back to article Microsoft's Arrow brings pane to Androids

For reasons El Reg doesn't quite understand, Microsoft has decided that the one thing missing from the Android user's life is the Windows phone app launcher experience. Seeking to save Android users from themselves, Redmond has accordingly posted this “garage” project (ie, after-hours coding or "get your staff to create test- …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The Emperor Occasionally Wears Pants

    Executive culture at Microsoft is now willing to admit that Windows Phone isn't selling, and that other platforms matter.

    Important bits of Microsoft Office are already shipping for Android, and many other teams have a mandate to target Linux directly. Ports for Compilers, .NET Runtime, PowerShell, etc, are all published or announced.

    This is perestroika for the true believers inside Microsoft, and a hollow victory for the people in FLOSS communities that fought the good fight for so long.

    1. Colin Bull 1

      Re: The Emperor Occasionally Wears Pants

      ..... Ports for Compilers, .NET Runtime, PowerShell, etc, are all published or announced.

      They do not need to port Powershell.

      Powershell was a copy of all the UX utilities wrapped in a garbled skin.

      If you are struggling with Powershell syntax just use the usual UX shell commands and it will usually work.

      Try typing ls at the Powershell prompt ..

      1. Rob Gr

        Re: The Emperor Occasionally Wears Pants

        That is just total bolox.

        Yes, "ls" is an alias for the get-childitem command, not an imitation of the UX command.

        In fact, given a current "folder" of, for example, a WMI object, get-childitem works to enumerate children, just as with enumerating subfiles/folders.

        Further, instead of every command converting the output to text and the next command parsing the input as text, each command passes fully blown objects to the next command.

        Saying that Powershell is an imitation of the UX command shell just shows your ignorance.

  2. Paul Shirley

    Marmite experience

    Way back at the dawn of WinPhone a small rash of clone home screen replacements appeared on Android. Tried a couple as well as some less directly inspired 'vertical launchers', didn't like any of them.

    You either love it or loath it. And fanbois, it doesn't get better if you stick with it and we don't all dismiss these things without trying them. Even when the shortcomings seem unmistakable at first glance!

  3. Ye Gads

    Someone should fire Microsofts Marketers

    Whether you like the idea or not, should they really be calling the app "Pane"?

    The scope for puns is enormous

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    No reason for windows phone to exist anymore

    Why would Microsoft spend money on it, they have all their apps and now a windows phone style launcher for android.

    If you were one of the 1% if the world that thought windows phone was good, you can now take any android phone and do all that stuff, and you get the whole android app ecosystem for free...

  5. dogged

    One tiny detail....

    The launcher is nothing like Windows Phone. And none of the panels do anything similar to Windows Phone.

    So yeah, nice fun snarky article, lol M$ makes Windoze for SuperDuperInfallibleWonderfulAndroid except wrong on pretty much every count.

    Maybe if the author had actually used a Windows Phone.....

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: One tiny detail....

      Maybe if the author had actually used a Windows Phone.....

      Nobody is that masochistic by choice.

    2. Avatar of They
      Windows

      Re: One tiny detail....

      You sound like you have either had a bad time with Android, or you work for M$?

      1. dogged

        Re: One tiny detail....

        Android's okay albeit roughly as secure as first release of Windows ME with no corporate firewall, and roughly as stable.

        My issue is that the story is wrong.

        I do not work for Microsoft or any company or entity affiliated with them. And calling somebody a shill is against the house rules.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: One tiny detail....

          So you are just a rabid fanboy then ?

          1. dogged

            Re: One tiny detail....

            > So you are just a rabid fanboy then ?

            If you're defending a false story out of Microsoft-hate, it's more likely that you're the rabid fanboy.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: One tiny detail....

              doggedly rabid.

  6. The Real Tony Smith
    Linux

    Classic Windows Behavior

    Hey guys, just install this random application from the Internet. What could possibly go wrong?

    I'll stick with signed repositories thanks.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "Now read it out loud and slowly ..."

    Wouldn't know anything about smart phones, don't even have one, but the headline is hilarious.

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