7 ms·
Firefox OS Pivot to Connected Devices
- imrehg 11y agoI wonder what would be an example of a "connected device" in this context for Firefox OS, as it feels really vague for the moment.
- detaro 11y ago"Smart" TVs is one of the few things I can think of that seem to fit somewhat: Have a display, apps make sense, ... A lot of IoT stuff is little boxes without flexible UI, that does seem to miss the mark with FirefoxOS.
- agildehaus 11y agoThey were going to attempt that with http://www.matchstick.tv/ http://www.matchstick.tv/ but that project was cancelled.
- AndrewDucker 11y agoWhich was terribly disappointing. I was really hoping for an open-protocol equivalent to the ChromeCast.
- espadrine 11y agoJust to clarify, “They” here is not Mozilla. Matchstick was a separate company. By the way, it is bizarre that they do not mention their death on the website (http://www.matchstick.tv/overview/company-news/ http://www.matchstick.tv/overview/company-news/). On their Kickstarter article, their wording is a bit unclear, but it does seem like they have stopped working on Matchstick (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/matchstick/matchstick-the-streaming-stick-built-on-firefox-os/posts/1266549 https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/matchstick/matchstick-t...).
- robin_reala 11y agoYep, they refunded my money.
- dbcooper 11y agoThey provide the "smart tv" system for Panasonic.
- SunboX 11y ago"How to use OpenData, Firefox OS and a Raspberry Pi to build a better Washing Machine" http://www.slideshare.net/andrefiedler1/how-to-use-opendata-firefox-os-and-a-raspberry-pi-to-build-a-better-washing-machine http://www.slideshare.net/andrefiedler1/how-to-use-opendata-...
- khgvljhkb 11y agoWebkit is eating the world
- ZenoArrow 11y agoFirefox isn't based on Webkit (apart from the iOS version).
- TuringTest 11y agoWhich I think was the original poster's point.
- ZenoArrow 11y agoDropping Firefox OS on smartphones is nothing to do with Gecko vs. Webkit.
- pjmlp 11y agoYes it is, Mozilla is fighting to keep it relevant.
- ZenoArrow 11y agoThe decision to move away from a smartphone OS and towards IoT devices is not based on what serves Gecko. Gecko is better suited to smartphones. Besides, Gecko is still relevant, and will continue to be for quite some time. Mozilla and Google appear to have a good working relationship when it comes to web standards, and new standards are only signed off when at least two browser vendors (or rather, browser engine vendors) implement the proposed functionality.
- gsnedders 11y agoGecko isn't relevant on mobile. Nothing apart from WebKit and Blink are: look no further than the fact that everyone else supports webkit prefixed CSS properties on mobile.
- booop 11y agoSigh.. Just let it die and move on.
- ZenoArrow 11y agoWhat advantages would Firefox OS have over other Linux-based options for IoT?
- Olap84 11y agoA consistent platform is the most obvious benefit. Could it also be a fairly static non vendor customized and hence upgradable OS also? Most Smart TVs are never updated after all
- ZenoArrow 11y agoI don't see Smart TVs as a good market for Firefox OS, Android is the obvious choice in this market. Generally, you'd want to target IoT devices where battery life/power draw is important but you still want a rich UI. Consistent platform could be a decent benefit for the markets where Firefox OS makes sense though.
- detaro 11y agoAre there any Smart TVs shipping with Android? I don't think it is the obvious choice, there are tons of different systems used right now.
- frik 11y agoCurrent gen SmartTVs use Tizen (Samsung) and WebOS (LG), Chromecast (ChromeOS), Panasonic (FirefoxOS), Sony (Android), etc.
- ZenoArrow 11y agoFair enough.
- pdkl95 11y ago> Most Smart TVs are never updated after all Along with the usual problems of "smart" (spyware) devices, the non-updatability of IoT devices is a time bomb. We already have a problem with firmware based on very-old Linux kernels; shipping devices with known kernel exploits should be automatic liability for any damage the device does. It's willful negligence. As Dan Geer says[1], embedded devices need to either be updated or have a limited lifespan. We cannot allow a situation where common consumer IoT devices are both immortal and unfixable. [1] http://geer.tinho.net/geer.blackhat.6viii14.txt http://geer.tinho.net/geer.blackhat.6viii14.txt
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- jcbrand 11y agoSounds like Mozilla wants to jump on the Internet of things bandwagon.
- r3bl 11y agoSo, at first, they've told us that they don't have enough resources to pour into Thunderbird because they were working on something else. That something else was Firefox OS. Okay, sure. I would love to have a Mozilla developed OS on my phone. Then, months have passed and, even though they have an agreement with the country right next to mine, I was not able to have one without having someone from that country who will sign a contract with the carrier. Then they have decided to give Thunderbird away to some other project because they wanted to focus on Firefox. Sure, why not? But, a day or two later, they have released an app for iOS that completely does not belong in their model of service since it has nothing to do with Firefox and it won't actually work with Firefox. And now they're telling us that they're moving Firefox OS to "IoT devices", killing Firefox OS smartphone idea before I had a chance to actually get my hands on one of them. Great work Mozilla!
- randomsearch 11y ago+1 for the point about Thunderbird. We need good open-source mail clients. I'm not sure we need a Firefox OS, and regardless they just don't have the market power to make it work.
