Windows Phone Thoughts: Broken Scenario, Episode 1: That Darn "X" Button

Since the first Pocket PC OS was shown to a group of MVPs in late 1999, we've all been complaining about the broken functionality of the "X" button. We've ranted, railed, begged and pleaded. We've made T-shirts mocking the "X" button. We've calmly explained scenario after scenario where a true clue button is needed. We've pointed out the fact that all OEMs bundle their own task switcher/killer applications, so maybe, just maybe, this is something the companies selling Pocket PCs want to see. We've told them stories about how one of the top questions new users ask is "How do I close applications?" and "Where do I get a program to help me switch tasks?". Almost five years later, nothing has changed, and we've all but given up. Still, I figured it couldn't hurt to tell one more story to reinforce what a broken scenario the "X" button is.

I have a client named Jane. She's a doctor, the head of a large medical organization, and she needs to use technology to keep up to speed on the tremendous amount of data that flies back and forth between her office and doctors in her organization. She also needs to access her desktop remotely to process patient files, so I set up the Terminal Services Client for her. She was able to log in and view the program, then came the obvious question "Ok, how do I shut this down"? Here's a paraphrased version of the conversation:

Jason: "Well, if you click on the little "X" it minimizes it, but doesn't close it. It keeps running in the background."

[I can see now by the look on her face that she's trying to figure out why one symbol means one thing in the desktop world, and the same symbol means something completely different in the Pocket PC world.]

Jane: "Ok, well, it can't stay running - that's a violation of our policies - I need to shut it down and disconnect."

Jason: "Ok, sure, you just bring up the keyboard and click Control+Q because that's an exit command in all Microsoft Pocket PC programs and...um...that didn't work. Hmm. That's strange..."

Jane: "Is there any other way to shut it down?"

Jason: "Sure, you just have to go START > SETTINGS > SYSTEM > MEMORY > RUNNING PROGRAMS then click STOP ALL, and if it won't stop like it's apparently doing right now you just need to click on END PROGRAM when this little window pops up because the program is hung and you need to manually kill it. Easy, right?"

Jane: Blank stare.

Jason: "Yeah, it's a bit complex. Here, I'll just tell it to you a few more times and hopefully you'll remember it..."

I'll likely end up installing WISbar or another task killer on her device, but the point of my story is that, from her standpoint, this is completely confusing and I agree. Microsoft maintains that there's no need for the "X" to close programs, because the memory management features of Windows Mobile will shut down programs as needed. In a perfect world, fine, we have no memory management issues.

What about the security risks of having an RDP connection open to confidential data, and the only way to break that connection is to go through a six-step process? And with the new improvements in Windows Mobile 2003, that GPRS connection stays active even when the device is put into suspend mode - so you have a more or less permanent connection at risk!

In our next thrilling episode of "Broken Scenario", I try to explain to my client Karl why a registry hack was needed in order for him to store his large email attachments on a storage card. Be sure to tune in next time!