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Mozilla Launches Firefox OS Simulator 4.0 With Test Receipts

Posted by timothy on from the so-far-it's-just-anti-monopoly-money dept.

An anonymous reader writes "As promised, Mozilla today announced the release of Firefox OS Simulator 4.0 with a focus on developers who want to make money in the Firefox Marketplace. You can download the new version now for Windows, Mac, and Linux from Mozilla Add-Ons. First and foremost, the new simulator supports test receipts for paid apps: each app's dashboard features a drop-down menu where you can select a receipt type. Choosing one of these will have the simulator add-on downloading a test receipt from a Marketplace receipt service and reinstalling the app using it. This lets developers test receipt verification with whatever receipts types they may require (valid, invalid, and refunded)."

41 comments

  1. It isn't an OS by TechyImmigrant · · Score: -1

    Why does every application writer want to call their product an "Operating System"?

    Firefox is not an OS, it's an application. It looks nothing like an OS. It looks like a browser, which is what it is.
    Android isn't an OS. It's middleware. It's OS is the Linux kernel.

    The Linux kernel is an OS.
    OS/360 is an OS
    CPM is an OS

    --
    I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
    1. Re:It isn't an OS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

      Oh I got one!

      NIGGER is an OS. Violent underacheiving idiotic knocking_up_ten_baby_mommas cracksmoking Gangsta culture is an application.

    2. Re:It isn't an OS by robmv · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Wrong, an OS is a kernel + standard user space libraries + standard executables. Firefox OS is an OS using the Linux kernel much like OS X is an OS using XNU kernel, Windows Phone 8 using the Windows kernel, Windows Phone 7 using the Windows CE kernel, etc.

    3. Re:It isn't an OS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

      Firefox didn't perfect the art of annoying its users more and more every release, that honor belongs to Ubuntu.

      I can hawdly wait for Firefox "OS" to become a real OS. As if we need another distro led by aspies with delusions of grandeur who don't know their head from their ass. They must've hired the guy who designed Microsoft Office's ribbon interface.

      -- Ethanol-fueled

    4. Re:It isn't an OS by AdamWill · · Score: 1

      Firefox OS is an OS. It's not Firefox the browser. That's why they called it Firefox OS, not Firefox.

    5. Re:It isn't an OS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

      and you are an asshole......

    6. Re:It isn't an OS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But what about the browser?

    7. Re:It isn't an OS by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 0

      What about the IO subsystem? The memory manager? The filesystem? The boot block?

      Firefox OS is a Firefox browser running on Linux with some bits taken from Android.

      --
      I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
    8. Re:It isn't an OS by FatdogHaiku · · Score: 2

      and you are an asshole......

      Maybe, but he's not calling himself an OS...

      --
      You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
    9. Re:It isn't an OS by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 0

      And that stuff is present in Android and will be present in Firefox OS in the form of Linux.

      Open up a bash shell on your android phone. It's Linux. Kernel, libraries and standard executables, all present and correct and Linuxy.

      --
      I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
    10. Re:It isn't an OS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      GNU/Linux is an OS
      FreeBSD is an OS
      Windows is an OS
      Android is an OS

      Linux is a kernel. It's in rare times like these that the GNU folks aren't anal about their naming conventions.

      Android and Firefox OS, which may or may not be based on Android, both use the Linux kernel with a differing but not entirely different set of middleware and end-user apps. A Linux-only OS will probably do nothing much more than boot and flash its revision name on the screen.

    11. Re:It isn't an OS by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 0

      The rest of it is Linux. My Linux box has Firefox running on Linux, but I don't call it Firefox OS.

      --
      I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
    12. Re:It isn't an OS by MrEricSir · · Score: 1

      <stallman>But Linux isn't an OS. It's a kernel.</stallman>

      --
      There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
    13. Re:It isn't an OS by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 0

      I'm not Stallman. I have no beard.

      --
      I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
    14. Re:It isn't an OS by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The rest of it is Linux. My Linux box has Firefox running on Linux, but I don't call it Firefox OS.

      Yes, things have changed in computing, we have a separation of kernel and userspace, user applications don't generally make kernel calls and you can have a userspace application that provides an environment for running another application within it. If you can't keep up then don't try and be pedantic because you just end up looking like an ignorant retard.
      I would ask you to explain your definition of an operating system but given your position on this topic I presume you will define a kernel, thus proving you still havent caught up with changes in the last 20 years.

    15. Re:It isn't an OS by exomondo · · Score: 1

      Open up a bash shell on your android phone. It's Linux. Kernel, libraries and standard executables, all present and correct and Linuxy.

      Which libraries and executables? The only think Linux is the kernel.

