Firefox OS Smartphones Arriving For Developers 124
Nerval's Lobster writes "For quite some time Mozilla has been working on Firefox OS, a lightweight mobile OS built in HTML5. Now it's whipped the curtain back from the first developer preview phones. The developer preview phones are unlocked, requiring the user insert their own SIM card. If those specs seem a little underpowered compared to other smartphones on the market, it's because Firefox OS is intended for lower-end smartphones; target markets include developing countries such as Brazil and China. (The first developer preview phones will be available in February.) The Firefox OS (once known as 'Boot to Gecko') is based on a handful of open APIs. The actual interface is highly reminiscent of Google Android and Apple iOS, with grids of icons linked to applications." The specs really aren't that bad; reader sfcrazy points out that they include the usual features baked into medium- and high-end phones these days: Wifi N, light and proximity sensors, and an accelerometer (though no mention of NFC).
An OS built in HTML5? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:uh, what? (Score:5, Insightful)
The zune wasn't a failure. Its "failure" was the result of MS-hate from cocky web 2.0 apple bloggers. There is nothing technically wrong with it. It's just that no product, no matter how good it is, can stand the scoffing of turtleneck-wearing "journalists" who laugh at the choice of color. "DURRR WHO WOULD BUY A BROWN ZUNE?".
But it's perfectly ok to get a one-size-fits-all ipod.
*cue in "missing the point" zealots pointing out that ipod comes in several versions*
Re:uh, what? (Score:4, Insightful)
and right there was the failure of the Zune. Only apple customers are stupid enough to pay that kind of money for an MP3 player. Keep in mind that, at the time, you could pick up a dozen different off-brand MP3 players at walmart for under $100 and all of them operated in the same way: You plug them into your computer, a folder opens up, you drop in music. How we got to the point that the only way to upload to an apple device is with buggy proprietary software boggles my mind.
Re:uh, what? (Score:2, Insightful)
Sorry. Linux on the desktop is a failure both from a technical and political point of view. The fact that developers can't settle down on a single choice is what makes it fail every time.
Recently I got my hands on debian wheezy's default gnome desktop. What good is a desktop manager that tries too hard NOT to look like windows? Especially when in previous versions they did all in their power to be a Mac.
Why is it that every window manager feels that the mac-style top bar IS the way to go? Why do gnome 3.4 devs think that no one should need a minimize or maximize button? WHY OH WHY is the clock in the center of the top bar? Why can't i change the position of that bar without a plugin? Why can't I even hide useless icons from the bar (I don't need the accessibility icon, thank you very much) without a plugin?
Why is it that we STILL have two clipboards, the one that fucks everything in your copy buffer when you accidentally select something, and the other that needs ctrl-C/Ctrl-V, and doesn't quite work in every application (since some pure X11 apps don't honor gnome's clipboard). Why does it capture the screen to a file instead to the copy buffer, so i can paste straight to GIMP instead of having to open a file?
Sorry pal, the linux "desktop" is full of issues. When developers get their shit together, and start working in one direction together, it may work. But since everyone likes to do whatever the fuck they want, then we'll never get a real desktop.