[0] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.koushikdut...

[1] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.speedsoftw...

[2] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.noshufou.a...

[3] http://stats.cyanogenmod.com/

... and of course, if you Jailbreak your phone you can put anything you damn well please on there.

Because most of the people on this site aren't actually hackers, they're businessmen who use technology to make money. The "hacker" label is just used to appear hip.

I'm definitely not a businessman. I'm a rank-and-file engineer for Amazon, and part of the reason I stick with that is that it gives me spare time to hack on random shit or learn some random math.

I still use (and develop for) iOS for two reasons. First, when I'm not hacking I think it's a nicer OS than the competition. Second, when I am hacking on things, I think it's a nicer OS to develop for. As a hacker I can call all the private APIs I like, run in the background, fork of child processes, and really just generally make a mess of things. Oh, and I don't have to do any of it in Java (which after a day of work is a welcome relief).

I would say that this is incorrectly worded. People have priorities, and those priorities show whether they truly have the hacker spirit or not.

> First, when I'm not hacking I think it's a nicer OS than the competition.

This already exposes that you are not a hacker. If you were, you would value the increased hackability and customizability that Android gives you, rather than the my-way-or-the-highway approach taken by iOS. The fact that you think iOS is nicer than the competition means that you aren't a hacker (in the original sense of the word).

> when I am hacking on things, I think it's a nicer OS to develop for. As a hacker I can call all the private APIs I like, run in the background, fork of child processes, and really just generally make a mess of things.

Again, this shows you are not truly a hacker. Part of the hacker ethos is sharing, and iOS restricts how you can share by not allowing those "private" APIs to be used in apps published on the App Store.

> I don't have to do any of it in Java (which after a day of work is a welcome relief).

This is an issue, but I would consider it a minor one compared to the other, more important problems.

Any time you feel the temptation to claim that someone is "not an X" based on your own private criteria, I'd suggest rethinking it. Some labels have well defined requirements (a Baseball player is someone who plays baseball). However, many labels are entirely in the eye of the beholder, and pronouncing to someone "Hah! You're not an X" generally makes one look bitter and insecure.

I didn't know we were discussing car building or book binding. I thought this was a site primarily targeted at the technology community.

> Write software in languages other than Brainfuck? Sorry, turn in your hacker badge.

Now you're just being facetious. Please stop, it only helps to invalidate your own argument.

> Any time you feel the temptation to claim that someone is "not an X" based on your own private criteria, I'd suggest rethinking it.

I will, the next time I am basing it on private criteria. Since I have not done that in this case (as my criteria are well-accepted and long-existing), I'm not sure why you made this statement.

> pronouncing to someone "Hah! You're not an X" generally makes one look bitter and insecure.

Once again, resorting to ad hominem attacks only makes you look desperate and helps to invalidate your other statements. I would advise that you not use them if you want to be taken seriously.

The irony of discussing the importance of openness in the things you own with such a closed-minded worldview about the people you interact with is palpable.

Note that I am not saying there is anything inherently wrong with liking or using Apple products. They clearly appeal to a significant number of people. Just don't delude yourself into believing that that makes you a hacker, because it's not fooling most of the rest of us.

From The New Hacker's Dictionary:

1. A person who enjoys exploring the details of programmable systems and how to stretch their capabilities, as opposed to most users, who prefer to learn only the minimum necessary. 2. One who programs enthusiastically (even obsessively) or who enjoys programming rather than just theorizing about programming. 3. A person capable of appreciating hack value. 4. A person who is good at programming quickly. 5. An expert at a particular program, or one who frequently does work using it or on it; as in `a Unix hacker'. (Definitions 1 through 5 are correlated, and people who fit them congregate.) 6. An expert or enthusiast of any kind. One might be an astronomy hacker, for example. 7. One who enjoys the intellectual challenge of creatively overcoming or circumventing limitations.

Source: http://www.outpost9.com/reference/jargon/jargon_23.html#SEC3...

So, where is the "you shall use Android or Linux" requirement? Oh, I see, The New Hacker's Dictionary is wrong and not true to the law either.

Really, why do people even care?

Why in the world has anyone upvoted your baseless attempt at discrediting. Stop being such an insufferable fanboy.

With a Dev account, you can, like with Apple deploy anything you like to your Dev unlocked Windows Phone 8 phone(s).

But all in all, every phone OS (except maybe Firefox OS) puts me down on this. With iOS it's OSX and Xcode and with Android you're better to use some IDE like Eclipse.

For the iOS work I do I use Xcode. Unbelievably it is slightly less usable than Eclipse (this is not praising Eclipse!). I am constantly astonished at things it does. Presumably eventually Stockholm Syndrome sets in and you train yourself to not do the things that hurt. For a library I am working on that has no gui elements I am actually editing the code on my Linux box using emacs with sshfs access to the files on the mac, and a ssh terminal connection in to build/run/test from the command line. To access the Mac desktop I use Remote Desktop (VNC under the hood). One thing I praise Apple for is that their VNC server implementation is excellent - very snappy especially compared to the dismal Linux experience. Chrome Remote Desktop also works although it sometimes has problems with special keys. I have the Mac sitting in the back of a cupboard with nothing connected except a USB cable that ends up on my desk where I plugin the devices. You can do some things from the command line such as building (xcode-build). I have no idea if you can install apps, get their logs etc using command line tools.

If you don't want to write native apps then you can use PhoneGap. It is essentially a web shell (html widget and javascript) with various extra APIs (eg contacts access) and you provide your code as HTML+javascript. There is much debate about pure HTML5 webapps, solutions like PhoneGap, cross platform tools like MonoTouch versus native apps. Non-native approaches tend to be quicker to initially develop and port, but can have some rough edges and take longer to work at the "edges" of functionality.

TLDR: I have no clue about developing WP8 apps using Linux dev environment

My Lumia 920 got here today, and the two gripes I had before - lack of 4g and a pitiful browser - have both been nicely addressed.

I got a free developer program membership and got my phone unlocked through that, but I've never used it to sideload code onto my phone and never plan on doing that. It's just not something I need to do.