I've joined the ranks of the Dark Side....

[wa3zrm]

Android is already Linux, but isn't GNU/Linux. It isn't so much a software problem as a hardware problem. Hardware is hard, and companies don't like opening up their designs. There's already Cyanogenmod for some phones, and there's been some experimentation with completely open hardware, but the problem is they've been very small projects, so they take a long time to complete, and are very expensive. You have to be especially dedicated to use an overly expensive, out of date phone. If more people valued their freedom over convenience or price, you'd see more open hardware designs.

I'd pay $1,000 for a phone that let me change software the way I do on my computer, and ensure I knew that the software was doing. Tracking is a serious issue with regards to privacy. It's one thing to know you're at home during the night, and at work during the day. It's another matter entirely to know where you are at every moment with 1m accuracy. That's all available to the government for the asking, no subpoena or warrant needed. It's also available to any company your cell provider wants to sell it to. The NSA is building a huge database with every communication Americans make in it. Aside from being a Constitutional violation, it's none of their fsking business. You can't be free without anonymity, or privacy. You're just another rat stuck in a despotic cage.

lx, very well put!

I purchased an unlimited data only plan from ATT 4 or 5 years ago for $30 a month. At that time both ATT and the general public, IMO, didn't realize the full potential of VOIP... I did though Why pay for what they call digital voice when you can do the same thing with VOIP at a fraction of the cost? In the future, I predict that that everything will be VOIP bringing down airtime costs.

And as far as the privacy issue... its always been there and will always be there. The trick is to keep constantly aware that you are being watched... constantly... and by more that just digital phone footprints. The camera's are everywhere. Many people just don't realize how many there are and where they are located.

[Ainkor]

It would take a lot for me to even consider a Windows phone after the Windows CE and Pocket PC devices of years past (both PDA and Cell phones). Had em, never again. Now if a Nokia came out with a relevant multi touch device that was Symbian OS then I would think about it. OK I might consider a Nokia Windows phone but only because of Nokia and still not likely.

Ken

Funny you mention that. I recall walking passed a display YEARS ago for a new HP PDA and I talked my wife into letting me spend almost $500 on it.

I used the hell out of that hand held for years. I wasn't a fan of windows mobile, just a fan of mobile computing. I'm sufficiently impressed with windows 8 that if they can bring some of that excitement to WP8, it might just be good!

[devilock76]

lx, very well put!

I purchased an unlimited data only plan from ATT 4 or 5 years ago for $30 a month. At that time both ATT and the general public, IMO, didn't realize the full potential of VOIP... I did though Why pay for what they call digital voice when you can do the same thing with VOIP at a fraction of the cost? In the future, I predict that that everything will be VOIP bringing down airtime costs.

And as far as the privacy issue... its always been there and will always be there. The trick is to keep constantly aware that you are being watched... constantly... and by more that just digital phone footprints. The camera's are everywhere. Many people just don't realize how many there are and where they are located.

Unlimited cellular data is going the way of the dodo...

Ken

[devilock76]

Funny you mention that. I recall walking passed a display YEARS ago for a new HP PDA and I talked my wife into letting me spend almost $500 on it.

I used the hell out of that hand held for years. I wasn't a fan of windows mobile, just a fan of mobile computing. I'm sufficiently impressed with windows 8 that if they can bring some of that excitement to WP8, it might just be good!

When it was all there was, it was something. But in todays world there is so much more. I yearned for something in a handheld that could allow me to leave the laptop at home more often then any of the early devices could. My Iphone was the first to make that happen. Now Android makes that happen. My tablet is a nice addition to that arsenal (also Android). Although I must confess not sure if my next mobile device will be another tablet or an ultrabook.

Ken

[rickcharles606]

VIrtually every phone I've had over the last few years has been Android, and they all end up lagging or locking up. I still own a Droid X2 with the dual core processor, and I have an HTC EVO, that is wicked fast, big screen and all the newest gizmos. The problem with the HTC is that it's a Sprint phone and when I travel, it doesn't work in half of the cities I'm in. Went round and round with them trying to get it to pull data, but they couldn't figure it out at all. I gave up and bought the iPhone, and I'll give it a whirl.

To lx's points....I have no dillusions about tracking and freedom, any and all of these phones can provide big brother a glimpse into our lives.

[devilock76]

VIrtually every phone I've had over the last few years has been Android, and they all end up lagging or locking up. I still own a Droid X2 with the dual core processor, and I have an HTC EVO, that is wicked fast, big screen and all the newest gizmos. The problem with the HTC is that it's a Sprint phone and when I travel, it doesn't work in half of the cities I'm in. Went round and round with them trying to get it to pull data, but they couldn't figure it out at all. I gave up and bought the iPhone, and I'll give it a whirl.

To lx's points....I have no dillusions about tracking and freedom, any and all of these phones can provide big brother a glimpse into our lives.

Android users tend to suffer app bloat as why their phones are lagging.

Ken

[lxskllr]

Hacking group AntiSec has released a portion of what they're claiming is a list of 12 million Unique Device IDs, including (redacted by AntiSec) personal information such as user names, device names, notification tokens, cell phone numbers and addresses. More interesting perhaps is where the group claims they obtained this data from: a laptop belonging to New York FBI Special Agent Christopher K. Stangl.

https://secure.dslreports.com/showne...ad-Data-121027