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Firefox OS Will Win Big With Developers - Mozilla

Posted by Unknown on from the netcraft-reports-xul-is-dying-or-something dept.

judgecorp writes "Mozilla's mobile operating system Firefox OS will win overwhelming support from developers because it dropped XUL in favour of HTML5, says the head of Mozilla Europe in an interview. Firefox OS is more open than iOS and Android, and 75 percent of apps are already written in HTML5."

4 of 229 comments (clear)

  1. phones? idk...but a cheap tablet for schools... by malelder · · Score: 4, Interesting

    while I'm not sold on the idea that we need another phone OS, I would think the combination of a cheap tablet with an HTML5 based OS on it is a decent alternative to laptops and netbooks for elementary education purposes. Books, interactive exercises, and word-processing abilities all in one. Allow a school to run their own Google Office-style server to keep things local...could be neat (:

    --


    Yuma, AZ...You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious.
  2. Best of luck (seriously) by Qwavel · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It is going to be really tough for Mozilla to make headway with their own mobile OS. Palm, Nokia, RIM, etc. have all failed in spite of enormous efforts, and the only ones that have succeeded now have complete ecosystems built around their devices.

    So, I believe that the chances of Firefox OS succeeding are really slim.

    And this is coming from someone who believes that Mozilla saved the Web, and who runs firefox on their phone (which is part of the problem - I already have mobile firefox).

    1. Re:Best of luck (seriously) by Microlith · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Palm

      Carrier manhandling (never trust those bastards) and getting snapped up by HP were the biggest contributors to their fall.

      Nokia, RIM

      Unrepentant managerial incompetence. Hell, Nokia had a winner in the N9 but their internal practices kept it from seeing the light of day early enough to actually be of use.

      the only ones that have succeeded now have complete ecosystems built around their devices.

      But the presence of those "ecosystems" does not preclude competitors. Nor do they mean that no one else should try. This is probably the worst argument I've seen, if anything it gives even more reason to hate ecosystems as they seem more adept at inhibiting competition and user choice than anything else.

      I believe that the chances of Firefox OS succeeding are really slim.

      Depends on the market they go into. Success doesn't mean that they drastically displace iOS or Android, only that sales of devices running the platform are profitable. Profitability means that there's opportunity to grow.

      On top of that, if you focus on regions using GSM that don't have their handset choices constrained by the regional carriers you have a far better chance than in backwards markets like the US.

  3. Re:Go for it by asa · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Firefox has better memory management than any other popular browser. If you aren't seeing that, then you aren't on the latest Firefox version or you've got some horribly leaky add-ons installed. (The add-on problem is fixed in Firefox 15 Beta and will be available in 6 weeks.)