7 ms·

Fix the OS of your own smartphone (with Firefox OS)

48 points by janjongboom 13y ago

reubenmorais 13y ago
Note that this only works with a rooted phone. In newer versions of Firefox OS, you should be able to do all of that via the App Manager [0], without needing to root the phone. [0] https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/Firefox_OS/Using_the_App_Manager https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/Firefox_OS/Using_the_App...
- janjongboom 13y ago
  I doubt that, you can't push system level (certified) apps through the app manager if you're not rooted either.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
w0ts0n 13y ago
If you feel like contributing to annoyances; https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/buglist.cgi?bug_id=984792%2C984797%2C984798%2C984794%2C984790%2C874950%2C984803%2C747798&bug_id_type=anyexact&query_format=advanced&resolution=---&title=Bug%20List%3A%20FxOS%20annoyances&ctype=atom&list_id=9727967 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/buglist.cgi?bug_id=984792%2C984...
userbinator 13y ago
Interesting flexibility. To do the same things on Android is possible, as evidenced by all the mods done to existing apps, but requires a decompiler (and you also have code signing to contend with.) The only downside I can see is that non-native code won't ever be as efficient as natively compiled and optimised code, which could be important on a mobile device.
- asadotzler 13y ago
  On Firefox OS, HTML/JS is native code ;) Seriously though, Firefox OS does some things considerably faster and more efficiently than Android and it's "native" Java stack.
baldfat 13y ago
TL&DR: To little to late. Nokia :( I was so looking forward to MeeGo on Nokia and was ready to switch to that stack. I had grand ideas of all the things the community could do with an open enviroment where we could place our Linux ecco-system onto a phone. Sadly the time-frame has lapse and I am looking at Nokia with HUGE disappointment. They really should have been the Android but instead they floundered for years while Apple and Google passed them by. Firefox OS also something that might have been special 3 years ago seems to little to late sadly. Ubuntu OS looks great if it came out 3 or 4 years ago. The community could have made it the perfect hackers phone. Now not so much sadly.
- johnchristopher 13y ago
  I don't understand why it would be too late for "the community" to get an alternative OS for their smartphone to tinker with. Especially since there aren't any open-source and free alternatives yet (notwithstanding Android maybe ?). I own an iphone 3GS and Samsung ??1500 and I really don't like them (I am not using them, their were dropped on my lap by some friends who took pity on me). My old sony-erricson Naite suits me better but I can't help waiting for something like the upcoming Ubuntu phone or a Jolla phone (or a clone ?) to get on board. PS: I might have missed it but my comment falls flat if you consider Android the only tinkering smartphone OS (I don't have any opinions regarding that statement though).
- k_bx 13y ago
  I disagree. I really want to have a phone which out of the box would have rich set of powerful, well-designed and integrated applications (Mail, Contact manager, Calendar, Notes, Todo, Maps, IM, Music player, Book reader, File manager, Alarm, Gallery/Camera). I think Android is far behind here in current state, and all the new stuff they do is so Google-centric that it makes me sick. So I do see a room for another OS that doesn't need tons of apps for each thing, but rather has great stack out of the box.
  - dublinben 13y ago
    What makes you say Android is "far behind" your desired goal? That sounds exactly like what a contemporary Android device ships with.
jedanbik 13y ago
This is a cool demonstration, but it also makes me wonder why this couldn't be an option in something like about:config. Wouldn't editing source like this make your mobile software difficult to patch? If so, it seems like it would be a security risk.
- y0ghur7_xxx 13y ago
  > Wouldn't editing source like this make your mobile software difficult to patch? Why? Looks pretty easy to me. > If so, it seems like it would be a security risk. How?
  - jedanbik 13y ago
    Right now I'm thinking of this in terms of git rebase. Can the package manager in Firefox OS handle local backports upstream? Would an update to a given Firefox app wipe my changes automatically by default? Would an update to a given Firefox app never occur automatically by default because of my local changes? In other words, if I edited the source of this app on my hypothetical Firefox OS, would I be damned for the rest of eternity to either upgrade manually, or wipe my local changes? The security risk I'm concerned about is "my software isn't up to date with the latest patches therefore it is at risk."
- janjongboom 13y ago
  True, if you would want to persist these changes you should handle your own updates (have a branch and apply upstream changes on top of it). These changes will currently be overwritten by an OS update.
Pepe1vo 13y ago
Doesn't this make for a massive security risk on rooted phones? With other apps being able to inject code into any app without the user noticing. Seems risky to me.
- szatkus 13y ago
  Apps are sandboxed. To inject something you need to plug a phone into computer with ADB.
  - janjongboom 13y ago
    Plus you need to remount the moment you want to actually do write actions to protected areas of the phone.
- userbinator 13y ago
  I think that when one of the first things to come to mind about having the freedom to easily modify your apps is "security risk", something very wrong has happened to computing society.
jbb555 13y ago
I want a phone that I can modify and change the apps. But not running everything as a web app/javascript.

