Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft Pink is Already Declared Dead and Danger Dies with Permanent Data Loss

Danger sign for Microsoft



Summary: Writers agree that Windows Mobile and Pink are lost causes; Danger data gets trashed under T-Mobile's and Microsoft's watch

IN MOBILE phones -- like in E-readers -- Microsoft is losing to Linux. Based on reviews that we showed, Windows Mobile 6.5 is a disaster and the fact that Microsoft wants to make its own phones (Pink) is making things worse as it alienates existing Windows Mobile partners. Dell has already moved to Linux and Slashgear suggests that "Microsoft Pink [is] dying & taking Windows Mobile with it."



After mediocre feedback to the leaked Microsoft Pink handsets, Turtle and Pure, now comes word from inside the project itself that the whole house of cards may be close to tumbling. An ex-team member has been talking to Apple Insider about the Pink “skunkworks” project and its mismanagement, including attempting to develop too many SKUs simultaneously, potentially misleading hardware and carrier partners, and in the process pulling the rug out from the already-ailing Windows Mobile. In fact, he reckons the Pink project is “near death and probably will be canceled”.


The headline at the Washington Post is: "Microsoft's Project Pink Might Be Dead In The Water"

We were recently contacted by a source with a seemingly exhaustive knowledge of Microsoft's Project Pink, and what they've shared with us doesn't sound good. If what they've shared is true, it seems that the project as a whole began -- and will likely end -- in vain.


The Wall Street Journal is also negative about the whole thing, leaving the Microsoft press unable to spin very much. Even CNET mocks the poor product.

Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) line of smartphones equipped with an upgraded version of its Windows Mobile software won't do much to shore up the company's position in the hyper-competitive smartphone market.


Blodget argues that Microsoft should acquire RIM (as though it never acquired Danger). This was pondered before and it makes little practical sense.

And here comes the bomb.

Microsoft may have acquired Danger, but only now does it justify the brand name. The service collapsed in Microsoft's hands, leaving the carriers to apologise for something that's probably not their fault.

A top exec for T-Mobile has offered an apology and a credit to U.S. Sidekick users, who are still dealing with the effects of a massive data outage that first hit late last week. However, more than a few Sidekick owners just want their contacts, e-mail, and Web browsing back already.


That was a few days ago. It turns out that Microsoft lost all the data and has no backups. Here is what TechCrunch wrote:

Wow. T-Mobile and Danger, the Microsoft-owned subsidiary that makes the Sidekick, has just announced that they’ve likely lost all user data that was being stored on Microsoft’s servers due to a server failure. That means that any contacts, photos, calendars, or to-do lists that haven’t been locally backed up are gone. Apparently if you don’t turn off your Sidekick and make sure its battery doesn’t run out you can salvage what’s currently stored on the device, otherwise you’re out of luck: Microsoft/Danger is describing the likelihood of recovering the data from their servers as “extremely low”.


This is a moment to remember. It is a moment to "get the facts" -- so to speak -- and remember why the London Stock Exchange dumped Windows for GNU/Linux.

This spells the destruction of the Sidekick and Danger brand names. If this is the future of Microsoft in phones (hardware), then it is rather grim. Microsoft's 'sibling' gadget, the Zune HD, is also disappointing. Here are two of the latest reviews in the press:

i. Jonathan Takiff: Little zing in Zune: Microsoft HD player has glitches, quirks

All I know is, you Microsoft guys had better not send this player out again as refurbished. And fix the Zune HD's glitches faster than you did with the Xbox 360, a game system still suffering from a ridiculously high return rate.


ii. Microsoft's Zune HD is OK, but it's no iPod

There is nothing truly awful about the Zune, but there is nothing great, either. It works well enough and looks OK, but its appeal is limited by mediocre software and online services - handicaps that the Zune's big competitor doesn't suffer.


How much is Microsoft willing to lose before it calls off the Zune? Xbox 360 is also in the gutter.

Sales for Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 stayed tepid in Japan in the latest retail data.

Media Create Co. on Fri. reported that the Xbox 360 sold 4,854 units between Sept. 21 to Sept. 27 to rank No. 5 in overall hardware sales.


The Xbox 360, Windows Mobile and the Zune have been very effective at weakening Microsoft, which is left borrowing money.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Richard Stallman is Usually Right Because He Thinks "Outside the Box"
he is able to observe society (mores and norms) as somewhat of an outsider
The Week to Come
Planning ahead
LLM Slop Has Only Been a Boon for Misinformation Online
The very same companies that were supposed to maintain quality (again, not limited to Google with PageRank) are now actively participating in generating and spreading slop
When They Tell You It's Free, Does That Mean No Charges (If So, Who's Paying and Why)?
there's "no free lunch"
 
