Mozilla closes Connected Devices division, lays off 50

The fact that many people believed the dream -- including myself twenty years ago -- doesn't make the dream any more realistic. Eventually, people notice that they would like to do more things than their browser allows them to.

So, yes it is true that people have been willing to migrate to cheaper, limited computers (but mainly tablets and phones; not tiny laptops). But those computers are not generally modeled after using the browser for everything.

"4.1) How about a Mozilla Operating System?

"Mozilla is positioned well as an application software. However, it makes very little sense to try to make Mozilla into an operating [system], almost as little sense as it would to make a Word Processor or a MP3 player into one. Beyond technical reasons, the operating system market is currently glutted, and a new entry would be unlikely to attract enough users to ensure the writing of drivers for a new system, a critical mass point. People who want to work on an operating system no doubt would be welcomed by the BSD teams, the Linux team, the Freedows team, or any of the many other open source operating system groups out there."

That analysis appears to have applied to webOS just as clearly as it had applied to the desktop and laptop market a decade earlier.

And just to twist the knife a little more, the last sentence in the answer to 4.2 is "Reinvention of the wheel is a poor use of volunteers."

(At that time I was talking with some manufacturers, they had a need of including locally-made apps in their phones - their proposals were essentially giving over the app, and I would have to guarantee that it worked on their phone, and they would not give one to me!)

IMHO a huge mistake was to pursue the mythical "$25 phone for the poor people". Poor people buy iPhones because this is the primary computing device they have. Lisa Simpson-like deeds, like the "bro" file extension discussion.

In Mozilla you usually get hired for a specific position; programmers (or anyone, really) aren't liquid resources to be moved around randomly between teams. Larger companies have enough going on that if a project is shut down there's usually some other project to shift to that works for both the team and the programmer. Mozilla only has a thousand employees, so there will be very few openings to choose from based on your experience level, field, and interests.

From the original CNet article:

> Some affected employees are getting new roles in Mozilla, but those losing jobs get severance and job-hunting benefits, Mozilla said. Although about 50 people are affected by the cut, some might stay at Mozilla since they can apply for new positions, some of which Mozilla opened early to ease the pain of the layoffs.

Also, from the CNet article:

> "We have shifted our internal approach to the internet-of-things opportunity," Mozilla said in a statement, "to step back from a focus on launching and scaling commercial products to one focused on research and advanced development, dissolving our connected devices initiative and incorporating our internet-of-things explorations into an increased focus on emerging technologies."

The "layoffs" aren't because of money reasons, it's just a project being shut down.