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● 11.16.10

●● Cost of Proprietary and Patented ‘Microsoft-Only’ Memory Cards

Posted in Microsoft, Patents, RAND, Standard, Windows at 2:21 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Summary: Microsoft’s deliberate deviation/departure from a world of standards and into the realms of proprietary, software patents-encumbered ‘standards’ (RAND) is taking its toll

MICROSOFT does not like standards. Standards are considered dangerous to Microsoft. They help increase competition.

In order to stifle one’s ability to move data from one computer/device to another Microsoft introduced exFat, which Tuxera helps Microsoft spread in the form of a patent tax to platforms like GNU/Linux and Android. According to some new reports about Samsung and Microsoft, there is now the notion of ‘certified’ (for/by Microsoft) microSD cards. It’s rather amazing, isn’t it? They spoil hardware, too. But watch how it blows up in Microsoft’s face. Based on Engadget:

=> ↺ Tuxera | ↺ how it blows up in Microsoft’s face

We’d put forth the theory that Microsoft and Samsung would eventually certify microSD cards specifically for use with Windows Phone 7 devices after they finally came to terms with the fact that the microSD drama surrounding the Focus was going to lead directly to broken devices and broken hearts — and sure enough, that’s exactly what’s happening. We just received this statement from AT&T, pointing out that the platform is extremely finicky when it comes to microSD selection — so finicky, in fact, that only “Certified for Windows Phone 7″ cards should be used.

Here is the prior post from Engadget and our reader Will quotes: “But what appears to have fried our card is the fact that any card inserted into a Windows Phone 7 device “will no longer be readable or writable on any other devices such as computers, cameras, printers, and so on” according to documentation on Samsung’s site — including, amazingly, the ability to format the card. ”

=> ↺ prior post

“And here’s yet another reason not to get a Windows 7 phone,” claims Will regarding the above (lots more of this discussion can be found in our IRC logs).

Mike Halsey has aptly called/titled it “Windows Phone Locks-in MicroSD Cards” and he cites Engadget:

=> ↺ called/titled it

There has been discussion for a few weeks now about how Microsoft’s new smartphone OS handles expendable storage, with many people reporting that inserting the wrong card can reduce the OS to a crawl.Now Engadget have discovered that the Windows Phone OS makes permanent changes to a card that can prevent it from being read, written to or formatted on any other device.

Jan Wildeboer from Red Hat writes humourously that “Microsoft [says]: All your Micro SD cards belong to us when using WinPhone7″ and citing additional pages such as this one, Wildeboer adds: “This includes an inability to format the microSD card” – Windows Phone 7 #fail with Micro SD cards.”

=> ↺ this one

Microsoft: when failure becomes standard. █

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