better. Give us feedback, write integrated apps, use integrated apps, give developers feedback, etc. etc. etc. Let’s make it happen together.
On PHOTO HUB ... we changed the design because we got actual telemetry data on what people ACTUALLY CLICKED. By far, the most clicks when people opened Photo Hub were to go to the camera roll -- and only .5% of clicks were to a 3rd party app. The re-design in WP8.1 addresses this, putting the FREQUENT task right up front and making the other tasks generally available but in a different place." (Source)
How are you working with other division (Office, OneDrive, Xbox team and so on) on their hub/application on Windows Phone?
"We spend a TON of time with people from other divisions.
I have regular 1-1 meetings with my counterparts in Office, Skype, and Xbox. Our teams have a standing process at every milestone for jointly reviewing our work, and we use each other’s products deeply.
The environment at Microsoft has been great for us to get better and better at this... And although we sure have room to improve, it's a place that I think has become a strength." (Source)
Windows Phone is so awesome, but the carriers in Canada make it hard to be a fan here. Will Microsoft please start selling Lumia Windows Phones unlocked on their online store? Apple and Google both give us this option.
"Carrier Exclusive phones...in the US and Canada, the carriers value having exclusive phones because they are reasonably looking for any angle to get people to sign up for a long term contract. They are really selling contracts, and their method is to attract with a phone that they promote aggressively. As part of this model, they expect to and DO spend a LOT of money on marketing. When their business works this way, it's very hard for a hw maker to NOT participate because you'd be competing against the money that the carriers themselves would spend on marketing and against the work they'd do to sell other phones against yours in their stores.
We understand this creates a dilemma for end-users... you want to buy a phone but it's not on the carrier you're already signed up with. Well, that's precisely the effect the carriers are trying to create, they want you to switch.
In the higher-volume ecosystems, you have seen this dynamic change... iPhones and Samsung phones are typically the same device across carriers. I expect as WP usage grows and along with that as broader end-user demand begins to ALREADY EXIST in the market, the need for carriers to spend money educating people will diminish and the phones are likely to be more broadly available.
SO... in the meantime... try expansys.com or zones.com to buy unlocked phones." (Source)
How can Windows Phone be faster?
"The MAIN thing that will affect this perception is whether the apps you use have implemented "Fast Resume". This was a new thing in WP8 (I think -- can't remember if that was the release we added it in) and an ISV has to "flag" their app to support it. This might involve testing and in a few apps it involves more work than just testing. SO ... ping the ISVs if you're feeling that apps come up slow. MOST PEOPLE don't say this.
A lot of people ask about TRANSITIONS and they assume the transitions "add time" to getting to the app. We've worked hard to make that NOT THE CASE. What we've done is made the transitions happen "while the app is loading" so they give you something to see that fills the time but does NOT slow it down. (OK, maybe a tiny, imperceptible bit.) We would NOT NOT NOT gratuitously make millions of people wait longer to show a turnstile... we show you the turnstile while you'd be waiting anyway." (Source)
The way windows phone currently “multitasks” is inelegant and quite frankly, bad. (Apologies if my terminology is not 100% accurate). Thoughts?
"Multitasking. This is the classic "balance-striking" design challenge. What we've tried to do here is (1) make sure that REGULAR USERS (think: less sophisticated, don't tweak their phones that much) get GREAT AND PREDICTABLE BATTERY LIFE while (2) Apps can do powerful things for everyone (and especially for power users).
The biggest killer of battery life is typically an app that's got some kind of runaway process. Usually this would be a bug if it happens-- and it could happen in any app. Thus to accomplish (1), you restrict apps to "runaway" and try to do as much on their behalf as you can.
Now, with that as background, know that we've GREATLY EXPANDED the multitasking features in apps with every release, and we'll continue to do that. As app developers are doing more stuff and as we learn about the gaps in our system, we try to enhance. I can appreciate you folks-- generally power users-- hitting the limits of this approach and asking for more... and we hear you.
On your TOMBSTONING question-- honestly I can't answer that myself, but I'll pass it on. When we switched the activation model, we chose to make the APP decide so the APP could be sure to effectively manage its own activation. Our intent is that users get apps with "instant resume", but this is a case where we have to trust the ISV to get things right-- kind of like the general topic above." (Source)
Why is Cortana completely useless without location turned on?
"It comes down to this: we want to provide a COMPLETE EXPERIENCE for Cortana, and we want that complete experience to be PREDICTABLY present and not vary too much. If you hear about something she does, we want it to be true on YOUR PHONE, in YOUR COUNTRY.
Cortana builds rich inferences by rationalizing across lots of different signals and content that you give her permission to access. For instance, by having access to your location, within a few days Cortana figures out where you live and where you work and starts giving you commute inferences based on when you leave to go to work or come home from work. Without location a bunch of the important end-to-end scenarios wouldn't work or key questions couldn't be answered-- e.g. what’s the traffic like to home/work, remind me when I get at a location to do something, show me great Caribbean restaurants in Seattle, etc.
Our current view is that without location Cortana would "feel limited" and we don’t want to create a fragmented experience where some things will work and some things won’t depending on whether you give us access to location. Part of this is that she's entirely new and we want her to develop a GREAT reputation, compared favorably to the competition. Over time, we might make her more flexible so that we can accomplish BREADTH... but right now the focus is on consistent quality." (Source)
Joe, you’re a very admirable presenter with a laid back style. How do you prepare for these presentations?
"Luckily, I've grown more laid back as I've matured…"
Reply With Quote