- saljam 11y agoThere's Mailpile: https://www.mailpile.is/ https://www.mailpile.is/
- tehbeard 11y agoThat looks neat but doesn't fufill the "low resource client on my desktop with notifications" that Thunderbird does.
- SunboX 11y agoMaybe re-package the Firefox OS Mail Client? ;) It's "low resource" ;) -> https://github.com/mozilla-b2g/gaia/tree/master/apps/email https://github.com/mozilla-b2g/gaia/tree/master/apps/email
- grabcocque 11y agoMight have that on my headstone. "Here lies Martin. Not dead, just pivoting to connected devices."
- therealmarv 11y agoNoooo. I don't want any Firefox on my light bulbs. So when will this die? 1 year or in 2 years? And who is gonna patch my Firefox light bulbs then?! ;)
- Sir_Cmpwn 11y agoSo the OS was slow and difficult to use because of the silly idea of making an entire OS's user interface run in a browser engine (and to be honest, not even the fastest browser engine out there), and then they put it on low end phones and it predictably failed. So they decide to "pivot" and put it on even lower power IoT devices. Come ON, Mozilla.
- 0xFFC 11y agoIt sounds like Oracle's netbook which was original chrome book in 96.Every body can now absorb pretty clearly the bandwidth and stability is not there.(even today.let alone 96). I think companies should understand if you don't have money for just spending on products like these.then don't start them.because it will make you look like idiot. Maybe 25 year from now you can run Gecko(what was their engines name?) On low powered chip.but today?no way.
- fulafel 11y agoFxOS 1.0 on ZTE Open was/is plenty fast despite the very low end hardware.
- iSnow 11y agoIt boggles the mind. At the same time, their browser market share is eaten by Chrome now and probably MS Edge starting next year or so. But it typical enterprise lingo, they "pivot" a dead project into something that continues eating resources for nothing. Mozilla, get your act together, you are burning through a lot of good-will lately.
- neikos 11y agoHere comes the hope that they might focus on Rust for this. (And drop the idea of browser stuff)
- pcwalton 11y ago> (And drop the idea of browser stuff) "Dropping the idea of browser stuff" was never a goal of Rust.
- 11y ago
- kenrick95 11y agoSomething like http://janos.io/ http://janos.io/ ?
- KaterKarlo 11y agoThe Mozilla organization is disassembling itself.
- x1024 11y agoI'm sure that if they rename a few more things that have "bro" in their title, everything will change for the better. Aaaaany day now.
- pjmlp 11y agoWhy would anyone pick this instead of Qt/QML, Java/JavaFX, Android/Java, Win10/XAML which are already being used in production? EDIT: Forgot to mention Tizen as well.
- 0xFFC 11y agoSomething not related.why Oracle discontinued javafx scene builder?.it send signal to programmer javafx is not serious.
- pjmlp 11y agoYeah, I was also pissed off with it. However there are lots of IoT vendors that offer first class support for Java on their SDKs. There were lots of talks at JavaONE 2015. Also there are car makers like VW exploring JavaFX for their infotainment systems. http://www.bredex.de/blog_article_en/research-into-the-use-of-javafx-for-in-car-infotainment.html http://www.bredex.de/blog_article_en/research-into-the-use-o... Gluon is anyway taking care of it. EDIT: Changed a bit the content.
- davidbanham 11y agos/Firefox OS/WebOS/g
- geon 11y agoWorked so well for Beos.
- kailanblanks 11y agoAs much as people here aren't a fan of the choice, I saw Firefox OS running on TVs and other IoT devices at this year's MozFest and it was really impressive. The developer APIs were easy to grasp and the UI was intuitive.
- Gorbzel 11y agoNo one (serious) thinks that Mozilla cannot deliver impressing feats of engineering, at the very least because they've got quite a bit of tail left on their goodwill for breaking the IE monopoly. What people are implicating is their strategy. As others have mentioned, they don't seem to lead entry into any space, and therefore their presence in the space is constantly in the vein of catching up. Thus far, the only clear reason I've ever heard them mention is the same "open web standards" argument. Obviously this approach is valid, but with their browser success they should know better than anyone that you cannot overtake Goliath with open standards if no one is using your product. Lo and behold, they've apparently shown a product at MozCon that Google and Apple have already bet a ton on and released compelling consumer offerings for. Regardless of how impressive the APIs and UI may be, history repeating itself here.
- devit 11y agoWhy is Mozilla wasting time on this useless stuff? What they need to do is work on their browsers, and specifically: 1. Ship Electrolysis ASAP, so Firefox is once again as technically good as Chrome and others 2. Add support for syncing with Chrome and IE if possible, to smooth transition for mainstream users 3. Fund Servo as much as possible, and get it ready to ship it in both desktop and mobile browsers as soon as possible 4. Get the marketing people to work on a strategy to market Servo to get the #1 browser market share spot again 5. Stop eroding their reputation with dumb stuff like the Pocket and Telefonica integrations. If they do something to make money, clearly state so and make sure it's harmless to users and trivially disabled. Then, market their reputation as a trustworthy non-profit much better. If they REALLY want to do a mobile OS, just work together with Cyanogen on an Android distribution with added/better HTML app support, instead of inventing their own crappy thing.
- Apocryphon 11y agoWorking with Cyanogen isn't a bad idea. They really should just create a united "open mobile software" group along with Canonical to pool together their efforts.