On Thursday, January 10, 2013 2:40:30 PM UTC+1, son_of_flubber wrote:
Comparing Windows CE and Android is comparing apples and oranges. They may appear to be equivalent and interchangeable to the end user, but under the skin, they are fundamentally different beasts.

Funny how your first sentence says you can NOT compare Windows CE and Android, and then the rest of your rather long post does EXACTLY THAT.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_CE

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android...ting_system%29



The bottom line is that Windows CE is intended to be utterly stable and reliable. That's a primary design goal.



Android aspires to be all things to all Apps (and "stable"). It's totally pointless to argue (and especially in this forum) whether Windows CE is in fact more stable and reliable than Android, so let's NOT go there.
[...]

Wow, what a load of FUD. The Wikipedia links make your post look like you know what you're writing, but Wikipedia does not back up your claims. Don't say "in fact" when this is just your personal opinion, which you cannot substantiate.

Windows CE deliberately limits functionality and utility to maximize stability and reliability. Android has constantly expanded functionality and utility and in theory that complexity, and frequent revision and extension of the kernel reduces stability and reliability. At the very least, it introduces the possibility of a code defect slipping in; a defect that could possibly lead to a critical flight computer error. The probability of that happening is unquantifiable, but non-zero.

Windows CE has limited functionality because back in the 90ies when it was developed, portable devices did not have enough power for the full-blown Windows. This has nothing to do with maximizing stability/reliability.

Windows CE has been abandoned by Microsoft, that's why it has not been expanded. Before it was abandoned, it was constantly expanded by Microsoft.

Stability and reliability are primary goals of sensible flight related computing. That's why NASA's Space Shuttle used computers and software long frozen in decades past. The old stuff was indisputably stable and reliable. It was old, but not antiquated. Using Windows CE follows a similar proven strategy.

Wow, NASA. That makes Windows CE pretty stable. Oh, stop! You didn't say that NASA uses Windows CE. What was your argument, again? What was the point of mentioning NASA?

I'm not saying that PNA's based on Windows CE are in fact more reliable than those running on Android. Nobody knows. But that's a big part of the engineers' intention.

I do know. I spent many years with both Windows CE and Android. I spent months of my lifetime debugging problems with XCSoar on Windows CE. I found so many bugs and instabilities in Windows CE, it's not funny. These bugs will never be fixed, because Windows CE is abandoned. Android is not bug-free, but compared to Windows CE, it feels like heaven.

Let me sum up your post:

1. one can't compare Android and Windows CE
2. you compare stability of Android vs Windows CE
3. it's pointless to compare stability of Android vs Windows CE, "let's not go there"
4. none of this matter, you don't know, because nobody knows