Ask Paul: February 11 (Premium)

Happy Friday! Let’s kick off the weekend a bit early with another great round of reader questions.

Foldables

crunchyfrog asks:

It seems clear to me that Google is really starting to take foldable devices, wearables and large screens seriously with the beta release of Android 12L and the full release of WearOS 3. Android 12 has shown some great promise and although it’s had a few issues so far, I expect that Android 13 will smooth out the issues we saw in 12.

I didn’t write this up—I don’t think there was an official announcement, just this—but Google did just release Android 12L Beta 3, which, among other things, adds support for the Pixel 6 series. And I’m a bit confused by the note that Android 13 will “build on some of the newer updates [Google] made in 12L to help [developers] take advantage of the 250+ million large-screen Android devices currently running.” But yeah. I’m very interested in this as well and am curious what this means on a variety of levels, including for Chrome OS, which was previously the heir apparent for tablets and convertibles.

That leads me to a few questions:

Do you see Google folding the features from 12L into a single OS or split between two versions (ie. iOS and iPadOS)?

I think they continue with two, similar to what Apple does with iOS and iPadOS, and that (as hinted in the quote above), there will be identical features in both when that makes sense (as is the case with iOS and iPadOS). It’s weird to me that they’re on different paths—why isn’t L on 13?—but maybe this is part of a lock-step strategy where the Android version lands first followed by the Android L version.

Does any of this have any influence on your next phone choice?

Not yet: it’s unlikely I’ll be buying a foldable this year, just as it’s unlikely I’ll be buying a full-sized (or any sized) Android tablet this year. But given the steady evolution of the former, it’s only a matter of time. It’s a bit weird to admit this, but it’s more likely that my wife will get one of these first. She’s curiously interested in foldables like the Galaxy Z Fold, as opposed to the smaller Galaxy Z Flip. But she’s not much of an early adopter, and she doesn’t like to spend money needlessly. She’s currently using a 2020-era Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra (that I had purchased that year to review) and she’ll hold onto that for another year or two. After that, I bet her next phone is a foldable.

If a review opportunity came up, I’d take it, of course. But the problem—for me—with an Android foldable is that Android tablets just don’t measure up to the iPad yet. It’s clear that Samsung makes high-quality, competitive hardware. It’s more the software/services that are the issue. But if Android L pays off for Google, that could change. And then a foldable that could replace both a smartphone and a tablet starts to make a lot of sense. And not just for me.

Podcast apps

bwookey asks:

What is your current take on podcast apps for android? I try some different ones every year or so, but I’m still using DoggCatcher because simple, but allows detailed control. But it has not been updated since 2018, so I’m concerned about security issues and that it will just stop working after a monthly update on my Pixel 4a. What’s your current favorite and why?

I use PocketCasts right now, mostly because it works everywhere I need it to, meaning Android and iOS, and Sonos; I listen to podcasts over Sonos speakers when doing the dishes in the kitchen and while shaving and showering upstairs. If Google and Sonos would just settle their legal issues, I’d probably switch to Google Podcasts, as I like its simple, minimal UI. But I need something that works everywhere, and while PocketCasts was problematic after that major UI revamp in 2019, they’ve fixed most of the problems and I don’t have any issues with it now.

Is the Pixel the new Lumia?

anderb asks:

Has the Pixel 6 with Android 12 launch been the most ‘underdone’ hardware/software combination since the Lumia 950 with Windows 10 Mobile?

OK, that one made me laugh out loud.

Hm. I’m not sure what to say to this. From my perspective, the Pixel 6 series is vexing because some people love it and some hate it, and everyone’s results are different. I went into the Pixel 6 Pro not just wanting it to work, but almost needing it to work, and that made the issues I’m still experiencing doubly deflating. (And by “still experiencing,” I mean I literally this very morning wasn’t able to sign-in with my finger and had to manually type the PIN after multiple failures.) As far as I’m concerned, this kind of thing is the very worst way that technology can fail, because it’s unreliable and unpredictable. Just not working well across the board would almost be better because at least then the fix(es) would be obvious.

