Posted on 03-24-14 11:40 pm
I posted a bunch about the Windows Phone 8.1 update last month. That was pretty interesting, and it had been a while since I played with Windows Phone.
As a recap, I graduated last year in June, and consequently "retired" at that point. Since then, I've had pulling forces this way and that about what to do about WPH, whether or not I should try the waters again, etc. My experimenting with WP 8.1 was an artifact of this, and it brought the question from many: Is Jaxbot coming back to Windows Phone?
I must now say, likely to your dislike, that I will not be returning to the land of WP. This sounds significantly more dramatic than it needs to, but a significant portion of people made it feel like a large enough deal to warrant this.
If you're in the population of people who could not care less, proceed to the next section. It will be a treat, trust me. Otherwise, read on. I would like to explain my reasoning for leaving WPH, and why I've decided not to return. Above all, the answer is time. Time is limited. I've always felt this way, but now with real school, real classes, a real job, and real side projects to strengthen my skills have set in, time is that little thing that reminds me I have to sleep.
This, of course, would not be an issue, if WPH were top priority. But to quote my younger self:
But I hate to say, I'm not the WP hacking kid I used to be. I love WPH, but I'm growing up, and I think it's best to let myself pursue other paths and see where they take me.
This feeling is more relevant now than it was when I wrote it. I'm broadening my horizons, trying out new things. Windows Phone was great, and I learned a lot from it, especially in the security side of things. But interests have shifted, and I need to spend the limited time I have focusing on things that will advance me in the career path I've chosen.
As I've said before, I'm eternally grateful for all the help, resources, and lessons given to me. Thank you, one and all.
I have a couple of ideas for the future of WPH, a few of which may involve giving the reins to a more capable group. I'm not sure. We shall see. Also, a side note: I did try getting more interested in Microsoft. I even interviewed with them for an internship. They turned me down.
As for right now...
I've been playing around with a lot of Google stuff lately. Call me a traitor, sure, or recognize that I'm someone who supported Windows Phone because it was different and had a certain uniqueness to it that made life easier.
These days, I see more and more of that magic in Google's products. I sincerely ask everyone who reads this to open their minds, toss aside the biases they've held, and think about Google in its current state. Discard memories of crappy OEM bloatware and buggy interfaces. Android has changed, big time. It's smoother, cleaner, and more secure than ever before. It literally does everything it physically can. There are no dumb limitations like widgets only updating every 30 minutes, or preset themes with no bypass options. Homebrew is built in. Rooting is commonplace.
But all those aside, there's a certain magic to their ecosystem that has started to emerge. I can grab my phone, say "Ok Google, remind me to take out the trash when I get home", and it understands, and tells me to do so when I walk in my door. It tells me how the traffic is before I leave for work. It tells me when there's a new XKCD out, or when new Surface news is released.
I didn't tell it to do any of that. I never told it where I live, or where I work. You can call it creepy. I'll remind you that your Windows Phone does all the same logging, but does nothing magical with the data. Google does, and I sincerely hope Microsoft starts to do the same.
But enough about Google, and I won't even mention how much Linux I use these days. I miss WPH, but I need to explore other options. When you see me writing Node.js apps for Google Glass, or writing social network software, now you know why.
Until next time, Jaxbot