    16. Re:It isn't an OS by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Erm no. The ability to use a few apps which interface with the Linux kernel and type in a shell that something resembles bash (not even close mind you, it's an even more cut down version of sh) does not make Android Linux. Nothing out of the box Linux works on Android. All the libraries except for the ones providing essential hooks into the kernel are missing. Those programs / libraries which do hook into the kernel are also different from their linux counterpart (go copy "mount" from you phone onto your ubuntu box and try boot up the system).

      Really there's nothing Linux about Android other than the underlying kernel.

    17. Re:It isn't an OS by orasio · · Score: 1

      Erm no. The ability to use a few apps which interface with the Linux kernel and type in a shell that something resembles bash (not even close mind you, it's an even more cut down version of sh) does not make Android Linux. Nothing out of the box Linux works on Android. All the libraries except for the ones providing essential hooks into the kernel are missing. Those programs / libraries which do hook into the kernel are also different from their linux counterpart (go copy "mount" from you phone onto your ubuntu box and try boot up the system).

      Really there's nothing Linux about Android other than the underlying kernel.

      Linux _is_ a kernel. Everything else you are talking about is mostly the GNU part of GNU/Linux.
      Android has the same amount of Linux than any flavor of GNU/Linux, so the GP is right, even though he uses the wrong terms.

  2. Simulation of OS in a browser, way cool! :) by houbou · · Score: 1

    So, now, we will have Blackberry and a few OSes.. IOS, Android of various flavors and Firefox OS.
    The more the merrier!
    I will say this however, the fact that you can develop using the Firefox Browser where the OS is added as an add-on does at the very least make things easier for us coders.

    1. Re:Simulation of OS in a browser, way cool! :) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I want to make money in the Firefox marketplace!
      I will develop the first app that kills kittens! Just have your sister submit her pix. thx

  3. Nobody wants it. Nobody cares. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    People want Android and iOS. A small number of people even want BlackBerry OS and whatever the hell Microsoft is calling their mobile OS these days.

    Aside from a few geeks, ABSOLUTELY NOBODY wants Firefox OS, and ABSOLUTELY NOBODY cares about Firefox OS.

    Why the fuck would they? Android is available on cheap phones, and it's not just some shitty browser that masquerades as an 'operating system'. Anybody else with money buys a higher-end Android device, or an Apple device, and gets a much better experience.

    That's why, in my opinion, Firefox OS has no hope in hell of becoming anything but another failed mobile OS, no matter how much effort Mozilla puts in, and no matter how much its handful of supporters delude themselves into thinking that people care about it.

    1. Re:Nobody wants it. Nobody cares. by exomondo · · Score: 2

      Android is available on cheap phones

      Apparently FXOS is supposed to run better than Android on low end hardware, though I still haven't seen anything to justify that claim. The other thing is they would still need to build up an application library to rival Google Play, but also to function well on the low end hardware that FXOS will ship on. They could have put in some mandates to avoid the version fragmentation and OEM/carrier forks that play havoc with the OS updating mechanisms, which would have actually been beneficial but it seems they haven't chosen to do that.

    2. Re:Nobody wants it. Nobody cares. by Lennie · · Score: 1

      There are 8 million webdevelopers and a couple of hundred thousand developers for iOS and Android.

      That is why some think it might have some future, will it be the third platform ? It's goal is to give people all over the world better access to the web on mobile. It isn't trying to be first, second, maybe not even the third platform.

      --
      New things are always on the horizon
    3. Re:Nobody wants it. Nobody cares. by exomondo · · Score: 1

      There are 8 million webdevelopers and a couple of hundred thousand developers for iOS and Android.

      And the two aren't mutually exclusive, iOS and Android have web browsers - in fact Android even has Firefox - so anything that works on Firefox OS should work on iOS and Android anyway.

      That is why some think it might have some future

      I still don't see why, if you're a web developer you can already develop for all the major devices.

  4. Feature phones by tepples · · Score: 2

    Why the fuck would they? Android is available on cheap phones

    CDMA2000 carriers have been known to refuse to activate Android phones on voice-only plans, and GSM carriers have been known to "cram" expensive data plans onto a voice-only SIM inserted into a smartphone. This is just speculation, but perhaps a carrier might find some reason to charge less per month for a Firefox OS device than for an Android device. If the billing department of the wireless carrier with the best coverage in your area had a policy of treating Firefox OS phones as "feature phones" and Android phones as "smartphones", and you were on a budget, what would you choose?

    1. Re:Feature phones by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is just speculation, but perhaps a carrier might find some reason to charge less per month for a Firefox OS device than for an Android device.

      you clearly have a vested interest in this if you are peddling this garbage, there is no reason to believe this would be the case at all and in fact much of Firefox OS *is* Android and *is* a smartphone OS and the greedy carriers will treat it as such.

    2. Re:Feature phones by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      GSM carriers

      AT&T is one carrier. I also have a hard time buying that guy's story about them putting him on a data plan "for no reason". He bought what he calls an "out of contract" phone, but that phone may actually have been subsidized (rented) from AT&T and is therefore still their property technically, just like a cable box or ISP provided modem. He also doesn't explain why he doesn't use one of AT&T's prepaid plans, which you can get without data.

