Slashdot Mirror
Mozilla Opens the Firefox App Store To Early Testers
SternisheFan sends this quote from ZDNet:
"Mozilla has opened its Firefox Marketplace, with Android device owners and developers getting the first access to the browser's app store. The access arrived on Thursday, in the release of the latest 'Aurora' build of Firefox for Android. Aurora is meant for developers and early adopters, as it is the test stream of Mozilla's browser. The storefront lets people find and install web applications delivered via the browser, and gives developers a place to publicize their apps. 'We're hoping that Aurora users, our awesome early adopters, will go experience the Firefox Marketplace on their Android phones and let us know what they think,' Mozilla Labs engineering manager Bill Walker said in a blog post. 'Our goal is to collect as much real-life feedback as possible about the Marketplace's design, usability, performance, reliability, and content.' ... Mozilla said it expects to follow with a Marketplace for the Firefox browser beta and Firefox OS launches next year."
If only Firefox worked with the several hundred million smart phones and tablets running the older versions of Android, then this would be about 1000% more useful. I can watch TV and movies on my Samsung Android phone, I can stream all kinds of music, I can run my desktop computer remotely from it, I can learn to speak and write Chinese, and I can make free international phone calls on it via my Vonage account. But I can't run the Firefox browser. I would say "WTF is your problem Mozilla???", but that just seems so unprofessional.
Now that any generic webpage can be considered an "app", how long will it take before everything's an "app"? Photos? Apps. Videos? Apps. USB cables? They're no longer USB cables, they're "app cables". Heck, drop the cables - they're just "apps" too.
Besides that point, most of these so-called "apps" are worthless. I remember a time when Apple fans used to proudly proclaim that even though there was less software on the Mac platform, they were higher quality than Windows programs. Now that the iPhone has hundreds of thousands of apps, quality doesn't matter anymore.
At least Firefox hasn't gone full Windows 8 and reduced everything to 16 colors (yet)...
You're doing a halfassed job of writing your flagship browser at the moment. There's no way in hell I'm using your app store or your OS. This type of wasted effort, useless featuritis, and loss of focus is why you're losing ground.
I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
Most App stores that are already out have both free items and pay items. The lack of pay items is the only thing keeping the Ubuntu Software Center from being called the Ubuntu App Store really. But if Ubuntu did start offering pay items through the Ubuntu Software Center, would that be so bad? More options in convenient places is a good thing. Similarly, more app stores can only give more options, not less, so that would be a good thing too. Or are you the type of person that WANTS to consume only what your Apple overlords tell you to? In other words, no one is forcing you to use every app store out there, and it doesn't make sense to want to limit thier existence.
Three days from now?? Thats tomorrow!! ~Peter Griffin
The USC has had paid apps for around 2 years. Where have you been?
You mean the last 7, right? It originated in 9.10.