Thinking on this, I don’t see the Pixel 6 being as bad as the Lumia 950. In the latter case, that was the end of the line, and while I don’t have any insider knowledge about what was going on in that group at the time, they had to have known this and probably considered themselves lucky to have shipped anything at all. If you go back and watch the announcement, you can see how disinterested Panos Panay was in the product. He didn’t even want to talk about it and was going through the motions.

But with the Pixel 6, it’s equally clear that Google considers this a do-over, a chance to relaunch the Pixel brand with its own Tensor processor, which will keep evolving, and a radical and unique new design that, for once, seems to really resonate with fans. And they sold more Pixel handsets in the previous quarter than ever before, a low bar for sure, but still an achievement. And I do like that Google went back to the classic Nexus-style pricing model, where they undercut their flagship rivals. (And even have a flagship, unlike the previous year.)

So I guess, yeah, it was a failure on some levels, and it was disappointing to some fans, including me. But the Pixel 6 is the start of something new, and all we can do now is embrace our Stockholm Syndrome and hope that the Pixel 6a and/or the Pixel 7 series gets it right for everyone. The central promise of Pixel is still very much a need, I think, to counter Apple and the iPhone. And I would like to see them be more successful with that.

More AMAs?

Tiny asks:

I enjoyed the AMA. One hour was a good length. Are there plans for more of them?

Thanks, and I agree. From my perspective, it was an experiment of sorts, and the discussions we’ve had internally are that maybe it turns into a quarterly thing and then we take it from there. I’m kind of torn on a few things, including whether there needs to be anyone else there, or a different person each time, or whatever. And I’d really like this to be more interactive, in the sense that we could actually talk in real-time, sort of like a virtual meet-up. But even in its current form, it’s good, and I like that we have the ability to display the current question on-screen, etc. It’s a nice little platform.

We’ll almost certainly do this again.

Programming Windows

darkgrayknight asks:

The Programming Windows series has been fantastic. I look forward to more. After reading them, I’m reminded of how much more exciting it all was back then and how interface changes were a big deal and more interesting than they have been recently. I am thinking how much I would like Windows to have some push forward that would be almost like the Longhorn myth, but more real with at least something incredible to look forward to.

Thanks. This is almost a passion project at this point. I recall when I wrote the first half of this in mid-to-late 2019 that there was almost a manic quality to it, that I had to get it all out and kept going over a series of what, for then, seemed like an awful lot of articles. But the second half, and after such a long break, is going to be longer, much longer, and it’s happening at an even faster rate. And perhaps not surprisingly, that’s because I was so centrally involved in it all, and so I have my work and archives to fall back on now too. It’s really opened things up, and time has sort of slowed down, if you will, with each passing year in the early 2000s taking more and more articles to explain.

I still feel like we’re not far from some interesting possibilities with computers. Is there anything you think would be similar to the feeling we all had hearing about Longhorn and what was coming next?

I haven’t felt that way in a long time. The last one I can remember clearly was Windows Phone 7 Series: I was positive that Microsoft was on to something with this product, and I jumped on it, ensuring I’d publish the first book and be at the center of that push. Like Longhorn, that ended badly, of course. But it was so exciting in the beginning.

So when was that, 2010? God, it’s been a while. And looking at what’s happening these days, I don’t see anything that rises to that level. The Xbox stuff is always interesting, but Series X|S launched during a pandemic and it just wasn’t the same. Smartphones have settled into a dull sameness. All this AR/VR stuff is mostly uninteresting. Windows 11? Geesh.

I probably shouldn’t even mention this now, but in going through all my archives, Microsoft’s press release archives, and archived versions of various websites, I’ve been reintroduced to an incredible range of Microsoft products and services that came and went, oftentimes with just one or two revisions. And that these things—Microsoft’s home-focused Wi-Fi hardware, Media2Go/Portable Media Centers, SPOT watch, and so many more—might make for an interesting follow-up series. Something called “One and Done,” “Roads Not Followed,” or whatever. It would almost go on forever, but I doubt it would have the same manic/speedy publishing schedule as Programming Windows. It’s something I’m seriously considering, that and perhaps a smaller series on specific non-Windows things like Microsoft Office, Windows Mobile, Zune, or whatever. We’ll see.