      Another thing I should point out. Carriers don't operate the same way outside of the USA. In most places in the world, you buy your phone first and then pick your carrier, with or without a data plan.

  5. They won't... by Junta · · Score: 1

    Carriers will treat it as a smartphone. When the central point of the OS as evidenced by the name is full blown web browsing, it's going to be treated as a peer to android/ios devices, period.

    With Android as it is in Jelly Bean, firefox os has a very uphill battle ahead of it. If it managed to release prior to ICS, *maybe* it could have had an in, but as it stands Android is just too capable and clean. That's not to say something better can be done or that people like me nervous about just *how* much control Google gets to exert would be interested, but I'm not going to assume for a second that constitutes enough people for a viable mobile platform.

    --
    XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
  6. Meh by bluescrn · · Score: 1

    Does the world really need another 'App Store Platform'?

    1. Re:Meh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Does the world really need another 'App Store Platform'?

      Yes, Firefox OS allows anyone to make their own marketplace. More money in your pocket and less in Apple's and Google's.

    2. Re:Meh by MightyYar · · Score: 1

      I'm happy. The more the merrier. People who grew up in the Microsoft-dominated era of personal computing don't remember how much fun it was to have many PC choices. The phone market is like that now.

      --
      W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
  7. I'd like to see a copy of the lease terms by tepples · · Score: 0

    that phone may actually have been subsidized (rented) from AT&T and is therefore still their property technically

    Since when are subsidized phones actually leased? I thought they were purchased on the condition that the owner would pay the remainder of the subsidy when terminating service early. I'd like to see a copy of the contract that declares it a lease.

    Another thing I should point out. Carriers don't operate the same way outside of the USA.

    Slashdot is a Dice Holdings, Inc. service, and Dice is inside of the USA. Not everybody has the ability to leave the USA just for better phone service.

    1. Re:I'd like to see a copy of the lease terms by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not everybody has the ability to leave the USA just for better phone service.

      And this is targeted at the low end in emerging markets, also carriers in the USA are obviously going to treat this as a smartphone (since that is what it is) so your point is irrelevant anyway.

    2. Re:I'd like to see a copy of the lease terms by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Since when are subsidized phones actually leased? I thought they were purchased on the condition that the owner would pay the remainder of the subsidy when terminating service early. I'd like to see a copy of the contract that declares it a lease.

      Then go look it up. If you get your phone through a carrier, you don't own it.

      Slashdot is a Dice Holdings, Inc. service, and Dice is inside of the USA. Not everybody has the ability to leave the USA just for better phone service.

      The story is about Firefox OS. Where are Firefox OS devices available for purchase right now? Oh, that's right, outside of your little USA-centric bubble. Try opening your eyes, there is much more to the world than your dinky little country.

    3. Re:I'd like to see a copy of the lease terms by tepples · · Score: 1

      Then go look it up.

      What keywords please? Google cell phone contract lease brings up nothing relevant.

    4. Re:I'd like to see a copy of the lease terms by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What keywords please? Google cell phone contract lease brings up nothing relevant.

      If you aren't resourceful enough to confirm it one way or the other and need to be hand-held searching google then pointing you in the direction of the relevant material would be pointless as you obviously wouldn't be able to understand it anyway.

  8. ICS needs more RAM by tepples · · Score: 2

    If it managed to release prior to ICS, *maybe* it could have had an in, but as it stands Android is just too capable and clean.

    Clean, but not lean. This article claims that Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) requires more RAM than Firefox OS, and I guess that's why 256 MB devices are stuck on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread).

  9. Issue Tracker by wangstabill · · Score: 2

    If you find any bugs, would like to request any features, or want to help out by contributing to some open source code, please let us know in our issue tracker [1]. The beauty of open source is that you have the ability to affect the trajectory of the project! [1] https://github.com/mozilla/r2d2b2g/issues

  10. Not Simulation of OS in a browser by dutchwhizzman · · Score: 1

    People keep on getting confused by the name of "Firefox OS". It's not an OS in a browser. It's not just a browser with an app store for the plugins/extensions, like Chrome OS either. It's a full featured Linux kernel based operating system. You can probably compare it best to Badoo, Maemo and Android.

    --
    I was promised a flying car. Where is my flying car?
  11. Is it open source? by Swistak · · Score: 2

    I'm looking for this information all around. I'm wondering is Gunk/Gaia (parts of Firefox OS) open source, will I be able to modify it on my Firefox OS phone? Or did they sell out to carriers?

    1. Re:Is it open source? by Lennie · · Score: 1

      It is, not only that, I think the split between developed by Mozilla and the community is 60%/40%, I just don't remeber which had the larger share.

      --
      New things are always on the horizon