We already knew before that Firefox he was developing his own operating system based on HTML5, that's no secret to anyone but ... the secret for many is in the question of "Is it worth it?" and is that today we have in our hands very well positioned systems and with a lot of ground gained such as Android and IOS, followed by BlackberryOS and Windows Phone 7.5.
The point in all of this is that competing with the first two, at least in the beginning is almost impossible since the advertising and marketing apparatus of Mozilla is not even in dreams close to Google or much less to patent troll Manzana. Some say that in fact no new system is needed today since "everything is covered" and others say that variety is needed.
I personally see it this way:
IOS It is a closed system whose market is focused on Asia, the United States and parts of Europe. As I said before it is closed, too; For this reason, it does not win too many followers within the world of the most purist Geeks who love to put their hands on all their gadgets and also keep in mind that Apple does not have a good reputation with governments such as Italian or Spanish for reasons of fines and not wanting to offer two-year guarantees stipulated by law.
Android according to many it is the panacea; It is open, it has many manufacturers behind it, it is updated, it has the ROMs and many Google services, but there is a problem… Android uses Java as its programming language for its applications; which makes it uncomfortable for many developers (I include myself) since Java is ugly, slow, verbose and annoying to learn (and I'm not saying it at all) and for worse, closed, which is why it is a total annoyance.
Of the other two systems I do not speak because in fact I think that FFOS you can stand up to them much more easily.
The point is that, obviously HTML5 is not a fully developed standard, it needs to grow more and mature, it is good that there are projects like this that promote the standard in such a way but at least in the first place we can be clear that many of the native applications that the more we use
(whatsapp, for example) will not be present in FFOS. But there are advantages, and one of them is that the developer community surrounding HTML5 it is huge, which could cause an explosive growth of the ecosystem and attract large developers; that and that I prefer a thousand times to program in javascript rather than using Java.
Another advantage is that being based on HTML5 you will not need specialized software to develop graphical interfaces or elaborate and annoying SDKs, just HTML CSS javascript and some server language like Python, PHP or Ruby. It is not yet clear what the FF OS development environment will look like, but I am sure that as a platform, if it doesn't survive, it will pave the way for bigger things based on its concept.
Of course, there is something that I did not mention but that is important, it is called Tizen, which shares the same concept of FFOS, although a little different in certain points.
Definitely as soon as I can get my hands on a cell phone with FFOS I'll be a happy geek, equally with a TizenI'm one of those who bet on those operating systems. And you?
I would also bet on this SO. I like to test the different OS, even more so if they are free 😀
What happens is that you present it as if it were to compete in the entire market which is not the case, according to them the objective is that it does not find middleware but B2G (Boot To Gecko) interacting directly with the kernel so that it can not be It takes great hardware and can compete as a low-priced phone. On the other hand, yes, Mozilla does not have the infrastructure to give B2G great publicity but this is not just their development, the project has the support of Telefonica, which is already preparing a phone to put it on the market when the OS Be ready, I'm not saying it's necessarily going to be the big hit, but it does put things in perspective.
I forgot to mention that on the project page http://www.openwebdevice.com/ , there is a video with a first prototype that was made and shows how it works, which is worth seeing
Thus it is its intention is not to compete in mid-range or high-end mobiles, it seems to me that it can be very successful.
The truth calls my attention FF OS. If it is as Open Source as I hope, it can be installed on an Android in Dual Boot plan. That would be perfect.
if it is 100% free of course it will be worth it
what I don't understand is the name, firefox was always the browser, it makes no sense to put the same name to an OS
As far as I know the project has always had the name Boot to Gecko (B2G)
The day I discovered the Tizen project I was very excited, just like with Firefox OS. The idea that, in the near future, there may be a smartphone with a totally free operating system and also that it does not use java is tempting. But with this you never know until you try it. Before it goes on the market we will not know anything 100%.
For now, there are people who say that html5 performs worse than java. I have no idea. Is there anyone who knows something about it?
I guess it's not just HTML5 + CSS3, but JQuery, and how much language can be brought from the web to the phone. Sounds great. Will I be able to install it on my Blackberry Curve 8310? I don't think so 🙁
Of course, if it's worth it 😀 FFos!
Of course it is worth it, a free system designed for low-resource teams. I, who do not plan to pay a nose for a smartphone, I will be waiting for it.