Nonfree Software in My Bank, by Richard Stallman
Updated 8 hours ago
Links 28/07/2025: Science, Health, and Conflicts
Links for the day
Gemini Links 28/07/2025: Healthy Self-Image With Autism and a "New Life"
Links for the day
Links 28/07/2025: COVID-19 Sped up Brain Aging, "Circumvention is More Popular Than Compliance"
Links for the day
LWN Has Been Down for a Long Time, Another Casualty of LLM Bots?
Time will tell. How much time though?
Slopfarms Versus 'Linux' (and Against People Who Write Real Articles About GNU/Linux)
LLM slop in slopfarms by Brian Fagioli and Redazione RHC
Gemini Links 28/07/2025: Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray and Running pkgsrc in a FreeBSD Jail
Links for the day
Microsoft Turns News Sites Into Spamfarms
Is the site The Register MS the next IDG?
The Register MS/The Register US
On Saturday I contacted them for a comment (before issuing criticism)
Hacking revelations at Vatican Jubilee of Digital Missionaries
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 27, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, July 27, 2025
We're Going to Focus Less on the Molotov Cocktail-Throwing Microsofters and More on Patents
We can get back to focusing on what we wanted to focus on all along
Just Trying to Keep Web Sites Honest (Journalistic Integrity)
the latest articles in LinuxIac are real
Links 27/07/2025: Political Affairs, Data Breaches, Attacks on Freedom of the Press
Links for the day
Gemini Links 27/07/2025: Hot in Japan and Terminal Escape Codes
Links for the day
Links 27/07/2025: More Microsoft Layoffs Coming, Science and Hardware News
Links for the day
Links 27/07/2025: FSF Hackathon and "Hulk Hogan Was a Very Bad Man"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 27/07/2025: DAW Mixer Chains and Simple Software
Links for the day
The Register MS is Inventing or Giving Air Time to New Conspiracy Theories so as to Distort the Narrative As High-Profile Agencies Fall Prey to Microsoft Holes
But the problem is holes, i.e. Microsoft making bad products; the problem is Microsoft
Most Editors at The Register Are American, Including the Editor in Chief, a Decade-Long Microsoft Stenographer (Writing Prose to Sell Microsoft)
It's not easy to tell where the site is based (we tried) because it's hiding behind ClownFlare and CrimeFlare hasn't been well lately
Pushers of systemd Rewrite History (Richard Stallman Said UNIX "Was Portable and Seemed Fairly Clean")
Unlike systemd
"New Techrights" Soon Turns 2 (A Few Days Before the FSF Turns 40)
We have a lot more to say about LLM bots
When Silence Says So Much
Garrett, a 'secure' boot pusher, will need to defend himself in the UK High Court
The Register in Trouble
There is not much that can be done at this point
Trajectory of The Register: From News Site/s Into "B2B"... and Into Microsoft Salespeople
Something isn't right at The Register
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, July 26, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, July 26, 2025
Misinformation in Social Control Media
Social control media passes around all sorts of tropes
Slopwatch: Fake Linux 'Articles' and Slopfarms With "Linux" in Their Names/Domains
throwing bots at "Linux" to make some fake articles
Links 26/07/2025: Amazon Shutdown in China, Russian Economy Slows
Links for the day
Gemini Links 26/07/2025: History of Time (1988) and Gemini Games
Links for the day
Links 26/07/2025: 50 Percent Tariffs in Amazon, Dying Intel Offloads Network and Edge Group (NEX)
Links for the day
Doing My Share to Tackle Online Slop and SPAM
Trying my best to 'fix' the Web
Blaming Programming Languages for Users' and Developers' Bad Practices
That's like blaming cars for drivers who crash into things
Slopwatch: Fakes, FUD, Duplicates, and Charlatans Galore
The Web as we once know it is collapsing. Some opportunists try to replace it with low-quality slop.
The Register UK Seems to Have Become American and Management is Changing (Microsofter as Editor in Chief)
The Register 'UK' is now controlled by the Directions on Microsoft guy
Many People Still Read Techrights Because It Says the Truth, Produces Evidence, and Does Not Self-Censor
Unlike so many other sites
The Register is Desperate for Money, According to The Register
I decided to check how they're doing as a business
Microsoft Finally Finds a Use Case for Slop?
Create low-quality chaff to shift the media's attention?
Microsoft Windows Lost 400 Million Users in a Few Years, Why Does The Register Double Down on Windows With New US Editor?
days ago they hired a new US editor
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, July 25, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, July 25, 2025
For Libel Reform One Must First Bring (or Raise) Awareness to the Issues and Their Magnitude
I myself know, from personal experience
Links 26/07/2025: Rationed Meals in the US and TikTok Repels Investments (Too Toxic)
Links for the day
Gemini Links 26/07/2025: "Bloody Google" and New People in Geminispace
Links for the day
Response to Solderpunk (Father of Gemini Protocol) About the Gemini Community
Solderpunk responds to non-sequitur
HTML and the Web Used to be Something a Child Could Learn, "Modern" Web is a Puzzle of Frameworks, Bloat, and Worse
When the Web was more like Gemini Protocol