48 points by janjongboom 13y ago

Note that this only works with a rooted phone. In newer versions of Firefox OS, you should be able to do all of that via the App Manager [0], without needing to root the phone. [0] https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/Firefox_OS/Using_the_App_Manager https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/Firefox_OS/Using_the_App...

janjongboom 13y ago
I doubt that, you can't push system level (certified) apps through the app manager if you're not rooted either.

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

w0ts0n 13y ago

If you feel like contributing to annoyances; https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/buglist.cgi?bug_id=984792%2C984797%2C984798%2C984794%2C984790%2C874950%2C984803%2C747798&bug_id_type=anyexact&query_format=advanced&resolution=---&title=Bug%20List%3A%20FxOS%20annoyances&ctype=atom&list_id=9727967 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/buglist.cgi?bug_id=984792%2C984...

userbinator 13y ago

Interesting flexibility. To do the same things on Android is possible, as evidenced by all the mods done to existing apps, but requires a decompiler (and you also have code signing to contend with.) The only downside I can see is that non-native code won't ever be as efficient as natively compiled and optimised code, which could be important on a mobile device.

asadotzler 13y ago
On Firefox OS, HTML/JS is native code ;) Seriously though, Firefox OS does some things considerably faster and more efficiently than Android and it's "native" Java stack.

baldfat 13y ago

TL&DR: To little to late. Nokia :( I was so looking forward to MeeGo on Nokia and was ready to switch to that stack. I had grand ideas of all the things the community could do with an open enviroment where we could place our Linux ecco-system onto a phone. Sadly the time-frame has lapse and I am looking at Nokia with HUGE disappointment. They really should have been the Android but instead they floundered for years while Apple and Google passed them by. Firefox OS also something that might have been special 3 years ago seems to little to late sadly. Ubuntu OS looks great if it came out 3 or 4 years ago. The community could have made it the perfect hackers phone. Now not so much sadly.

johnchristopher 13y ago
I don't understand why it would be too late for "the community" to get an alternative OS for their smartphone to tinker with. Especially since there aren't any open-source and free alternatives yet (notwithstanding Android maybe ?). I own an iphone 3GS and Samsung ??1500 and I really don't like them (I am not using them, their were dropped on my lap by some friends who took pity on me). My old sony-erricson Naite suits me better but I can't help waiting for something like the upcoming Ubuntu phone or a Jolla phone (or a clone ?) to get on board. PS: I might have missed it but my comment falls flat if you consider Android the only tinkering smartphone OS (I don't have any opinions regarding that statement though).
k_bx 13y ago
I disagree. I really want to have a phone which out of the box would have rich set of powerful, well-designed and integrated applications (Mail, Contact manager, Calendar, Notes, Todo, Maps, IM, Music player, Book reader, File manager, Alarm, Gallery/Camera). I think Android is far behind here in current state, and all the new stuff they do is so Google-centric that it makes me sick. So I do see a room for another OS that doesn't need tons of apps for each thing, but rather has great stack out of the box.
- dublinben 13y ago
  What makes you say Android is "far behind" your desired goal? That sounds exactly like what a contemporary Android device ships with.

jedanbik 13y ago

This is a cool demonstration, but it also makes me wonder why this couldn't be an option in something like about:config. Wouldn't editing source like this make your mobile software difficult to patch? If so, it seems like it would be a security risk.

y0ghur7_xxx 13y ago
> Wouldn't editing source like this make your mobile software difficult to patch? Why? Looks pretty easy to me. > If so, it seems like it would be a security risk. How?
- jedanbik 13y ago
  Right now I'm thinking of this in terms of git rebase. Can the package manager in Firefox OS handle local backports upstream? Would an update to a given Firefox app wipe my changes automatically by default? Would an update to a given Firefox app never occur automatically by default because of my local changes? In other words, if I edited the source of this app on my hypothetical Firefox OS, would I be damned for the rest of eternity to either upgrade manually, or wipe my local changes? The security risk I'm concerned about is "my software isn't up to date with the latest patches therefore it is at risk."
janjongboom 13y ago
True, if you would want to persist these changes you should handle your own updates (have a branch and apply upstream changes on top of it). These changes will currently be overwritten by an OS update.

Pepe1vo 13y ago

Doesn't this make for a massive security risk on rooted phones? With other apps being able to inject code into any app without the user noticing. Seems risky to me.

szatkus 13y ago
Apps are sandboxed. To inject something you need to plug a phone into computer with ADB.
- janjongboom 13y ago
  Plus you need to remount the moment you want to actually do write actions to protected areas of the phone.
userbinator 13y ago
I think that when one of the first things to come to mind about having the freedom to easily modify your apps is "security risk", something very wrong has happened to computing society.

jbb555 13y ago

I want a phone that I can modify and change the apps. But not running everything as a web app/javascript.