You are absolutely right, apart from that this will demonstrate the ability of html5, if this succeeds, I would not doubt that in the not too distant future HTML5 will replace some technologies that are currently used
Interesting, if this comes to fruition, would it give way to new free OS? Good article.
It is an excellent option for cheaper devices than the ones we can find today… At least in Latin America it could succeed, I think.
The issue with HTML5 applications is that they depend on the server where they are mounted and how they are developed, so the performance and proper functioning of it depends exclusively on the developer, not on the mobile platform.
As for the Open Source of the system, I do not know who thinks that Mozilla is going to launch proprietary software of some kind.
haha, we are all susceptible to turning to the dark side. But personally I really like the applications that mozilla develops 🙂
Interesting article, it would not be bad to try it one day. 😀
Cheers(:
I think it's super good ... 🙂
By the way, for Chakra lovers, a new version of Chakra 2012.7 has already been released. I saw it a while ago by Distrowatch
I don't know why so much trouble with it being java, java is very robust and that seems like a good reason to use it and make quality software
Because in fact, the robustness of Java is not something really relevant when it is one of the slowest compiled languages out there, if I want robustness and power I have beasts like C and C ++, which although they share a terrible syntax like Java, still do not to be so tangled and verbose… I personally am a total detractor of Java.
Yes that is true but java has reasons to do so, java was created to work on any type of device and that is why it has an intermediate virtual machine and that is what makes it more appropriate for mobile devices, in addition to that virtual machine there are more languages like groovy which is less verbose)
Now HTML5 is something that still seems too immature to me. I think that until now a standard has not been approved for it and for javascript until now I have not been able to find a debugger to make large applications.
The oracle thing if it is something that does not benefit you much but there is always openjdk
The thing is that HTML5 advances quite fast and its entire environment gains more and more developers while Java is among the most used almost exclusively by Android, suppose that Android disappears or changes its language; in that case, goodbye Java.
that's so nano ,,, you are absolutely right
Did someone say that Java is closed?
On November 13, 2006, Sun released much of Java as free and open source software, (FOSS), under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL). On May 8, 2007, Sun finished the process, making all of Java's core code available under free software / open-source distribution terms, aside from a small portion of code to which Sun did not hold the copyright
Now he's from oracle, and we've seen how he handles his belongings.
Off topic, watch as Microsoft begins its campaign to put Windows 8 at all costs:
http://www.infobae.com/notas/657017-Windows-8-Pro-tiene-precio-en-la-Argentina.html
It is worth it
It is not for nothing, but how is your browser, I do not expect much from your OS, that is my humble opinion
I can't find what's wrong with Mozilla's browser if, in the long run, it works the same as all the others, and that consumption is the only thing against it, which in fact doesn't affect me
MeeGo (RIP), Tizen, FFOS, PlasmaActive and the Ubuntu buzz for smartphones and tablets are the systems that we all like and want to nail our fangs into.
On the other hand, I never got hooked on Android precisely because it is Java, I have no doubt that these FOSS systems have their own guaranteed niche, perhaps not in the mass public but in the technologically savvy.
Good article,% 100 agree.
Just a detail, MeeGo as mobile OS is not dead, since Tizen is MeeGo with a new name and without Nokia as a sponsor.
I not only wait to see Firefox OS, but also OpenWebOS, BB OS 10, Tizen, and Bada (to see if the latter merges with Tizen).
The truth is that this year and next we are going to see quite a few alternatives to the main mobile operating systems, which makes the outlook interesting, because at the end of the competition it is the user who is most favored.
I want PUBLIC CONTROLLERS, I have an Android tablet, given away to experiment and learn about Android, but since I don't have the controllers, I can't do almost anything to it - except use what they give me -.
But this happens with almost all Android devices.
Linaro has just made an Android that goes up to twice as fast in terms of processes, but to compile it you need the drivers - drivers - to make a hardware pack.
I do not consider FOSS a system that does not force the brands that use it to PUBLISH, that DO NOT RELEASE their drivers.
The same will happen to us with Tizen or FF OS, WITHOUT CONTROLLERS we will not be able to install them to our liking.
To be ROOT you need cracking programs that sometimes work - not to me - as if it were an MS WOS game I don't even have the right to change the size of the partitions - the apps fill up right away, having the fakeSD almost empty and moving them with app2SD or Norton utils it is not always possible as well as being a hassle.
For more information, INRI does not support EXT4, and by giving the SD error and sending it formatting it formats the fakeSDs instead if there is no remedy because it cannot even edit the fstab, which has another name.
