Yeah, I don't expect there will be much GNU in Firefox OS. Personally I would love to see a mobile GNU distro that stipulates software freedom, but compared to the utter jail that is iOS and the mirky grounds of Android/Linux I can only praise Mozilla's efforts.
They might be talking about the "open web" instead, which is somewhat conflicting with the Free Software point of view, but their take on apps do give the opportunity to give the users the freedom they deserve. I could for example host my own apps, licensed under the AGPL and there won't be any shitty App Store rules preventing this.
But still, I would love to have a GNU in my pocket :)
Jelle
-------- Original message -------- From: "Andreas K. Foerster" list@akfoerster.de Date: 27/02/2013 19:33 (GMT+01:00) To: discussion@fsfeurope.org Subject: Name of the system (was: Firefox Mobile + Geeksphone = Awesome)
Hello,
i think, it would be great if Firefox OS gets adopted.
One aspect, that I don't like however, is the choice of the name. It uses Linux as it's kernel, and which libc does it use? The GNU libc? Well, it was always unfortunate that most people don't mentioned GNU. Now they stop even mentioning "Linux". They call it "Android", "ChomeOS", "Firefox OS"... whatever.
Even large distros like Ubuntu and even Debian stopped to name it on their frontpage!
Most people think GNU/Linux is an odd system, because barely anybody uses it, they think. However that is not the reality. GNU/Linux is almost everywhere. The real problem is not that it is barely used, but that those, who use it, very often are not aware that they do.
I think, what we really need is, a better "marketing" for GNU/Linux.
On 27/02/13 19:12, Jelle Hermsen wrote:
But still, I would love to have a GNU in my pocket :)
If you want a GNU/Linux pocket computer other than a OpenPhoenux GTA*, there is some discussion on the Qi-Hardware mailing list about a Nano Note #2.
http://lists.en.qi-hardware.com/pipermail/discussion/2013-February/010024.ht...
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On 02/27/2013 07:12 PM, Jelle Hermsen wrote:
Yeah, I don't expect there will be much GNU in Firefox OS. Personally I would love to see a mobile GNU distro that stipulates software freedom, but compared to the utter jail that is iOS and the mirky grounds of Android/Linux I can only praise Mozilla's efforts.
+1. However I really, really wish that their app store would practice what they preach and state proper licenses, instead of implying that all apps are licensed the same (all rights reserved).
https://marketplace.firefox.com/app/pasjanssolitaire/
Maybe they will add meaningful license info in future.
Sam.
- -- Sam Tuke Campaign Manager Free Software Foundation Europe IM : samtuke@jabber.fsfe.org Latest UK Free Software news: uk.fsfe.org Is freedom important to you? Join the fellowship.fsfe.org
On 2/28/13 2:19 AM, Sam Tuke wrote:
+1. However I really, really wish that their app store would practice what they preach and state proper licenses, instead of implying that all apps are licensed the same (all rights reserved).
Yeah, license info would be nice, now you can only look at the privacy policy. I might be a bit cynical however, but I doubt they will change this. It's not all that uncommon to shed some idealistic feathers in order to promote adoption. But still, I do hope, and think, that the web is the way out of this mobile sinkhole most companies create for their users. The AGPL, and initiatives like LibreJS might be the way out.
On 2/27/13 8:33 PM, Alexander Stephen Thomas Ross wrote:
If you want a GNU/Linux pocket computer other than a OpenPhoenux GTA*, there is some discussion on the Qi-Hardware mailing list about a Nano Note #2.
http://lists.en.qi-hardware.com/pipermail/discussion/2013-February/010024.ht...
Looks interesting, will need to get bigger pockets though :)
Cheers, Jelle
Il 28/02/2013 02:19, Sam Tuke ha scritto:
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On 02/27/2013 07:12 PM, Jelle Hermsen wrote:
Yeah, I don't expect there will be much GNU in Firefox OS. Personally I would love to see a mobile GNU distro that stipulates software freedom, but compared to the utter jail that is iOS and the mirky grounds of Android/Linux I can only praise Mozilla's efforts.
+1. However I really, really wish that their app store would practice what they preach and state proper licenses, instead of implying that all apps are licensed the same (all rights reserved).
https://marketplace.firefox.com/app/pasjanssolitaire/
Maybe they will add meaningful license info in future.
I'm quite optimistic about that. Firefox extensions website now provides license information, but it didn't use to do so some time ago. IIRC that was one of the reasons why Icecat project was started.