
Foxconn Joins the Firefox OS Eco-System - robin_reala
https://blog.mozilla.org/ligong/2013/06/03/foxconn-joins-the-firefox-os-eco-system/
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fmstephe
I very strongly want this to work. I am very excited about the prospect of a
phone/tablet OS that I hack up apps for in Javascript. But even more than that
I pray for a true competitor to iOSX/Android.

They just need to get this thing moving. I am planning to buy a tablet this
Christmas and I want FFOS to be a very good choice by then. Come on Mozilla.

~~~
tsurantino
This might be a black sheep type of question in a thread like this but here
goes.

Microsoft pursued a strategy that enabled people to make web apps in
HTML5/Javascript as first class apps in Windows 8. Why is it not being
adopted/praised as much as Firefox OS is? Is it because it's Microsoft? Is it
because the Win8 HTML5/JS apps are more closed-system-esque than Firefox OS
apps will be?

A lot of people denounce Windows because of its lack of app ecosystem. Does
everyone think that Firefox OS will have a better chance at solving this
problem and thus deserves praise for creating an ecosystem exclusively for
web-based apps?

~~~
fmstephe
I think it is a very fair question. The first reason I want Mozilla to win
here is that they don't want my data. They are pushing for stronger privacy in
firefox, and although I love Chrome I don't think Google can ever support real
browser privacy.

I am a fan of JS on windows 8 and winphone 8. However, I own a win7 phone and
got burned by their non-backwards compatible upgrade to 8. So I have no love
for MS, although I am a big fan of the tiled UI.

I think that FFOS will provide a better place where I can put together an app
in Linux with vim. I don't want to install eclipse to write for Android, buy a
macbook to write an iOSx app or install visual studio.

I hope that FFOS can be an easy to fiddle playground for me. We'll see.

~~~
sunnybythesea
>I don't want to install eclipse to write for Android

Well you don't _need_ eclipse to write for Android

~~~
fmstephe
That is true, but what is the command line tooling like for java? I build java
all day inside god-awful IDEs. The last time I tried compiling Java on the
command line it was really a lot of work.

I suppose there is some maven support for building Android. An even better
reason to hope for the best for FFOS.

~~~
ttuominen
Android also has decent command line tool support and a build system based on
Ant. I'm not a huge fan of ant, but the default setup works all right and is
extensible. I've mostly managed to stay inside Emacs for Android development.

~~~
fmstephe
That is a good thing to know. Maybe I should give it another look.

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programminggeek
This is a great move for Mozilla, and not completely surprising that a
manufacturer would take an open source OS and dump it on the hardware they are
building for everyone else.

Foxconn is providing enough value building devices that they could produce
their own and if they can figure out the marketing/branding, would have a good
shot at it. At the very least they could partner with retailers to co-brand a
store brand like Best Buy does with insignia. Make a special store brand at
each big chain - Radio Shack, Best Buy, Target, Wal-Mart. It's a little
surprising this hasn't happened yet now that I think about it.

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pinaceae
Shouldn't there be outrage about Foxconn and its production practices? Seems
not long ago it was a hellhole representing everything wrong about the modern
tech industry - now it's perfectly fine?

If so, good job by Tim Cook to pressure them into greatness in worker
treatment. Right?

~~~
ihsw
Are you going to also complain about Canonical partnering with the Chinese
government in creating a Ubuntu derivative[1][2]?

[1] <https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuKylin>

[2] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UbuntuKylin>

Business relationships make for strange bedfellows, and I'm sure Mozilla has
some serious preconceptions about working with Foxconn, however it should be
comforting that we're moving beyond the world of Microsoft/Apple/Google
dominating consumer electronics.

~~~
pessimizer
What does that have to do with Foxconn? Is it because Foxconn is in China and
Mozilla is FOSS, like Ubuntu?