Let's see if Google clears it up and puts it in its requirements, because without drivers I don't see the FREEDOM of Android anywhere.
I believe that these firefox guys have always set the standard in revolutions, with their own browser they did it, before almost 100% of the people occupied IE and when the firefox alternative came out, people began to see that there are free alternatives and quality, now if they get into the field of smartphones I think they do it very well, regardless if they do it in java or html5, since they are an organization that has known how to set the tone for the next advances in certain areas, and tell me who Haven't ever seen the video of how firefox thinks a mobile phone should be !! closing I think it is not an issue how the browser is going at the moment, but rather that firefox starts or continues to develop an OS for smartphones of whatever quality, call it entry, med and the high-end, since if they develop an OS that is I can occupy and put my hand on any phone there will be no geek (among which I include myself) who does not want to try it on his super galaxy sxxxx this so !!! greetings and thanks for your work boys
Pd: alluding a little to elav as he ever did with musical groups would be something like this, IOS = The Beatles, Android = Rolling Stones, FF OS = The Who, hehehe!
Well, looking at the images that circulate on the net, if it keeps that appearance, it would be great. As long as you keep the robustness and flexibility of Firefox (browser), but keep it fast. I know very little about programming, but from what I read out there, that it is possible to develop applications in html5 is a great step forward.
I prefer a thousand times to program in Java than in Javascript
So you're a bit of a masochist xD
I can't understand Java, I don't understand how such an ugly and uncomfortable language was forced and conditioned to be the most used; but hey, for color tastes.
In Javascript, well, the thing is not that it is beautiful, but thank heaven there are languages like Coffescript, which compiles to JS and is extremely simple to use and implement.
The point is, you need to be a master, a fucking master in Java to be really fast, even using Frameworks; When with an HTML5 environment you don't need much more than a text editor, knowledge and then if you want, frameworks.
I have to say it again you are absolutely right ,,, I would not hesitate, maybe I am wrong but I am betting the following ,, bye java, welcome html5,, as with the NoSQL databases ,,, bye Oracle, MySQL, SQLserver ,,, welcome HBase, Bigtable, Casaandra ,,,
It could be an interesting alternative, although I do not see Mozilla "innovating" with revolutionary products and I do not think they can stand up to the big marketing machinery, especially when it still has a lot to do with Firefox. Perhaps you are condemning yourself to being crushed by Google and a possible Ubuntu Smartphone.
"Jack of all trades, master of none"
@Nano, it is evident that you do not know anything about Java and possibly what you know about programming is precisely that: making calculators in javascript because it has the most beautiful and comfortable code, that is my criterion, no offense.
Actually dwarf is a Python programmer 😉
And whoever defends java either does not know java well or does not know other different languages (except co c ++) ...
hi, i'm a programmer in c ++, c #, java, ruby, and many other languages, including 1 wire from arduino and others specialized in microcontrollers, and I defend the position of java as a good programming language, and it is as good as the others, and Not closed, since what is not directly accessible is documented, the rest is for security. I think that the creator of this article, with all due respect, has a lack of knowledge regarding the language that skews his opinion, but I respect it, since it is probably not a language that suits him, and in that happily there is freedom of choice.
I AM ONE OF THOSE WHO THINK ABOUT THE FUTURE AND HTML5 IS PART OF THAT ,,,,
Java is not slow and I do not know where you draw that conclusion, in fact it is faster (several times) than python and javascript, two of the languages that you defend…. It is also not difficult to learn, in fact it is probably the easiest static language to learn, which is why it is popular.
That said and clarified, if java is verbose, ugly and I prefer js 😉
Now, apparently there are advances in asmjs within Firefox os, which would mean that 3d games and demanding applications would come to Firefox with a performance close to the native, that can be an advantage although not all developers would benefit since programming for asmjs is more similar to c than js (low level)
In December it seems that WhatsApp will appear in fos thanks to the support of movistar which would help it gain traction, right now my only complaint towards fos is the terrible interface design it has, it is a mixture of styles and that shows that those who are developing the interface are not exactly experts ..
By the way, tizen recently added a series of licenses and conditions, so it's not exactly free, in fact, it looks like it's going to be more closed than Android (which isn't as free as they paint it either) ...
Well my Java never made it easy for me, I have hated it since I had to touch it, God how I dislike it xD.