Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore kind of misses the point about Windows 10 Mobile

So, I gave up a long time ago on Windows phones and Windows 10 Mobile when I just couldn’t find a good way to keep up with my ebook reading. There was a slew of other things I couldn’t do on the platform, but the lack of a decent Kindle reader was the kicker. Nevertheless, […]

Stuck in Windows (on Phone) Limbo

In what would have seemed a shocking development to me a year ago, I’m carrying an iPhone 6 as my daily driver. I’ve written about this before: after using Windows Phone and iOS for a few months each, I’ve lost my taste for Android. No offense intended to any Android fans, but my Nexus 5 […]

90 Days Later, My Microsoft Lumia 830 RM-985 Still Doesn’t Support Lumia Camera 5

I try to be a patient person. It’s difficult for me–I want something, I have a hard time waiting for it. When it comes to promises that companies make about their products, I try doubly hard to be patient–nobody’s perfect, things don’t always work out as planned, I’ve been known to be late myself, etc. […]

The iPhone 6 from an Apple Hater’s Perspective

No, I Don’t Really Hate Apple Okay, so I’m not actually an Apple “hater.” I admit that I’ve been pretty harsh towards Apple for the past few years, but I really dislike this use of the word–to me, hate is something reserved for the worst things in the world; merely strong dislike and harsh words […]

Amazon’s Kindle App: Everything That’s Wrong with Windows Phone

As I’ve mentioned before, I prefer Windows Phone. I like its workflow, as epitomized by the People hub where I can access all relevant information about a person, from the typical contact info to their social media updates to our entire contact history, all in one place. I like the at-a-glance information provided by the […]

The Tech Chat’s Future

I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus over the last few weeks, dealing with some personal items and trying to figure out what direction to take with The Tech Chat. I’d decided to focus on Microsoft technology back in June, which has become a much more nuanced decision given Microsoft’s push to provide productivity […]

Microsoft Ending Free Xbox Music Streaming

For awhile now, Microsoft has allowed free Xbox Music streaming to Windows 8.1 and Web users. Downloading music and accessing it on Windows Phone (and other platforms) requires the Xbox Music Pass at $9.99/month, but if all you want is to stream from a Windows PC or via the Web, you’re all set. As Windows Central […]

Microsoft Lumia: Goodbye Nokia

So, it’s official. Microsoft has dumped the Nokia brand and will be marketing its Windows Phones under the Microsoft Lumia brand name. This has been widely reported and is hardly news at this point–it was part of the Nokia hardware purchase agreement that Nokia would hold onto its name will handing over the Lumia brand. Personally, […]

Adobe Shows That Microsoft is Cool Again (Update: Behind the Scenes)

I don’t know how much of this is concept and how much is shipping today in the new Adobe Creative Cloud, but the following video reinforces my conviction that Microsoft is doing some very cool and very powerful things. The title of this video is “Adobe Illustrator on MS Surface,” but I see a whole lot […]

Microsoft’s Windows Phone Strategy

One of the most controversial topics in technology, at least by my reckoning, is exactly what Microsoft’s Windows Phone strategy should be. Industry pundits take a number of positions, such as the notion that Microsoft should abandon Windows Phone for Android, that they should glom onto Android designs to gain traction in smartphone hardware (e.g., HTC’s […]