darkblu said:
lulzfish said:
Yes. Unlike the iDevices, the Pandora runs a full operating system, so you can easily download a program and then run it.
erm, i know it's fashionable to bash on the idevices but that's just funny. if one took it at face value, they'd conclude that:
a. the idevices have something less than a full operating system, and
b. they can't easily download and run applications with no pc involved
my cellphone from 2007 can download and run applications autonomously. heck, even the dsi can do it, and that one indeed does not have a full os. so let's not get carried away, lest somebody casually reading this forum would get the wrong impression of this place.
Yeah, I wasn't very specific.
In case anyone has never used one of the iDevices (iPod Touch, iPhone *), I can't blame you, here's a summary from my experience in playing with my friend's iPhone:
* iPhone OS is actually a full multitasking OS, but locked-down to prevent the user from doing things with it that might be illegal, like pirating software, or might not be, like developing software, having a window manager, or using an interpreted language. (To be even more specific, I think it's illegal for an application to expose any kind of code interpreter to the user... wonder if Brainfuck could be made into a game to skirt this rule?)
* And it can download applications, but only from Apple's repositories or from a desktop PC that, I suspect, has all the proper developer stuff installed and paid for. (Apparently you have to pay to be an Apple developer, so much for programming my friend's iPhone to do silly tricks)
And whoever's casually reading this, be aware that I totally hate the iDevices, but my point is that it's inconveniencing us, the community of an unrelated device, by convincing people that standard operating system features are completely new and foreign on mobile devices, because cell phones are expected to be like cars or refrigerators, totally reliable in the sense that a user can't even risk running their own code lest they should lock up the device and blame its manufacturer.
It's a thing that bothers me a lot, but it's not really the fault of the people asking questions either, because they haven't heard any better.
So I'm glad you're at least asking, because now we can give you a good answer: All modern cell phones multitask, even my Motorola W259. (Numeric keypad, flip-open chassis, no touchscreen, limited voice and SMS plan, you know what I mean: CHEAP) It did today, I saw it, it was pretty amazing. They can always download their own executables. Mine doesn't, because I'm sure Motorola has nothing worth downloading, much less paying for. The manufacturers just want your money in as safe a way as possible, so they don't let you run unscreened applications, because you might break something and yell at them.
You might break the Pandora by downloading and running something, it might even be a virus, but freedom means you're taking that into your own hands. If you mess up, we'll help. The Pandora doesn't have to stay on the road at 80 miles per hours like a car or make emergency calls like a cell phone, you're not going to endanger anyone by having fun with it.
This is a wall of text clarifying a lot of my thoughts. I was supposed to start a web journal tonight, but this has taken a while, and I'd hate to write something that will mostly read by people who just want to read something bitching about Apple.
, becuase unlike my PSP I would just be able to download the stuff onto it instead of connecting it to my computer every time I want to add something which gets old fast. <_<