Baseball

sabertooth920 asks:

Over/Under 150 games for the baseball season?

I assume you’re asking about whether the baseball season is so long? 🙂 It’s been 162 since … before was I born, I think. The big changes have been in the playoffs, and these days we could see over 200 games including the playoffs. As a baseball fan, this mostly doesn’t bother me, but I’d like to see the World Series conclude before the end of October. November is too cold for baseball.

And as with every year, I look forward to the new season, the start of which is the true beginning of Spring.

Reboot during a Windows Update install

martinusv2 asks

I have noticed lately looking at the Windows Update screen that you get the reboot notification right after the .Net 4.8 cumulative update. If you are not careful, you can reboot during the Windows cumulative update. Isn’t it dangerous to reboot when another update is in progress? Especially in the middle of the cumulative one?

It’s weird you mention this, as I was just thinking about this while looking at a Windows Update screen prompting me to reboot while another update was installing. But I don’t think it’s dangerous, and if it was, Microsoft could simply prompt you to that effect before rebooting or, better still, just continue that install during the offline mode before the actual reboot. Those unfinished updates are always ready to go after the reboot, though you do have to start over. I think all the dangerous stuff happens offline.

Where’s the wow?

wp7mango asks:

Paul, I recently purchased an M1 Mac Mini to replace my old desktop mini PC, which I wrote about on the forums. I still have my high-spec Windows 2-in-1 laptop, so now I’m in both the Mac OS camp and the Windows camp.

Reading about Apple on the internet, I was expecting to be wowed by the Mac Mini and Mac OS, but I wasn’t. In fact, putting aside my frustrations with Mac OS, I don’t get what the big deal is. If you’re not in the Apple ecosystem with an iPhone or iPad and just use a standalone computer, I don’t see any benefit to Mac OS over Windows. And I certainly see no difference in quality with Apple hardware over high-end Windows hardware – quality is quality, regardless who makes it, as proved by HP, Dell, Asus, MSI etc.

You’ve had the exact experience I’ve had. I wrote about my experiences with an M1-based Mac Mini a year ago and came away with the same conclusion I always have: the hardware is nice, macOS is unimpressive, and with the M1 in particular, the advances there are great … for long-time Mac users. But they don’t move the needle for me at all.

So what is it that wows people with Apple? What am I missing? Is it the Apple logo? Is it that people are switching from an old slow Windows machine to a shiny new Mac and therefore aren’t comparing like for like, thus skewing their perception?

I wonder about this as well. There’s this collective numbness with Apple products where people just seem to love the brand for whatever reason and the critical part of their brain shuts down. I keep trying and I keep not caring. I just don’t get it.

This story is literally 15 years old now, but I was visiting with Apple-loving friends one time and the wife commented that she stopped using Windows because of all the bugs and security issues. Confused by this, I asked when that was, and she said it was seven years earlier. I told her that her experiences were irrelevant then and that Windows was much better now. The point here isn’t that she was right or wrong or whatever, just that the Apple bias had worked its way into her brain and turned some dated, anecdotal experience into an enduring fact that justified all the money they spent on Apple products.

You see this with iPhone, too, of course. Just as you see a similar and in some cases almost violent reaction to the contrary from Android fans. Neither side can believe you’d choose otherwise. I think the thing with PCs/Macs is that the battle has moved on, so it’s not as vocal as it used to be. But when PCs were at the center of personal computing, this kind of platform wars argument was very common.

Ultimately, I don’t care what computers people choose. Chromebooks, Macs, Linux all have their place. But when it comes to some kind of inherent superiority or whatever, I can very clearly make that case for Windows … for me. And only for Windows. Despite the issues. But every platform has issues. It’s OK to like what you like.