When Mozilla says it is serious in working to make the Web open and accessible to everyone, you know they are not kidding! Even as their desktop browser, Firefox remains the eye candy for many around the globe, Mozilla\’s venture on to the mobile platform courtesy Firefox OS has generated tremendous buzz. No wonder, Firefox OS is capturing the fancy of man
Here are 9 things you should know about Mozilla\’s Firefox OS:
1. What is Firefox OS?
-Codenamed Boot2Gecko, Firefox OS is based on Linux and Mozilla’s Gecko technology and based upon HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript.
-Mozilla has developed Web APIs in order to facilitate communication between HTML5 apps and Firefox OS powered device’s hardware.
2. How is Firefox OS different from existing mobile OSes?
-Firefox OS is different in the fact that every app in it is actually a web app (a website in the form of an app).
-In case of Firefox OS, apps are built using HTML5 along with CSS3 and JavaScript rather than using native languages. Android apps on the other hand are developed in Java, Windows Phone apps are developed in C++, C#, or HTML5, etc.
3. What is The User Interface Like In Firefox OS?
-Taking a lot of inspiration from Android, Firefox OS\’ UI comes with a lock screen, home screen and notification bar. However, unlike Android, the home screen in Firefox OS shows a background image. Also, there is no support for widgets currently.
-Sliding right on the home screen reveals the list of installed apps, while sliding left shows the list of app categories.
4. How Are apps for Firefox OS different from apps for other Mobile OS?
-There will be two kinds of web apps for Firefox OS: hosted apps and packaged apps.
-Hosted apps will run as long as there is an Internet connection. These are hosted on Mozilla’s server and will be downloaded and loaded every time they are accessed.
-Packaged apps on the other hand can be regarded as the the \’usual\’ apps, the kind available on other operating systems. These apps can be downloaded in the form of a compressed package and will be loaded from the local source making use of cache features of HTML5.
5. What are the different ways to try Firefox OS?
-There are 4 ways to do this:
1. Use the Firefox OS Desktop client.
2. Use the Firefox OS Simulator add-on.
3. Build a Firefox OS Simulator.
4. Build Firefox OS from source and install.
6. What are the devices that currently support Firefox OS?
-Some of the devices supporting Firefox OS are:
1. Unagi
2. Otoro
3. Pandaboard
4. Samsung Galaxy S
5. Samsung Galaxy S 4G
6. Samsung Galaxy S2
7. Samsung Galaxy Nexus
7. How does it compare with Ubuntu for Phones?
-Ubuntu for Phones supports both native apps as well as web apps. Firefox OS on the other hand support only web apps. Now, native apps use advance APIs and powerful features when compared with web apps. Do we need to say more?
8. What are the plans for Firefox OS’ Security?
-Many of the security features in Firefox OS seem to be inspired from Google’s Android, however, Firefox OS comes with a Permission Manager that allows the user to manually allow or block permissions for an app, something that is missing in Android.
9. What does Firefox OS mean for the Future of Smartphones?
-Thanks to Firefox OS we will be using Web apps more than Websites in the days to come. Also, the fact that Ubuntu for Phones will also support Firefox OS will prove to be a major seller!
Source : efytimes.com