I don't think the parent was making a comment about either China, or FOSS, but
about Foxconn, Apple (their most well-known and largest customer), Mozilla,
and people's perceptions of partnership with Foxconn seeming situational.

~~~
datalus
The Chinese Government's human rights record ain't exactly spotless either...
I think that was the point he was making.

~~~
jabits
So what, not related. More noise...

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AlexanderDhoore
Very impressive! I remember seeing a list of Firefox OS supporting companies
some time ago. A BIG list...

Ubuntu Phone has this nice webpage for "Operator and OEM partners" [1], but do
they actually have any? I doubted Firefox OS a lot more than Ubuntu Phone, but
it seems I was wrong.

[1] <http://www.ubuntu.com/phone/operators-and-oems>

~~~
Mikeb85
Unfortunately Canonical seems to do everything half-baked... I have more faith
in Jolla/Sailfish... Mozilla has a history of actually changing the tech
landscape, their language (Javascript) changed the web forever, Canonical has
done nothing but split the Linux camp, and fail at making money. They also
made one of the least stable distros available (I've had better luck with
SUSE, Fedora, and Arch). Ubuntu phone will likely share the same fate as
Ubuntu TV, Ubuntu on Android, and all their other half-baked ideas...

~~~
seabrookmx
You have had better stability with Arch? They're known as a bleeding edge
distro for a reason, and frequently release updates that break previous
installs. Not that this is bad - it's just how they roll.

Also, Javascript is not Mozilla's language. It was originally invented at
Netscape, and is a standardized language. Yes, Mozilla does great things with
Javascript, but is no more Mozilla's language than it is Microsoft's.

~~~
synchronise
Well the guy who created Javascript (Brendan Eich) currently works at Mozilla
as the chief technology officer so they have a bigger claim on it than anyone
else.

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tbirdz
I am really interested in this, and it's great news what mozilla is doing
especially for the open web. Hopefully, their entire OS will be open source,
so I can get a smartphone/tablet that's entirely open source. I'm also
interested in the javascript element. With asm.js, node.js, webgl, and this
javascript is becoming more and more of a serious language every day.

However, I am curious, has mozilla published any docs or emulator for
developers to write applications and test before launch?

EDIT: Found it:
[https://marketplace.firefox.com/developers/docs/firefox_os_s...](https://marketplace.firefox.com/developers/docs/firefox_os_simulator)

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vudu
I'm batting for FFOS - if for no other reason than the industry needs more
competition.

I've got a Keon I'm playing with and it is pretty cool. It needs a lot of
polishing to be sure - but it works - on a cheap phone, which in many ways is
remarkable when you consider it is running that too slow, not so good, aint my
favorite language, Javascript! LOL.

I'm betting on technologies that are open web standards, have the fewest
barriers to entry/exit and offer less cost/risk.

I remember back in the dark ages (2000) having the discussion about biz apps
in Delphi/VB/etc vs the web. The web won - at least for business apps, imo.

I think FFOS has a chance and wish it the best.

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codygman
Shame on everyone yelling "Firefox needs to get into the market with cheap
margins so _WE_ can have better tablets/internet! Nevermind those foreigners
who are committing suicide because of bad work conditions".

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cpeterso
What are the "8 Screens"?

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codygman
Why Foxconn? So many human rights violations...

Don't get me wrong, I really really want this to work out... but someone like
Mozilla shouldn't be in bed with the likes of Foxconn.

~~~
pointyhats
There are very few tech products without something Foxconn in them.

Even my old Lenovo T61 had most of the parts stamped Foxconn.

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cauliturtle
look forward! it is a great news!

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pjmlp
Will I be able to play Infinity Blade class games on it?

~~~
WhiteDawn
I would doubt it for some time. Mozilla are aiming at the ultra budget market.
We have expensive iPhones and Androids, mid-tier androids, but ~$100 androids
are few and almost guaranteed a bad experience. Firefox os is targeted for low
end cheap devices to steal the "feature phones" market.

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liotier
Firefoxconn !

