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Firefox OS is a developer's best friend

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Re: Firefox OS is a developer's best friend

#31

Post by boristhespider »

Someone1234 wrote: post #16
DanBC wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But then those developers will develop for that new phone, creating a bunch of stuff that will not run on the older phones. Since those older phones are Mozilla's target market it would be an odd choice to make. It's a little bit like the WWW where people (rightly) develop on very powerful hardware but often (wrongly) fail to test on a range of normal hardware. (This is also ignoring the fact that stuff written for t…

To your last point: It is extremely hard to test your HTML/etc sites on a range of hardware unless you happen to work for someone with deep pockets and a dedication to broad support (e.g. Google). Is there a cost effective way to do so? Other than just getting a RaspberryPi and seeing if that can render it?

Another way is to be lucky enough to have an Open Device Lab nearby: http://opendevicelab.com/ (or try to set one up yourself)

Re: Firefox OS is a developer's best friend

#33

Post by frowaway001 »

ngokevin wrote: post #32
frowaway001 wrote: post #30

I'd say that Firefox OS biggest issue is its reliance on JavaScript.

And Android's biggest issue is its reliance on Java... And Apple's biggest issue is its reliance on Obj-C... They're just languages. At least JS runs more ubiquitously.

Neither Android nor iOS force you to use Java/Obj-C.

Both just expect bytecode/native code as an immediate target.

JavaScript is an terrible target to compile to.

> At least JS runs more ubiquitously.

Yes, I think that describes the issue. Nobody would care about how terrible JS is if it wouldn't be so popular.

Re: Firefox OS is a developer's best friend

#34

Post by daveloyall »

Firefox OS sounds great, but I don't think that's what this post is really about.

It is about OP gaming his/her carrier's promotional gimmick to get free data usage added to his account, 2mbit (mbyte?) at at time.

I did something like this once, I wasn't caught, but nonetheless it didn't turn out well.

Back in 2005, AT&T would do something like take a dollar off my bill for each dropped call.

At the time, I happened to work in a building that had some kind of Faraday cage built into the walls (EMSEC), so I had a reliable mechanism for producing dropped calls on demand.

I would just dial the local Time & Temp line on my way to the front door, and then when I stepped inside, the call would drop and I would get the dollar credit. This worked, until it didn't.

After about a month, my phone service was terrible and I was unable to place or receive international calls. I ended up talking to tier-III tech support and was informed that the cell tower closest to me was rejecting my device so I was talking to a more distant tower. (I never learned why that prevented international calls.) Apparently the tower had automatically weighed and measured my device and found it lacking!

After the tech reconfigured the tower, my cell phone service was good again. I chalked it up to karma and ceased to commit that particular form of fraud.

Re: Firefox OS is a developer's best friend

#35

Post by 0x0 »

daveloyall wrote: post #29
SixSigma wrote: post #27

A developer's phone would operate as a modem.

No, that's what I thought at first, but actually OP is gaming his/her carrier: Vodafone has a promotion where it offers you 2Mb for every call you give or receive, that is over one minute long.

Maybe if his phones could act as modems, he'd have unlimited (but slow?) data - leave one on back home with a dialin server, and dial into that from the other one :)

Re: Firefox OS is a developer's best friend

#36

Post by voxic11 »

frowaway001 wrote: post #33
ngokevin wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And Android's biggest issue is its reliance on Java... And Apple's biggest issue is its reliance on Obj-C... They're just languages. At least JS runs more ubiquitously.

Neither Android nor iOS force you to use Java/Obj-C. Both just expect bytecode/native code as an immediate target. JavaScript is an terrible target to compile to. > At least JS runs more ubiquitously. Yes, I think that describes the issue. Nobody would care about how terrible JS is if it wouldn't be so popular.

What are you talking about, pretty much everything can compile to JS these days.

Re: Firefox OS is a developer's best friend

#37

Post by plicense »

"On{x}" can be used to achieve the same functionality on Android. The JS might be a bit verbose, but its as simple as the Javascript code that the OP has written.

I used to set auto-reply messages etc to my girlfriend with On{x} to my girlfriend. I even wrote some JS to auto-call her at specified timing, just to wake her up.

Re: Firefox OS is a developer's best friend

#38

Post by plicense »

"On{x}" can be used to achieve the same functionality on Android. The JS might be a bit verbose, but its as simple as the Javascript code that the OP has written.

I used to set auto-reply messages etc to my girlfriend with On{x} to my girlfriend. I even wrote some JS to auto-call her at specified timing, just to wake her up.

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